The 100 Best Australian Albums of the 2020s So Far

Like Ashton Irwin, Calum Hood wanted his debut solo album, ORDER chaos ORDER, to be a departure from the sounds of 5 Seconds of Summer.

The bassist teamed up with  Jackson Phillips, the US musician behind indie rock project Day Wave, to create an album inspired by the likes of Phoenix, M83, and Teddybears.

As Hood told Rolling Stone AU/NZ: “I feel like I really wanted to do something really specific, and something a little more ethereal, a little cooler. I was listening to a lot of Radiohead and I was like, ‘Oh, that would be so cool if I did this, and no one would expect it.’” —Neil Griffiths

As the first member of 5 Seconds of Summer to release a solo album, drummer Ashton Irwin made sure 2020’s Superbloom wasn’t going to sound anything like what you’d expect from a 5SOS record.

The alt-rock album was also deeply personal for Irwin, who co-wrote and produced all of the tracks. Highly impressive for a debut solo effort. —Neil Griffiths

It took a special band to enter the exhausted landscape that was post-punk music in 2022 and make it sound refreshing, but that’s exactly what Body Type achieved with Everything Is Dangerous But Nothing’s Surprising.

From the alluring precision of opening track “A Line”, the Sydney foursome’s long-awaited debut album was thrillingly formidable, the assured lyricism and innate interplay almost unnerving at such an early stage. —Conor Lochrie

Another rock band dearly missed in Australia.

Camp Cope’s third and final studio album went out with a bang, earning a nomination for the Australian Music Prize and a nod for Best Independent Rock Album or EP at the AIR Awards; a No. 11 spot on the Australian Albums Chart was also commendable.

The alternative rock trio’s album also received a positive Rolling Stone review: “Australian band channels heartbreak, failed expectations and insecurity into an intimate collection of tender-hearted indie rock,” the review praised, adding that “Running with the Hurricane wields immense power in its vulnerability, giving space to uncomfortable emotions and embracing self discovery — making it a self-assured and honest endeavour from a band seemingly unafraid to go wherever the hurricane leads them.” —Conor Lochrie

Matt Corby’s third studio album was one of the most nominated at the ARIA Awards in 2023, earning nods for Album of the Year, Best Produced Release, and Best Engineered Release.

In a four-star review, we said Everything’s Fine was  “the auditory equivalent to hot cocoa: satisfying and sweet.” Does praise get any higher than that? —Conor Lochrie

Nick Ward crammed a multitude of ideas and sounds into his debut album, which incredibly came together in his bedroom before he even turned 22.

The impressively accomplished collection showed why his fellow pop star Troye Sivan has sung Ward’s praises, leading to Ward opening for Sivan on his most recent Australian and New Zealand tour.

Although he was a triple j Unearthed High finalist in 2019 and released promising EPs in 2021 and 2022, nothing hinted at the cinematic sound that was to come from House with the Blue Door. Ward deftly explored tough subjects such as coming out as queer and being a third-generation immigrant on his powerful record. —Conor Lochrie

Empire of the Sun don’t visit our planet, or even our solar system, all that often, but they did for 2024’s Ask That God.

If you’re hankering for a slow-tempo ballad of a broken heart and a long sad road ahead, you’re out of luck. The fourth album from Emperor Steele (Luke Steele) and Lord Littlemore (Nick Littlemore) is a dopamine dump of pop singles.

Ask That God is exotic, electric, escapist. Empire of the Sun do cosmic chemistry, a blending of Steele’s mastery of melody with Littlemore’s production wizardry, and out-of-this world imagery. Ask That God continues a streak that has seen all four Empire of the Sun albums crack the ARIA Top 10. —Lars Brandle

Brad Cox’s most recent album earned a well-deserved nomination for Best Record at the Rolling Stone Australia Awards.

A top 10 hit in Australia, it brought the rising star’s music to a much wider audience. As country music has enjoyed a massive rise Down Under, Cox has been right at the forefront of the resurgence. —Conor Lochrie

Go tell King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard that you’re a prolific recording artist, and they’ll make you hold their beer.

King Gizz have knocked out albums like the rest of us brew cups of tea. At the time of writing, their discography numbers 27 studio albums, three EPs, and six live albums. In 2017, the music press took notice when the psychedelic rockers released five studio albums, fulfilling a zany promise. Five years later, the Melbourne outfit dropped another five albums in the calendar year 2022.

With its exploration of psychedelic funk and heavy psych, L.W., their 17th studio album, might just be the standout of the past five years. Just don’t expect to find it on Spotify: King Gizz are part of an exodus from the streaming giant, and have pulled much of that deep catalogue from the platform. —Lars Brandle

Missy Higgins’ sort of sequel to her iconic debut album The Sound of White wasn’t even the biggest moment of her year in 2024.

The Second Act dropped two months before she was inducted into the ARIA Hall of Fame, and the heartfelt confessional songwriting of her sixth studio album proved why she was worthy of such an honour.

Higgins’ album peaked atop the Australian Albums Chart, was shortlisted for Best LP/EP at this year’s Rolling Stone Australia Awards, and reminded everyone of why this country fell in love with her vulnerable storytelling in the first place. —Conor Lochrie

Lime Cordiale roared into life in this new decade. 14 Steps to a Better You brought the Leimbach brothers all manner of awards nominations, including a win for Australian Album of the Year at the J Awards.

At the ARIAs, a whopping six nominations came their way, including for Album of the Year and Breakthrough Artist — Release, the latter of which they won despite being up against talents like Mallrat and The Kid LAROI.

That 14 Steps to a Better You was later re-released with additional tracks highlights just how many pop-rock gems Lime Cordiale have in their vault. —Conor Lochrie

Gut Health announced their arrival as Australia’s most exciting punk bands in a major way last year.

“Australia – Melbourne in particular – is spoiled for choice when it comes to wiry and angular post-punk bands. So what makes Gut Health stand out?

“Put on their debut album Stiletto for just three minutes and you’ll understand. That’s roughly how long it takes to play the thrilling opener “Uh oh”, which begins as Gut Health mean to go on: all explosive energy, excitable sprechgesang, and some of the best dance-punk hooks since the mid-2000s,” we wrote in naming Stiletto one of the best albums of 2024.

“In Athina Uh Oh, they have a seriously formidable frontperson, one who recalls Life Without Building’s lively lead vocalist Sue Tompkins.

“Stiletto is the type of debut album that won’t just break Gut Health out of Melbourne – it should also catapult the sextet to global renown in rock and punk circles.”

Gut Health were nominated not once but twice at the 2025 Rolling Stone Australia Awards, including for Best New Artist. They also earned a well-deserved place in our Future of Music series. —Conor Lochrie

Nominated for Best Adult Contemporary Album at last year’a ARIA Awards, Emma Donovan’s latest was a deeply personal record for her.

“The lyrics ‘no rest til my voice is heard’ pretty much sums it up. I’ll never stop singing until I can’t sing no more. I want to go down in history doing what I love doing; and that’s to sing. I sing for everyone and everything, my kids, my family, my community, my people,” she touchingly said.

“My songs are never done. I have a story to continue and finish.” Long may she continue lighting up Australian music with albums like Til My Song Is Done. —Conor Lochrie

Here Comes Everybody sent Spacey Jane into the musical stratosphere, but, if the COVID-19 pandemic hadn’t got in the way, their second album could have — would have — made them even bigger.

Packed with Hottest 100-primed singles aplenty, Here Comes Everybody debuted atop the ARIA Chart, eventually becoming certified gold.

Spacey Jane might have missed out on winning Best Rock Album at the ARIA Awards, but they made up for that by receiving the gong for Australian Album of the Year at the J Awards.

“It was written as the band searched for hope amid COVID and climate catastrophes. It’s a relaxed and resilient ride through the minutiae of everyday life, and maybe that’s exactly what we need,” our positive review read. —Conor Lochrie

The Buoys‘ Lustre does have a certain shine about it. Maybe it’s the confidence of youth, or perhaps it’s that indie guitar-rock sound that might’ve hitched a ride all the way from the ‘90s. And there are the rippers, like “Unstuck”, a track that requires repeat listens with the volume cranked.

Whatever, it’s a winner. The Buoys — an all-girl band, if you weren’t paying attention — enjoyed feature album of the week status on triple j with Lustre, and took the collection on the road throughout 2024. Led by dynamite singer and guitarist Zoe Catterall, The Buoys embarked on their first debut UK and European tour in May 2024, including performances at the Great Escape Festival, along with dates in Paris, Amsterdam and Berlin. —Lars Brandle

The rest of The Chats’ debut album could have been terrible, woeful, awful, and it still would have merited a place on this list due to the existence of true Aussie anthem “Pub Feed”.

Luckily for punk rock fans, the entirety of High Risk Behaviour entertained with lots of wry humour and roaring riffs, from “Identity Theft” to “The Clap”.

A top five hit in their home country, The Chats’ debut even scored on charts as far afield as Belgium and Scotland. At the AIR Awards, High Risk Behaviour won Best Independent Punk Album or EP. —Conor Lochrie

Beloved in Britain but equally cherished at home, DMA’S garnered critical and commercial acclaim for their third studio album in Australia.

Four awards came their way at the ARIA Awards, including for Album of the Year, in addition to two wins at the AIR Awards the following year (Independent Album of the Year and Best Independent Rock Album or EP).

The Glow is packed with razor-sharp indie rock anthems tailor-made for live shows. —Conor Lochrie

A debut album of epic proportions.

Blak music collective 3% went hard on Kill the Dead, a record that helped them to a Best New Artist win at the 2025 Rolling Stone Australia Awards.

The fact that 3% received a rare five-star review from us for their debut speaks volumes:

“The spirit that weaves throughout this album is natural; the chemistry between the members of 3% striking for a group that has only been together a short period of time. Timing is everything, and the connection between these artists feels perfectly aligned — this is music that has never been more relevant, or needed,” our review praised. —Conor Lochrie

Amy Shark‘s second studio album peaked at No. 1 on the ARIA Albums Chart, earned nominations for Album of the Year, Best Artist, and Best Pop Release at the ARIAs, and scored multiple nods at the Rolling Stone Australia Awards. That’s the sort of acclaim the pop singer-songwriter has become accustomed to in her career.

Reviews were highly positive, with Music Feeds noting Shark “wears her heart on her sleeve on new album Cry Forever. She uses her innate knack for illustrative songwriting to create an autobiographical yet universal record. Over 13 tracks, Shark takes us on a rollercoaster ride of love and heartbreak, success and loss.” —Conor Lochrie

The Sycco secret is out, thanks to Zorb. The First Nations singer, songwriter and producer collected the J Award for triple j’s Australian Album of the Year, a fine result for her first full-length effort.

Zorb is a coming-of-age experiment. It’s an electronic breeze, classy, with hints of psychedelic pop, Kevin Parker’s best, and more hooks than Bunnings.

One of Australia’s finest young talents, Sycco (real name: Sasha McLeod) is a signing to Nathan McLay’s cool-as-they-come label Future Classic, and a two-time winner of Song of the Year at the QMAs — an accolade that’s accompanied with a permanent plaque in Brisbane’s Fortitude Valley. —Lars Brandle

Baker Boy’s debut album featured guest turns from JessB, G Flip, Yirrmal, and many more, but the record was all about the man himself.

Gela immediately propelled the Indigenous Australian rapper and artist to national stardom, thanks to golden singles such as “Cool as Hell”, “Move”, and “Ride”.

Baker Boy effortlessly swept up at the ARIA Awards in 2022, even winning the big one, Album of the Year, despite the category featuring the likes of Amyl and the Sniffers and Gang of Youths.

“If a more inclusive, unified, and compassionate Australia has a soundtrack, this is it,” we wrote in a four-star review. —Conor Lochrie

An album marked by tragedy, Polaris’ third studio album stands as a testament to the supreme talent of their late, great guitarist Ryan Siew.

“When your unit literally gets shattered like the way it has, the most important thing is to pull together and prove to each other and yourselves, that you can still do it,” the metalcore band’s Daniel Furnari told us in 2023.

“I know that getting out there and doing what we know we’re good at is probably the only way to keep ourselves sane. To keep moving forward. That’s all we can really hope for, at this point, just to keep this thing going. That’s what we plan to do, there’s no plans to stop doing this.”

Nominations rightly followed Fatalism, including a nomination for the prestigious Australian Music Prize. —Conor Lochrie

If she’s not already there, Thelma Plum is closing in on “national treasure” status.

A proud Gamilaraay woman, Plum’s second album, I’m Sorry, Now Say It Back, is a tapestry of honesty, reflections on the personal strengths and frailties that few of us have the courage to explore. It’s all there, delivered with Plum’s special country-baked tones and vibrato, over polished production.

Plum’s second album scored an ARIA Top 10 position, at No. 7, and the gorgeous “Freckles” won Best Single at the 2025 Rolling Stone Australia Awards. Don’t bet against Plum performing it for the opening or closing ceremony of the 2032 Olympic Games in her hometown. No pressure. —Lars Brandle

Cub Sport have never sounded better or more authentic than on their fifth album.

One of Australian music’s great romances, the relationship between the band’s Tim Nelson and Sam Netterfield, got the soundtrack it deserved with Jesus at the Gay Bar, a dazzling electropop collection made for the night.

Euphoria and melancholy do constant battle throughout the innately club-ready anthems, Nelson’s songwriting both looking back wistfully and relishing what lies ahead. Cub Sport’s album will be remembered as an Australian pop classic in years to come. —Conor Lochrie

RVG are incapable of releasing a poor album.

2017’s A Quality of Mercy was a promising debut, 2020’s Feral was a striking follow-up, and things somehow got better on their third album Brain Worms, winner of the Australian Music Prize in 2023.

“With tracks about turning into a sea creature and going insane online, the Melbourne post-punk band captures a very contemporary existential crisis,” The Guardian hailed in a four-star review. That same review also gave the band’s leader, Romy Vager, her due, calling her “one of our most underrated songwriters.” RVG’s usual wait between albums means that, hopefully, we can expect their fourth record next year. —Conor Lochrie

Building on 2019’s The Return, Sampa the Great delivered her strongest album yet with As Above, So Below.

Packed with confident flows and beats, it explores themes of her homeland, womanhood, and Africa’s place in the world. —Sarah Downs

When Eddie Vedder is one of your biggest fans, you know you’re on the right track. Teen Jesus and the Jean Teasers can count the Pearl Jam frontman as a friend, ally, and touring buddy. And that’s just a sidebar.

Hailing from Canberra, the alternative rock outfit landed an ARIA Top 10, at No. 6, with their debut LP I Love You — before the world opened right up. Along the way, a deal with US label Mom + Pop Music, which issued a deluxe edition I Love You Too, winner of an AIR Award for Best Independent Rock Album.

The four-piece embarked on their first coast-to-coast tour of the US in 2024, were invited to open for Pearl Jam on an Australia-wide stadium tour, opened the ARIA Awards and won the coveted Michael Gudinski Breakthrough Artist honour, all off the back of I Love You. Anna Ryan (lead vocals/guitar), Scarlett McKahey (guitar/vocals), Jaida Stephenson (bass), and Neve van Boxsel (drums) returned to the US in 2025, opening for Pearl Jam in arenas. The dream, lived. —Lars Brandle

With The Winding Way, everything came together for The Teskey Brothers in spectacular fashion. The siblings’ third studio album introduced a new lineup, and reacquainted fans with their warm, soulful throwback sound.

They nailed it. On release, Josh and Sam Teskey bagged a second leader on the ARIA Chart, following their 2020 live album Live at the Forum, and going one better than their previous studio collection, 2019’s Run Home Slow, which peaked at No. 2. Then, a major trans-Atlantic tour. And a gold rush.

After covering Rolling Stone AU/NZ, the Teskeys bagged an ARIA (for Best Blues & Roots Album), an APRA (for Songwriter of the Year), and their manager Jeremy Furze won Manager of the Year at the 2024 AAM Awards. —Lars Brandle

By the time 5 Seconds of Summer released their fifth album in September 2022, 5SOS5, they could do no wrong when it came to chart success.

As expected, 5SOS5, the Sydney band’s first album released via BMG, topped the ARIA Albums Chart (marking their fifth consecutive No. 1 record) and also hit the top spot in the UK and No. 2 in the US. It was the first album that 5 Seconds of Summer largely wrote and produced all tracks for the album. —Neil Griffiths

Is it Lonerism? No? Is it Currents? No. But even a relatively minor Tame Impala album is still better than other musicians’ best work.

The Slow Rush found Kevin Parker exploring psychedelic disco, pushing himself sonically in fascinating ways.

Critics at home and abroad enjoyed the experimentation, with the album earning two Grammy nominations (Best Alternative Album and Best Rock Song for “Lost in Yesterday”) as well as nods in five categories at the ARIA Awards (Album of the Year, Best Group, Best Rock Album, Engineer of the Year, and Producer of the Year). —Conor Lochrie

G Flip made a big noise with DRUMMER (via Future Classic/Universal), debuting at No. 1 on the ARIA Albums Chart.

The singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist’s follow-up to 2019’s About Us (which peaked at No. 6) featured 11 tracks co-written and co-produced with Tommy English and Colin Brittain.

From the pained “The Worst Person Alive” to the passionate “Be Your Man”, the album showcased G Flip’s drumming and vocal prowess.

Already a homegrown hero — with 11 tracks in the triple j Hottest 100, three ARIA nominations, three platinum singles, one gold, and high-profile performances at the Logies and AFL/AFLW Grand Finals — DRUMMER cemented G Flip as one of Australia’s most compelling talents. —Sarah Downs

SPEED‘s rise to the top of Australian music is a true grassroots success story.

Emerging out of the inner depths of Australia’s hardcore scene, growing mainstream recognition of their talent culminated in a stunning ARIAs win in the Best Hard Rock / Heavy Metal Album category.

They won that award for their debut album, Only One Mode, a battering ram of a record that heralded SPEED as one of the most exciting hardcore bands of their generation, not just in Australia but worldwide.

It takes a special band like SPEED to break out of a scene like hardcore in the manner that they did; that they achieved the feat with uncompromising beliefs made it all the more exhilarating. —Conor Lochrie

As we wrote in our Future of Music series, Good Morning have a strong claim to be the most underrated Australian band of their generation.

The dreamy indie pop duo have been releasing excellent records since 2014, back when melancholic songs like “Warned You” and “Don’t Come Home Today” became sensations in indie circles.

Ten years later, Liam Parsons and Stefan Blair released Good Morning Seven, a double album that finally raised their profile in Australia and beyond.

For fans who’ve been listening since Shawcross (2014), or Glory (2016), or Basketball Breakups (2019), Good Morning Seven was the album they always knew was coming.

Parsons and Blair’s music might still be DIY in spirit and execution, but their double album contained myriad polished productions, the pair displaying a Beatles-esque knack for gorgeous pop melodies.

It sounded like the tracks on Good Morning Seven were being transmitted from another time altogether; wondrous chamber-pop from a forgotten dance hall coming to bless our chaotic modern times.

Good Morning Seven is the cult duo’s finest music — for now. —Conor Lochrie

Tash Sultana earned their first ARIA No. 1 album with Terra Firma.

Written, performed, and produced by Sultana, the album features a mix of grooves, neo-soul guitars, and funk-inspired rhythms. Praised for its reflective and polished sound, Terra Firma highlighted Tash Sultana’s extraordinary skill as a musician and songwriter. —Sarah Downs

“Royel Otis back up the hype,” we declared in our review of PRATTS & PAIN, and there was certainly a lot of hype surrounding the Sydney duo of Royel Maddell and Otis Pavlovic.

Hailed as Australia’s most promising guitar-led band thanks to songs like “Oysters in My Pocket” and “Kool Aid”, Royel Otis’ long-awaited debut album contained enough propulsive, danceable indie pop that it swept the 2024 ARIA Awards, including a win in the coveted Best Group category.

Now at the level where their Like A Version cover of Sophie Ellis-Bextor can even go viral, excitement is huge going into their second album, hickey, which arrives this month. —Conor Lochrie

Confidence Man and The Go-Betweens have more in common than you realise. Both hail from Brisbane, true, both are idolised by music fans and critics in the UK, and, in what could be blamed on a glitch in the matrix, both have been largely overlooked in their homeland.

Consider, 3AM (LA LA LA) cracked the Top 10 on the UK chart, at No. 9 — a career best. In Australia, the album just scraped into the Top 40, at No. 40.

3AM (LA LA LA) is both a party and trip, a bolt back to the ‘90s when rave culture was mostly hidden from sight. Janet Planet and Sugar Bones do it so well, they were asked back to Glastonbury this year, where they did Australia proud. In time, they too should have a bridge in the River City named in their honour. —Lars Brandle

Light, Dark, Light Again was confirmation, if we even needed it, that Angie McMahon is a special songwriter, the type who makes listeners feel less alone in the world.

McMahon featured in our Future of Music series in 2024, our list of 25 of the most exciting and innovative artists from Australia and Aotearoa we tipped for the very top.

“In a country spoiled for choice when it comes to singer-songwriters, Angie McMahon still manages to stand out from her Australian (and global) peers. Her latest album, Light, Dark, Light Again, contained some of the most profoundly moving lyricism of the decade so far,” we wrote.

“It takes a special artist to make you feel less alone in the vastness of the world, but that’s what McMahon achieves in her songs, instilling them with mantras that urge both her and her listeners to relinquish, breathe, and find light through the darkness. We’re lucky to have brave songwriters like McMahon embracing the feelings we’re afraid to face.” —Conor Lochrie

Largely recorded in a London studio during the COVID lockdowns, Gang of Youths’ follow-up to 2017’s multiple ARIA Award-winning record Go Farther in Lightness was always going to be a tough task.

Arguably the Sydney band’s most intimate album, which dealt with “the life and legacy of [frontman David Le’aupepe’s] father, indigenous identity, death, grief and God,” angel in realtime. was another success.

Rolling Stone AU/NZ said in our four-star review: “As a whole, angel in realtime. manages to transcend the events that inspired it to create a cohesive, accessible whole. On one hand, it’s an impressive document that allows fans to delve deep into the story of Le’aupepe’s father as he invites them in and shares the impressive tale, but on the other, it stands tall as a powerful record that works even without context.

“If one were to label angel in realtime. with the lofty tag of being a ‘concept album’, it would have achieved the sort of goal that most concept albums fail to reach.” —Neil Griffiths

After a decade of global acclaim, Sydney producer Flume returned with Palaces, a daring third album that cemented his status as the defining Australian producer of the 2010s.

Featuring collaborations with icons Damon Albarn and Caroline Polachek alongside rising talents like MAY-A, the record blended post-pandemic reflection with Flume’s signature, unpredictable sound.

Chaotic, strange, and exquisitely produced, Palaces proved he’d only just begun to push boundaries. The album received multiple ARIA Award nominations, including Best Solo Artist, Best Dance/Electronic Release, and Best Produced Album. —Sarah Downs

Tkay Maidza’s long-awaited second album, Sweet Justice, was worth the seven-year wait.

Blending pop, hip-hop, and R&B with infectious charisma, the record showcased her confidence, cheekiness, and versatility.

Highlights included the Flume-collaborated single “Silent Assassin”, the self-empowerment anthem “Ring-a-Ling”, and the sharp “Out of Luck”.

Winning Best Soul/R&B Release at the 2024 ARIAs, Sweet Justice proved Maidza had matured into one of Australia’s most dynamic artists, effortlessly navigating genres while delivering high-energy, unapologetic fun. —Sarah Downs

Nick Cave’s strike rate is frightening. When taking into account his brilliance across multiple bands and artforms, and doing so while carrying the burden of grief, and the damage done from youthful excesses, Cave’s output is positively absurd.

Wild God is Cave finding yet another level. Here, Cave and co. led listeners on a familiar dance of misery, death, love, and the big guy upstairs, this time delivering the message with brassy notes and lush orchestral productions.

With a new independent label arrangement through PIAS, Cave appears to have found joy after tragedy, which he laid bare in the tortured 2019 double album Ghosteen. —Lars Brandle

Arguably their most divisive effort to date, Darker Still helped cement Parkway Drive as not only Australia’s biggest metalcore act but also one of the country’s biggest bands, period.

The album was given a rare four-and-a-half star rating by Rolling Stone AU/NZ: “From risk-taking theatrics in ‘The Greatest Fear’ and ‘If a God Can Bleed’, to groove metal leanings (‘Imperial Heretic’) and classic Nineties guitar tones (‘Glitch’, ‘Soul Bleach’), Darker Still is damn near perfect,” our review praised. —Neil Griffiths

Kylie has always had a talent for reinventing herself, and Tension might be her most enjoyable return yet.

Three decades into a career at pop’s summit, Kylie unleashed “Padam Padam”, an anthem that quickly took went viral. The track even conquered the US, a country that had often met Kylie with cool reserve.

The rest of Tension didn’t quite sparkle with the same instant charm as “Padam Padam”, but it was dotted with enough EDM energy and pop gloss to keep listeners moving, confirming Kylie’s gift for reinvention remained as sharp as ever. —Sarah Downs

Troye Sivan’s Something to Give Each Other is pure, unbridled euphoria.

Opening with the addictive surge of “Rush”, the album immediately locked listeners in, setting the tone for a record full of joy, hedonism, and queer celebration. From sultry highlights like “One of Your Girls” to pulsing dance anthems, every track radiated confidence, reflecting Sivan’s comfort in his identity and artistry.

A decade after coming out publicly, Sivan channeled that freedom into music that was both playful and intensely alive: the sweat, energy, and pleasure of the recording sessions leapt from the speakers. The album cover itself captured this ecstatic energy, with Sivan smiling amid a genuine moment of connection.

The record’s impact was reflected in its sweep at the 2024 ARIA Awards, winning Album of the Year, Best Pop Release, and Best Solo Artist, dominating charts globally at the same time, including Australia and the US.

Touring Australia and New Zealand in late 2024, Sivan delivered arena-worthy performances, perfected through his sold-out co-headline stint with Charli XCX. Sivan has truly ascended to global pop superstardom. —Sarah Downs

When King Stingray released their highly anticipated second album, For the Dreams, last year, it offered more of the same from Northern Territory’s most exciting rock band.

If that felt like a little bit of a letdown, that’s only because their self-titled debut album was such a success, even being hailed as an “instant classic” by us.

“Now with the release of their long-awaited debut, it takes ten tracks to deliver a profound statement: that King Stingray may be one of the most exciting rock bands to emerge from this country in a generation,” we wrote in a glowing review.

“Upon repeated listens, one finds an intoxicating duality in King Stingray’s music. On one layer, this is music that pulls you in and asks you to move. On another, it is music ripe with potent messages — layered with wisdom and a perspective severely needed in Australia’s homogenous popular music landscape.”

Multiple nominations arrived for King Stingray’s debut at the ARIA Awards, including for Album of the Year and Best Rock Album. —Conor Lochrie

When we put together our list of Australia’s greatest electronic acts of all time, there really could only be one winner. From the very beginning of their career, everyone’s known that The Avalanches are a generational group.

“When Since I Left You arrived in 2000, there was nothing else like it. A quarter century later, there’s still nothing else like it,” we wrote when crowning The Avalanches in our list. “The debut album from the Melbourne collective is both art and science.”

Since I Left You was a miraculous record, but — whisper it — their most recent album, We Will Always Love You, may just be its equal.

A hauntingly melancholic collection of electronica, The Avalanches’ third studio album earned glowing reviews from critics around the world. Nominations for Album of the Year, Best Group, and more came the group’s way at the ARIA Awards, as did a win at the 2020 Australian Music Prize. A truly transcendent record. —Conor Lochrie

A thrilling album from Australia’s best rock ‘n roll band.

Led by the charismatic and animated Amy Taylor, Amyl and the Sniffers made the oft-tricky third album look like child’s please, tackling weighty subjects including the climate crisis and the rise of AI with passion and verve.

“It’s not hyperbolic to say that Cartoon Darkness is the album that should cement Amyl’s standing as the pre-eminent Australian rock band of their generation,” we declared in naming Cartoon Darkness the best Australian album of last year.

Where to begin with the acclaim? Fresh from a rare nod at the BRIT Awards, Amyl doubled up with Rolling Stone Australia Awards recognition for Best Live Act and Best LP/EP.

Our former cover stars’ album also peaked at No. 2 on the ARIA Albums Chart, No. 9 on the Official UK Albums Chart, and even tickled the Billboard 200. —Conor Lochrie

Julia Jacklin’s third album, Pre Pleasure, wasn’t just one of the best Australian releases of 2022; it was one of the finest songwriting collections to come out of Australian music in many years.

A confessional lyricist with few equals, Pre Pleasure found Jacklin vulnerably wrestling with her religious upbringing, her relationship with her body, and her battles with anxiety. Both empathetic and wry, the tracks felt like short stories in the making, the words of an artist really developing her command of storytelling.

Pre Pleasure became Jacklin’s highest-charting album to date, making it to No. 2 in Australia and No. 4 on the UK Independent Albums Chart.

The Melbourne artist’s third studio album earned three nominations at the 2022 ARIA Awards — for Best Solo Artist, Best Independent Release, and Best Adult Contemporary Album — and also scored nods at the J Awards, the Australian Music prize, and AIR Awards.

Critics adored the album, too, with The Guardian praising the “wry, canny Australian” for her “ability to stop you in your tracks.”

“It’s a record about the impossibility of communication, and never quite solving your problems,” the publication wrote, noting that Jacklin’s work sat somewhere “between confessional and observational on her arresting third album.”

Traditionally leaving around three years between album releases, here’s hoping Jacklin’s fourth album arrives sooner rather than later. No rush, though: as Pre Pleasure showed, moving slowly, considering life at your own pace, is something to be treasured. —Conor Lochrie

Ahead of making their fifth studio album, RÜFÜS DU SOL were still riding high from their last effort, 2021’s Surrender, which included their first ever Grammy Award for Best Dancing Record “Alive”.

Somehow, the Sydney trio managed to back that up with Inhale / Exhale.

Released in October last year, the album stormed to the top of the charts in Australia, debuting at No. 3, and the top five of both the US and UK dance charts.

It also scored nominations for Best LP/EP at this year’s Rolling Stone Australia Awards and Australian Album of the Year at the 2024 J Awards.

With Inhale / Exhale, RÜFÜS DU SOL also made their very first concept album.  “That was fresh for us,” James Hunt told us prior to the album’s release. “It feels like there’s two arcs musically with this album, as opposed to one big journey which we’ve done on the previous records.”

RÜFÜS DU SOL are now in the midst of their biggest-ever world tour in support of the album, having sold over 700,000 tickets globally, which has included a headlining slot at Lollapalooza and LA’s Rose Bowl Stadium.

They are now just the second Australian act to headline the famous venue next to AC/DC. The group are scheduled to bring the tour back home in November for their biggest Australian shows to date. —Neil Griffiths

Now this is how you do a debut album — loud, confident, and wonderfully chaotic.

Genesis Owusu’s first album didn’t make much much of a dent on the ARIA Albums Chart, scraping into the top 30 at No. 27, but its impact was felt in a major way elsewhere.

Owusu and Smiling with No Teeth were the clear winners at the 2021 ARIA Awards, scooping gongs for Album of the Year, Best Hip Hop Release, and Best Independent Release, and Producer of the Year (Andrew Klippel and Dave Hammer). At our Rolling Stone Australia Awards the following year, Owusu’s debut won Best Record in a  tough category featuring heavyweights like Amy Shark, Crowded House, and Tash Sultana.

Purportedly a hip-hop album, Smiling with No Teeth found Owusu journeying dizzyingly through jazz, rap, and soul, whatever genre he fancied exploring.

Critics lapped up Owusu’s album’s diversity, with it appearing on multiple year-end lists in 2021. Our review hailed it as a “politically and culturally driven, funky, proud, and multi-layered” record, adding that Kofi Owusu-Ansah, the young talent behind the music, had “curated a fluid lineup of players and songs to overturn boundaries.” Our review’s headline really said it all: “Genesis Owusu’s Smiling with No Teeth is the making of a music giant.”

NME also loved the album. “The Canberran artist defies the conventions of Australian hip-hop, personalising jazz-funk, punk and folk on his debut,” the publication wrote, going further to praise it as a  “transcendent conceptual opus” in a four-star review.

It’s a rare feat to achieve cultural and cool capital alongside commercial success, but, from the very opening moments of Smiling with No Teeth, Owusu never sounded like any ordinary artist. —Conor Lochrie