Track Times Shortest, Longest, And What's In Between

This is a small article that outlines the average length of the Hottest 100 countdowns, and informs as to which were the longest and shortest tracks that charted in each countdown. This list only concerns itself with tracks that are part of the first 100. For information relating to the track times of the songs that made the positions of #101-200 (starting from 2008), check the page relating to that particular list.

• Quick Links:
• Average Track Times Per Year
• Shotest Tracks
• Longest Tracks

Countdown Times

To date, the average length of a Hottest 100 track is 3:55 (3 minutes, 55 seconds). The 1998 and 2004 Hottest 100s have the shortest average, with an average track time of 3:40 (3 minutes, 40 seconds), while the longest Hottest 100 was the 1993 edition, with an average track time of 4:15 (4 minutes, 15 seconds). The average position for the shortest tracks is 46.3, while the average position for the longest tracks is 4.3 positions lower, with 42.

Countdown Times

Shortest Tracks

This is a list of the tracks which, out of the 100 tracks from each countdown, have been the shortest. The average shortest time for a song is approximately 2:06 (2 minute, 06 seconds). To date, 11 of the shortest songs are shorter tham that time.
Frenzal Rhomb are the most featured artist, with 3 of their songs making the list of shortest songs.
It may or may not be worth noting that the three shortest songs to feature in the countdowns are all Australian.
Additionally, 2 positions are shared, with 2 tracks each charting at positions #67, and #71, while 4 positions are shared in the longest tracks list.

Shortest Tracks By Year

Shortest Tracks By Time

Longest Tracks

This is a list of the tracks which, out of the 100 tracks from each countdown, have been the longest. The average longest time for a song is approximately 7:11 (7 minutes, 11 seconds). To date, only 10 of the longest songs exceed that time.
While only one artist appears twice in the list of shortest songs, The Chemical Brothers, Fatboy Slim, Muse and Flight Facilities all appear twice in the longest list, with each appearing for the second time 2 years after their first appearance in this list.

While in most Triple J countdowns, the station plays the album version of most tracks, in lieu of the single version, they occasionally choose to play the single version due to time constraints.
However, if the album versions of songs were always chosen, the longest track would be Sonic Youth's 'The Diamond Sea' from 1995, which has a total running time of 19:35 (19 minutes, 35 seconds), as opposed to the single version of 5:27 (5 minutes, 27 seconds).

Interestingly, in the Hottest 100 section of the Triple J website since 2011, it has been mentioned that the longest song of 2006 was The John Butler Trio, with 'Funky Tonight'. The website gives the length of the song as 11:53 (11 minutes, 53 seconds), which would make it the longest song to appear in any countdown. However, there are no recorded versions of that song which are that long. The charting version of the song was only 3:40 (3 minutes, 40 seconds) in length.

In a fashion similar to the list of shortest tracks, it may or may not be worth noting that the three longest songs to feature in the countdowns are all American.
Additionally, 4 positions are shared, with 2 tracks each charting at positions #16, #57, #61, and #84, while only 2 positions are shared in the shortest tracks list.

Longest Tracks By Year

Longest Tracks By Time