KROQ Inspired Top 106 Songs of 2016

In 2016, KROQ’s airwaves pulsed with Empire of the Sun’s dreamy electro, The Lumineers’ rootsy anthems, and Coldplay’s pop-infused hooks. The expansive Top 76 list blended punk revival from Blink-182 and Green Day, genre-bending hits from twenty one pilots, and indie flair from The 1975 and CHVRCHES, while revisiting classics like Empire of the Sun’s 2008 gem, electrifying SoCal’s festivals, clubs, and radio dials. This curated list expands to 106 songs, starting with KROQ’s rankings and adding tracks likely played, sourced from Billboard and other airplay data, ordered by 2016 airplay.

Rank	Artist	Song	Album
1	Empire of the Sun	Walking on a Dream	Walking on a Dream (2008)
2	The Lumineers	Ophelia	Cleopatra (2016)
3	Coldplay	Adventure of a Lifetime	A Head Full of Dreams (2015)
4	twenty one pilots	Ride	Blurryface (2015)
5	Blink-182	Bored to Death	California (2016)
6	Bishop Briggs	River	Non-album Single (2016)
7	The Strumbellas	Spirits	Hope (2016)
8	twenty one pilots	Heathens	Suicide Squad: The Album (2016)
9	Coldplay	Hymn for the Weekend	A Head Full of Dreams (2015)
10	Red Hot Chili Peppers	Dark Necessities	The Getaway (2016)
11	Death Cab for Cutie	The Ghosts of Beverly Drive	Kintsugi (2015)
12	Fitz and the Tantrums	HandClap	Fitz and the Tantrums (2016)
13	KALEO	Way Down We Go	A/B (2016)
14	X Ambassadors	Unsteady	VHS (2015)
15	Lukas Graham	7 Years	Lukas Graham (2016)
16	Bastille	Good Grief	Wild World (2016)
17	Cage the Elephant	Trouble	Tell Me I’m Pretty (2015)
18	Kings of Leon	Waste a Moment	WALLS (2016)
19	The 1975	Somebody Else	I Like It When You Sleep, for You Are So Beautiful yet So Unaware of It (2016)
20	Weezer	King of the World	Weezer (White Album) (2016)
21	Blink-182	She’s Out of Her Mind	California (2016)
22	Green Day	Bang Bang	Revolution Radio (2016)
23	The Head and the Heart	All We Ever Knew	Signs of Light (2016)
24	Panic! at the Disco	Victorious	Death of a Bachelor (2016)
25	Cage the Elephant	Mess Around	Tell Me I’m Pretty (2015)
26	Phantogram	You Don’t Get Me High Anymore	Three (2016)
27	Miike Snow	Genghis Khan	iii (2016)
28	Beck	Wow	Non-album Single (2016)
29	Foo Fighters	Saint Cecilia	Saint Cecilia EP (2015)
30	Green Day	Still Breathing	Revolution Radio (2016)
31	Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness	Fire Escape	Non-album Single (2016)
32	Jimmy Eat World	Sure and Certain	Integrity Blues (2016)
33	Grouplove	Welcome to Your Life	Big Mess (2016)
34	Foals	Mountain at My Gates	What Went Down (2015)
35	The Strumbellas	We Don’t Know	Hope (2016)
36	Panic! at the Disco	Bohemian Rhapsody	Suicide Squad: The Album (2016)
37	Nothing But Thieves	Trip Switch	Nothing But Thieves (2015)
38	The Dirty Heads	That’s All I Need	The Dirty Heads (2016)
39	Panic! at the Disco	Don’t Threaten Me with a Good Time	Death of a Bachelor (2016)
40	Kungs vs. Cookin’ on 3 Burners	This Girl	Layers (2016)
41	M83	Go! [feat. Mai Lan]	Junk (2016)
42	The 1975	The Sound	I Like It When You Sleep, for You Are So Beautiful yet So Unaware of It (2016)
43	K.Flay	Blood in the Cut	Crush Me EP (2016)
44	Band of Horses	Casual Party	Why Are You OK (2016)
45	Alex da Kid	Not Easy [feat. X Ambassadors, Elle King & Wiz Khalifa]	Non-album Single (2016)
46	AFI	Snow Cats	Non-album Single (2016)
47	Empire of the Sun	High and Low	Two Vines (2016)
48	Nothing But Thieves	Wake Up Call	Nothing But Thieves (2015)
49	Glass Animals	Life Itself	How to Be a Human Being (2016)
50	Declan McKenna	Brazil	Non-album Single (2015)
51	The xx	On Hold	Non-album Single (2016)
52	Finish Ticket	Color	When Night Becomes Day EP (2015)
53	Death Cab for Cutie	Good Help (Is So Hard to Find)	Kintsugi (2015)
54	Bear Hands	2AM	You’ll Pay for This (2016)
55	Weathers	Happy Pills	Non-album Single (2016)
56	BØRNS	American Money	Dopamine (2015)
57	Coldplay	Up&Up	A Head Full of Dreams (2015)
58	Pierce the Veil	Circles	Misadventures (2016)
59	Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness	High Dive	Andrew McMahon in the Wilderness (2014)
60	Mondo Cozmo	Shine	Non-album Single (2016)
61	Radiohead	Burn the Witch	A Moon Shaped Pool (2016)
62	CHVRCHES	Bury It	Every Open Eye (2015)
63	Garbage	Empty	Strange Little Birds (2016)
64	Bob Moses	Tearing Me Up	Days Gone By (2015)
65	Tame Impala	The Less I Know the Better	Currents (2015)
66	Zipper Club	Going the Distance	Zipper Club EP (2016)
67	X Ambassadors	Low Life [feat. Jamie N Commons]	VHS (2015)
68	The Weeknd	Starboy [feat. Daft Punk]	Starboy (2016)
69	Young the Giant	Something to Believe In	Home of the Strange (2016)
70	Silversun Pickups	Circadian Rhythm (Last Dance)	Better Nature (2015)
71	Bishop Briggs	Wild Horses	Non-album Single (2016)
72	twenty one pilots	Car Radio	Vessel (2013)
73	alt-J	Left Hand Free	This Is All Yours (2014)
74	Saint Motel	Cold Cold Man	My Type EP (2014)
75	Mumford & Sons	Ditmas	Wilder Mind (2015)
76	Prophets of Rage	Prophets of Rage	The Party’s Over EP (2016)
77	Judah & the Lion	Take It All Back	Folk Hop n’ Roll (2016)
78	COIN	Talk Too Much	Non-album Single (2016)
79	The Griswolds	Beware the Dog	High Times for Low Lives (2016)
80	Catfish and the Bottlemen	Soundcheck	The Ride (2016)
81	KONGOS	Take It from Me	Egomaniac (2016)
82	AWOLNATION	Woman Woman	Run (2015)
83	JR JR	Gone	JR JR (2015)
84	Elle King	Under the Influence	Love Stuff (2015)
85	Barns Courtney	Fire	Non-album Single (2016)
86	Lewis Del Mar	Loud(y)	Lewis Del Mar (2016)
87	888	Critical Mistakes	Non-album Single (2016)
88	The Struts	Put Your Money on Me	Everybody Wants (2014)
89	Shinedown	State of My Head	Threat to Survival (2015)
90	Saint Motel	Move	saintmotelevision (2016)
91	BROODS	Free	Conscious (2016)
92	Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats	I Need Never Get Old	Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats (2015)
93	The Hunna	You & Me	100 (2016)
94	Run River North	Run or Hide	Drinking from a Salt Pond (2016)
95	Lucius	Born Again Teen	Good Grief (2016)
96	Joywave	Destruction	How Do You Feel Now? (2015)
97	The Wombats	Give Me a Try	Glitterbug (2015)
98	BØRNS	10,000 Emerald Pools	Dopamine (2015)
99	Chris Cornell	Nearly Forgot My Broken Heart	Higher Truth (2015)
100	The 1975	Love Me	I Like It When You Sleep, for You Are So Beautiful yet So Unaware of It (2016)
101	EL VY	Return to the Moon	Return to the Moon (2015)
102	Red Hot Chili Peppers	Go Robot	The Getaway (2016)
103	Catfish and the Bottlemen	7	The Ride (2016)
104	Disturbed	The Sound of Silence	Immortalized (2015)
105	Skillet	Feel Invincible	Unleashed (2016)
106	twenty one pilots	Cancer	Non-album Single (2016)

KROQ Inspired Top 106 Songs of 2016

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