APRA's Top 30 Australian songs was a list created by the Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA) in 2001, to celebrate its 75th anniversary.[1] A panel of 100 music personalities were asked to list the "ten best and most significant Australian songs of the past 75 years". The top ten songs, in numerical order, were announced on 28 May 2001 at the APRA Awards.[1] The next twenty were not ordered and had been released nearly four weeks earlier, on 2 May, in a media statement by APRA representative Debbie Kruger.[2]
At the 2001 APRA Awards ceremony You Am I performed the No. 1 listed song "Friday on My Mind" with Harry VandaofThe Easybeats guesting on guitar. Ross WilsonofDaddy Cool performed the No. 2 listed song "Eagle Rock", while Midnight Oil's "Beds are Burning" at No. 3 was shown on video introduced by Senator Aden Ridgeway as an Indigenous spokesperson on reconciliation.[1]
| No. | Titles | Performers | Year | Writers | Music publishers | Peak chart position | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AUS[3][4] | NZ[5] | ||||||
| 1 | "Friday on My Mind" | The Easybeats | 1966 | Harry Vanda, George Young | J Albert & Son Pty Ltd | 1 | 2 |
| 2 | "Eagle Rock" | Daddy Cool | 1971 | Ross Wilson | Mushroom Music Pty Ltd | 1 | 1 |
| 3 | "Beds Are Burning" | Midnight Oil | 1987 | Rob Hirst, James Moginie, Peter Garrett | Sony Music Publ. Aus. | 6 | 1 |
| 4 | "Down Under" | Men at Work | 1981 | Colin Hay, Ron Strykert | EMI Songs Aus. Pty Ltd | 1 | 1 |
| 5 | "A Pub with No Beer" | Slim Dusty | 1957 | Gordon Parsons | EMI Music Publ. Aus. Pty Ltd | 1[6] | — |
| 6 | "The Loved One" | The Loved Ones | 1966 | Ian Clyne, Gerry Humphrys, Robert Lovett | Mushroom Music Pty Ltd | 2 | — |
| 7 | "Don't Dream It's Over" | Crowded House | 1986 | Neil Finn | Mushroom Music Pty Ltd | 8 | 1 |
| 8 | "Khe Sanh" | Cold Chisel | 1978 | Don Walker | Rondor Music Aus. Pty Ltd | 40 | — |
| 9 | "It's A Long Way To The Top" | AC/DC | 1976 | Bon Scott, Angus Young, Malcolm Young | J Albert & Son Pty Ltd | 5 | — |
| 10 | "Quasimodo's Dream" | The Reels | 1981 | Dave Mason | Festival Music Pty Ltd | — | — |
Listed in chronological order:
