2010 was a great year for music. We were lucky enough to get some amazing releases from bands like The National, Dead Letter Circus, Los Campesinos!, Birds of Tokyo, and Delphic. The Australia Day of 2011 reflected this, with what I thought was a fairly solid count-down. More importantly it also reflected a great year for Australian artists, with 51 spots taken out by some of our best talent. Australian artists even took out 4 of the top 5 places, and although I don’t quite like “Big Jet Plane”, I’m proud that Australian musicians have worked their ways into the hearts of so many voters.

What this means is that there wasn’t too much room to go wrong with the latest Hottest 100 compilation. Some Hottest 100’s have been a bit hit and miss, but the latest offering features tracks from  some amazing musicians. It includes some of the most popular artists of the year: Cee Lo Green, The Wombats, Arcade Fire, Adrian Lux, and more! And in all honesty, without name-dropping, I probably only dislike 3 or 4 tracks across the two discs. In my world, for a release with over 40 songs, that’s excellent.

This is one of the best Hottest 100 compilations I’ve listened to, and it’s a testament to triple j and their commitment to music that is not only good, but also Australian. Their support of Australian artists is shown in the poll results, and I’m proud to listen to a station with such a passion for local talent. No other station does this better than triple j (and sadly, I don’t think many other stations care).

Volume 18 is a brilliant compilation of some of the best tracks from 2010. It’s a snapshot of a musical year, and it’s worth buying: you’ll definitely get your money’s worth.