Triple J's Hottest 100 of Australian Songs: I Tried to Pick My Top 10 Aussie Songs… and Failed Gloriously

Every few years, Triple J throws out the ultimate challenge-slash-emotional-spiral: name your top ten Australian songs of all time. Like, ever. In June 2025, they reopened voting for the Hottest 100 of Australian Songs, and just like that, I was in. No choice really. The countdown airs on 26 July 2025 and if you’ve ever tried to pick just ten songs that define your life? Good luck. You can read the full explainer on what it is and how it works here.

I love a list. But this? This was chaos. Absolute beautiful, nostalgic chaos. I could’ve picked ten songs per decade. Actually, per genre per decade. INXS or Midnight Oil? How do you choose between Kylie and The Church? Australian Crawl or Icehouse? That’s just the 80s and I haven’t even gotten to the Big Day Out era.

Why It Was So Hard

I started out all very logical and curated. You know... songs that shaped the culture, meant something nationally. But then it turned into a game of memories. The first car. The first heartbreak. The first concert. Football wins. Jukeboxes in country pubs. Wedding dance floors. Vinyl cleaning sessions with my kids. Suddenly, it wasn’t a list of songs... it was a mixtape of my entire life.

I bounced between what represents me now (folky, chill, thoughtful... think Xavier Rudd, Angie McMahon, Ziggy Alberts, Mia Wray), and the chaos of the 90s and 2000s (Jet! Jebediah! The Whitlams! The Vines! Hilltop Hoods!). And then came the parent crossover stuff... music I’ve passed down or picked up through my kids. And don’t even get me started on genre lines. Do you put Gang of Youths next to ICEHOUSE? Well, apparently I do! 

I tried themes. Tried logic. Failed spectacularly. There was just so much regret. Powderfinger. Paul Kelly. The Presets. Archie Roach. DMA’s. Tame Impala. Honestly, I’ve started a list of the songs I should’ve picked. It’s 74 songs long.

My Final Top 10 Votes (With Deep Regret for the Other 90):

  1. Throw Your Arms Around Me - Hunters & Collectors

  2. The Special Two - Missy Higgins

  3. You Sound Like Louis Burdett -  The Whitlams

  4. The Unguarded Moment - The Church

  5. Live It Up -  Mental As Anything

  6. Electric Blue- ICEHOUSE

  7. Leaving Home -  Jebediah

  8. Big Jet Plane - Angus & Julia Stone

  9. Magnolia -  Gang of Youths

  10. Cosby Sweater - Hilltop Hoods

There’s no rhyme or reason, really. Some of these made it in because they’ve never left me. (Throw Your Arms Around Me was our wedding song, so that was locked in early.) Some are there because of that instant time-travel quality... like Electric Blue, which smells like sunscreen and warm bitumen and a folding chair at a suburban gig. Some because they made me feel something the first time, and still do. And some because my kids now play them at full volume and somehow it all comes full circle.

What Makes a Song One of the Greatest?

Honestly? IMHO... It’s whatever hits you hardest. The lyric that hits at 2am. The song that pulled you out of heartbreak or made you dwell on it for even longer.  The song that is worn out on your vinyl record. The song that causes you to buy an entire album just for that one song. The one that makes you drive the long way home. The first song you pick on a Jukebox or has made it into twenty Spotify playlists. I reckon greatness is measured in goosebumps, not charts. If it soundtracked your life in any small or loud way, it probably deserves a spot.

Some of These Are Still Spinning

A lot of the artists I voted for are still stocked in the Australian Vinyl Collection on my website. I’m talking Missy Higgins, ICEHOUSE, The Whitlams, Gang of Youths, Angus & Julia Stone... they’re in and out, so if you’re chasing something, maybe check while you’re thinking of it.

No sales pitch. Just, you know, if that one album you regret not voting for is still calling you... Maybe give it a home.

Who made your Top 10? Who did you painfully leave out? Come over to Instagram @peninsularecordsandbooks and tell me. Or better yet, tell me below. I’m still changing my mind daily, so you’ll be in good company.

Location: Adelaide SA, Australia

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