| 1 | 311 | Down | 311 (1995) |
| 2 | The Smashing Pumpkins | 1979 | Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness (1995) |
| 3 | No Doubt | Spiderwebs | Tragic Kingdom (1995) |
| 4 | Sublime | What I Got | Sublime (1996) |
| 5 | Rage Against the Machine | Bulls on Parade | Evil Empire (1996) |
| 6 | Beck | Where It's At | Odelay (1996) |
| 7 | Stone Temple Pilots | Trippin' on a Hole in a Paper Heart | Tiny Music... Songs from the Vatican Gift Shop (1996) |
| 8 | Garbage | Stupid Girl | Garbage (1995) |
| 9 | Porno for Pyros | Tahitian Moon | Good God's Urge (1996) |
| 10 | Bush | Machinehead | Sixteen Stone (1994) |
| 11 | No Doubt | Don't Speak | Tragic Kingdom (1995) |
| 12 | Butthole Surfers | Pepper | Electriclarryland (1996) |
| 13 | The Smashing Pumpkins | Zero | Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness (1995) |
| 14 | Oasis | Wonderwall | (What's the Story) Morning Glory? (1995) |
| 15 | 311 | All Mixed Up | 311 (1995) |
| 16 | No Doubt | Just a Girl | Tragic Kingdom (1995) |
| 17 | Soundgarden | Burden in My Hand | Down on the Upside (1996) |
| 18 | Green Day | Brain Stew | Insomniac (1995) |
| 19 | Bush | Swallowed | Razorblade Suitcase (1996) |
| 20 | Alanis Morissette | Ironic | Jagged Little Pill (1995) |
| 21 | Cake | The Distance | Fashion Nugget (1996) |
| 22 | Stone Temple Pilots | Big Bang Baby | Tiny Music... Songs from the Vatican Gift Shop (1996) |
| 23 | Primitive Radio Gods | Standing Outside a Broken Phone Booth with Money in My Hand | Rocket (1996) |
| 24 | Garbage | #1 Crush | Non-album Single (1996) [From Romeo + Juliet Soundtrack] |
| 25 | Rage Against the Machine | People of the Sun | Evil Empire (1996) |
| 26 | The Smashing Pumpkins | Tonight, Tonight | Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness (1995) |
| 27 | Lush | Ladykillers | Lovelife (1996) |
| 28 | Bush | Glycerine | Sixteen Stone (1994) |
| 29 | No Doubt | Happy Now? | Tragic Kingdom (1995) |
| 30 | Everclear | Santa Monica | Sparkle and Fade (1995) |
| 31 | Gravity Kills | Guilty | Gravity Kills (1996) |
| 32 | Alanis Morissette | You Learn | Jagged Little Pill (1995) |
| 33 | Soundgarden | Pretty Noose | Down on the Upside (1996) |
| 34 | Jewel | Who Will Save Your Soul | Pieces of You (1995) |
| 35 | Oasis | Champagne Supernova | (What's the Story) Morning Glory? (1995) |
| 36 | Tracy Bonham | Mother Mother | The Burdens of Being Upright (1996) |
| 37 | Nirvana | Aneurysm | Non-album Single (1996) [From From the Muddy Banks of the Wishkah] |
| 38 | Poe | Angry Johnny | Hello (1995) |
| 39 | Pearl Jam | I Got Id | Non-album Single (1995) [From Merkin Ball EP] |
| 40 | Alanis Morissette | Head Over Feet | Jagged Little Pill (1995) |
| 41 | Tool | Stinkfist | Ænima (1996) |
| 42 | Garbage | Only Happy When It Rains | Garbage (1995) |
| 43 | The Smashing Pumpkins | Muzzle | Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness (1995) |
| 44 | Eels | Novocaine for the Soul | Beautiful Freak (1996) |
| 45 | The Cardigans | Lovefool | First Band on the Moon (1996) |
| 46 | Goldfinger | Here in Your Bedroom | Goldfinger (1996) |
| 47 | Spacehog | In the Meantime | Resident Alien (1995) |
| 48 | Social Distortion | I Was Wrong | White Light, White Heat, White Trash (1996) |
| 49 | Iggy Pop | Lust for Life | Lust for Life (1977) |
| 50 | Sonic Youth | The Diamond Sea | Washing Machine (1995) |
| 51 | Local H | Bound for the Floor | As Good as Dead (1996) |
| 52 | Republica | Ready to Go | Republica (1996) |
| 53 | The Folk Implosion | Natural One | Non-album Single (1995) [From Kids Soundtrack] |
| 54 | Seven Mary Three | Cumbersome | American Standard (1995) |
| 55 | Radiohead | High and Dry | The Bends (1995) |
| 56 | Beck | Devil's Haircut | Odelay (1996) |
| 57 | Marilyn Manson | Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This) | Smells Like Children (1995) |
| 58 | The Cranberries | Salvation | To the Faithful Departed (1996) |
| 59 | The Smashing Pumpkins | Bullet with Butterfly Wings | Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness (1995) |
| 60 | Counting Crows | A Long December | Recovering the Satellites (1996) |
| 61 | Stabbing Westward | What Do I Have to Do? | Wither Blister Burn & Peel (1996) |
| 62 | The Cure | Mint Car | Wild Mood Swings (1996) |
| 63 | Toadies | Possum Kingdom | Rubberneck (1994) |
| 64 | Salt | Bluster | Auscultate (1996) |
| 65 | Soundgarden | Blow Up the Outside World | Down on the Upside (1996) |
| 66 | Oasis | Don't Look Back in Anger | (What's the Story) Morning Glory? (1995) |
| 67 | Alice in Chains | Again | Alice in Chains (1995) |
| 68 | The Wallflowers | 6th Avenue Heartache | Bringing Down the Horse (1996) |
| 69 | Marilyn Manson | The Beautiful People | Antichrist Superstar (1996) |
| 70 | Dishwalla | Counting Blue Cars | Pet Your Friends (1995) |
| 71 | Nada Surf | Popular | High/Low (1996) |
| 72 | Fun Lovin' Criminals | Scooby Snacks | Come Find Yourself (1996) |
| 73 | R.E.M. | E-Bow the Letter | New Adventures in Hi-Fi (1996) |
| 74 | The Presidents of the United States of America | Lump | The Presidents of the United States of America (1995) |
| 75 | Fugees | No Woman, No Cry | The Score (1996) |
| 76 | Red Hot Chili Peppers | My Friends | One Hot Minute (1995) |
| 77 | Ruby | Tiny Meat | Salt Peter (1995) |
| 78 | Green Day | Walking Contradiction | Insomniac (1995) |
| 79 | Pearl Jam | Who You Are | No Code (1996) |
| 80 | Sublime | Santeria | Sublime (1996) |
| 81 | The Cranberries | Free to Decide | To the Faithful Departed (1996) |
| 82 | The Verve Pipe | Photograph | Villains (1996) |
| 83 | The Smashing Pumpkins | Thirty-Three | Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness (1995) |
| 84 | Counting Crows | Angels of the Silences | Recovering the Satellites (1996) |
| 85 | Orbital | The Box | In Sides (1996) |
| 86 | Collective Soul | The World I Know | Collective Soul (1995) |
| 87 | Voodoo Glow Skulls | Fat Randy | Firme (1995) |
| 88 | R.E.M. | Bittersweet Me | New Adventures in Hi-Fi (1996) |
| 89 | Stone Temple Pilots | Tumble in the Rough | Tiny Music... Songs from the Vatican Gift Shop (1996) |
| 90 | Sheryl Crow | If It Makes You Happy | Sheryl Crow (1996) |
| 91 | Foo Fighters | Big Me | Foo Fighters (1995) |
| 92 | Garbage | Supervixen | Garbage (1995) |
| 93 | Alice in Chains | Heaven Beside You | Alice in Chains (1995) |
| 94 | Tori Amos | Caught a Lite Sneeze | Boys for Pele (1996) |
| 95 | Bush | Greedy Fly | Razorblade Suitcase (1996) |
| 96 | Natalie Merchant | Jealousy | Tigerlily (1995) |
| 97 | Red Hot Chili Peppers | Aeroplane | One Hot Minute (1995) |
| 98 | Stone Temple Pilots | Lady Picture Show | Tiny Music... Songs from the Vatican Gift Shop (1996) |
| 99 | Fiona Apple | Shadowboxer | Tidal (1996) |
| 100 | Pearl Jam | Hail, Hail | No Code (1996) |
| 101 | Sponge | Wax Ecstatic (To Sell Angelina) | Wax Ecstatic (1996) |
| 102 | Stabbing Westward | Shame | Wither Blister Burn & Peel (1996) |
| 103 | Jars of Clay | Flood | Jars of Clay (1995) |
| 104 | Superdrag | Sucked Out | Regretfully Yours (1996) |
| 105 | Pearl Jam | Smile | No Code (1996) |
| 106 | Magnapop | Open the Door | Rubbing Doesn't Help (1996) |
| 106.7 | Dash Rip Rock | (Let's Go) Smoke Some Pot | Dash Rip Rock's Gold Record (1996) |
About 1996
In 1996, KROQ solidified its role as a tastemaker in alternative rock, with Sublime and No Doubt defining the ska-punk and pop-rock waves. The Smashing Pumpkins and Stone Temple Pilots continued to dominate with ambitious alt-rock, while eclectic tracks from Beck and Garbage showcased KROQ’s embrace of genre-blending innovation.