We’re officially back from our Summer hiatus, and kicking things off with a look back at our favourite tracks of 2021. Unlike our albums of the year piece, we won’t go in depth about each song on the list, and why it was included, but rather let the music itself do most of the talking. And maybe even give you a last minute idea or two for the Hottest 100 – whose voting finishes up today.
Here’s the full countdown, that kicks off with an iconic Bo Burnham cover courtesy of Phoebe Bridgers, and ends out with the “Yolŋu surf rock” rising stars out of the NT, King Stingray – who are also the only act to appear twice in the countdown (other than Travis Barker, who is featured on tracks with both Amy Shark and KennyHoopla). Not bad for a band who only released their debut single a little over a year ago.
There are a number of great collaborations on the countdown that don’t feature Travis Barker, too. Look out for the beautiful “Dino’s” from Gordi ft. Alex Lahey, “Romeo” from Jungle ft. Bas, “Someone Stranger” from Georgia Maq ft. Alice Ivy, Stand Atlantic‘s “deathwish” ft. nothing, nowhere., and of course that mammoth hit from The Kid LAROI and Justin Bieber.
With all that out of the way, let’s get to the list:
40. Phoebe Bridgers – That Funny Feeling
39. Gordi – Dino’s (ft. Alex Lahey)
38. Holy Holy – Stand Where I’m Standing
37. Alice Skye – Party Tricks
36. Jack Carty – Boab (Time is a River)
35. Johnny Hunter – Life
34. Olive Amun – Dead Weight
33. The Regime – Disco Dimension
32. King Stingray – Get Me Out
31. Bleachers – How Dare You Want More
30. Jungle – Romeo (ft. Bas)
29. Sigmund – The Seventh Day
28. Still Woozy – That’s Life
27. Remi Wolf – Quiet On Set
26. Courtney Barnett – Write A List of Things to Look Forward To
25. KennyHoopla – hollywood sucks// (ft. Travis Barker)
24. Miiesha – Damaged
23. The Kid Laroi – Stay (ft. Justin Bieber)
22. Kanada The Loop – ZOOM IN
21. Ngaiire – Shiver
20. Stand Atlantic – deathwish (ft. nothing, nowhere.)
19. Amy Shark – C’MON (ft. Travis Barker)
18. Amyl & The Sniffers – Security
17. Georgia Maq – Someone Stranger (ft. Alice Ivy)
16. Hauskey – Cream Shirt
15. Boo Seeka – Tripwire
14. Jaguar Jonze – WHO DIED AND MADE YOU KING?
13. Sam Fender – Getting Started
12. Telenova – Bones
11. Fontaine’s D.C. – A Hero’s Death (Soulwax Remix)
10. Wet Leg – Chaise Longue
9. Holly Humberstone – Scarlett
8. Geese – Disco
7. Wolf Alice – Play the Greatest Hits
6. Ruby Gill – You Should Do This For A Living
5. EJ Worland – Hard to Find
4. Middle Kids – Stacking Chairs
3. Genesis Owusu – No Looking Back
2. Shame – Station Wagon
1. King Stingray – Milkumana
Listen to our top 40 songs now on Spotify (and coming later this week to Apple Music!):
Thanks to all the AU review contributors who took part in helping put this countdown together, and highlighted some wonderful music from Australia and around the world. In particular: Bruce Baker, Dylan Marshall, Tait McGregor, Dylan Oxley and Simon Clark.
