Hits of Australia and NZ: Hits of the 90's Australia

I've decided to rank the songs of the 90's based on how long they charted here in Australia, this is to give an idea of which songs became a success despite being pulled from shelves and which ones persisted with no resistance from our music scene. I've also included a few new entries from post 1992 given how I covered the lower half of the charts from the pre-Oz music charts era already on this site and thus wanted to give these entries some representation on my site. I’ll also spare my return readers commentary for songs that appeared on my other Australian list for the 90’s on this site and only include commentary from entries that are either new to this list or marked their debut on my Oz music charts list or the 1980-1992 list.

69 weeks

#1 for 1998

57 weeks

#1 for 1999

56 weeks

This is a song that refused to die on our charts despite it failed to crack our top forty back in the day, I guess we Aussies didn't know what to do with Marilyn Manson when he initially broke through as he was too bizarre and alternative to chart with the likes of the Spice girls, but we were still somewhat intrigued by what he had to offer regardless.

53 weeks

#1 for 1997

#2 for 1998

#1 for 1992

#1 for 1993

51 weeks

#2 for 1999

47 weeks

#3 for 1998

#1 for 1991

43 weeks

#4 for 1998

#1 for 1996

#2 for 1997

#5 for 1998

42 weeks

#2 for 1996

#3 for 1997

#3 for 1999

#1 for 2000

#1 for 1990

#4 for 1997

41 weeks

#5 for 1997

#6 for 1997

#6 for 1998

#7 for 1997

#7 for 1998

#8 for 1997

#8 for 1998

40 weeks

#1 for 1995

#2 for 1992

There was once a time where Blink 182 wasn't able to find instant success, that eventually changed by the end of the decade with their album Enema of the state, however the lead single to the album prior was managed to stick around for quite some time to the point where it and said album both became massive sleeper hits for the trio.

39 weeks

#9 for 1998

#2 for 1993

#1 for 1994

#4 for 1999

#2 for 2000

#9 for 1997

#10 for 1998

#10 for 1997

#3 for 1993

#2 for 1990

38 weeks

#3 for 1996

#4 for 1996

#11 for 1997

#11 for 1998

#3 for 1990

This was a huge sleeper hit here in Australia back in the day, although like many RNB ballads, it had a bit of a delayed released here which is odd considering that's usually a sign of a song doing much better than in NZ as we've discovered throughout this site. This remains Blackstreet's only notable hit down under, although they were naturally more successful internationally throughout the 90's.

37 weeks

#2 for 1994

#2 for 1995

#2 for 1989

#4 for 1990

#5 for 1999

#3 for 1995

#5 for 1996

#6 for 1999

#3 for 1992

36 weeks

#6 for 1996

#12 for 1997

#12 for 1998

#13 for 1998

#4 for 1993

#7 for 1999

#13 for 1997

#14 for 1997

#14 for 1998

#5 for 1993

#8 for 1999

This is one of two entries from Korn to feature on my list, it was initially a flop for the band despite it being released around the time of their magnum opus Follow the leader here in Australia but rebounded on our charts when the second single from the album became a surprise hit for the band months later.

#3 for 1994

35 weeks

#15 for 1998

#9 for 1999

#16 for 1998

#15 for 1997

#17 for 1998

#4 for 1995

#18 for 1998

This is another track that lasted for quite some time in the lower half of our charts back in the day, I guess we Aussies couldn't decide whether we appreciated this throwback to the 70's or if we felt it was kitschy and lame upon its initial release. Either way, it's since become well liked on the internet which has since secured the German band's legacy.

34 weeks

#4 for 1994

#5 for 1995

#10 for 1999

#4 for 2000

#2 for 1991

#16 for 1997

#7 for 1996

#19 for 1998

#4 for 1992

#6 for 1993

#20 for 1998

#17 for 1997

#7 for 1993

#5 for 1994

#6 for 2000

#11 for 1999

#5 for 1990

#7 for 2000

I did mention on the NZ side of my site this was a sleeper hit here in Australia for After 7, well here it is on this list as proof of that statement as it did manage to crack our top twenty here albeit months after it was a huge hit with the kiwis just like the bulk of RNB hits throughout the 90's. I’m not sure why this song in particular crossed over here given the failure of their other songs with us Aussies.

I'm a bit surprised this wasn't a mainstream success here in Australia given how A: it remains a staple on our radio to this day and B: it being well received back in the day despite coming from a highly successful album. I guess this was the full extent of the band's popularity here as not only was this the only song to chart for a considerable time here, but the album it came from was their only successful one as well.

33 weeks

#21 for 1998

#8 for 1993

#5 for 1992

#9 for 1993

#18 for 1997

#9 for 2000

#6 for 1990

#10 for 1993

#8 for 1996

#22 for 1998

#12 for 1999

#23 for 1998

#9 for 1996

#24 for 1998

#13 for 1999

This is another song that took a while to find success here in Australia back in the day given how it was the debut single from Joshua Kadison, although it did eventually crossover here when it became a surprise hit for the singer/songwriter in the UK of all places which eventually led to the success of his earlier entry on this list.

We have another brand-new entry on this list, this time it's from the Verve pipe who scored their one and only hit worldwide with this post grunge track which is usually attributed as the song that kickstarted the genre following the demise of grunge from earlier in the decade. Despite their failure to score a second hit even in their native America, these guys are still active as of this writing.

32 weeks