Worst era of the US Modern Rock Chart?

Astonishing stuff to an outsider here though about dudes totally dominating the #1 spot for so long though.

The ultimate sign that the Alternative chart has come full circle to the early days of Modern Rock Tracks? A woman is finally No. 1. In August, Lorde’s “Royals” became the first chart-topper by a solo female artist since Tracy Bonham in 1996. It’s still No. 1 this week, appropriately enough, on the 25th anniversary of a chart that launched with Siouxsie Sioux’s record in the top slot. But is “Royals” a great moment for women, or a great moment for an “alternative” culture that long, long ago became middle-of-the-road? Does it even guarantee we won’t have to hear another phoned-in Red Hot Chili Peppers song during drive time? Nah-- but if it means commercial alt-rock radio, or this chart, can resume its place as our bastard Top 40, we'll take it.

Definitely going with 2003–2008: The Oligopoly.

In fact, I think I can pin down 2008 specifically as the all-time nadir of this format

Torn between the last two

Tbh, I'm not even really sure what this chart is supposed to represent at this point.

Fauxternative by a longshot. Those Nickelback singles are tight

the amount of american charts always confused me. we only had the top 40.

everything post 1997 is unbearable. . .

but 99-02 is a special kind of hellish shit so I'll vote for that

yeah this poll needs to allow for multiple votes

Tbh, I'm not even really sure what this chart is supposed to represent at this point.

I largely feel the same way about the 88-93 period, though, so maybe it's true that this chart is going back to its roots. I'm tempted to vote for the 88-93 period mostly because it still seems absurd that there was a Billboard 'chart' that gave '#1' 'hits' to people like Peter Murphy and Robyn Hitchcock. The Depeche Mode and REM songs are classic, though. The 03-08 period looks grim based on the 'key #1s' that are listed above but if you include the Jimmy Eat World, White Stripes,Modest Mouse, and MCR songs that are also listed in the article, it's not as bad. I have some affection for that period.

Huh, the local modern rock station is playing Bob Marley atm.

The 88-93 period was meant to acknowledge what was playing on "modern rock" radio, which was indeed more Midnight Oily than Pearl Jammy at the time (the station i listened to at the time that hypothetically would have reported still called itself "progressive") - the degree to which the format would evolve and gain commercial weight they never could have predicted, and makes the early years look damn surreal in hindsight. The problem with the current era is billboard is taking the diminished radio input and incorporating downloads for music it arbitrarily decides qualifies

"Hypothetically" isn't really the right word. I just mean it might have but I dunno if it did

I moved from IU to Penn State in 1994 and the difference between the progressive station in the former and The Revolution 101.1 in the latter made the evolution of the format really pronounced for me

Ironically the revolution 101.1 became pop and then nothing by the mid-00s, while wtts in Bloomington appears to still be adult rockin

I largely feel the same way about the 88-93 period, though, so maybe it's true that this chart is going back to its roots. I'm tempted to vote for the 88-93 period mostly because it still seems absurd that there was a Billboard 'chart' that gave '#1' 'hits' to people like Peter Murphy and Robyn Hitchcock.

but these kind of songs were legitimately getting airplay on college stations too

It does look hilarious though, because there's no way for the chart to acknowledge the exponential growth of its base

That the number of stations playing "machinehead" and the number playing "what's good" we're quite different

The Joel whitburn rock chart book I have includes the mainstream and modern chart rankings for acts side by side and its cool to see how the charts were wildly different and almost identical in the 90s, except for a few key signifying stars like Metallica and Aerosmith

Here's an experiment: can you imagine a song like "Machinehead" in the same playlist as "What's Good" in '92? I say yes. Whereas the programming director might've been fired in '95 for playing "What's Good."

And then identical, rather

I'm not being nostalgic for the Robyn Hitchcock Era, just pointing out that "modern rock"-reporting stations, as croup said, had more numbers on their side in '95.

what's poor John Frusciante got to do to get a BNM?!

Actually I have to disagree a little, the music on mod rock charts DID get harder, both formats moved toward each other but were quite distinct for about five years

Xpost re bush and lou

And c'mon alt radio still played shit like Shawn Mullins, everlast, Sheryl crow. You could still get a thoughtful shuffle on rock radio you just couldn't be old

I don't doubt "Wonderwall" got more legit play than Ned's Atomic Dustbin's #1 when the number of stations and listener responders expanded.

Female singer-songwriters got more slack than the male ones in the mid/late '90s though - just desserts.

In the early '90s we had, what, Sinead and Suzanne Vega and maybe Kate Bush? Slim pickins.

right in the middle of the 2003-2008 "Oligopoly" period I remember hearing a lot of White Stripes and Modest Mouse and the Raconteurs and Bloc Party and Gnarls Barkley and the Bravery

Yeah, while the Foo Fighters, Linkin Park, and Incubus had the highest peaking songs of that era I tend to usually associate that time period more with bands like The White Stripes, The Killers, Modest Mouse, The Bravery, Muse and all of those emo pop acts like Fall Out Boy, Panic at the Disco, My Chemical Romance. Also, because I'm in Canada bands like Metric, Arcade Fire, Sam Roberts, and AlexisonFire/City and Colour.

Alfred you are talking the height of the Tori Amos era. she was huge.

Was tori amos really that huge?

Huger than the three Alfred mentioned. I think Alfred's thinking 1990-91 though.

well, Little Earthquakes was '92.

1999-2002 < 1997-1999 < 2003-2008 < 1993-1996 < 2009-2013 < 1988-1993

actually i can't really decide whether 1999-2002 or 1997-1999 is worse

arent you supposed to be nostalgic for the music of your youth?

right now I'm jonesing for a burger

I listened to oldies radio so I am nostalgic for the Four Tops and the Grass Roots, not Matchbox 20 and Fuel.

I have never heard Sweater Weather.

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it feels weird lumping in 2003 with as far ahead as 2008. the representation listed above doesn't account for the singles during the earlier half of that era that were actually decent ("go with the flow," "minerva," "just because," "maps," "duality," "hard to explain," the darkness, etc) although audioslave had shown up by then who were both the worst and most overplayed rock band of that entire decade. but as far as i can tell, those odd minor-hits disappeared entirely by the time 2009 had arrived.

just as well that i am mookieproofed

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hmm