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 IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#1 for 1996
#1 for 1997
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#1 for 1994
#1 for 1995
For the longest time, this was the best charting song in Australia given how it slowly but surely managed to win over every possible demographic in our music scene during its time in the spotlight. I guess it started off as a fan favourite from the alternative scene before getting massive appeal from the dance floors before finally finding its way into several commercials for more mainstream audiences.
#1 for 1996
#1 for 1997
While I can't say that I've ever particularly cared for this remix of the 1983 hip hop classic from Run DMC by Jason Nevins, I will admit that it does bring me joy that everywhere in the world outside of their native America hopped on board with this track and finally allowed the men who broke down barriers between rock and hip hop a decade prior with "Walk this way" finally became megastars.
#1 for 1998
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#1 for 1992
#1 for 1993
This was the debut single for the very first band to be "unearthed" by Triple J, the band in question would go on to see several ups and downs in their career mainly due to the antics of their frontman Daniel Johns, however they do remain one of the more fondly remembered Australian bands to emerge from the decade for a good reason.
#1 for 1994
#1 for 1995
The Use your illusion era of Guns n roses career was already a huge success by the time they unveiled the video to this song, which fun fact was released months prior to deafening silence likely due to it being one of the more long-winded songs on both albums. The video was such as success that it quickly became not just their biggest hit but also one of the biggest hits of the twentieth century.
#1 for 1992
#1 for 1993
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#1 for 1998
This is one of quite a few double entries we'll be looking at on this list, although in this case both singles bundled together could easily be separated into two entries given how they both appeared to be as equally as popular as each other here in Australia. This is particularly curious as punk rock was never that big here, let alone from local artists and yet these guys broke down those barriers.
#2 for 1998
Well, here's a nostalgia bomb for everyone who grew up during the late 90's, we have the breakthrough single for the Italian trio Eiffel 65 as well as one of the first hit singles to incorporate egregious usage of autotune which even at the time seems to have driven people up the wall. Then there's the strange music video complete with the awful CGI used for the aliens.
#1 for 1999
So, it's come to this, what's often considered to be one of the worst songs of the decade which was indeed also one of the biggest worldwide. I unfortunately agree with the consensus which is that this is an annoying song with lyrics some of the corniest lyrics known to man, however it does have its merit as it did spear head the line dancing craze that would persist throughout the decade in America.
#2 for 1992
#2 for 1993
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#2 for 1997
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#2 for 1995
#2 for 1996
Personally, I've always preferred the Dolly Parton version of this ballad, however there's no denying that Whitney Houston made it her own when she starred in the poorly reviewed romantic thriller the Bodyguard opposite Kevin Costner and had this rendition of her track play over the emotional climax of the film.
#3 for 1992
#3 for 1993
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#2 for 1992
#2 for 1993
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#3 for 1992
#3 for 1993
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#1 for 1999
I know Britney isn't exactly what you would call a seasoned performer, however I can't help but admit this was a fantastic debut single for her thanks to how amazing it sounds even to this day. Her career has seen many ups and downs over the years, however it's clear that she still commands a loyal fanbase even to this day.
#2 for 1999
This was originally a hit for the Mindbenders back in the mid 60's, however it was covered by Wet wet wet for the Hugh Grant flick Four weddings and a funeral where it became a massive success for the Scottish band largely due to how successful the film was worldwide.
#2 for 1994
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#2 for 1994
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#2 for 1998
Although she had already seen massive success with her song "I found someone," this was the comeback that Cher needed to reinvigorate her career following a long absence in the music industry. Admittedly this absence was due to her involvement in Hollywood where she starred in a string of some of the more memorable flicks of the decade such as Silkwood, Mask and the Witches of Eastwick.
#1 for 1990
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#2 for 1999
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#3 for 1999
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#3 for 1998
#4 for 1999
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#3 for 1996
#3 for 1997
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#1 for 1991
#4 for 1992
It had been two decades of silence from Santana when they released this lead single to their comeback album Supernatural this year, it's hard to say if the album would've been a success without this track given that many people attribute this as a Rob Thomas solo project more than a Santana track with Rob's vocals on it. What I do know is that it made both Santana and Matchbox 20 international superstars.
#3 for 1999
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#4 for 1993
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#4 for 1996
Now here's a song that brings me great joy that the internet expects me to hate with every fibre of my being (see how I was initially hostile towards music I didn't like?) we have this debut single from the Spice girls which is so much joyous fun that I don't even care that the lyrics don't make much sense once you read into them.
#2 for 1996
#2 for 1997
From what I've heard, Dangerous minds is a mediocre film looking to cash in off the success of Dead poet's society only with Michelle Pfeiffer in the lead instead of Robin Williams. At least it had a killer theme song courtesy of Coolio who did a 180 from his previous hit "Fantastic voyage" with this song that goes into brutal detail about the struggles he and people like him face on a day-to-day basis.
#2 for 1995
#3 for 1996
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#4 for 1998
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#3 for 1994
#3 for 1995
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#5 for 1998
#5 for 1999
So, Sonia dada, a band from America most of my American readers will be unfamiliar with due to them failing to score any success on Billboard managed to score one of the biggest hits of the decade in Australia with this track. I guess this does fit into the theme that this year was going for, however it's little surprise that it doesn't have the same fanfare that many other entries do on this list.
#4 for 1993
I feel that even though both of these tracks from Green day contributed to the band's success with their album Nimrod, it was "Time of your life" that boosted the albums sales, specifically when it was used in the series finale of Seinfeld which only caused further upset with their fanbase who already felt it was a sellout from the trio. In Australia, rather than simply rereleasing the (at this point) one year old track, it was bundled with "Redundant" as a two for one deal that proved to be a wise decision for the band.
#3 for 1998
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#5 for 1992
#5 for 1993
This was a humungous hit for Boyzone, possible due to it being written by both Jim Steinman and Andrew Lloyd Webber meaning that this was the boys attempt at appealing to fans of rock operas which would explain why their last album was so successful in NZ as well as their native UK. They decided to end things on a high note which meant that they broke up shortly after this became their biggest hit.
#4 for 1998
#4 for 1999
This was the big hit off of Shania Twain's biggest album Come on over in Australia, admittedly this is mainly due to how long this ballad about Shania being there for the love of her life stuck around on our charts upon its initial release more than anything. I'm guessing this ballad was what encouraged her to release a pop version of her album.
#5 for 1998
#5 for 1999
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#5 for 1996
This served both as the lead single to Celine Dion's album Falling into you (well in America at least, it was the second single here in Australia after the title track) as well as the theme to the Michelle Pfeiffer flick Up close and personal. It also came with a B-side "The power of a dream" which Dion performed at the summer Olympics this year at Atlanta, which no doubt boosted the sales of this track.
#4 for 1996
This was a huge surprise for Pearl jam given that they hadn't had a hit since their initial breakthrough from the other side of the decade, although many people feel this was the start of their sellout period given that they had long abandoned their grunge roots in favour of an adult contemporary sound.
#6 for 1999
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#6 for 1998
This was a huge comeback success for the Offspring following the mediocre reception of their previous album, it appears fans wanted to hear these guys talk about how much of a loser they believed to be so much that it not only became one of the biggest hits of the decade down under but also topped the Triple J year end charts for 1998.
#6 for 1998
#7 for 1999
Given the overwhelming success of Boyz II men this decade, I guess it's only fitting that there would be a slew of other boy bands of colour to cash in off their success. Enter these guys, who managed to achieve a hit bigger than anything Nathan Morris and company would achieve worldwide with this cover of an obscure country track from around the same time.
#3 for 1994
A song about de stigmatising sex in the mainstream becoming big this year? Well, colour me shocked as we have this all-female hip hop trio to thank for why sex prudes became rarer as the decade went on (OK so they were far from the leading cause of this happening but still.) Strangely the girls were still yet to find success in their native America, although their fortunes would change there with their next album.
#1 for 1991
#4 for 1992
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#7 for 1998
#6 for 1999
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#8 for 1998
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#6 for 1993
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#4 for 1995
#6 for 1996
Although these guys achieved massive success in NZ and their native America with "It's so hard to say goodbye to yesterday," this track which was originally released as the theme song to the Eddie Murphy flick Boomerang (which isn't among his better films sadly) was what broke the RNB boy band into a wider market thanks to their vocal harmonies and Nathan's spoken word verse.
#5 for 1992
#5 for 1993
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#1 for 1990
#2 for 1991
This was the only noticeable hit for the English duo Lighthouse family outside their homeland, likely due to it sounding like something Simply red would've released earlier in the decade and that band's popularity dwindling out by this point in time. Strangely this wasn't among the biggest hits of the year in their native UK despite it easily being one of the biggest hits of the year in Australia.
#7 for 1998
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#4 for 1994
#5 for 1995
Although the Irish band did achieve sound success with their debut album throughout the year in Australia (mainly due to "Linger" becoming a surprise hit for them in America) this was the song that made them a household name here thanks to its politically charged lyrics delivered by Dolores O'Reidon's powerful vocals.
#4 for 1994
#3 for 1995
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#6 for 1995
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#9 for 1998
While I am a massive fan of this iconic Australian duo, I have to admit that I kind of agree with the criticism that people have given this track over the years. It does feel like an Air supply track if that duo existed past the early 80's and believe me, I'm no fan of those guys. That said, it does remain their biggest hit in their career worldwide, so obviously this had massive appeal to millions around the world.
#3 for 1997
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#4 for 1997
#10 for 1998
This was the first song that MJ released following the final stages of his plastic surgery which transitioned him from a man of colour to a Caucasian, naturally this was meant to be a song that inspires racial harmony from a man who have a very wide demographic regardless of their skin colour.
#2 for 1991
#6 for 1992
I feel this song winning the academy award for best original song was what sunk Titanic's reputation back in the day, admittedly it did nothing to prevent the film from becoming the highest grossing movie of the twentieth century as people flocked to theatres to watch the film, but it did start this annoying backlash towards it and Celine herself that I'm glad the internet has long since moved on from.
#8 for 1998
They were often described as the Abba of the 90's, although I can only see that connection superficially as last I checked, Abba never once resorted to incorporating reggae music into their sound which they easily could've done in their heyday. I feel this is how Ace of base were able to craft an identity of their own which led them to being even more successful in America than their predecessors ever were.
#6 for 1993
#5 for 1994
This was the only noticeable success from Jennifer Paige throughout the world, which I find to be a shame because this was such a breath of fresh air from all of the kiddie pop of the day that I'm sure that was the reason why it was so big for her. I'm guessing this made it big due to an endorsement from the Lilith Fair crowd given how popular music made by women was around this time.
#9 for 1998
#8 for 1999
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#5 for 1997
#11 for 1998
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#12 for 1998
#7 for 1999
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#13 for 1998
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#14 for 1998
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#8 for 1999
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#6 for 1997
#15 for 1998
I'm usually the type of person to get annoyed whenever someone cries sellout to an artist's biggest hit in their catalogue, however in this case I'm on board with those who consider this to be a sellout from Bon Jovi despite it not being that far off musically from their earlier efforts such as "Wanted dead or alive" or "Bed of roses." I think the issue here for me is how painfully earnest they are even compared to their earlier work, but that's just me.
#6 for 1994
#4 for 1995
I've always felt that the name the Goo goo dolls was a comical one, after all that sounds like a name that should be affiliated with all of the teen pop that was becoming big this year. Alas this band was instead somewhere between grunge and post grunge and managed to score their one and only hit outside their native America with this theme to the Nicolas Cage and Meg Ryan flick City of angels.
#10 for 1998
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#7 for 1993
#5 for 1994
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#6 for 1992
#8 for 1993
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#6 for 1994
Following the success of their breakthrough single "Set you free," this British trance group decided to remix the Bee gees classic from Saturday night fever by recording several rap verses to replace the verses from the original which allowed this to become their biggest hit in several parts of the world. This wasn't even the last time they achieved a hit with this feat as "Da ya think I'm sexy" was also a massive success for them.
#5 for 1995
#5 for 1996
Well, they did score a massive hit earlier in the decade by adding hip hop verses to a Bee gees classic, so why not repeat the formula by replacing "Staying alive" with one of Rod Stewart's more upbeat tracks from the 70's? The results were equally successful for the band as this too was a massive hit for them throughout the world.
#4 for 1997
#11 for 1998
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#7 for 1997
#16 for 1998
While this wasn't the debut single from Vanessa Amorosi (that honour goes to "Have a look") it was the song which made her a household name given how it was considered to be the unofficial anthem for the 2000 Sydney Olympics with how inescapable it was upon its initial release. This resulted in the song being a huge success over in NZ and even sparked interest for Vanessa throughout Europe.
#9 for 1999
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#9 for 1993
#7 for 1994
This was the second single from Prince's Diamonds and pearls album, although given how it was the runaway success from the album, you'd be forgiven into thinking it was the lead single. I don't think he's ever sounded hornier on any other track than he does on here, which is perhaps why this remains his most successful single even if it's not one of his more iconic.
#3 for 1991
#7 for 1992
This was the signature track from Wendy Matthews given hot it easily remains her biggest hit in her career, admittedly it does showcase her vocal talents quite nicely even though I'm a much bigger fan of her more upbeat tracks such as "Let's kiss" and "Token angels." This song did lead her to having a widely successful album which goes to show how much love it had from Australian audiences.
#8 for 1992
#7 for 1993
Well regardless of what you think of this song (it has a great bassline even if Vanilla stole it from Queen to use for his weak rapping) you can't deny this songs achievement for becoming the first hip hop track to top the Billboard charts, thankfully both MC Hammer and Young MC topped the Australian charts before this did. It's a bit of a tragedy to see how quickly Robert's fall from grace was following this songs success.
#2 for 1990
#4 for 1991
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#7 for 1996
#8 for 1997
This was a huge success for All saints all around the world, so much so that it became one of the few non-American RNB ballads to become a huge success on Billboard later in the year albeit with a different music video there than the one used everywhere else in the world. I always felt these girls didn't reach their full artistic potential until their second album released in the new millennium.
#12 for 1998
Technically this is the biggest hit of Bryan Adams career in Australia given how "Everything I do for you" was pulled from shelves here in order to promote his (then) most recent album Waking up the neighbours. Here he provides the theme to a little remembered film Don Juan de Marco which sees Johnny Depp as a romantic lead in a Spanish setting, no wonder no one seems to remember this film.
#6 for 1995
This was originally released earlier in the decade in the aging duo's native Spain to critical and commercial success, however when it was released to the English-speaking parts of the world, it was given a remix which includes additional verses from the titular Macarena which makes her out to be a bit of a diva that nonetheless connected with audiences thanks to the ridiculous dance attached to the song.
#6 for 1996
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#8 for 1994
#7 for 1995
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#9 for 1997
#17 for 1998
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#2 for 1990
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#18 for 1998
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#3 for 1990
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#8 for 1995
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#9 for 1999
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#3 for 1991
#7 for 1992
One of the catchiest female empowerment anthems to ever be released, this debut single from Madison Avenue created plenty of international success, so much so that it managed to top both the NZ and UK charts despite it getting stuck behind Eiffel 65's entry from earlier on this list here in Australia. Sadly, the duo ruined their good will at the 2000 ARIA awards when Cheyne Coates appeared to be intoxicated while performing on stage.
#10 for 1999
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#9 for 1995
#8 for 1996
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#4 for 1990
#4 for 1991
Well, this was certainly a different side of Will Smith we weren't used to seeing prior to this songs release, apparently this was recorded in an attempt for him to adapt into the gangster rap which was quickly taking over the mainstream around this time to mixed results. Somehow this became his biggest hit with his partner in crime DJ Jazzy Jeff in Australia and NZ, likely due to the hilarity factor back then.
#8 for 1993
#7 for 1994
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#5 for 1991
#8 for 1992
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