Much like with the 80's, I've also decided to do a list of the biggest hits of the 90's in Australia which includes entries based on both their AMR and ARIA stats. Just like before, I'll only make a mention for which entries are the ARIA entries as I feel their placement on this list will speak for themselves rather than me delivering redundant commentary that will highlight how well/poorly they did compared to the AMR charts.
This was the lead single to Madonna's most critically acclaimed album Ray of light, an album which was a return to her indie roots after experimenting with her sound many times throughout the last fifteen years of her career. This would lead the album to be nominated for album of the year at the Grammys, although it lost to Lauryn Hill's only album due to hip hop being at the height of its popularity.
#47 for 1998
It's easy to forget that Y2K was a thing leading up to the new millennium, for the uninitiated, this was a fear that the world would end due to a potential glitch involving the dates changing from 1999 to 2000 where technology would go haywire. This glitch was solved before that had a chance to happen, making this lead single from Silverchair's third album that much more hilariously dated.
#38 for 1999
There were no signs of Belinda Carlisle slowing down in the music industry, unless of course you're from America in which this single and album it served as the lead single to wound up being a massive flop on Billboard. I guess the Americans were tired of her passionate vocals set to upbeat pop rock, however the rest of the world certainly wasn't as this managed to be a huge success for her because of those traits.
#34 for 1990
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#30 for 1991
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#34 for 1992
Here's the second single to come from Culture beat, and while it was neither as dramatic nor catchy as their first big hit, it did retain their popularity in most parts of the world which set them up to have a successful debut album. The album was indeed a success thanks to how catchy these songs were, however much like Corona and La bouche after them, they would be a one album wonder.
#36 for 1993
#36 for 1994
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#47 for 1998
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#36 for 1990
It appears that these guys had redeemed themselves for their "joke" song about the Doctor Who fandom from the late 80's, now they're one of the most well respected EDM groups who scored a massive worldwide hit with this live rendition of one of their earlier tracks that flopped due to them being seen as a novelty act. This led to them having a highly successful album that spawned multiple hits for them.
#27 for 1991
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#31 for 1991
#35 for 1992
This was initially a flop for the RNB girl group, likely because we Aussies weren't interested in RNB even if it was a huge success throughout Europe like this was. We eventually changed our minds on this track when it became a surprise hit over on Billboard which made us realise how catchy and vocally impressive this track was from the trio, although this was their only hit they had here as a quartet.
#37 for 1994
There weren't any signs of the Offspring slowing down in the mainstream here in Australia as this second single from Smash managed to be a huge success here due to being ranked very high on the second annual Triple J list. Indeed, this helped the album become one of the most successful of the decade down under and solidified them as rock stars despite them not having any success in their native America.
#33 for 1995
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#42 for 1996
This was the only notable success from Quindon Tarver, a teenage RNB singer who score a huge hit here in Australia with his version of the Prince classic and nowhere else in the world. This came from the second volume of the soundtrack which was a huge hit here which would explain this cover's success.
#42 for 1997
This was the second act that John Waite managed to find success with here in Australia, the other one being the Babys from back in the 70's as well as him finding solo success during the mid 80's. Even with his name being well familiar with the average Australian, it appears this song was a bit delayed with its release here as it came out months after it already topped the Billboard charts for the super group.
#35 for 1990
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#38 for 1993
#37 for 1994
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#39 for 1999
Well, if you wanted to know what the Models would sound like if they replaced James Freud with Wendy Matthews, this is your chance as both parties joined forces to make an album this year under the alias Absent friends which spawned this huge hit for them as well as the album doing fairly well. This is a cover of an obscure 60's track, something that would become a phenomenon as the decade went along.
#36 for 1990
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#32 for 1991
To think that the debut single for one of the more divisive boy bands of the decade was originally meant for the New Jack city soundtrack, indeed I have a feeling the movie's critical and commercial success was what helped it become a hit for Color me Badd as public opinion on the song hasn't been kind over the years. I guess if you want this otherwise family friendly group to get their sexual charge on then this is for you.
#28 for 1991
This is the final hit single that Billy Joel has been able to achieve in his career, although that might be due to him failing to release another album after the album this is named after despite said album being a huge success for him back in the day. I guess he wanted to end his non touring career on a high note as he's been touring extensively since he released this.
#37 for 1993
This was the debut single from Radiohead, although the band wishes they never recorded it as they feel it makes them a rip-off of Nirvana during the height of their popularity (no arguments here.) They would evolve their sound throughout the decade and even into the new millennium as they didn't want to be pigeonholed into a specific genre.
#38 for 1993
#38 for 1994
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#38 for 1994
Well, here's a song that requires a certain level of arrogance from the performer in question, I guess this follows in the footsteps of Adam and the Ants as they too entered a new decade with a song about how awesome their music was. Hilariously this was Guru Josh's only hit single throughout the world, although this did receive a popular remix in 2008 which technically helped him escape the one hit wonder bin.
#37 for 1990
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#39 for 1993
This was originally released two years prior to deafening silence, as was the rest of their catalogue from Pocket full of kryptonite as like many albums released this decade, the album was initially poorly marketed by their label and only became a success through sheer determination from the band. I don't know how audiences took so long to gravitate towards this due to how incessantly catchy and memorably it is.
#39 for 1993
I guess hip hop was able to find success here in Australia so long as there was a catchy EDM track to go with it, here we have Swedish rapper Melodie MC with one of the defining beats from the EDM scene of the 90's complete with a chorus that while annoying at first, becomes easy to appreciate after repeated listens. Sadly, this was the only success that Melodie MC managed to have anywhere in the world.
#39 for 1994
One of the most popular TV shows of the decade was Friends (stylised as F.R.I.E.N.D.S) a show about a group of twenty something year olds navigating their day-to-day life in New York while dealing with a variety of interesting storylines in their respective lives (so basically a 90's version of How I met your mother.) This show was well received back in the day and even spawned a hugely popular theme song that became a massive hit.
#42 for 1996
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#40 for 1999
One of the most popular films of the decade was the first Mission impossible flick, a theatrical adaptation of the TV series which spawned a massive franchise as well as confirm Tom Cruise to be an action star which aside from Top gun from a decade prior he really wasn't at this point. The theme song is the films strongest asset, it was composed by members of U2 Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen.
#43 for 1996
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#41 for 1999
Aerosmith are known for their sentimental side in their music; however, it seems surprising that their only two big hits here were with ballads considering how well remembered they remain to this day down under. Here we have the first of their two chart toppers which tells the story about the titular Janie and how she went insane after a rocky relationship with her partner and how she shot him.
#38 for 1990
This was the first single to feature Deni Hines as the lead vocalist for the Rockmelons, and they wanted you to know she was the vocalist during this phase of their career as all of the singles give her a featuring credit despite her officially being part of the band during this point in time. This is a cover of a Bill Withers track, and like the rest of his catalogue, it wasn't a hit for him originally.
#29 for 1991
#34 for 1992
Patty Smyth had previous success with her band Scandal eight years prior with their hit single "The warrior," so to see her back in the spotlight with this duet between Don Henley was a bit of a welcomed surprise given how neither of them had touched the charts since 1985. This unfortunately didn't lead to a revival of either of their careers, although Don did reunite with the Eagles not long after this.
#35 for 1992
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#36 for 1992
#40 for 1993
Given how she finally managed to score some much-needed success from her debut album with her earlier entry on this list, it appears that Sheryl Crow no longer had any issues with finding success with said album as this second single managed to be a huge hit for her here in Australia. This has a feel of a Fleetwood Mac track which is perhaps why she managed to connect with audiences here.
#34 for 1995
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#33 for 1995
This was released as a song to cash in off of John Farnham's greatest hits trilogy that he released this year, although given how it has Human Nature on the track fresh off the success of their debut album, I feel there was little chance that this collaboration was going to fail upon its initial release here.
#43 for 1997
Even though this was a massive comeback success for Skyhooks following a lengthy breakup from the mid 80's, it sadly wasn't well received by critics who felt that this didn't live up to the standards they had set throughout the 70's. Apparently, the band didn't take to well to this criticism and as a result, they broke up shortly after this became a success.
#39 for 1990
This is a song whose success came completely out of nowhere here in Australia, mainly because the last time anyone cared about the lead vocalist Mick Jones was during his time with the Clash before he was unceremoniously fired from the band almost a decade prior. He came back bigger than ever with this track which seemed to go off in different directions throughout its runtime, thus explaining its success.
#30 for 1991
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#37 for 1992
This was the only notable success that Jimmy Nail managed to score outside of his native UK, although he did score a string of hits over there throughout his career suggesting that the Brits were in love with his spoken word poetry that he would occasionally break up with singing. I guess the story of how his partner was lying to him and him seeing right through them was engaging to make it a hit here.
#36 for 1992
Following the tragic death of his infant son, Eric Clapton agreed to appear on MTV unplugged where he performed an acoustic version of "Layla" on the twentieth anniversary of that track being released. The performance was so raw and emotional that it was issued as a single which allowed the song to finally be a success in Australia where it wasn't all those years ago.
#40 for 1993
It looked like the album cycle for Dangerous had concluded when both "Heal the world" and "Who is it" failed to catch on here in Australia, however MJ had other plans as he wanted people to know that Slash provided the guitar solo for the one rock track on the album which seemed to be enough of an incentive for it to be a huge success from the album despite said album being over a year old at this point.
#41 for 1993
I hope you're used to seeing RNB ballads become a success much later in Australia than the rest of the world because that was a trend here this decade. One of the earlier examples was this ballad from Toni Braxton where despite it being a huge success in NZ and her native America, didn't crossover here until it became a huge hit for her in the UK. I'm not sure why she needed this circuitous route to find success here, but she did.
#40 for 1994
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#37 for 1990
Although they would go on to have massive success with their second album later in the decade, it was the lead single to Screaming jets debut album that made them a household name due to how angry they came off on this track similar to how Nirvana launched their career with their seminal classic "Smells like teen spirit." In a way, these guys were able to help the trio find success here due to their similarities.
#31 for 1991
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#39 for 1994
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#40 for 1994
#34 for 1995
This was the only notable success that Leonardo's bride was able to score here in Australia, heck it suffered a similar fate to what Merril Bainbridge went through earlier in the decade as this was originally released the previous year to deafening silence only for it to be given a second wind this year. Sadly, this didn't lead to the band having international success like Merril did around this time.
#44 for 1997
Well, if you thought that Kool and the gang's only hit in Australia was their version of this ballad, wait until you get a hold of this version from Dutch RNB singer Pappa Bear who managed to outdo the funk band with his rendition of the track. This became a success here in Australia due to it being one of the biggest hits of the decade over in NZ, proving how fondly remembered the original version was.
#48 for 1998
This was the only hit single that Faith Hill managed to score in Australia, although it's worth noting that I do remember hearing her 00's songs on the radio quite a bit so it's possible she was the victim of digital piracy going forward into the new millennium. It could also be that this was the only song shoved in our faces from the radio that we were receptive to as it's a sweet upbeat ballad.
#39 for 1999
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#41 for 1993
You know that a trend is omnipresent in pop culture when there's more than one song promoting it becoming a massive success, such was the case for this Canadian group Los Del Mar who rode on the success of the Macarena and made their own song which became a success here in Australia.
#44 for 1996
This was the third single from Celine's magnum opus Falling into you, one that apparently was written for the Bat out of hell albums given how it was written by Jim Steinman and has the same bombast as the other tracks he's written for Meat loaf and others over the years. Another factor towards this song's success was the video which has gone down as one of the most expensive to ever be made.
#45 for 1996
This was a huge surprise success for Shania Twain given how this failed even in her native Canada, I'm guessing we Aussies caught wind of by far one of the sexiest tracks in her catalogue and thus made it a huge success for her just as the rest of the world had given up in making her third album a commercial success. This no doubt led to her next album being a huge success here even before it received its pop treatment.
#46 for 1996
#45 for 1997
Following his dismissal as the manager of the Spice girls, Simon Fueller formed a new group in the form of this teen pop band that came complete with a TV series to help them stand out from the increasing number of teen pop groups making it big around this time. I will say that this is incessantly catchy even if it's clearly made for the youth of the day and nobody else (which I was admittedly a part of back then.)
#40 for 1999
Although this was recorded long before it became the theme to the TMNT theatrical film this year, it only became a success due to its inclusion in the film as well as the success that rapper Ya Kid K had with Technotronic throughout the year. It seems that Hi tek 3 have all but faded from existence as aside from this becoming a huge hit for them because of the film, their legacy seems to have been erased.
#40 for 1990
My NZ readers will recognise this guy for several of his hits from the 70's, indeed how he was able to find a huge crossover hit with this track here in Australia when he hadn't troubled his local charts in over a decade is a bit of a mystery to me but here we are. This sadly didn't lead to him having much success after this even in his homeland, proving this to be a fluke hit for the aging pop star.
#41 for 1990
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#38 for 1990
#33 for 1991
This was the signature tune for Nat King Cole during his lifetime, so it only makes sense that his daughter would cover the track forty years after its initial release and would find massive success with her version. What rubbed people the wrong way about this cover is that she made it into a virtual duet with her father, that is she took the original recording and inserted her vocals onto the original to make it seem like she was duetting with him in real time.
#32 for 1991
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#38 for 1992
I don't think anyone was expecting these guys to see as much success here in Australia as they ended up getting, true they made it big here with the second single thanks to it sampling a Sly and the family stone track, however it's not like the original was that big down under either. In any case, we have this fun track with its political lyrics making it big which resulted in the album also being a success.
#42 for 1993
This was the second hit in a row for Salt n Pepa as well as the first for En vogue in Australia, likely due to their catchy chorus they provide to connect the verses of how awesome the men each rapper is with is for her. The real victory here comes from the person these women of colour sampled from, that being Linda Lindell who was originally blacklisted from the music industry for sounding like a woman of colour despite being Caucasian began performing again after spending 25 years in hiding.
#41 for 1994
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#41 for 1994
OK look, I appreciate a guy with a huge dick as much as the next person, however I don't think that body shaming a guy with a tiny dong is the type of message that anyone should be sending out at any point in time. I get that this is meant to be a joke, however I don't blame anyone who finds this Gillette woman to be beyond irritating on this track as she not only doesn't give a good performance but also has a very toxic attitude about her.
#42 for 1994
#35 for 1995
This was the only Billboard chart topper that Taylor Dayne managed to achieve in her career, and admittedly this was the song which saved her second album from tanking across the world given the crushing failure of its lead single "With every beat of my heart" outside of America. In Australia, the song which saved the album was the next single which was more upbeat than this ballad.
#42 for 1990
If this vocalist sounds familiar to you, that's because the KLF were able to get Tammy Wynnette on here which helped them score their third hit in a row worldwide as people no doubt had nostalgia for the country legend. They would release one more single after this which is a remake of their first song as the KLF "What time is love" before they faded into obscurity and eventually broke up.
#37 for 1992
Before there were the Spice girls, there was this Australian equivalent who made a huge splash with their first album here. Indeed, this was their debut single and yet it went straight to number one which should give you an idea of how well marketed these young women were during the height of their popularity. Unfortunately for them, their second album went nowhere due to the notable absence of Robyn Loau.
#38 for 1992
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#35 for 1995
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#48 for 1997
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#48 for 1998
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#42 for 1999
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#43 for 1999
Given how inescapable Boyz II Men had become around this time, it only makes sense that this a Capella group would follow in their footsteps and also find massive worldwide success with this ballad. Although this was their only hit outside of their native America, they scored a bunch of other hits on Billboard this year proving that they were indeed in the same league as Boyz II Men over there.
#43 for 1993
This was the debut single from one of the most politically charged bands to come out of the decade, yes Rage against the machine managed to score at least one hit in their career before being confided to the alternative scene where they saw tons of critical acclaim by not much commercial success. I guess this made it through thanks to the grunts that Zac De La Roche makes throughout the track.
#44 for 1993
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#43 for 1996
I guess these kids were in it for the long haul, this was the second single to come from their debut album and one that proved to be equally as successful here as it was over in NZ. I guess the kiwis had access to Triple J's frequency as there were a bunch of hits that crossed over there that I could've sworn were only successful here thanks to the station. As for Silverchair, they were successful but slightly criticised for being a teenage equivalent of Pearl jam.
#36 for 1995
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#39 for 1990
This was the only hit single that Wilson Phillips managed to achieve outside of their native America, although considering how big they were on Billboard during the first half of the decade, I doubt they minded that their success was largely contained to America and little place else. Lead singer Chynna Phillips would make a comeback here in Australia later in the decade with her solo material.
#43 for 1990
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#40 for 1990
This feels like a song from Janet's next album the Velvet rope, I'm guessing she released this as a single from her greatest hits album to test the waters to see if her audience would be interested in her going in this direction. It turns out that they were interested as this became one of her biggest hits worldwide, although it could be due to the music video which sees her dancing on several famous landmarks.
#37 for 1995
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#34 for 1991
It seems weird that UB40 would initially struggle to find success in Australia with their album Labour of love II when they found little issues with scoring a hit with Robert Palmer on this cover of the Bob Dylan track. I guess this is what the band needed to find success here with a later entry on this list given how Robert was still one of the hottest stars in the world when he agreed to do this duet.
#33 for 1991
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#41 for 1990
#35 for 1991
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#36 for 1991
While this song does rely on cheap nostalgia baiting with what it used as the melody, I will admit that Dimples D makes the sample work on this track given how she promoted this song with the parenthesis "A witch for love." This is an obvious reference to how cunning the genie often was in I dream of genie, and indeed the lyrics of this song indicate a cunning side of the female rapper that helped it retain its popularity once it exploded this year here in Australia and over in NZ.
#34 for 1991
This was released the previous year to deafening silence in Australia, as was the entirety of UB40's Labour of love II likely because we Aussies wanted to leave these guys in the 80's. That didn't end up happening as this became a huge success over in America which meant that this cover of the Al Green track managed to crossover here where it became a bigger his than otherwise anticipated.
#35 for 1991
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#39 for 1992
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#44 for 1996
This was the only hit single that Blur were able to score in Australia, likely due to it quickly becoming a sporting anthem due to the "woo hoos" that Damon Albarn would shout throughout the track. Even though they lost against Oasis as the kings of Britpop, they won where it mattered which was with their critical acclaim with the Gallagher's were quickly losing this year with their third album.
#46 for 1997
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#49 for 1998
It looks like Black box weren't the only band who utilised Martha Walsh as a vocalist in their music, here she is credited as Freedom Williams scoring a massive hit with C+C Music factory with a song that's become synonymous with the early 90's house scene. She would have another hit this year (stay tuned for it) before becoming fed up with being pushed aside in the marketing for more conventionally attractive women of colour.
#36 for 1991
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#40 for 1992
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#36 for 1995
With the negative press that Madonna received from her album Like a prayer, I think Bette Midler wanted to reassure audiences that God was real with this song originally written by Nanci Griffith while also acknowledging that yes, bad things do happen to good people sometimes because God simply isn't looking hard enough at the problems of the world. The only thing I'll say is that it's songs like this that make me glad I don't follow religion.
#44 for 1990
#37 for 1991
This was somewhat a return to form for Jimmy Barnes following the massive success of his first Soul deep project, although this wouldn't feel too out of line on that album so it's obvious he wasn't going to fully default back to his pub rock roots anytime soon. This would cost him another huge hit for him throughout the decade even though he continued to achieve moderate success with his singles.
#45 for 1993
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#37 for 1995
This was the second hit that Merril Bainbridge managed to score in Australia this year, although it wasn't an eventual sleeper hit in America like her earlier entry despite having a new music video shot exclusively for an international market. Despite being a sweet ballad on the surface, the song is actually about how Merril's previous partner had drowned and how it made her an emotional wreck.
#38 for 1995
One of the catchiest pop rock tracks to make it big in Australia, there was no way this wasn't going to be a success here even if the rest of the world unfairly ignored Smash mouth due to finding them too silly to listen to. It could also be due to this song never being released as a single over in America, which means much like many entries on these last few lists, it had to contend with charting well on their airplay charts.
#47 for 1997
#49 for 1998
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