If you’re chasing the ultimate Julia Stone greatest hits playlist, you’re in for a treat, because few Australian songwriters move between aching folk balladry and shimmering pop reinvention as gracefully as she does. I’ve spent years with her catalog on repeat, in the car, on late-night walks, and through way too many pairs of headphones, and this list is my honest attempt at ranking the songs that actually matter.
Julia Stone first found an audience as one half of Angus & Julia Stone, but her solo work is where her voice, that smoky, slightly cracked instrument that sounds like it’s always on the verge of a confession, really gets room to breathe. From the hushed folk of The Memory Machine to the neon-lit pop reinvention of Sixty Summers, she’s covered a lot of sonic ground without ever losing her emotional center. Let’s get into it.
You’re the One That I Want
Recorded in 2010 as a non-album single, Stone’s take on this Grease classic strips away the roller-rink bombast of the original and replaces it with something warmer and more intimate. Her phrasing lingers behind the beat just enough to make a familiar melody feel newly vulnerable, which is a neat trick for a song this famous. It later found its way onto UK and Irish television, proof that even a cover can carry an artist’s fingerprint if the vocal performance is strong enough.
Maybe
Tucked into her 2010 solo debut The Memory Machine, “Maybe” is where Stone’s songwriting really announces itself outside the Angus & Julia partnership. The arrangement is sparse, mostly guitar and that unmistakable rasp, letting the melody carry the emotional weight rather than layers of production. On headphones, you catch every breath and string squeak, which is exactly the point of a record this stripped-down and confessional.
Let’s Forget All the Things That We Say
Released as the lead single from By the Horns in February 2012, this track set the tone for her whole sophomore album. Produced by Thomas Bartlett and Patrick Dillett at His Studio in New York, the song folds warm strings and a patient tempo around lyrics about wanting to erase painful words already spoken. If you’re building out a broader listening session, our songs category has plenty of similarly reflective tracks worth pairing with this one.
It’s All Okay
The second single from By the Horns, dropped in April 2012, leans into reassurance as a theme, though Stone’s delivery keeps it from ever feeling saccharine. There’s a gentle sway to the rhythm section that mirrors the lyrical idea of steadying yourself after heartbreak. It’s a quieter single choice, but that restraint is exactly what makes the emotional payoff land.
Justine
“Justine” arrived as the third single from By the Horns in October 2012, and Beat Magazine described her airy voice as anchored by a steady, metronomic guitar riff over warm, unhurried instrumentation. The lyrics drift toward a yearning to live in California, dreamy and slight on the surface but carrying real emotional undertow beneath the ethereal delivery. It’s one of those tracks that rewards a proper listen on good gear, which is honestly a great excuse to check our headphone comparison guide if you want to hear that guitar tone the way it was mixed.
I Was Only 19 (Live from The People Speak)
This live rendition tackles the Redgum-associated Vietnam War narrative with a hushed reverence that suits Stone’s storytelling instincts perfectly. Performing it live strips away any studio polish, leaving just her voice, an acoustic arrangement, and the raw weight of the lyrics about young soldiers sent to war. It’s a genuinely moving example of how a great vocalist can inhabit someone else’s story without losing their own identity.
Breathe It In (with Garrett Kato)
A 2020 duet with fellow songwriter Garrett Kato, “Breathe It In” pairs two distinct voices into a blend that feels conversational rather than competitive. The production leans acoustic and unhurried, letting the harmonies do the emotional heavy lifting. Meanwhile, the chemistry between the two vocalists gives the track a warmth that a solo version simply couldn’t replicate.
Beds Are Burning
Stone’s 2020 cover of the Midnight Oil classic appeared on Songs for Australia, a compilation she curated to raise funds following the devastating Australian bushfires. Reworking a protest anthem this iconic is a bold move, but she leans into the urgency of the original while adding her own melancholic phrasing. It’s a reminder that great covers aren’t about imitation, they’re about finding a new emotional angle on a song everyone already knows.
Break
Released in July 2020 as her first solo single in eight years, “Break” was produced by Annie Clark, better known as St. Vincent, and it marked a genuine sonic reinvention for Stone. Gone is the strictly folk instrumentation, replaced by dazzling, moonlit synth-pop textures that still somehow sound unmistakably like her. NME called it a teaser for a bigger reinvention, and listening back now, you can hear exactly how much confidence this single carries.
Unreal
The second single from Sixty Summers, released in September 2020, “Unreal” was built with longtime collaborator Thomas Bartlett, and it uses a deceptively sunny exterior to mask a much darker lyrical theme about feeling alienated inside a relationship. Vocal blips and glossy production choices give it a modern pop sheen, while the lyrics do the quiet emotional damage underneath. On a good sound system, the contrast between the bright mix and the heavy subject matter really hits.
Dance
Released in October 2020 alongside the announcement of Sixty Summers itself, “Dance” carries a dreamy, rose-colored glow that feels like a direct extension of the album’s late-night, hedonistic mood board. The reverb-drenched production creates a sense of floating, which suits Stone’s airy vocal performance perfectly. It’s one of the record’s more purely pleasurable tracks, less about lyrical weight and more about atmosphere.
We All Have (feat. Matt Berninger)
This January 2021 single paired Stone with The National’s Matt Berninger for a genuinely tender duet, and it peaked at number 37 on the Australian charts. Stone has said the song is about how everything transforms and shifts even when things feel unbearable in the moment, and Berninger’s baritone adds a gravity that contrasts beautifully with her lighter register. The accompanying video, shot aboard an abalone diving boat off Tasmania, adds a documentary-style intimacy that matches the song’s themes of endurance.
Fire in Me
Released in March 2021 as the final single before the full Sixty Summers rollout, “Fire in Me” leans into the album’s cosmopolitan pop direction with real conviction. The production has a slow-burn quality, building texture gradually rather than rushing toward a hook. In contrast to the folk instrumentation of her earlier records, this track shows just how far Stone was willing to push her sound alongside Doveman and St. Vincent.
With the Light
An album cut from By the Horns, “With the Light” carries some of the record’s most delicate arranging, built around gentle guitar figures and Stone’s whisper-close vocal takes. It doesn’t chase single status, but that’s part of its appeal, this is a song that trusts patience over hooks. Live performance recordings of this track tend to feel especially intimate, almost like eavesdropping on a private moment.
The Line That Ties Me
Sitting near the back half of By the Horns, “The Line That Ties Me” leans into a slower tempo and a more introspective lyrical mood, fitting for an album Stone has said was shaped by the end of a long-term relationship. The instrumentation stays sparse, giving the melody and her phrasing plenty of room to breathe. It’s a deep cut that rewards patient listeners who sit with the whole album rather than skipping to the singles.
My Baby
From 2010’s The Memory Machine, “My Baby” tackles the messy reality of loving someone despite their flaws, with lyrics like loving someone “when you hate me” cutting straight to the emotional core. DIY Magazine singled it out as one of the album’s highlights, and it’s easy to hear why: the arrangement is understated, letting Stone’s conversational delivery carry the weight. It’s a great example of her writing at its most emotionally unguarded.
I’m Here, I’m Not Here
This By the Horns album track captures a kind of emotional limbo, that feeling of being physically present while mentally checked out of a relationship. The production keeps things restrained, built around gentle rhythm and airy backing textures that never overwhelm the vocal. It’s not a single, but it’s one of the record’s more quietly devastating moments.
Catastrophe!
Another highlight from The Memory Machine, “Catastrophe!” finds Stone in a more contemplative mood, musing on the absurdity of relationships while still holding out hope that things work out. DIY Magazine specifically praised it as one of the album’s standout tracks, and the arrangement, part folk, part chamber-pop, gives the lyrics room to feel wry rather than bitter. It’s a song that improves on repeat listens once you catch the dry humor tucked inside the melancholy.
Winter on the Weekend
Also from The Memory Machine, this track pairs melodramatic piano and horn arrangements with lyrics about a relationship gone sour, comparing a partner to a wolf dressed as a sheep. DIY Magazine highlighted the horns specifically as one of the album’s most memorable production choices, and honestly, they’re worth cranking up on a proper stereo setup or a solid pair of over-ears if you want the full emotional impact; our earbuds comparison is a handy resource if you’re shopping for gear that can handle those low horn tones without muddying the mix.
The Shit That They’re Feeding You
Pulled from the 2012 Let’s Forget All the Things That We Say EP, this track became something of a live favorite, with Tone Deaf’s review of an early Sydney show singling out the trumpet solo she breathes into the arrangement as genuinely beautiful. The lyrics deal in blunt, conversational language about mixed signals in a relationship, which gives the song an unfiltered honesty that stands apart from some of her more poetic material. Live, it apparently sets the tone for a whole evening, and you can hear why on the studio version too.
Ranking twenty songs from an artist with this much range is never going to be a perfectly objective exercise, and honestly, that’s part of the fun. Do you lean toward the raw folk confessionals of The Memory Machine, or does the reinvented pop sheen of Sixty Summers speak to you more? Either way, Stone’s catalog holds up whether you’re listening on a quiet morning or blasting it in the car with the windows down.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Julia Stone’s most popular solo song?
“Break,” the St. Vincent-produced lead single from Sixty Summers, is often cited as her breakout solo moment after eight years away from a solo record, and it remains one of her most streamed tracks.
Which album should I start with if I’m new to Julia Stone?
By the Horns is a strong entry point for listeners who want her folk-rooted songwriting, while Sixty Summers is the better starting place if you’re drawn to atmospheric, reverb-heavy pop production.
Did Julia Stone work with any well-known producers?
Yes. Sixty Summers was shaped by Thomas Bartlett, known as Doveman, and Annie Clark of St. Vincent, while By the Horns was produced by Thomas Bartlett and Patrick Dillett.
Is Julia Stone still active with Angus & Julia Stone?
Yes, she continues to record and tour with her brother Angus Stone as Angus & Julia Stone alongside her solo output, with the duo releasing new material in recent years.
What genre best describes Julia Stone’s solo music?
Her solo catalog spans folk and indie rock on earlier records like The Memory Machine and By the Horns, shifting toward synth-driven, atmospheric pop on Sixty Summers.