The Hottest 100 Australian Albums Of All Time

Taking out the top spot in The Hottest 100 Australian Albums Of All Time is Powderfinger with their album Odyssey Number Five.

The album was released in 2000 and was the fourth studio album for the Brisbane act. The band strived to make Odyssey Number Five different from their other albums by creating a set of cohesive songs with a simple message.

Bernard Fanning saidof the album ‘We worked really hard at putting that record together. It works as one complete listen. Like how ‘Dark Side Of The Moon’, the Pink Floyd record, all the songs fit together, they feel like they’re part of the same thing’.

This obviously worked, the album instantly resonated with triple j audiences. The album was an instant hit, with the singles These Days and My Happiness both being voted #1 in consecutive triple j Hottest 100s. The albums longevity and impact on the Australian public was reiterated the voices of the voters:

Kiralee from SA: I was 13 when I first heard ‘Odyssey Number Five’ and this was the album that founded my love of music!

Adrian from WA: It is simply an amazing album. 11 great songs that all fit together. Some of the greatest Aussie songs ever.

Natasha from NSW: One of the first Australian albums I ever listened to properly growing up. It's perfect, grabbing your attention with the intro guitar in ‘Waiting for the Sun’, and never letting it go. 

Hottest 100

The list as a whole was an exciting blend of incredible Australian music. Massive rock albums by music royalty AC/DC, The Living End and INXS stood side by side with internationally renowned dance albums by The Presets, Cut Copy and Empire of the Sun.

Artists proving popular with multiple entries include Hilltop Hoods, Birds of Tokyo, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, Angus & Julia Stone, Regurgitator, Bliss N Eso and Sarah Blasko - but it was Silverchair who dominated with all five of their albums making the list.

The countdown was also huge for triple j Unearthed, with eight albums by Unearthed artists making the list. After long, successful careers Unearthed pioneers Grinspoon and Missy Higgins both ranked highly.

Also notable is the prominence of new Unearthed artists like Art Vs Science, Washington and Gypsy & The Cat, proving that more triple j listeners are discovering music through the Unearthed channel than ever.

This list was compiled by over 47,000 young Australian music lovers, resulting in a definite youth perspective on the Hottest 100 Australian Albums Of All Time.

With 64% of albums released in the last 10yrs, and eleven albums released in the last 18months, Gen-Y have had their say. After two incredible weeks of highlighting some of the best Australian music, we wrap up another successful countdown in triple j Hottest 100 series.

From Monday 11 July triple j’s pop-up digital station will be playing the whole 100 albums from start to finish. All you have to do is tune your digital radio to triple j hottest or stream it online via triplej.net.au.

Here is the Top 20...

1. Odyssey Number Five - Powderfinger

2. Frogstomp - Silverchair

3. Back in Black - AC/DC

4. The Living End - The Living End

5. Kick - INXS

6. Internationalist - Powderfinger

7. Apocalypso - The Presets

8. Wolfmother - Wolfmother

9. Since I Left You - The Avalanches

10. Unit - Regurgitator

11. Like Drawing Blood - Gotye

12. Guide to Better Living - Grinspoon

13. Crowded House - Crowded House

14. Vulture Street - Powderfinger

15. Slightly Odway - Jebediah

16. The Hard Road - Hilltop Hoods

17. Eternal Nightcap - The Whitlams

18. Woodface - Crowded House

19. Innerspeaker - Tame Impala

20. Conditions - The Temper Trap