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.
#6600
This was the biggest hit to come from the Eurythmics's fourth album Revenge, it's a personal favourite of mine thanks to how well Annie sounds on this track as well as it confronts what she describes as a thorn in her side that is the toxic relationship she was in at the time. This would be the last hit that the duo would have here in Australia, although they would release two more albums before calling it quits.
#6599
I'm guessing the world wasn't as on board with MJ's environmental songs back in the day as they were with the rest of his catalogue given how this was the only song of his in that vein to become a massive success here in Australia. It was the third single from his double album History past present and future which has largely been overshadowed by the other tracks on the album over the years.
#6598
This was the fourth single from Kylie's debut album, it's a song about how Kylie is in love with someone but admittedly doesn't understand why because of the way they treat her. The song is cute in that she ponders why she loves this person in French, hence the title of the song which translates to "I still love you (but I don't know why)" and why it was likely a huge hit for her worldwide.
#6597
This was the last hit that the Brothers Gibb had before they had transitioned to disco, it's a good representation of their sound while they were a trio but before they were having us jam to their music on the dance floor.
#6596
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#6595
Even though he had appeared on Countdown almost a decade prior, Iggy Pop never had any success in Australia until this year where he scored a surprise worldwide hit with this new wave track of his. This made it big in the UK of all places, I know the Brits welcomed punk rockers worldwide with open arms, but surely, they could've given this guy success back in the day when he was with the stooges.
#6594
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#6593
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#6592
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#6591
We've featured the Joan Jett cover on this site on my list of Countdown performances, time now to look at the original version of the glam rock track from Gary Glitter which continued the icon's winning streak back in the day given how it was the lead single to his second album Touch me.
#6590
This is sort of a best of album from Human nature as it does contain their back catalogue from when they were a boy band, however they've reimagined all of their previous hits in their new style which proved to be a bit more of a success for them than their previous album which was more of the same from their first two albums.
#6589
The film I am Sam was panned by critics upon its initial release, mainly for simplifying issues involving mental health which ironically is what better movies that handle this topic such as Rain man and Forest Gump get criticised for nowadays (perhaps those critics are thinking of this film when criticising those films.) Also, for some reason, the soundtrack is built around covers of the Beatles catalogue, which I suppose explains why it was a commercial success.
#6588
This will be the only album from Ashanti that appears on this site of mine, it was her debut album which means that the lead single going to number one in her native America meant that it was her debut single (at least as a lead artist) to achieve this feat. I guess her consistently working with Ja Rule put off her fans from her future endeavours who felt she was little more than a chorus lady on his albums.
#6587
This is the final successful album that Eric Clapton had here in Australia, likely due to the presence of B.B King as the blues legend pays tribute to the older blues legend in a respectful way. Even so, this was a bit of a sleeper success as it randomly spiked in popularity throughout the year for some reason.
#6586
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#6585
I did say on the previous list that Sade's return in the mainstream felt like a warmup for these guys, well here we are with the breakthrough album for M people, a fellow British band that blended RNB with rock. Although these guys also added an element of dance to their sound which perhaps they did to differentiate themselves with Sade, this worked out for them as this was a huge success worldwide.
#6584
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#6583
This likely would've sunk on our charts here in Australia were it not for the surprise success of its lead single which helped Pat Benatar find a more mainstream audience following the success of her live album from the previous year, indeed her brand of pop rock seemed to better connect with audiences as the decade went on even if it wasn't on the level nostalgia stations would want you to believe.
#6582
I guess this was as good as time as any to have George Benson release a greatest hits album given how he just had his biggest album at the start of the decade which even spawned him a hit single on our charts. His next album would do decently well the following year, however this would be the full extent of his popularity in the 80's down under.
#6581
This is another album that got caught between two years on this list, this time it's the breakthrough album from Jennifer Rush which was a decent success here due to the strength of its lead single. Even though this album did quite well throughout the world, it wasn't enough to get her out of the one hit wonder bin even in her native UK.
#6580
Does this band sound familiar to you? If you were born past 1980 and are from Australia, then they should as they would go on to become the Wiggles in 1991 even though they kept at the regular music until 1994 when they realised they had more success as a children's band than a pop rock band. Naturally they played their own instruments in both bands, which is why they've endured as the Wiggles for so many years.
#6579
This was a live album that the Rolling Stones released following the success of their American tour from the previous year, it did decently well here in Australia proving that the band were still able to find an audience in the southern hemisphere in the MTV era.
#6578
I guess all you need to make it big here in Australia is to have a huge hit on Billboard (even if it's on the airplay charts) take this album from the Wallflowers who likely wouldn't have had any success here if the lead single didn't tear up the radio in America upon its initial release. Like many alternative bands of the late 90's, these guys as a one album wonder due to them failing to have any other radio fodder in America.
#6577
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#6576
We have another entry from Sony's lucrative Essential series, although this time it's with a limited edition of John Farnham's entry which I'm guessing ARIA bundled with the standard edition as it somehow managed to chart for quite a while despite clearly being a collector's item.
#6575
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#6574
This was a modest success for Bruce Springsteen here in Australia, it saw a resurgence in popularity later in the decade when he embarked on a world tour for his Born in the U.S.A album, however it was nonetheless decently successful at the start of the decade and was able to retain the success of his previous two albums from the 70's.
#6573
Given how John Lennon had decided to retire from music during this point in time, it only makes sense he would release a greatest hits album to look over his work both solo and with his wife's band since he broke away from the Beatles. Naturally it was a hit here in Australia upon its initial release, however it was a hit again five years later when he tragically passed away.
#6572
I guess Hoodoo gurus were in danger of not being able to transition from the 80's to the 90's given how their last album Magnum cum louder was a huge flop at the end of the previous decade. Fortunately, they were able to bounce back this year with this album lead by a song that was built on 60's nostalgia which was still a popular trend of the early 90's. This second wind didn't last long for the band I'm afraid.
#6571
This is one half of a greatest hits release that CCR released following their breakup in 1972, the other half was More Creedence gold which covered their 70's output as opposed to this covering their 60's output. Needless to say, the fans preferred their earlier output even back in the day.
#6570
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#6569
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#6568
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#6567
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#6566
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#6565
I didn't really have room to mention why "Who let the dogs out" was so low on my previous list, although it should be obvious by now as it was yet another song pulled from shelves in order to encourage album sales from the group. The second single from said album didn't suffer such a fate as it was free to become a massive hit here in Australia due to it a fun party jam that wasn't from a kid's movie.
#6564
This was the lead single to Noisework's second album, an album that didn't live up to the hype set up by their debut album likely due to there being plenty of pub rock coming out from around this time. The band would come back in the early 90's with their third and final album where they added some bombast to their sound which helped them stand out from their contemporaries and made them a success.
#6563
This took a while to be a success here in Australia, I'm not sure why other than it being a more upbeat track compared to their other hit "Send me an angel" from the previous year. It eventually reached the upper echelons of our charts and even did quite well in Europe considering the success of their other big hit, although this would sadly be the last anyone would hear from the Australian band.
#6562
This was the second UK chart topper in a row for the Police, although I get the feeling this was a hit here more due to them performing it on Countdown rather than us wanting to hear about how Sting desires to be an astronaut. Regardless it was a huge success for the band and confirmed them as a household name here, heck their debut album even managed to become a success because of this.
#6561
This was the second volume of the Unforgiven trilogy that Metallica released, as I said this was the biggest hit of the trilogy likely due to it being more pop friendly than the first entry from seven years prior.
#6560
We have one final appearance from Neil Diamond on this list, it's another big worldwide hit he had proving yet again that he was on top of the world during the first half of the decade regardless of where you're from.
#6559
This was the first song that John Farnham released in the decade; it was a guaranteed success for him given how this was coming off the heels of his top entry on this list which coincidentally was when the original version from BJ Thomas took home the academy award for best original song.
#6558
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#6557
This was a posse cut brought together by the producer J Wess, sort of like what DJ Khaled would release throughout the 2010's only if he actually produced the music rather than just shout out some random nonsense at the start of his songs. The performers are rapper Digga and vocalists Kulaia and Lolly who both contribute to the chorus on this track.
#6556
Wow was Suzi seeing diminishing returns in the mainstream worldwide as the decade went on, to think this woman was briefly the most successful in the rock scene with her first two albums both here and throughout Europe. Here she scores a hit with a song that's much softer than the glam rock that made her a household name earlier in the decade, although it did lead to her having a revival period.
#6555
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#6554
He already had three hits with three different acts prior to his solo debut, so why not become a one hit wonder for a fourth time here with said debut single? We may not have ever had any interest in giving the likes of Ultravox, Visage of Band aid a second hit here in Australia, but at least we were interested in what Midge Ure would do next as evidence by how often he would appear on the charts with a new act.
#6553
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#6552
This was the only hit that Maria Muldaur managed to achieve in her career anywhere in the world, it's a folk ballad detailing a steamy date she went on which was guaranteed to be a success for her due to the level of details she provided connecting with audiences of the moment.
#6551
This was a different side to Rose Royce as they went from the happy go lucky "Car wash" to a more downbeat breakup ballad about how the love is gone and that this person should move on from them. It was a bit of a sleeper hit here in Australia likely due to the contrast of what had come before from the band, although nowadays people are likely more familiar with Madonna's version from 1996.
#6550
Given how much hype there was for George Michael’s third album this year, he decided to have the third single of Older serve as its own E.P which would prove to be a massive hit in its own right for the aging pop star. This comeback period would be short lived as aside from a surprise hit from his greatest hits album from two years later, this would be the last time he would trouble our charts.
#6549
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#6548
This was the first of three Billboard chart toppers Billy Joel had this decade, it was the second single from his Glass house album which was less a throwback to the music of the 50's and more him wondering why we should glamourise newer music when the older stuff holds up. It's a rather poignant track that seems to be more relevant now that it was back then.
#6547
This one and only hit from ATC may be more appropriate than you realise given how the members were indeed from different parts of the world, those places being NZ, Australia, Italy and the UK despite the foursome being based in Germany. It was their only hit worldwide likely due to the novelty of them being from different parts of the world, although it could also be its fusion of teen pop and EDM.
#6546
Here's the big hit that my UK readers will be familiar with from Tony Christie, although that wouldn't be the case until 2005 where it was turned into a duet with British comedian Peter Kay for comedy relief that year. As that version never dented a chart outside of the UK, I'll be focusing my attention on the original which is a story about travelling to the titular Amarillo in America to meet up with a girlfriend.
#6545
This was the title track from Jessica Mauboy's second album, it was a big hit for her just like another entry that's still to come on this list, proving that she was robbed three years prior when she lost the fourth season of Australian idol.
#6544
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#6543
I'm a bit surprised that David Cassidy didn't have a second inescapable hit here in Australia given how popular his top entry on this list was, at least he has another entry on this list as this two for one deal managed to be a success for the pop crooner and actor down under.
#6542
Following the success she had with her debut album internationally, Kelly Clarkson was commissioned by Disney to write a theme song for Princess diaries 2 which would go on to serve as the lead single to the album of the same name that would become her biggest in her career. The film was poorly received even by fans of the original for being a cliched mess that wasn't even based on the books the original was an adaptation of.
#6541
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#6540
This was the third and final hit that Corona was able to achieve this year worldwide, this time it's a song about how the narrator wants you to give them a try in a relationship which I'm sure many people were open to the idea of given how infectious the single remains to this day. They would disappear from the music industry after this to allow La Bouche to take over the mainstream with their album.
#6539
This was the only hit that British band Voice of the beehive were able to achieve in Australia, likely due to it being a cover of the biggest hit that the Partridge family had two decades prior albeit as a pop rock tune in an attempt to modernise the wholesome original. I will say that I do prefer this track even if it's admittedly more dated than the original, I think it's due to how "radical" they were trying to be on here.
#6538
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#6537
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#6536
This was the third and final single to come from ELO's breakthrough album, it's also the song which made them big both in NZ and America as it remains their biggest hit in both countries. I can see why as it's a more subdue ballad about a long-distance relationship, it's a much more conventional song in their catalogue compared to the rock opera from the rest of the album.
#6535
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#6534
This is often considered as the signature tune from Air supply, mainly because it's the song that best represents their discography of passionate love songs performed in a melodramatic way. The duo scored more success in America than they did in Australia this decade, although they did have a few hits down under before we Aussies gave up on them entirely.
#6533
This was the first hit that Olivia Newton John had in her career, it's a cover of a Bob Dylan track which was fairly typical of country divas from around this time given how they usually covered folk tracks to find success. Naturally this was a mere stepping stone for the British singer given how her next single would be her top entry on this list.
#6532
One of the most prolific opera singers managed to score a huge hit here in Australia around this time, although it did take a while for it to find its audience with us Aussies given how unusual it was for opera singers to have a hit by this point in time.
#6531
This was a bit of a comeback for the Cars given how their previous album was a massive flop here in Australia, although it's worth noting that their overall popular down under was pitiful when compared to what they achieved in NZ and their native America. This is especially noticeable with their next album which was only a modest success here despite it being on the biggest hits of the decade in those countries.
#6530
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#6529
Well, here we are with the one and only hit that Barry Manilow managed to score with a song he wrote, at least it's his signature tune as this lounge track has managed to endure over the years thanks to its inherent camp value. This was also one of many songs to make it big over the years to be dedicated to Rio, Copacabana being a district in the capital city of Brazil.
#6528
Following the success of his live album Frampton comes alive, Peter Frampton was able to score a huge hit in Australia with this track from his album of the same name only to forever fade into obscurity once the album dropped off the charts. I'm not sure why his popularity was so brief here, however it did lead to him being taught at music schools thanks to the talent he brought to his musicianship.
#6527
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#6526
Although these guys had minor success with "It's too late" two years prior, it was this song that made them a household name likely due to it greatly benefitting from being released around the time that the digital charts had finally begun to be tracked in Australia. The two songs are very similar to each other (at least in my opinion) so perhaps "It's too late" was yet another victim of digital piracy back in the day.
#6525
These guys had already achieved minor success earlier in the decade as Kaylan, however they decided to rebrand themselves as Disco Montego where they released the first of two songs that featured fellow Australian singer Katie Underwood with this being the only hit of the two songs. The duo did score a second minor hit with "U talking to me" which was another disco throwback from their album.
#6524
This was the first big hit that the Cure were able to achieve here in Australia, it's curious because they had appeared on Countdown multiple times prior to getting their big breakthrough with a song that's unlike most of the rest of their catalogue. The song's success likely comes from the video where lead singer Robert Smith does indeed share his love of cats in a way that I'm sure audiences found endearing.
#6523
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#6522
It had been a while since Dannii Minogue troubled the charts with her pop music, so it seems inevitable she would follow in the footsteps of her older sister and move towards indie music during the second half of the decade. She did just that with this track which ranks among her more popular songs in her catalogue, although like Kylie she would return to bubble-gum pop in the new millennium.
#6521
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#6520
Machine gun fellatio (MGF for short) must have been one of the more provocative bands to make it big in Australia this decade, this was their second album which saw a massive push from Triple J thanks to their campy stage antics as well as their overall imagery (just look at this album cover and that should give you an idea of where I'm getting at.) Unfortunately, this only worked for this one album for them.
#6519
It appears that Lee Kernaghan was one of those artists who saw more success with each album he released similar to that of the Foo fighters and Keith Urban here in Australia, indeed his popularity would increase when Keith finally saw his mainstream breakthrough later in the decade.
#6518
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#6517
After their debut album, this remains the most successful album from Heart largely due to it containing their biggest hits which is fitting because their debut contains their second biggest hit in their catalogue down under. This is also the final album they released to have any sort of success as they sadly were unable to transition from the 80's to the 90's after this year just like many heavyweights of the former decade.
#6516
This is the sequel to RPO's earlier entry on this list, suffice to say that the novelty was already starting to wear off with listening to them mash up classical music given how much less successful this album was worldwide.
#6515
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#6514
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#6513
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#6512
Before there was Hannah Montana, we had Lizzie McGuire which was a much better received show about a teenage girl and her day to day struggles that Disney released during the first half of the decade. Inevitably, there was a theatrical film which wasn't the best received film that Disney released this decade but was a much bigger improvement over its spiritual successor and spawned a successful soundtrack to boot.
#6511
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#6510
This was one of only three successful albums to come from the French pianist in Australia, the other was a live album from the following year which proved to be an even bigger hit for him here.
#6509
Gomez was another Brit pop band that was destined for great things this decade only to have their potential stolen by Coldplay once they broke through late in the year in their native UK, indeed this was more of a success here in Australia due to our indie scene being more prominent than the one in Britain which allowed it to find an audience that it failed to achieve in their homeland.
#6508
It looks like Sting was able to also survive the transition from the 80's to the 90's as this album managed to be a modest success here in Australia and throughout the world despite sounding like it would fit in with his previous two albums in his catalogue. I guess this was more of a hit thanks to there being a ton of nostalgia for his band the Police given how this was a good year for reggae and that was the band's influence in their sound.
#6507
She had a surprise hit the previous year with "Pash," so it only makes sense that Kate Ceberano would close out the 90's with a greatest hits package to remind her fans of her back catalogue. It was a huge success for her, although it didn't do her career any favours going into the new millennium.
#6506
Foreigner would become one of the most popular bands of the 80's worldwide, however they had much more humble beginnings as their debut album was a success here in Australia but only due to them being one of the earliest international guests to perform on Countdown this decade. That said, this did allow their brand of rock and roll to thrive on oldies stations decades after its initial release.
#6505
Had this been released just a few weeks later in Australia, it probably would've made it on my 1974 list given how well this did during the final weeks of the Go set charts for Carly Simon. It continued her winning streak worldwide given how the lead single was a duet with her (then) husband James Taylor.
#6504
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#6503
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#6502
For whatever reason, the title track to this greatest hits album became a huge success worldwide despite it coming from an album from 1989 for Chris Isaak. I want to say it was due to his resemblance of Roy Orbison, except that Roy had died only a few months prior to when the song was released. In any case, this helped audiences discover his back catalogue so that he could be a household name in the 90's.
#6501
I honestly would've thought this would be a shoe in for the main list, although I guess this does come from a former cast member of Neighbours even though this feels like something the Veronicas would've released at the time. I guess this conflicted with hipper audiences who liked the song but not the fact it was a Neighbour’s property.
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