Triple J Hottest 100

The Triple J Hottest 100 is an annual music listener poll hosted by national Australian radio station, Triple J. The public is invited to vote for their favourite songs of the year, in an online poll conducted two weeks prior to the new year.

The 100 most popular songs are then counted down on Australia Day. The poll attracts over two million votes each year, and their number continues to increase. The poll has grown from 500,000 votes in 2004 to 2.24 million in 2016. It is regarded as "the world's greatest music democracy"Template:The ABC. Following the completion of each year's countdown, a compilation CD featuring highlight tracks is released by ABC Music.

The idea for the poll came from Triple J producer, Lawrie Zion, in late 1988. During this time, he conceived the idea of running a listener poll to determine their 100 favourite songs of all time. The idea was stolen from Brisbane community radio station, 4zzz, which developed the original Hot 100 in 1976.

For the inaugural poll, before Triple J had become a national broadcaster, Sydney listeners were required to write their 10 favourite tracks on the back of an envelope. Some entries were sent into the station written on a variety of items, including paintings, sculptures, and hand-rolled cannabis cigarettes. The results of the first poll were counted down on Sunday 5 March 1989 between 10am and 6pm.

The station repeated the event the following year when it started broadcasting to other capital cities besides Sydney. In 1991, Triple J was forced to change the poll's name to 'Hottest 100' to avoid legal action with 4zzz.

During the poll's first few years — 1989 to 1991 — the winner in the first two years was "Love Will Tear Us Apart" by Joy Division, while 1991's favourite song was "Smells Like Teen Spirit" by Nirvana which had been released that year. Realising that the poll's results were unlikely to significantly change from year to year, Triple J rested the Hottest 100 in 1992 and relaunched it as an annual poll the following year. The newly launched poll required listeners to vote for their favourite songs of that year. Denis Leary's comedy anthem "Asshole" was voted number 1 in 1993.

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