Kelly writes and plays in many music styles, from bluegrass to reggae. His main styles are folk, rock, and country. Kelly's Top 40 singles on the National charts were his 1980s songs "Billy Baxter", "Before Too Long", "Darling it Hurts", "To Her Door", "Dumb Things", and his 2000 single "Roll on Summer". "To Her Door", written by Kelly, was his best local hit. It got to Number 14 on the Australian singles charts in 1987. "Dumb Things" got to Number 16 on the US "Billboard" Modern Rock chart in 1988. He has also had success with his albums with Top 20 hits on the National charts for "Gossip", "Under The Sun" and "So Much Water So Close To Home" from the 1980s; "Comedy", "Wanted Man", "Songs from the South: Paul Kelly's Greatest Hits" and "Words and Music" from the 1990s; and "Nothing But A Dream", "Ways & Means" and "Stolen Apples" from the 2000s. The compilation album "Songs from the South" got to Number 2 in 1997. His highest charting studio album was "Nothing But A Dream" which got to Number 7 in 2001.