INXS Takes Out triple j’s Hottest 100 of Australian Songs Countdown
An incredible 2,655,826 votes were tallied, marking the countdown triple j’s 4th biggest in Hottest 100 history.
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Iconic rockers INXS have taken out triple j’s Hottest 100 of Australian songs with their hit 1987 single, ‘Never Tear Us Apart’.
Taken from the band’s sixth studio album, Kick, ‘Never Tear Us Apart’ won two ARIA Awards for Best Group and Best Video and peaked at #7 on the US Billboard Hot 100.
The Port Adelaide anthem beat out South Aussie hip hop legends Hilltop Hoods, who came in second with their party anthem, ‘Nosebleed Section’. Sister duo The Veronicas took third place with ‘Untouched’, followed by Miss Higgins with ‘Scar’ and Crowded House with ‘Don’t Dream It’s Over’, rounding out the top five.
“‘Never Tear Us Apart’ hits just as hard in 2025 as it did almost 40 years ago,” shares triple j Music Director Nick Findlay. “It’s a song that Australians of all ages can relate to, one that has soundtracked countless memories, and a defining piece of music history we can all celebrate together. Seeing iconic anthems from the likes of Paul Kelly, The Angels and Missy Higgins stand side by side as equals with modern day classics like Innerbloom, Better in Blak and The Less I Know The Better, has highlighted what we all know – Australia is the home of the best music ever written!”
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A lot of talk in the lead-up to the count centred around whether the countdown would feature a lot of modern music, considering the average listener age of triple j (over 50% of voters were age 18-29).
While the 2000s and 2010s made up the majority of songs in the countdown, plenty of classic Aussie tracks made the 100, including Paul Kelly’s ‘How To Make Gravy’ (#9), The Angels’ ‘Am I Ever Gonna See Your Face Again’ (#12), John Farnham’s You’re The Voice’ (#15) and Midnight Oil’s ‘Beds Are Burning’ (#18).
Bernard Fanning scored the most entries with four – three Powderfinger songs and one solo effort – while Cold Chisel scored back-to-back nods in the top ten with ‘Khe Sanh’ and ‘Flame Trees’ coming in at #7 and #8.
Check out the full list of triple j’s Hottest 100 of Australian Songs below.
triple j’s Hottest 100 of Australian Songs
100. Screaming Jets – Better
99. Midnight Oil – Blue Sky Mine
98. Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds – Red Right Hand
97. Savage Garden – I Want You
96. Stevie Wright – Evie (Parts 1, 2, 3)
95. Spiderbait – Calypso (1997)
94. Flight Facilities – Clair de Lune [Ft. Christine Hoberg]
93. The Avalanches – Since I Left You
92. ICEHOUSE – Electric Blue
91. The Whitlams – No Aphrodisiac
90. Spiderbait – Black Betty
89. Amyl and The Sniffers – Hertz
88. Angus & Julia Stone – Chateau
87. Gang Of Youths – The Deepest Sighs, The Frankest Shadows
86. Goyte – Hearts a Mess
85. DMA’S – Delete
84. The Go-Betweens – Streets Of Your Town
83. Ben Lee – Cigarettes Will Kill You
82. Peking Duk – High [Ft. Nicole Millar]
81. You Am I – Berlin Chair
80. Empire of the Sun – We Are The People
79. The Cat Empire – Hello
78: Eskimo Joe – Black Fingernails, Red Wine
77. Killing Heidi – Weir
76. The Veronicas – 4Ever
75. The Church – The Unguarded Moment
74. The Waifs – London Still
73. Hilltop Hoods – 1955 [Ft. Montaigne & Tom Thum]
72. Silverchair – Freak
71. Jimmy Recard – Drapht
70. Powderfinger – (Baby I’ve Got You) On My Mind
69. Crowded House – Weather With You
68. Grinspoon – Chemical Heart
67. Regurgitator – !
66. Midnight Oil – Power and the Passion
65. Ocean Alley – Confidence
64. Cosby Sweater – Hilltop Hoods
63. Redgum – I Was Only 19 (A Walk in the Light Green)
62. Sticky Fingers – Australia Street
61. Chet Faker – Talk Is Cheap
60. Gang Of Youths – Let Me Down Easy
59. INXS – Need You Tonight
58. The Avalanches – Frontier Psychiatrist
57. Bernard Fanning – Wish You Well
56: Jimmy Barnes – Working Class Man
55. The Presets – My People
54. Divinyls – I Touch Myself
53. Thelma Plum – Better In Blak
52. The Special Two – Missy Higgins
51. Matt Corby – Brother
50. Hunters & Collectors – Holy Grail
49. Ball Park Music – It’s Nice To Be Alive
48. Vance Joy – Riptide
47. Goanna – Solid Rock
46. Bag Raiders – Shooting Stars
45. Eagle Rock – Daddy Cool
44. Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds – Into My Arms
43. Wolfmother – Joker and the Thief
42. Gang Of Youths – Magnolia
41. The Living End – Prisoner of Society
40. Violent Soho – Covered in Chrome
39. Australian Crawl – Reckless (Don’t Be So)
38. Crowded House – Better Be Home Soon
37. AC/DC – Back in Black
36. Yothu Yindi – Treaty
35. ICEHOUSE – Great Southern Land
34. Spacey Jane – Booster Seat
33. Augie March – One Crowded Hour
32. Natalie Imbruglia – Torn
31. AC/DC – Highway to Hell
30. Daryl Braithwaite – The Horses
29. The Church – Under The Milky Way
28. Silverchair – Straight Lines
27. Kylie Minogue – Can’t Get You Out Of My Head.
26. Flume – Never Be Like You [Ft. kai]
25. Hunters & Collectors – Throw Your Arms Around Me
24. Empire Of The Sun – Walking On A Dream
23. Jet – Are You Gonna Be My Girl
22. Paul Kelly & The Messengers – To Her Door
21. Men At Work – Down Under
20. Angus & Julia Stone – Big Jet Plane
19. Tame Impala – The Less I Know The Better
18. Midnight Oil – Beds Are Burning
17. Silverchair – Tomorrow
16. Rüfüs Du Sol – Innerbloom
15. John Farnham – You’re The Voice
14. Powderfinger – These Days
13. AC/DC – Thunderstruck
12. The Angels – Am I Ever Gonna See Your Face Again
11. The Temper Trap – Sweet Disposition
10. Gotye – Somebody That I Used To Know [ft. Kibra]
9. Paul Kelly – How To Make Gravy
8. Cold Chisel – Khe Sanh
7. Cold Chisel – Flame Trees
6. Powderfinger – My Happiness
5. Crowded House – Don’t Dream It’s Over
4. Scar – Missy Higgens
3. Untouched – The Veronicas
2. Hilltop Hoods – The Nosebleed Sections
1. INXS – Never Tear Us Apart
