The Modern Rock Tracks chart is a music chart that has appeared in Billboard magazine since September 10, 1988. It lists the 40 most-played songs on alternative rock radio, most of which are modern rock songs.

In many ways, the Modern Rock Tracks chart is a better indicator of a rock song's overall popularity than the more often cited and better established Billboard Hot 100. This is because a song's place on the Hot 100 is based almost exclusively on airplay, but most radio stations in the US play pop music or hip hop. The charts that are comparable to the Hot 100 in other countries are based on sales, and many rock artists fare better in sales than in airplay. For example, The Strokes released four singles which reached the top 20 of the sales-based UK Singles Chart; however, none of their releases even charted on the Billboard Hot 100. Nevertheless, four songs by The Strokes have reached the top 20 of the Modern Rock Tracks chart.

A rock song's success is often well measured by its peak position and time on the Modern Rock Tracks chart. Moreover, songs which were not released as singles did not qualify for the Hot 100 before 1998. Therefore, the popularity of songs from that era can only be acertained by looking at the Modern Rock Tracks chart.

External link

Billboard.com - Modern Rock Tracks