I’ve decided to rank each album that appeared on the ARIA top 50 for this year based on how well they did on my albums of the 2010’s list from last year, although I should point out that I’ve included albums on this list that were a hit earlier in the decade to show just how reductive the year end lists and indeed the ARIA charts had become throughout the decade here in Australia.
One of the biggest mistakes I made on my old site was listing every time this second album from Ed Sheeran recharted here in Australia, suffice to say, I won't be making that mistake again and will only be including its success upon its initial release on this ranking.
Peak position #1x8
(#1 digital, #1 physical)
Hit singles
Sing #1
Don't #4
Thinking out loud #1
Make it rain #26
Bloodstream #7
Photograph #9
Up until very recently, this was Adele's final album in her catalogue as she wanted to retire on a high note in her career, she's since changed her mind and released a new album which has also been a massive success.
Peak position #1x8
(#1 digital, #1 physical)
Hit singles
Hello #1
When we were young #13
Send my love #13
Water under the bridge #23
If we're going by album sales, this was the most successful album of the decade worldwide thanks to Adele's vocals being able to unite many demographics in a way few others have been able to do in recent memory.
Peak position #1x32
(#1 digital, #1 physical)
Hit singles
Rolling in the deep #3
Someone like you #1
Set fire to the rain #11
Turning tables #34
This will forever be Taylor Swift's magnum opus, mainly because it's the point where she transitioned from a country pop star into a pop diva among the likes of Katy Perry and Rihanna in addition to retaining the critical acclaim that she achieved from her earlier work.
Peak position #1x9
(#1 digital, #1 physical)
Hit singles
Shake it off #1
Out of the woods #19
Welcome to new York #23
Blank space #1
Style #8
Bad blood #1
Wildest dreams #3
New romantics #35
Even though her music was panned by critics for having toxic messaging in her lyrics (no arguments from me) this debut album from Meghan Trainor was nonetheless a huge success for her thanks to appealing to a surprisingly wide market that accepted her messaging.
Peak position #1x2
(#1 digital, #2 physical)
Hit singles
All about that bass #1
Lips are moving #3
Dear future husband #9
Like I'm gonna lose you #1
This was a flop upon its initial release, mainly because it only came out due to the band finally calling it quits in 2011 after a long and tumultuous career. It became a massive hit here three years later when their biopic became a success on Australia TV.
Peak position #1x7
(#1 digital, #1 physical)
Hit singles
Never tear us apart (reissue) #11
Keith Urban had an impressive run this decade here in Australia, mainly because of his presence in reality TV (particularly on the Voice Australia) which helped him find success after nearly two decades of obscurity here with this being his biggest album to date.
Peak position #1x2
(#2 digital, #1 physical)
Hit singles
The fighter #19
This is the third album from Bruno Mars's catalogue, it wasn't quite as successful as his first two albums, however it was still more popular than most of the albums released this decade combined.
Peak position #3
(#2 digital, #4 physical)
Hit singles
24k magic #4
That's what I like #5
Finesse #6
Trolls is a film I haven't seen yet, mainly because I'm well and truly into my adulthood and only watch children's media if there's some nostalgic connection they have to my childhood. I guess many adults did have this connection (or had their own kids to watch it with) as both the film and soundtrack was a massive worldwide success.
Peak position #1x3
(#1 digital, #1 physical)
Hit singles
Can't stop the feeling #3
This was another successful album that Coldplay had in their catalogue, although it would prove to be their final successful album as their collaboration with the Chainsmokers would kill their popularity.
Peak position #2
(#1 digital, #5 physical)
Hit singles
Adventure of a lifetime #20
Hymn for the weekend #24
This is another album on this list that would qualify for my comeback list, after all, JB had released an album two years prior to deafening silence due to him being cancelled for his questionable behaviour that I won't go over on this site. Suffice to say, this was the redemption ark that his career needed.
Peak position #1x1
(#1 digital, #2 physical)
Hit singles
Where are u now #3
What do you mean #1
Sorry #2
I'll show you #16
Love yourself #1
This is currently Beyonce's biggest album in her catalogue, coincidentally it's the only album of hers to not spawn a hit for her anywhere in the world due to it being a concept album about her husband's (supposed) infidelity that connected with audiences.
Peak position #1x1
(#1 digital, #3 physical)
Hit singles
Formation #17
Hold up #25
If you don't know who Ian "Molly" Meldrum is, he is a large reason for why the Australian music scene was the way it was throughout the twentieth century as he was a music journalist who would discover indie bands and artists from back in the day whilst traveling the world to interview big name celebrities and invite them to perform here in Australia (usually on Countdown) where they became a household name here. A biopic was commissioned to commemorate his achievements which was a massive success here.
Peak position #1x2
(#1 digital, #1 physical)
If you're wondering why it's taken me this long to feature the magnum opus from Twenty Øne Piløts on this list, that's because it was curiously more of a sleeper hit for the duo here in Australia than it was internationally. I'm guessing this is due to us being somewhat familiar with the album by the time it took off globally given how it briefly charted upon its initial release here in 2015.
Peak position #7
(#6 digital, #10 physical)
Hit singles
Stressed out #2
Ride #18
The film remains polarising to audiences to this day (as well as a critical disaster) however few will argue that the soundtrack did a good job in selling the film as well as winning over fans (which includes me) which explains why this was a massive success upon its initial release.
Peak position #1x1
(#1 digital, #1 physical)
Hit singles
Heathens #3
Sucker for pain #7
If you can believe it, The Weeknd actually came from a tiny indie label initially, meaning that his breakthrough album managed to be a massive success here in Australia due to heavy promotion on Triple J which the RNB singer still manages to receive to this day with his new material.
Peak position #1x1
(#1 digital, #1 physical)
Hit singles
Earned it #13
Can't feel my face #2
The hills #3
In the night #13
This is another album that would qualify for my comeback list, mainly because it was the first album that Disturbed released since they reformed in the midpoint of the decade as well as it spawning their only genuine hit here in Australia. Admittedly it was when their Simon and Garfunkel cover became a hit here that this album became a best seller for them down under.
Peak position #1x2
(#1 digital, #1 physical)
Hit singles
The sound of silence #4
This is to date the final album that Sia has released in her career, mainly because she's step away from the music industry to direct a film that I'm not going to talk about on this list. This is a collection of songs that she wrote for other artists that were rejected by said artists that she wound up recording herself.
Peak position #1x1
(#1 digital, #4 physical)
Hit singles
Alive #10
Bird set free #36
Cheap thrills #6
The greatest #2
Move your body #34
This is the only other entry that Drake has on this list, mainly because it was his first album to heavily benefit from Spotify placing it on their curated playlists which has led many people (me included) into believing that he's engaging with payola on the site.
Peak position #1x1
(#1 digital, #9 physical)
Hit singles
Hotline bling #2
Too good #1
Pop style #44
Too good #3
Controlla #46
Although this second album wasn't as successful for Flume here in Australia as his debut from earlier on this list, it made up for that by being an international success for him due to how wide of a reach the singles managed to achieve on the international indie scene.
Peak position #1x1
(#1 digital, #1 physical)
Hit singles
Never be like you #1
Smoke and retribution #23
Say it #5
He may have been dead for nearly forty years by the time it came out, however that didn't prevent Elvis Presley from working with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra from beyond the grave with this project. OK so this is a classic example of artistic graverobber as the orchestra took the works of the king of rock and roll and turned them into classical music presumably with the permission of his family.
Peak position #1x2
(#1 physical)
From what I can gather (because I didn't watch it) the Secret daughter is a show that explores themes of family connections as Jessica Mauboy plays a character claiming to be a daughter of a wealthy family to claim their inheritance (it may have connotations to the stolen generation due to her being first nations.) She plays a lounge singer, which of course means the soundtrack for season one was a massive success.
Peak position #1x3
(#3 digital, #1 physical)
Hit singles
Wake me up #34
This was originally a minor hit for David Bowie when it came out in 2015, however it became a huge success the following year when he tragically passed away.
Peak position #3
(#9 digital, #3 physical)
This is the second appearance of a Like a version album to appear on this list, we'll look at the third and fourth albums to make it big this decade from the franchise as it reached a peak during the midpoint of the decade.
Peak position #1x1
(#1 digital, #3 physical)
These guys were among the first in popular music to jump on the trend of making classical renditions of their back catalogue, although the first time they did it was with their breakthrough album from 2006 which wasn't as successful as this was for the group. Partially because they were unknown back then, but mainly because this was a two for one deal which doubled their chances of success when they released this.
Peak position #1x1
(#1 digital, #2 physical)
Hit singles
1955 #2
This is the only other album from Meghan Trainor that found any sort of success, granted she sat out the rest of the decade due to how poorly reviewed her first albums were which explains why she's since faded into obscurity given how audiences naturally moved on from her work.
Peak position #3
(#3 digital, #2 physical)
Hit singles
No #9
Me too #4
This was another easy hit for Human Nature throughout the decade, although their winning streak came to an end after this album as their next album was a flop due to it failing to compete on streaming services.
Peak position #1x2
(#1 physical)
This was a bit of a comeback for RHCP given how their previous album was a huge commercial disappointment for them, the band has just recently released a new album which was a complete flop for them as is anything released by an artist who isn't popular on streaming services.
Peak position #1x2
(#1 digital, #1 physical)
This is the second collaboration that Elvis made from beyond the grave with RPO, it's also named after one of the latter hits in his career which naturally connected with audiences upon its initial release.
Peak position #3
(#3 physical)
I feel this was the redemption ark to Delta's public good will given how the LGBT community latched on to this album despite previously being hostile towards her for numerous reasons I won't get into on this entry. It remains her final successful album to date likely due to her inability to compete with streaming services with her subsequent material.
Peak position #1x1
(#1 physical)
Hit singles
Only human #46
Wings #1
Dear life #3
Enough #27
This was released to deafening silence back in 2001, it was given a second chance back in 2016 when Prince tragically passed away which was a horrible year when it came to celebrity deaths.
Peak position #2
(#2 digital, #5 physical)
This entry from Michael Bublé got lost in the shuffle during the Christmas period of 2016 when it was released here in Australia, not so much so that it failed to appear on this list, but enough that its success was significantly less than his earlier entries on here.
Peak position #2
(#2 digital, #2 physical)
This was an album whose appearance on this list is bittersweet given how David Bowie released this album mere days before he tragically passed away, it would be a definite shoe in for my comeback list given how it was the first time anyone cared about his music in thirty years when it came out.
Peak position #1x1
(#1 physical)
It looks like Dami Im managed to score her biggest success with her tribute album to the Carpenters throughout her career here in Australia, I'm guessing this was due to her nearly winning Eurovision shortly after its release which boosted its sales.
Peak position #3
(#6 digital, #1 physical)
Given the massive backlash they received from their previous entry on this list (for reasons that are beyond ridiculous in my opinion) Macklemore and Ryan Lewis's popularity took a massive hit to the point where their second album was only half as successful for them as their earlier entry.
Peak position #6
(#3 digital, #8 physical)
Hit singles
Downtown #1
Dance off #7
Brad Pitt's cousin #40
This is an album that will forever come back during every Christmas season due to it getting pulled from shelves (both digital and physical) at the start of every year, it's the album of choice that audiences tend to play during the holiday season.
Peak position #1x5 (original run)
(#1 digital, #1 physical)
(will forever continue to rechart during each Christmas season)
This is to date the Rolling Stones final album; it was a massive success for them due to this decade being a surprisingly good time for legacy artists to score success with albums decades after their prime.
Peak position #1x1
(#1 digital, #1 physical)
This is another candidate for my comeback list that I'll likely redo at some point in the future, mainly because Metallica once again were able to win back the good graces of their fanbase with this album following the disaster that was Lulu from the start of the decade. Trust me, the less said about that album the better.
Peak position #1x1
(#1 digital, #1 physical)
Although it came close to making an appearance on this list, Rüfüs's debut album Atlas was sadly too much of a sleeper hit for me to consider well-liked by the Australian mainstream of the 2010's. Fortunately, the EDM trio's second album was more of a mainstream success thanks to heavy promotion it received from Triple J.
Peak position #1x1
(#1 digital, #4 physical)
Hit singles
You were right #22
Like an animal #44
You know the mainstream was at a low point throughout the 2010's when Radiohead were able to score an appearance on this list, I bring this up because the band don't tend to have much success outside their dedicated fanbase with the obvious exception of their third album from the late 90's.
Peak position #2
(#1 digital, #2 physical)
Much like David Bowie's entry on this list, this albums success was bittersweet as Leonard Cohen tragically passed away shortly after its release which naturally struck a chord with us Aussies given how it became his biggest album in his catalogue here.
Peak position #2
(#2 digital, #4 physical)
This is a Christmas album from John Farnham and Olivia Newton John, this was the latter's second Christmas album this decade as she collaborated with her BFF from Grease which was far less well received than this was.
Peak position #1x2
(#3 digital, #1 physical)
This was the sequel to Barbra Streisand's earlier entry on this list, it wasn't quite as successful as that album given how audiences had moved on to whatever Spotify was determining to be a hip and cool for them, however it was a success regardless given how we Aussies had yet to incorporate streaming data onto our main charts when it came out.
Peak position #1x1
(#1 physical)
There was a ton of hype that went into the debut album from Matt Corby given how he already scored two of the bigger hits of the decade here in Australia, alas this was only a decent success for the former Australian idol contestant likely due to how long it took to see the light of day.
Peak position #1x1
(#1 digital, #1 physical)
Hit singles
Monday #45
I'm not exactly sure what Blink 182 did during the midpoint of the decade, whatever it was it allowed them to see a spike in their popularity with this album that you'd think would've happened with their previous album from earlier in the decade when they reunited.
Peak position #2
(#1 digital, #2 physical)
Hit singles
Bored to death #50
It took fifteen years for the Avalanches to make a second album, it's tough to say if the wait was worth it as while it obviously makes an appearance on this list, it wasn't among the most popular albums of the decade like other long-awaited albums we've already looked at.
Peak position #1x1
(#1 digital, #1 physical)
Hit singles
Frankie Sinatra #34
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