If you consider yourself a bit of a music superfan amongst your friends, then triple j's Hottest 100 is the perfect time of year to flex your knowledge. However, with everything that's gone on over the last two years, it's felt harder than ever to remember pieces of trivia that'll impress your mates - which is why we're here to help.

We've put together a selection of our favourite Hottest 100 facts and trivia, so you can showcase your love of music, and hopefully impress everyone around you. The secret in pulling it off is acting like you've known these facts for ages. 

Taylor Swift's Shake It Off wouldn't have cracked the top 10

The major controversy surrounding the 2014 Hottest 100 was the inclusion/exclusion of Taylor Swift's Shake It Off, with KFC even getting involved. However, it turns out that Taylor wouldn't have made the top 10 - with triple j revealing that she would have placed #12.

The band that came #12 that year? Glass Animals, with their track Gooey. Of course, they'd go on to win the 2020 countdown with Heat Waves, so all's well that ends well.

Flume is the first artist to have songs feature in a countdown at #1, #2, #3, #4 and #5

Australian producer Flume has seen a lot of success over the years, including both in the Hottest 100 countdown and on stage (like that time at Burning Man). The 2020 countdown saw his collaboration with Toro y Moi, The Difference, which means he's had songs come in all top 5 positions in the Hottest 100 over the years.

Flume won the 2016 countdown with Never Be Like You (featuring Kai), came 2nd in the 2019 countdown with Rushing Back (featuring Vera Blue), 3rd with The Difference in the 2020 countdown, 4th with Holdin On in the 2012 countdown and 5th in the 2013 countdown with his collaboration with Chet Faker, Drop The Game. It's fair to say that Flume and the Hottest 100 get along VERY well.

Denzel Curry's Like A Version cover of Bulls On Parade is the most successful LAV in Hottest 100 history

The appearance of Like A Versions in the Hottest 100 countdown have often been a point of contention, but from the moment music fans heard Denzel Curry's cover of Rage Against The Machine's Bulls On Parade, they fell in love. The energy of the cover is visceral, and it captures the rage that RATM conveyed.

Many tipped it to take out the 2019 countdown, before it placed at #5 - the highest a Like A Version cover has ever placed in a Hottest 100 countdown. It also massively outplaced the original, with Bulls On Parade coming in at #46 in the 1996 countdown.

Joy Division won the Hottest 100 twice - with the same song

The Hottest 100 began in 1989, and listeners were asked to mail in their favourite songs of all-time. This meant that legendary post-punks Joy Division were able to win the 1989 and 1990 countdowns with the iconic Love Will Tear Us (which first came out in 1980), before Nirvana's Smells Like Teen Spirit topped the 1991 countdown. After that, the poll was changed to become a celebration of the past year of music, re-launching in 1993.

Powderfinger's Bernard Fanning has topped the annual Hottest 100 countdown three times

Australia loves Powderfinger, which is why they've made the annual Hottest 100 countdowns 22 times, equal-most alongside Foo Fighters. They've also topped the annual countdown twice: taking out the 1999 countdown with These Days, and the 2000 countdown with My Happiness. Bernard Fanning went one better, taking out the 2005 countdown with his solo track Wish You Well.

No other artist has topped one of the annual Hottest 100 countdowns more than once (though Joy Division took out two of the all-time Hottest 100s as mentioned above, as did Nirvana with their second all-time win in 2009). Powderfinger also took out the Australian Albums countdown back in 2011, with their 2000 album Odyssey Number Five.

Muse won the 2007 Hottest 100 by just 14 votes

If you want to talk about nailbiters, then it's hard to go past the 2007 countdown. In a battle between Muse and Silverchair, Muse came out on top by just a handful of votes - a great reminder that every vote counts. Muse won with their track Knights Of Cydonia, while Silverchair's Straight Lines came in at #2. 

The popularity of Knights Of Cydonia can be attributed in part to Guitar Hero. The track was a fan-favourite in the game, spurring the track on to new heights. It's fitting, given many consider Muse's lead singer/guitarist Matt Bellamy a Guitar Hero.

The 2016 and 2020 countdowns featured a record-breaking amount of Australian artists

The Hottest 100 has always celebrated Australian music, but the 2016 and 2020 countdowns stands out above the rest. 2016 featured 66 tracks by Australian artists, with Flume's Never Be Like You (featuring Kai) topping the countdown - marking the fourth year in a row that an Australian artist had topped the Hottest 100, before Kendrick Lamar took out the 2017 countdown with Humble.

2020's countdown, also featured 66 tracks by Australian artists, but was topped by UK's Glass Animals with Heat Waves. However, the countdown featured Spacey Jane, Flume, Ball Park Music and Tame Impala in the top 5, which shows just how strong of a countdown it was for Australian artists! 

Dave Grohl featured in the 2002 Hottest 100 10 times

Yes, you read that right. Between drumming on Queens Of The Stone Age's Songs Of The Deaf, Foo Fighters releasing One By One and Nirvana releasing the single You Know You're Right on their greatest-hits album, Dave Grohl was everywhere in 2002, and it showed in the countdown.

He was part of countdown-topper No One Knows with Queens Of The Stone Age, but our favourite fact is this: He featured in the 2002 countdown three times in a row, from #11-13. #11 was Foo Fighters' The One, #12 was Nirvana's You Know You're Right and #13 was Foo Fighters' All My Life. What a year!

READ MORE: The Artists You Need To Watch In 2022

Want to make the Hottest 100? Call your song Run

The song name Run is by far the most common in Hottest 100 history, with four songs called Run appearing in countdowns over the years. Australian band George started the trend with their appearance in the 2001 countdown at #92, before Snow Patrol's Run appeared in the 2004 countdown at #77.

The next year may have felt like déjà vu (not the Olivia Rodrigo song) for voters, with Cog's Run featuring in the 2005 countdown at #71 - while in the 2014 countdown, San Cisco's RUN made an appearance at #33. Now you know what your next song should be called!