This is my biggest project yet! I've decided to rank all the biggest songs and albums to make it big here in Australia by how well they did on our charts from 1970 to 2009. The reason I'm not including the 2010's and beyond is because let's face it, I want this list to be a celebration of all the biggest and best songs to appeal to us Aussies and I feel that the vast majority of songs and albums that made it big after 2009 won't have the lasting cultural impact that even amid level hit from 1973 still has decades later. I'll be including stats from both the ARIA AND AMR charts meaning that all singles from mid-1988 onwards as well as albums that charted between mid-1988 and late 1998 will have two entries on this list to showcase how well they did on each chart (you'll know the difference when an entry has THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY rather than my commentary on it.) One final thing, this will be presented as a countdown, meaning that I'm breaking tradition by having each entry be more successful than the last as opposed to the opposite like every other list on this site.
#6900
The winter of this year was a hectic time as this compilation album managed to be a massive success by collecting some of the best-known songs of that period in one package.
#6899
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#6898
Kim Wilde was always described as a singles artist; this is why she could have hit after hit here and in her native UK and not have any of that success translate to her albums. Here she acknowledges that by releasing this greatest hits album which ironically proved to be the biggest success she had with one of her albums in Australia.
#6897
In America, this was released as Music from the edge of heaven which was an album that had only a few new tracks (all of which were released as singles) as well as several remixes of their previous hits. Here those tracks are included along with the rest of their back catalogue making this a greatest hits package for the duo.
#6896
JYP was on a roll this decade given how he managed to release his second album which contained his biggest hit, although the true peak of this album's popularity came two years later when the third single became a surprise hit here due to it being chosen as one of his singles for an international market.
#6895
Rolling stones were on a err roll when they released this greatest hits package, although given what would come next, this feels more like an early admission that they were past their prime despite their next album being a huge success for them. Before that came, Mick Jagger would release a solo album the following year which was a moderate success for him due to how many musicians were embarking on a solo career at the time.
#6894
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#6893
This was the first of three collaborative albums between husband-and-wife duo Shane Nicholson and Kasey Chambers, the latter of which was already one of the biggest names in Australian music whilst the former was a mere critical darling prior to the release of this album. It was a massive success thanks to her artist momentum as well as it being a good year for a bluegrass album like this to do well in.
#6892
This was released on the eleventh anniversary of Daddy Cool's biggest hit "Eagle rock," as such it allowed the song to become a minor hit this year (odd as this usually happens on the tenth anniversary of something's release) which in turn fueled the success of the album.
#6891
This was the final successful album to come from Madonna, it was mainly for the lead single becoming a massive worldwide hit for the queen of pop but also due to her having good will from her previous album which was one of the bigger hits of the decade for her. Unlike most artists who failed to find further success in the 2010's, her failure was due to her conforming to the internet culture of the decade to dire results.
#6890
This live album from Andrea Bocelli and Korean composer Myung Whun Chung managed to capture the hearts of many audiences worldwide upon its initial release to guarantee its placement on this site of mine. The blind opera singer (I should mention that to explain why he always has his eyes closed) continued to find success well into the new millennium worldwide.
#6889
Batman forever remains critically divided to this day as while some enjoy it for its campier tone (me included) others feel it's out of place with the previous two Batman films as they were both more serious in tone and were among the first superhero movies to treat its source material with dignity and respect. The soundtrack was at least a success as it spawned not one but two chart toppers here in Australia.
#6888
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#6887
Following the eventual success of her debut album, Paula Abdul was able to find instant success with her second album here in Australia which was off to a good start thanks to it spawning her biggest hit in her native America that was also a very big hit here in Australia. Unfortunately, it didn't become a best seller due to the presence of Mariah Carey's album from earlier on this list that made Mariah a household name worldwide.
#6886
This was the second last compulation album to chart on ARIA's main charts, it was noticeably more success on there than on the AMR charts meaning that had ARIA not pawned off these albums onto their own charts they likely would've dominated their main charts throughout the 90's. Oh and this album proves that the summer of 88/89 was a hectic time in the Australian music scene.
#6885
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#6884
This is the final successful album that UB40 had anywhere in the world, mainly for the lead single which actually served as the theme song to a long-forgotten film that nobody seemed to like at the time. I guess this was the band's last hurrah here in Australia due to the surprise success that their previous album had earlier in the decade given how long it took for it to be a success here.
#6883
Well, if people felt that Metallica's previous album was a sellout, they hadn't heard anything yet as this was bordering on mainstream rock which made their previous material seem like something they released in the 80's. That said, this was a huge success for the band and even well received to this day, proving that it's only the diehard fans that were crying foul when the band released this.
#6882
While this wasn't able to live up to the success of his previous two albums, Diesel was nonetheless able to retain his popularity with this release here in Australia which is impressive given how much harder it was for local artists to retain their popularity moving forward in the decade for some inexplicable reason.
#6881
Midnight oil was among many bands to have a highly successful live album back in the day due to their reputation for their live shows, as such we have that album here which they released between two of their more prominent albums as a way of tying over fans from the 80's to the 90's in the music industry.
#6880
This is the last successful album that U2 had in their catalogue, partially due to rock music struggling to have mainstream appeal throughout the 2010's but mostly due to the controversy they caused with their next album by uploading it to everyone's iTunes account without anyone's permission.
#6879
This was the debut album for Screaming jets, an Australian band who made it big with a song that wouldn't feel out of place with the rising grunge movement that would take over the world by the end of the year. While this album was an immediate success for the band, their second album would have to wait a year and a half to become a success likely suggesting Nirvana stole their success from them.
#6878
Well, their comeback might not have been well received, but at least fans were eager to rediscover the back catalogue for one of the biggest bands of the 70's here in Australia. In fact, I'm sure if they weren't deterred from the backlash to "Jukebox in Siberia" they would've had plenty of success in the 90's as fellow 70's icons Daryl Braithwaite and John Farnham were making it big around this time.
#6877
I'm not quite sure why this album that was originally released in 1980 was becoming a success here in Australia again twelve years after its release, then again, this decade was an excellent time for older artists to find success with greatest hits albums so perhaps this was just part of the trend.
#6876
This is the final song to make this list that had multiple versions of it, of course this is the uncensored version as I don't recall anyone talking about the radio version which replaces the infamous "oh shit!'s" with "oh snap!'s" in the song. In this regard, it's difficult to say if this was the weakest song from Fergie on the format overall, but it's certainly far from the strongest.
#6875
This was the last hit that Jimmy Barnes managed to achieve here in Australia, it came from his greatest hits package which he released this year to commemorate how far he had come since going solo from Cold chisel twelve years prior. This was to anticipate the return of the band later in the decade when they release new material for the first time.
#6874
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#6873
This was the second solo hit that Jason Donovan was able to achieve in his career, although his success in Australia was noticeably pitiful compared to how well he was doing in the UK due to how much the Brits were in love with his role in Neighbours. This is another song that's hard for me to talk about without being mean as it's gone down in infamy as one of the worst songs to come out of the 80's.
#6872
The Carpenters were on a roll when they released their second big hit around the world, in fact this nearly topped the Billboard charts much like their top entry on this list which confirmed the brother and sister duo as the real deal moving forward in the decade.
#6871
This was the first of three songs with this title to become a hit this year, although considering we've looked at the other two songs earlier on this list, you probably already knew that. This was a different song from the band's previous two hits as this feels more in line with sophistopop rather than the LGBT banger of their debut or their politically charged second single, making them one of the more eclectic bands to find success this decade.
#6870
It feels weird that this song underperformed in Australia back in the day, especially considering how inescapable she would go on to be later in the decade given how it was a much bigger hit for her internationally at the time. This was the moment where she began distancing herself from her debut album as this is her admitting that she had to compromise who she was in order to make that album.
#6869
This was originally the theme to the Sean Penn film At close range, a film that was critically acclaimed by flopped at the box office this year. It was then the lead single for her third album due to it topping the Billboard charts, making it her third chart topper in America despite it not being among her bigger hits here in Australia. It's a departure from her earlier work due to it being a haunting ballad rather than innocent dance pop.
#6868
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#6867
Well, it seemed inevitable that these guys would make a Christmas jam right at the height of their popularity, as such we have this festive track that became a hit during the Christmas season of 1976 and even early into the following year for them.
#6866
This was the big breakthrough that Green day had from their album Dookie, an album that began its cycle with a song about masturbation which no doubt initially turned people off from the duo. This was one of the first hits to not receive a physical release in America, which is why it never charted on Billboard despite it being one of their most popular songs even to this day.
#6865
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#6864
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#6863
This was an amazing year for Ciara as she scored a third hit in a row around the world with this track, here she recruits Ludacris to provide a guest verse for her which normally wouldn't have done the song any favours (save for Usher's "Yeah") but in this case it likely helped Ciara have that third hit here in Australia as the album they all came from failed to become a success like the singles were.
#6862
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#6861
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#6860
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#6859
This was the last hit that Destiny's child was able to achieve in their career internationally, although they had one more hit on Billboard with "Cater 2 u" which is the opposite of what Beyonce would become known for throughout her solo career. Indeed, most of their catalogue saw a more lovestruck side of Beyonce and company which she would distance herself from the further into her solo career she got.
#6858
This was the most successful version of this standards track here in Australia, it's fitting that Rick Astley's version would be a success given it was his third UK hit in a row as well as the song being well know even at the time. This is the first song where Stock Aiken and Waterman tried their hands at standards track in terms of their production, they would make these types of songs with Kylie Minogue on her second album.
#6857
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#6856
This was the title track to by far the most popular album that Spandau Ballet released in their career, in fact this is easily their most recognisable song in their discography for a two of reasons. First off, it's widely regarded as having some of the worst lyrics in a song, I personally disagree as even back then there were some pretty awful lines that make these look professionally written in comparison. Secondly this was sampled in P.M Dawn's big hit "Set adrift on memory bliss" in 1991.
#6855
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#6854
Madonna was all about shocking the general public during the first stretch of the 90's, so much so that the same time she released her lead single to Erotica, she released a book called Sex which is nothing more than scandalous pictures of her in sexually compromising positions. As such, this title track from the album was more interested in provoking controversy than being a hit, although it was a huge hit for her regardless.
#6853
Technically this was the second solo single that George Michael released in his career, although by all accounts it was his first solo single as "Careless whisper" was by all accounts a Wham track that just happened to be credited to him alone when it was released as a single. Much like that track, this is also a ballad about his complicated feelings about a past relationship which seemed to be a theme in his catalogue.
#6852
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#6851
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#6850
Following the massive success she had with her sophomore album, Kasey Chambers decided to hold fans over between that and her third album by releasing this cover of the Cyndi Lauper classic from the 80's which proved to be a massive hit for the Australian country singer upon its immediate release.
#6849
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#6848
This was a surprise hit for Sheena Easton given how the last time she troubled the charts in Australia was six years prior with her hit single "Strut," indeed this is another entry into her catalogue of seductive tracks where she titillates her audience with her sexual appeal. Here she tries her hand at rapping which is perhaps how this managed to become a success over the sea of Paula Abdul rip-offs here.
#6847
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#6846
This was the third single from Dangerous for MJ, this time the topic of the song is MJ addressing rumours that he was gay that he denounces here in a cheeky way by suggesting that him and his girlfriend should keep their relationship in the closet. The video features British model Naomi Campbell lip synching the female vocals which were recorded by Princess Stephanie of Monaco, making this another star studded single for him.
#6845
This was the second single to come from the Cranberries sophomore album, although it wasn't politically charged and was more in line with their previous material which I'm sure was a disappointment for those who fell in love with their earlier entry on this list. The band would continue to find success with their third album the following year, although their popularity would end after that.
#6844
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#6843
This was the lead single to U2's first album of the decade Achtung baby, although I get the feeling they went with the most normal track on the album as the lead single in order to hook fans in with their change in sound which happened throughout the album. Indeed, their next single "Mysterious ways" was the obvious choice for the lead single given how well remembered it remains in their catalogue.
#6842
This is the victory single for the second winner of Australian idol, there's not much I can say about these songs other than them making many of these winners one hit wonders here in Australia.
#6841
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#6840
There have been plenty of ballads like this over the years to make it big, however I feel this was the first to make it big solely for why it exists which is that it's a victory single for the winner of the first season of Australian idol Guy Sebastian. This is someone I personally don't have much respect for reasons I won't get into on this site but suffice to say I'm not a fan of his music.
#6839
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#6838
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#6837
The winter of this year was a hectic time for the music industry, as such we have another appearance from the 100% series to help people get into the big hits of this time in Australia.
#6836
Given how artists on labels owned by EMI and Warner music made up the track listings for the 100% series, it only seems natural that their main rivals were albums that had artists from labels owned by Universal and Sony. This album was a success in that category but should also give you an idea the type of music we Aussies liked based on who was on what label. This was the big hits from the summer of 92/93 for the record.
#6835
The autumn of this year was very hectic as this became a massive success this year thanks to the fine selection of songs it had to offer us Aussies during the midpoint of the year.
#6834
The spring of 1990 was a hectic time indeed for Australian music, as such, it's little surprise that this album looking over the big hits of that period and presenting them as summer jams would be a success when it was.
#6833
This was the third entry from the Hits of 1990 franchise, it was by far the biggest entry due to it collecting most of the biggest hits of the midpoint of the decade which was rich with strong selections due to how great out music scene at the time.
#6832
Named after the New kids on the block track that opens up the album, this compilation album proves that the winter of this year was a very productive time for the music scene down under which no doubt led to its success.
#6831
This proved to be the least successful soundtrack to the High school musical trilogy, likely because the film wasn't released to theatres like the third installment was nor the novelty fresh like the first installment. Still, it proved to be a massive success for the project and confirmed its main lead Zac Effron as a new force to be reckoned with in Hollywood given his appearing on the Hairspray project from earlier on this list.
#6830
This wasn't as big a success for Human nature as their previous two albums were, however, that was largely due to it being considered a holiday album given how it quickly fell off the charts going into the new year.
#6829
Winter was a very interesting time this year in Australia as this album suggests, after all it had some amazing choices with no doubt inspired people to make it a success like all the other albums on this list.
#6828
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#6827
Even with the controversy they found themselves in with the 2000 ARIA awards ceremony, this one and only album from Madison Avenue still managed to be a massive success here in Australia due to the hype that went into the album due to its lead single becoming a massive worldwide success for the duo. Of course, they weren't able to shake off the controversy they caused at the ceremony which led to them eventually breaking up.
#6826
The spring of this year was an amazing time for the music industry if this album is anything to go by, we have a good selection of classic songs to become popular during that period which helped this album become a huge success upon its initial release.
#6825
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#6824
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#6823
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#6822
Although their popularity was beginning to fade during this phase of their career, Pearl jam was still able to find massive success with their albums as evidence by this being a huge success for them two years after the demise of their main rivals Nirvana. They would release one more album later in the decade that was a massive success before they shifted their sound to a more mainstream market.
#6821
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#6820
Spring of 1988 was so popular in our music scene that we have the second album that collected all of the biggest hits of that period to become a success by marketing those hits as summer jams.
#6819
Although this implies it's a dance compilation, it's actually an album overlooking the biggest hits in Australia during our winter of this year. There were some good picks on this album which resulted in its success.
#6818
This is arguably my favourite song from John Farnham, everything to admired about him can be found on this second single from Chain reaction from the passionate vocals to the inspiring lyrics to the melody and then some. It remains a staple on oldies stations to this day as do a lot of the songs on this list, although it wasn't the biggest hit of his career as you've likely noticed on this list alone.
#6817
I wouldn't have pegged the Pet shop boys to be a fan of Absolutely fabulous, a show that's basically the British version of Kath and Kim as it has two female comedians navigating the day-to-day life of the modern world (or rather, the world of the 90's) with hijinks ensuing. The duo managed to cherry pick the best moments of the shows earliest seasons and place them in a mix that managed to become a huge success for them.
#6816
This was the final hit that Rolling stones had throughout the world, it came from their critically panned album Dirty work which was nonetheless a success likely due to the animation in the video. As it turns out, it was done by John Kricfalusi who's best known for his 90's nicktoons hit Ren and Stimpy (and its more infamous adult version from the 00's) I guess every legend in animation has to begin somewhere.
#6815
This is one of those breakup anthems that's impossible to take seriously, I mean she goes about getting over this guy in the most over the top way that I don't anyone would even care that she's essentially getting even on him cheating on her by robbing him blind and leaving him homeless. Audiences obviously got the humour of this track worldwide as it was a massive hit for the American RNB singer.
#6814
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#6813
Although his earlier entry made Billboard history by being the first entry to debut at number one on their charts, it was this song that was meant to take home that honour given that it was a duet between the two most popular members of the Jackson dynasty complete with what it still the most expensive music video ever created (not to mention it being a better song in my opinion.)
#6812
Eight years prior to when she scored a massive hit with Don Henley with "Sometimes love just ain't enough," Patty Smyth was the lead singer of a short-lived band by the name of Scandal who scored their one and only hit this year with this track that's often been confused for a Pat Benatar track. I'm guessing that's why Patty returned with an adult contemporary ballad if she was often mistaken for her in her career.
#6811
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#6810
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#6809
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#6808
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#6807
This is a response track to Eamon's entry from earlier on this list, although contrary to popular belief, Frankee wasn't the girlfriend Eamon was singing about on his song as she was instead some random singer who wanted to cash in off the success of that track by writing a response from the perspective of his girlfriend.
#6806
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#6805
This is another victim of Sony's insistence of pushing popular songs aside in Australia to make way for Australian idols chart dominance, in this case it was the second single from Britney Spears which I assure you was a massive success here in Australia back in the day despite its low placement on this list. At least this managed to have presence on our charts for the short amount of time that it was available.
#6804
This was the first of three collaborations that Ja Rule made with Ashanti throughout the decade, each of them were for a "thugs need love too" ballad where she would provide him a catchy chorus while he spits bars about how much of a player and gangster he is. It appeared to connect with audiences back in the day as the formula did spawn three big hits for the duo not just in Australia but throughout the world.
#6803
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#6802
This was the only hit single that Nine-inch nails were able to score here in Australia, even then it was pulled from shelves after a few months likely due to it being one of the more controversial songs of the decade due to its lyrics and music video. I guess you can make the argument that it was to promote the album, however between the animal torture in the video (which was fake by I digress) and the lyrics "I want to f**k you like an animal," it was a very disturbing song in the mainstream.
#6801
This was the lead single to Culture club's third album Waking up with the house on fire, an album which seemed to alienate their fanbase as it moved away from their more fun tracks and towards more politically charged messages. Indeed, the lead single was a blatant cry to end the cold war, calling it stupid and pointless which while I agree with their sentiment, wasn't the way to go about ending it.
