It is the nineteenth countdown of the most popular songs of the year, as chosen by the listeners of Australian radio station Triple J.

Voting commenced on 14 December 2011, and closed on 16 January 2012.

A separate poll for the most popular album of the year was held in late November and early December 2011, with Making Mirrors by Gotye being voted the most popular album of the year.

It was announced that Making Mirrors won by an unprecedented margin.

For the first time ever the Hottest 100 CD was released digitally on iTunes