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.
My UK readers will likely recognise this track as credited to Puretone, I'm not sure why this song was rebranded as such, but it ended up working out as this became a huge success for Josh Abrahams and vocalist Amiel Daemon. Amiel is perhaps best known for her hit single "Love song" from 2003, a hit she scored a year after this became a hit for her and Josh throughout Europe.
#56 for 1998
#55 for 1999
This is probably the most distinct song from AC/DC's catalogue as it doesn't have the same melody structure as the rest of their catalogue, naturally this helped it become one of their signature tracks due to casual fans being able to easily identify it from the rest of their discography. It allowed the album it came from to be a huge success for the band, thus setting them up for further success throughout the 90's.
#62 for 1990
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#51 for 1991
For everyone who reckons that body positivity songs are only a recent phenomenon, allow me to acquaint you with this hip hop track from Sir mix a lot who made the brave decision to attack Cosmopolitan magazine for promoting unhealthy standards for women and how he prefers women who as he puts it "have big butts." The song was a massive success for him worldwide as it takes a positive stance towards inner beauty.
#45 for 1992
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#50 for 1995
This may have been overshadowed by her earlier entry on this list due to how inescapable that was in her native America, however this lead single from Daydream was a massive success for Mariah Carey largely thanks to the sample she uses from the Tom Tom club (a side project of members of Talking heads) throughout the track. These two songs were enough to make the album be a massive success worldwide, although it did spawn one more Billboard chart topper with its third single "Always be my baby."
#51 for 1995
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#57 for 1996
If you can believe it, this wasn't initially created for the Chef aid episode of South Park and was instead a DJ battle between Mouse T and Hot n Juicy that became a huge success throughout Europe before Trey Parker and Matt Stone discovered the track and included it in the episode. I'm guessing this songs success was what inspired the duo to release the Chef Aid soundtrack which became a huge success for them.
#57 for 1998
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#57 for 1990
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#58 for 1990
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#52 for 1991
It looked like that Bush's debut album was going to fail given that it had been released two years prior to little fanfare throughout the world, however it was finally a success this year when this became a surprise hit for the band over in America who likely appreciated their brand of post grunge on this track. It may have been their only hit worldwide, although at least it put them on the map of the alternative scene.
#56 for 1996
Well at least MC Hammer wasn't a one hit wonder here in Australia, after all he found a way to sample Prince's "When doves cry" into the third single from his breakthrough album Please Hammer don't hurt em. Naturally this proved to be equally as catchy as the lead single from the album which propelled it up the charts, and indeed it even allowed the album to become a major success here.
#53 for 1991
This was the second single to be released from Diesel's solo album Hepfidelity, it proved to be a bigger hit for him than his first single (which we'll get to in a bit) likely due to it being a more stripped back number than anything he released up until this point. For some reason, he had more success in NZ this year with this album, although that did result in him gaining international interest in his music.
#46 for 1992
If you can believe it, this wasn't originally released as the theme to Romeo + Juliet and was instead released as the Swedish band's lead single to their third album from the previous year. Somehow Baz Lurhman got a hold of this track and included it in his film adaptation of the Shakespeare play where it became a massive worldwide success for them, probably because people thought it was a No doubt track.
#58 for 1997
This was the only hit that Heavy D and the Boyz managed to score worldwide, likely due to it being a cover of the O'jays who were seeing a rise in popularity this year thanks to some endorsements from Kylie Minogue and Dee lite. I guess the song adds some hip-hop verses to help differentiate it from the original track, something that would become very common throughout the 90's with hip hop.
#54 for 1991
Given how Culture beat had completed the album cycle for Serenity, it only seemed fitting that Corona would step in and take over the Euro dance scene with their EDM track named after a Debarge hit from almost a decade prior. It turns out there was some minor controversy in regard to who actually sung this track, in fact lead singer Olga De Souza didn't sing a note on their album despite her performing each of these songs live, I guess at least she didn't lip synch to someone else's music on stage.
#49 for 1994
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#52 for 1999
This was the second single from MJ's dangerous album, and while the song itself remains a classic thanks to its laid-back production and performance from him, the real star of the show is the video which has him performing for the amusement of pharaoh Eddie Murphy. Apparently, this was done as a favour as MJ would appear on one of Eddie's songs the following year with an infinitely lamer video.
#47 for 1992
If you're a fan of Hi 5, then you'll likely recognise Kelly Haggart on here as this was the band she was with before she joined the children's band later in the decade. I guess you can consider this the female equivalent of the Wiggles in that regard even though the other two members has since faded into obscurity, indeed their biggest hit while a cover, is about how they want you to as they put it "be their baby."
#48 for 1992
This was the only hit that the Australian dance group Radio freedom scored in their career, although while this was a dance hit it also feels like it would've been a massive hit with the Latin craze had that begun earlier in the decade. While the band did release an album during their time together, the album was a massive failure which led to them breaking up as a result of its fallout.
#49 for 1992
This was the second single to come from La Bouche's album this year, it's a song that shares its name with a Eurythmics track that in turn had a cover from Marilyn Manson that was also released this year albeit as a massive flop. This song has nothing to do with that track as it's a dance track about how the duo is looking for love on the dance floor whereas that song is about err...... whatever it's about.
#57 for 1996
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#57 for 1998
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#59 for 1990
#53 for 1991
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#54 for 1991
Well, this seems a bit odd, this second single from Big audio dynamite's most recent album became a success around the time "Should I stay or should I go" was a massive success in their native UK. I bring this up because this song is often mistaken for the Clash classic due to them having the same melody as each other, although it's worth noting that Mick Jones was responsible for said melody so it's not like he was stealing from anyone else.
#50 for 1992
This was the only song that the 12th man released in his catalogue, here he samples the Nine news cricket theme and recruits someone by the name of MCG Hammer (get it, Melbourne cricket ground Hammer?) to rap over the beat while he does his usual impersonations of cricket commentators throughout the track. It was a surprise hit for him and likely resulted in his comedy albums finding success throughout the 90's.
#51 for 1992
This was where it all began for one of the happiest bands to score success this decade, or at least they were one of the happiest bands at first as later in the decade they would become edgier much to the chagrin of their fanbase. Here we have their E.P which featured the sickly sweet "Ordinary angels" which helped them build a fanbase for their equally sweet debut album Marvin the album.
#52 for 1992
This was the title track to the third album Bon Jovi had massive international success with, it appears that they didn't want to alienate fans that made New Jersey a success in the late 80's too much as they went with the song that most resembled their 80's material as their first single of the 90's. Indeed, the rest of the album would be more akin to what the 90's rock scene would shape up to be.
#53 for 1992
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#58 for 1998
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#53 for 1999
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#54 for 1999
This was bundled with the lead single to Sleeping with the past in the UK, presumably to give Elton a chart topper in his homeland which compared to the rest of the world, he had very few of in his career. Here in Australia this was the song to help his album become a huge comeback for him after struggling over the past few years with mental health problems as well as a well-publicised drug addiction.
#63 for 1990
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#50 for 1992
Does anyone else feel like this is an unofficial sequel to "I'm on fire?" Granted this was written for the film Philadelphia which helped Bruce win an academy award due to how well received that movie was, however, the melody feels like it was recycled from his earlier hit single to me. In any case, this provided him with his first hit single since that ballad as well as a renewed interest in his music this decade.
#50 for 1994
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#51 for 1995
We have another double entry for this list, this time it's the lead single from Lauryn Hill's solo debut as well as her cover of the Frankie Valli classic which were both needed to have her crossover to Australia despite her already having success earlier in the decade as the main rapper/vocalist from the Fugees. This no doubt helped her album become a huge success here as that too wasn't a hit upon its initial release down under.
#56 for 1999
Much like their earlier entry on this list, this was also a live recording of a song that the KLF recorded earlier in their career that only became a success due to their redemption arc they made after angering fans of Doctor who with their novelty track "Doctering the tardis." This is my favourite song from the duo as it feels the most like a finished song to me, that and the train metaphor speaks to me.
#55 for 1991
This was the first of three hits that JX managed to achieve in Australia, although he wouldn't find any success in his native UK until his third hit two years after he made it big down under with this jam. If you need any proof that we Aussies had made EDM our music genre of choice this decade, look no further than the countless artists who made it big exclusively down under with their dance tracks.
#51 for 1994
If Princess Diana had of lived till the end of the decade, this would've been Elton John's final hit single anywhere in the world as it serves as the emotional ballad that plays during the end credits of the Lion King. This became the third Disney ballad to win an academy award for best original song despite people feeling that it doesn't rank among Elton's best work, the lyrics are admittedly not his strongest.
#52 for 1994
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#55 for 1997
This was the breakthrough single of Daft Punk, a French EDM duo who would go on to be one of the most influential EDM artists of the 21st century thanks in no small part to a huge hit they had in 2013 with "Get lucky." Sixteen years prior, they had a massive hit in Australia with this track which became as such due to EDM still being a massive success in the music scene here during the late 90's.
#59 for 1997
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#51 for 1992
This was the last hit that 2 Unlimited had in Australia, although as I said earlier, they would continue to have massive success throughout Europe as the decade went on. These two hits ensured that their second album would be a modest success here which no doubt led to the success of a bunch of other EDM albums throughout the 90's here as our love of the genre grew.
#56 for 1993
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#53 for 1994
Apparently, this was the theme to the film Nothing to lose, a buddy comedy about Tim Roth and Martin Lawrence robbing a bank that Tim works at due to shenanigans happening at his workplace. Honestly this feels out of place on that soundtrack as the lyrics are clearly meant to be about a fallen friend of Coolio much like "One sweet day" was for Boyz II Men and Mariah Carey two years prior.
#60 for 1997
I guess Mariah's popularity was beginning to dwindle here in Australia given that she had come off not one but two of the biggest albums of the decade, even so she was able to score a massive hit with this lead single from Butterfly which is an album about emancipating oneself to fly away into who they want to be. Naturally this album has resonated with audiences since its initial release, especially those who feel like they're trapped by society's regime.
#61 for 1997
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#58 for 1996
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#55 for 1999
This was the only other hit that Glenn Medeiros was able to achieve in his career, mainly because it has a guest verse from Bobby Brown during the height of the former New edition rapper's popularity. This is a song about how an ex-partner of Glenn Medeiros is now going out with the listener and how as he puts it "she ain't worth it" because of all of the heartbreak she brought him during his relationship.
#64 for 1990
This was the debut single for Seal, an RNB singer who began his career as an EDM vocalist with this song about how it was good to take chances in a relationship or as he puts it "being a little crazy." This would be a far cry from his later material which would have him become a more contemporary RNB singer which would lead to his biggest success not just in his native UK but throughout the whole world.
#56 for 1991
This was the only hit that Austrian band Bingoboys were able to achieve worldwide, likely due to the presence of American rapper Princessa giving out (admittedly awful) dance instructions to help people bust a groove on the dance floors of the 90's. The song is notable for its sample of an old dance routine from the 40's, perhaps as a way of juxtaposing the old dance routines with the (then) modern routines.
#57 for 1991
This was the only noticeable success that De la soul managed to achieve in Australia, although given how hilarious this track is (in my opinion of course) it's little wonder it managed to be a hit down under thanks to its sense of humour as well as how ridiculously catchy the melody is. As it turns out, it samples a track from Curiosity killed the cat which is perhaps why the melody is so irresistible.
#58 for 1991
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#55 for 1991
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#52 for 1992
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#56 for 1993
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#52 for 1995
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#53 for 1995
This was a bit of a comeback for Simply red who hadn't had a hit in Australia since their third album from the late 80's. Indeed, this song in general was a milestone for the band as it became their only chart topper in their native UK despite having five of the most successful albums of all time over there, it's also their rare upbeat track which showed they were willing to experiment with their sound for a hit.
#52 for 1995
#58 for 1996
Brandy might not have been one of the more popular artists of the decade in Australia, however at least both of her signature ballads managed to be a huge success here. There's honestly not much more I can say about this ballad in particular, it was a massive hit for her before she became yesterday's news as the decade was coming to an end.
#57 for 1999
This was the first hit that Dannii Minogue scored in her career, although initially she credited herself as simply Dannii in a pointless attempt to differentiate herself from her older sister despite the two having similar sounding voices throughout their respective careers. Even though this wasn't the biggest hit of the year down under, it was nonetheless released in the UK the following year to moderate success.
#65 for 1990
With all of the controversies involving lip synching that had emerged throughout the decade so far, Mariah had that accusation stick to her initially due to her unwillingness to embark on a tour to promote her music. In order to put those rumours to rest, she appeared on MTV unplugged where she gave a performance which confirms that her reluctancy came from her suffering from stage freight and not a lack of vocal talent.
#54 for 1992
This was the only hit single that Soul asylum managed to achieve worldwide, mainly due to the video which serves more as one of those missing persons posters you find at a police station as the band tries to help locate these people who have gone missing throughout America. If you couldn't tell from that, this is a song about how running away from your problems does nothing but hurt those around you.
#57 for 1993
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#54 for 1994
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#54 for 1995
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#56 for 1999
This was the final hit that TLC were able to achieve in most parts of the world, and if their earlier entry was this albums equivalent of "Creep" from their previous album, then this was the albums equivalent of "Waterfalls" as this was a self-empowerment anthem meant to uplift the spirits of those who were feeling down when listening to it. Sadly, this would be it for the girls as Left eye Lopez would die in a car accident in 2002.
#58 for 1999
Technically this wasn't the only hit that Motiv8 had in Australia as he also scored a hit under the alias of Mozaic the following year with "Nothing in the world" as well as being the brainchild behind Gina G's Eurovision classic "Ooh aah just a little bit." Before he scored a hit with either of those dance tracks, he made it big with this EDM track thanks to the vocals of Angie Brown who you may recognise for her performance on Mark Morrison's "Return of the Mack."
#53 for 1994
This was another RNB hit that was originally found success upon its initial release the previous year worldwide but had to wait until it was an international success to crossover here to Australia. It was the only hit for Groove city which is a shame because I felt that they were one of the more interesting RNB groups to emerge from this decade, they certainly deserved to have more success than most this decade.
#59 for 1996
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#56 for 1997
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#53 for 1992
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#55 for 1995
#59 for 1996
This was the first hit that Wet wet wet (wow that's a stupid band name) managed to achieve in Australia, it looked like it would be their only hit here given how their other songs failed to crossover despite how well they did in their native UK. That changed later in the decade when their cover of a Mindbenders tracks from a Hugh Grant flick became one of the biggest hits of the decade thanks to their tender vocals.
#66 for 1990
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#60 for 1990
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#61 for 1990
Even though this was a huge Billboard chart topper for Stevie B, it wasn't until it became a surprise hit in the UK that it was able to crossover to Australia this year. From what I can gather, this guy got his start in the Latin freestyle genre of the 80's, although that genre saw little to no success even in America which perhaps explains why he felt the need to switch over to adult contemporary with this ballad.
#59 for 1991
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#54 for 1992
This is another song I'm surprised wasn't that much bigger in Australia back in the day, then again that might be due to how many times I've seen the scene where this is played in Priscilla queen of the desert which turned this heteronormative track about getting over a bad relationship into a queer anthem about coming out of the closet. This needed two attempts to become a hit in the UK, likely due to the dozens of remixes it has.
#55 for 1992
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#55 for 1992
With all of the popular teen dramas coming out of the 90's, you'd think that the one that spawned a Billboard chart topper would be the most popular. You'd be wrong as the Heights was a musical drama that was heavily panned by critics for being a poor man's Fame as it centred around a group of kids looking to make it big with a band they were in, basically it was the 90's equivalent of glee except for teen rock rather than teen gossip.
#58 for 1993
This was the first hit single that Mariah Carey had that had her craft a distinctive personality for her worldwide audience, sure her previous songs were impactful, but they could've been sung by anybody unlike this track which is distinctly her own. It also sees her incorporating RNB into her sound which she would continue to do for many of her songs throughout the rest of the decade.
#59 for 1993
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#55 for 1994
Well, I guess it was only a matter of time before someone decided to make an EDM remix of the Charleston this decade, enter this novelty act who would go on to score a massive hit the following year with a remix of that famous Jack Nicholson quote from the Shining. At least this was a massive success in the UK which more than explains how both of these songs found an audience here in Australia.
#54 for 1994
This is by far the oldest artist to appear on this list, although he wouldn't live for very long after he finally made it big as he would die while on tour in 1999 due to a heart failure. This is an autobiographical song about how he overcame his speech impediment by scatting at local night clubs, although I think he only found success with this song due to it being a catchy EDM track.
#53 for 1995
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#57 for 1999
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#57 for 1993
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#58 for 1999
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#59 for 1999
Well, we have a second hit to come from the cartoon rabbit who felt the need to mashup a bunch of songs from yesteryear into a hit single, at least this was their final hit single here in Australia unlike in their native UK where they scored a third chart topper there with another one of these mashups.
#67 for 1990
It seemed like these guys were accused of being frauds much like Milli Vanilli this year, as such they gave a live concert proving that they sung on their songs which got them in the clear in the music industry. Before all of this went down, they released the title track to their third album which became a massive hit for them worldwide, although it would be their final hit due to those allegations.
#68 for 1990
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#56 for 1991
Madonna was always known for experimenting with her sound, so here she is trying her hand at RNB which proved to be a huge success for her as this and the album it was pulled from became a hit worldwide. The album was produced by Babyface who was the driving force for Boyz II Men, meaning that the album in retrospect has been criticised for Madonna chasing a trend rather than setting one.
#55 for 1994
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#56 for 1994
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#60 for 1999
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#62 for 1990
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#56 for 1992
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#58 for 1993
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#61 for 1999
This was the song which helped Joshua Kadison's album take off here in Australia, true he saw success the previous year with "Jessie" however there was no indication that would lead to him having any success with anything else from his catalogue. Indeed, he remains a one album wonder which goes to show that audiences can sometimes be fickle with who they make a household name.
#54 for 1995
This was the only hit that Hootie and the Blowfish managed to score in Australia, although admittedly their album was one of the biggest of the decade worldwide so it's not like their music went ignored here even if this was the best they could do on our singles chart. Darius Rucker is now known as a country singer, however back in the day he was the front man for a band that received backlash in their native America with how successful their album was.
#55 for 1995
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