Though “Asshole” might be viewed as a joke that hasn’t exactly endured the test of time (after all, how many times can you laugh at a guy proclaiming that he’s an asshole in almost 30 years?), it does remain an important track in the annals of the Hottest 100, being the very first #1 since the countdown switched to the yearly format. In a look back at the countdown for triple j’s 30th anniversary, then-Music Director Richard Kingsmill explained that it was indeed one of the most-requested songs on the station back in 1993, so much so that it beat out the likes of The Cranberries’ “Linger” and Radiohead’s “Creep” in its journey to the top. It’s easy to look at Denis Leary’s “Asshole” as something of a novelty song in hindsight, and while it sort of does tick that box, it’s hard to actually remember just how big this song was at the time. It doesn’t feature the winners of the All Time polls, though Joy Division’s “Love Will Tear Us Apart’ (winner in 19), Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit” (winner in 1991, 1998, and 2009), or Tame Impala’s “The Less I Know the Better” (winner of the Hottest 100 of The Decade poll in 2020) aren’t without their respective charms.īe sure to also check out our live updates for the 2021 countdown to see who will be added to this list shortly! It’s worth noting that this list only collects songs from the yearly Hottest 100 countdowns, that is, from 1993 onwards.

As such, we figured it was about time to go back over the yearly countdowns and rate each song in terms of how it’s held up over the years. Of course, every countdown needs to have a top spot, and over the years, the winning songs in the Hottest 100 have ranged from deadset classics to questionable entries that attract more scorn than praise. Ever since triple j’s Hottest 100 kicked off back in 1989 as a yearly poll to find the public’s most beloved song, it’s pretty much been an institution in the world of Aussie music.įrom humble beginnings which attracted a few thousand votes, it’s since grown into what the station calls thee world’s largest music poll, with recent years attracting more than three million votes.īut while divisive opinions reign in regards to whether the countdown has lost the same sort of spark it had in its early years, it still forges ahead, with each January seeing 100 new songs welcomed into the hallowed halls of Aussie music history.

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