The 2012 additions to the National Film and Sound Archives' national register of recorded sounds span almost a century of Australian sounds, including iconic rockers AC/DC.
The archives hit play on the latest additions to the registry on Wednesday.
This year's new sounds include AC/DC's It's A Long Way to the Top (If You Wanna Rock `n' Roll), Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds' 1988 album Tender Prey, and Jimmy Little's 1963 classic Royal Telephone.
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Less well-known to the public are a collection of recordings of more than 40 endangered or extinct indigenous languages, made by linguist Luise Hercus during 35 years of research.
The 2012 additions span almost a century of Australian sounds.
The oldest is one of Australia's first known commercially released recordings, The Black Watch (c1903-1910) by Percy Herford, and the newest is a 2001 album by improvisational music trio The Necks.
A radio documentary made by ABC journalist Tim Bowden in Da Nang during the Vietnam War is also among the new sounds registered.
Musician and producer David Bridie, patron of the archives' Sounds of Australia program, said there was much to learn from the recordings on the registry.
"These sounds reflect who we are as a people, as a nation," he said in a statement on Wednesday.
"They signify where we've come from and perhaps where we'd like to be years from now."
The registry of recorded sound was established in 2007.
New additions are chosen each year from recordings nominated by the public.
They include music, spoken words and any other kinds of sound recorded more than 10 years previously.
