Alternative Airplay is a
record chart published by the music industry magazine Billboard that ranks the most-played songs on American
modern rock radio stations. Introduced by Billboard in September 1988 and named Modern Rock Tracks until June 2009,[1] it was initially compiled based on weighted reports from several national rock radio stations.[2] Starting with the chart dated June 12, 1993, radio airplay data compiled by
Nielsen Broadcast Data Systems – which electronically monitors various radio stations on a daily basis – was introduced as a factor in determining chart rankings.[3] Modern Rock Tracks later became solely based on Nielsen data, a change that took effect with the chart dated January 22, 1994.[3]
145 songs topped the Modern Rock Tracks chart in the 1990s; the first of these was "
Blues from a Gun" by
The Jesus and Mary Chain, which spent three weeks at number one from December 1989 to January 1990.[4] The modern rock radio format experienced a substantial growth in popularity during the decade,[5] with the success of
Nirvana's 1991 song "
Smells Like Teen Spirit" marking a "return of the crossover rock hit".[6] Speaking to Billboard in 1994, chart analyst Max Tolkoff remarked that in previous years, "people didn't care what was a hit on modern rock. Now everybody wants to be involved."[6] The first formal number one debut on the Modern Rock Tracks chart also occurred during the 1990s, with "
What's the Frequency, Kenneth?" by
R.E.M. entering at number one on the chart for the issue dated September 24, 1994.[7]
^The Modern Rock Tracks year-end number-one song of 1994 was "
Black Hole Sun" by
Soundgarden,[11] which peaked at number two on the chart dated July 2.[12]