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.
#6800
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#6799
This covers the hits of spring of 1990 and packages it as summer jams, it was a big hit due to the strong selection of tracks it had to choose from during this period to feature on here.
#6798
This was the final hit that Roxy music managed to score anywhere in the world, this is because they would break up once the album cycle for Avalon was done so that Bryan Ferry could focus on his solo career more permanently. Unfortunately, his solo career didn't pan out in Australia this decade despite how big it was internationally, meaning this was the last song to become a hit for him overall.
#6797
This was the last hit that Wham had together before they officially went their separate ways so that George Michael could pursue a solo career and Andrew Ridgely could become a race car driver (no really, he gave up music for that.) Reportedly this was a song inspired by their Chinese tour which should give you an indication of how out of control their popularity was around this time.
#6796
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#6795
It was inevitable that the debut album from Colbie Caillat would be a success here in Australia given how it spawned a huge hit here for her, although it's worth noting that it sat on our shelves ignored for almost a year due to how long it took for "Bubbly" to take off here compared to the rest of the world.
#6794
Before the likes of Duffy, Leona Lewis and Adele, there was Joss Stone when it came to British artists finding success with American soul back in the day, this was the first of two albums she scored massive worldwide success with this year (the other sadly won't be appearing on this list) thanks to her unique vocals bring life to these soul numbers in a way that can rival the likes of those who came after her.
#6793
Well so much for the first Ally McBeal soundtrack being an inessential album, this came out around the time the A.V club declared it as such which goes to show just how wrong the publication was at suggesting the smoky jazz found on these albums wouldn't connect with a (then) modern audience even if this was far less successful than the previous entry.
#6792
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#6791
Given how he was seeing massive success with his earlier entry on this list, it only makes sense that Andrea's (then) most recent album would suddenly find success here in Australia a year after its initial release. This confirmed the opera singer as the real deal as well as restoring the popularity of classical music given how the 3 tenors were seen as yesterday's news by this point.
#6790
This was a big hit on the AMR charts but not so much on the ARIA charts, I guess it was the nostalgia baiting that the singles had that allowed this to perform better on the former charts as I can't imagine too many of us Aussies genuinely being a hip hop track where Puff Daddy (more commonly known as Diddy) is spitting rhymes as opposed to his east coast cliental.
#6789
This was released the previous year to very minimal success, likely because it took us Aussies a hot minute to realise these two women were the backup vocalists for the Black sorrows and thus are a large reason why those albums remain classics to this day. Indeed, the album saw a massive surge in popularity this year likely because of this connection, although it would be the full extent of their success without the band.
#6788
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#6787
This was a modest success for Cypress hill here in Australia upon its initial release, although its true success wouldn't come until a year later likely due to how well it was received by the kiwis throughout its run over in NZ. It was an early success story for the "true" hip hop here in Australia given how until this point it was mainly the likes of MC Hammer and Vanilla ice finding success with the genre here.
#6786
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#6785
Our other new entry from the 90's is another greatest hits album that peaked in the summer of 1991/1992, this time it's from Billy Idol who originally released this following the success of his 1990 effort Charmed life (more specifically it's lead single "Cradle of love") but didn't take off here until a full year after its initial release for whatever reason.
#6784
This was the last taste of success that Stevie Nicks had here in Australia both solo and with Fleetwood mac, admittedly this was a greatest hits album which is usually a sign of an artist acknowledging the end of their peak period. It’s interesting this underperformed here given how successful her four solo albums were throughout the 80's.
#6783
Tommy Emmanuel was a session guitarist for Dragon during their last few albums in the 80's, even with that in mind, it was a bit of a surprise that he managed to see massive solo success throughout the 90's beginning with this solo album following the final successful album from his meal ticket band from the previous year.
#6782
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#6781
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#6780
This was a moderate success for Eric Clapton upon its initial release, I'm guessing because we Aussies were feeling nostalgic for his older work even though he only saw success with his time with Cream as well as his 1974 effort 461 ocean boulevard up until this point in his career down under.
#6779
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#6778
The last time Joe Jackson troubled the charts here was six years prior when he scored a massive breakthrough with his album Night and day (there were a few artists from 1982 having big hits this year for some reason.) Here Joe managed to return with a live album containing several key moments from his shows throughout the decade, hence the name of the album and why it was likely a success.
#6777
To my knowledge, this is the only remix album from Madonna as she's had no other remix albums that have charted over the years. This was also caught between two years here in Australia, proving that we Aussies were a bit unimpressed with this release even though it was a decent hit for her back in the day.
#6776
Although New order didn't have that much success with their albums over in Australia during their heyday, they did score a surprise hit this year with "Bizarre love triangle" which caught the attention of us Aussies despite that song bombing over in NZ where they were inescapable. As such, they released this greatest hits package which spawned their second biggest hit that was also a minor success over here.
#6775
From what I can gather, V spy V spy was a politically charged band from Australia who scored their one and only successful album this year with their combination of pub rock and new wave. They were kind of like Midnight oil if they weren't as successful and possibly less commercially viable, hence why this album was not only a success but retains a strong fanbase even to this day.
#6774
I'm a bit surprised at how little success Paul Kelly had in the mainstream back in the day, he was always a critical darling and even was a regular on Countdown when he released this album which up until very recently was his most successful (we're obviously not counting his 1997 greatest hits package.) I guess this got pushed aside back in the day in favour of all the earlier entries on this list.
#6773
It makes sense that this greatest hits package would find success this year with us Aussies given how they finally saw a massive breakthrough with their earlier entry on this list, as such it allowed us Aussies to discover their back catalogue which is a bit odd given how they were regulars on Countdown throughout the decade.
#6772
The last time Billy Ocean had troubled our charts here in Australia was with his debut single "Love really hurts without you" back in 1976, fast forward eight years and he came back with the lead single to his first RNB album which helped him find an audience all around the world due to how he reinvented himself. The album was a massive success here mainly due to how big the singles were.
#6771
This was released during a time where exercise records were making it big in America, as such Richard Simmons decided to release a parody album of these records which ironically made it the most successful of these albums here in Australia.
#6770
This is one of many entries from the Angels to find success throughout the decade, although this had to compete with the Never so live E.P which also contains the lead single "Fashion and fame" which is perhaps why it didn't do as well as the rest of their discography.
#6769
Much like his previous album, this also had a different title here in Australia compared to what it was in the UK (it was called Shaky for the record) this was named after the second single of the album here which curiously was only the fourth biggest hit he had down under.
#6768
This was released at the bookend of the 70's following the massive success of her (then) most recent album Bad girls, it surprisingly underperformed here in Australia likely due to the lead single also being included on Barbra Streisand's earlier entry and thus failing to promote this album over that release.
#6767
Ever wanted to know if the female vocalist on Meat Loaf's iconic Bat out of hell album had her own catalogue worth checking out? It turns out she does as this was her debut album following the positive reception she received with her contributions to her earlier work. Sadly, this was the full extent of her popularity here in Australia, likely due to the downward spiral Meat loaf and company went through at the time.
#6766
It appears that fifth time was the charm for Jo Jo Zep and the Falcons as this was their fifth album in their catalogue as well as the album that finally made them a household name here in Australia thanks to the lead single becoming their only hit. This is another surprise for me as I would've thought this would be among the more successful albums of this time from the overplay on oldies stations to the band appearing regularly on Countdown.
#6765
In a bit of an odd twist, Ian Dury managed to find success this year not with the album that spawned his one and only hit but rather with his solo debut from two years prior. Naturally it makes sense he would find success with this album given how big "Hit me with your rhythm stick" was down under, however it still feels like an outlier on this list given how it's a rare punk album on this site.
#6764
I should point out that Joe Cocker always had some level of success here in Australia throughout his career even if the peaks and valleys are very noticeable when going through his catalogue, indeed this release feels like it would've been a massive success at the start of the decade or even a decade later given how well it fits in with those points of his career.
#6763
The title of this album may be a bit misleading given how this was the second album Genesis released as a trio following the departure of Peter Gabriel from earlier in the decade, however the real triumph this album had was spawning a genuine hit for the band given how the lead single managed to connect with audiences upon its initial release and has only become more popular with age.
#6762
This was initially a flop for George Benson here in Australia as it was everywhere in the world, I'm guessing because the world wasn't ready for a jazz revival during the 70's given that it was all about rock operas and disco at the time. We Aussies changed our minds about this album several months after its release, although it's true success came when his next album was released where this rebounded on our charts due to its success.
#6761
It's a bit of a surprise that these guys saw a steep decline in their popularity as the decade was coming to an end here in Australia given how inescapable they were during its midpoint, it's even more bizarre when you consider A: that their catalogue still receive airplay on oldies stations to this day and B: that their popularity in the UK continued as recently as the early 90's.
#6760
This was initially a huge failure here in Australia as we Aussies were a bit sceptical when it came to allowing the brothers Gibb to transition from a Beatles knockoff to the eventual kings of disco, it was given a second chance when their live album from earlier on this list became a huge success for them which finally allowed them to carve their own unique sound from their inspiration.
#6759
There weren't a lot of successful albums from women of colour back in the day, so the fact that Yvonne Fair was able to score a huge hit in Australia through the strength of this albums lead single was impressive to say the least. She never made another album after this so who knows how much more success she could've had if she released a follow up album.
#6758
From what I can gather, Reg Livermore was a contemporary of the likes of Peter Allen and other flamboyant performers from Australia that presented their queer identity as an act. He didn't quite see the level of success that his peers did, however he did achieve a massive success with this album thanks to his presence in our pop culture at the time.
#6757
This was the album that started it all for Supertramp as they would go on to have massive success later in the decade with their subsequent follow ups, it contains some of their best work which sadly only found an audience once their popularity peaked in the 70's and not upon its initial release.
#6756
This was Patti Labelle's only successful album here in Australia, mainly through the strength of her raunchy sex jam that serves as the albums lead single which became a huge success for her and her group this year. Patti would return in the 80's with some solo material, however she would never again have a successful album to her name.
#6755
I guess the album that spawned one of the most easily recognisable ballads of the decade would find success here in Australia even if it was likely at the expense of said ballad reaching the dizzying heights of success here it had in America. This was the only successful album in Harry Chapin's career, although it's possible he would've had a comeback had he not tragically passed away in 1981.
#6754
From what I can gather, Sunshine was a docudrama from 1973 that was a massive success here in Australia, at least I think it was based on how well the soundtrack did two years after its release. It's about how a mother and a daughter died at a concert and the ramifications of that event, hence why there was a tie in soundtrack to such a serious matter.
#6753
Stevie Wonder always had some form of success here in Australia, however it's worth noting he only became a massive household name once he released his greatest hits package the following year which allowed his albums to see the massive success they had in his native America.
#6752
He may have only had one hit throughout his career, however at least Gordon Lightfoot managed to find success with the album that spawned that one hit of his here in Australia likely due to it fitting in with the growing country scene that allowed John Denver and Glen Campbell to thrive around this time.
#6751
This was originally released earlier in the decade to deafening silence for Billy Idol, although I'm not sure why given how immensely popular he was here in Australia with his singles. It was given a second chance when "Mony mony" became a Billboard chart topper which compelled his label to reissue the album worldwide where it became a massive success for him.
#6750
It's a bit of a coincidence that Gary Numan would find more success with his album with Tubeway army than he did with his solo album here in Australia considering the opposite was true with the only hits he had with each respective project here, either way, his work has been widely accepted as what pioneered new wave going into the 80's and as such, remains critical darlings to this day.
#6749
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#6748
This was all set to be a flop upon its initial release here in Australia, in fact the only reason why it saw any success was due to the band's earlier entry on this list becoming a surprise hit for them which encouraged audiences to check out this greatest hits package from the band.
#6747
It had been a while since Robert Plant had last troubled the charts anywhere in the world, however he was able to come back with this album likely due to this being a good time for lead singers of highly successful bands to find success on their own. Like many of these singers, he didn't find much success going into the 90's.
#6746
It seems a bit strange that one of the most popular albums from Queen's catalogue would be such a sleeper hit back in the day considering how it contains two of their biggest hits, indeed this only became a hit down under once the fourth single from the album became a surprise hit which allowed it to rebound on our charts in order to make it a success for them.
#6745
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#6744
This was caught between two years to appear on either my 1977 or 1978 list from a while back, however there's no denying this was a massive success for the king of rock and roll following his tragic passing here in Australia given how well it did on our charts.
#6743
Given how he was coming off by far his biggest album (at least it was here in Australia) it only makes sense that Robert Palmer would cap off the 80's with a greatest hits package that only saw its success as the start of the 90's here in Australia due to how long it took to take off here. Sadly, he wouldn't find any further success here after this save for his collaboration with UB40.
#6742
This was a bit of a commercial disappointment for Kate Bush, largely due to it lacking that runaway hit that most of her other albums have in her catalogue but also due to it failing to live up to the standards set up by her debut album from the previous year. She would of course bounce back the following decade with her third album and having varying degrees of success with her music.
#6741
This was originally released three years prior to deafening silence for Chris De Burgh, likely because he only had one hit to his name as the time which wasn't exactly a song that encourages listeners to check out what else he had to offer. It was given a second chance this year when he scored his biggest hit from his (then) most recent album which allowed audience to discover the rest of his catalogue.
#6740
David Bowie was always a killer live performer, as such it makes sense this live album would be a massive success for him back in the day. That said, you'd still think that this would've been one of the more popular albums at least of its year, let alone the decade but alas it wasn't.
#6739
Although this wasn't as successful as the first entry in this series, it was enough of a success to warrant a spot on my site given how interesting the previous year turned out to be in our music scene.
#6738
Much like their second album, this third and final album from the Bangles had a slow start to its rise of success due to the lead single not connecting with audiences at the time. Fortunately, this album also had a huge chart topper in the making as when the second single became just that worldwide and thus allowed the album to be a success for the band months prior to them calling it quits.
#6737
You thought this thing was a one hit wonder back in the day, didn't you? It turns out there were several albums worth of remixes that he made back in the day including this remix of one of the bigger hits of the 70's from Hot butter that was also a huge success worldwide and even decently successful here in Australia.
#6736
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#6735
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#6734
This was a huge hit for Eternal months after it had already left the charts in NZ and their native UK, I guess we Aussies thought we were done with the trio from earlier in the decade but changed our minds when we realised how insanely catchy this track was from them. This is also the only hit single to have Bebe Winans on a track, I thought I'd bring that up since I've heard of him from different sources.
#6733
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#6732
There was still no shortage of EDM making it big in Australia this year, here we have a big hit from Italian DJ Brainbug who made it big with this song that feels like another entry into the DDR soundtrack that seems to be made to cash in on all of these songs from Europe throughout the 90's.
#6731
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#6730
I feel like this is the female empowerment anthem to end all female empowerment anthems, after all we have not one but two of the most powerful women in music joining forces to uplift the spirits of women around the world saying they can do whatever they want without feeling like they need to conform to the patriarchy. This song endures the test of time due to uplifting the women of the world without feeling the need to put men down.
#6729
This was the Hoodoo gurus' first bit hit in Australia, although the lead single to their album Mars needs guitars was a modest success given how "Bittersweet" did crack the top twenty for them earlier in the year. This was their surf rock track which I'm sure was what made them a household name given how there was a lot of nostalgia for that genre throughout the 70's and 80's down under.
#6728
Celtic music might not have reached its peak until the Riverdance craze of the 90's, however it did see a massive spike in popularity around this time which no doubt led to Foster and Allen scoring a hit with this ballad dedicated to a Maggie in their lives. The success it had in Australia led to it being one of the biggest hits of the decade in NZ.
#6727
There didn't seem to be any signs of Kenny Rogers slowing down in the mainstream as he had recruited Lionel Richie to write him his first Billboard chart topper from his second greatest hits package in a row. OK so it was his first greatest hits package in his native America as the first one he had was only released here in Australia as the 70's was coming to an end. He would struggle to retain his popularity during the MTV era.
#6726
Well, here's a man that seemed to embody the essence of sex drugs rock and roll, we have his only hit in his career which became as due to how sexually provocative he comes off during its runtime. This was a sleeper hit here in Australia, I'm guessing because this was around the time where Rod Stewart was being sexually provocative with his earlier entry on this list.
#6725
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#6724
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#6723
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#6722
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#6721
There's this movie known as Above the rim which stars Tupac Shakur as a basketball player, from what I can gather the film was poorly received for being nothing more than a string of cliches carried by the rappers admittedly compelling performance (maybe he should've played Michael Jordan in Space jam.) The film spawned a massive hit with this duet between Warren G and Nate Dogg, the former being one of the few rappers to have massive success here in Australia.
#6720
This was the only hit that Bell Biv and Deveo were able to achieve here in Australia, I'm guessing this was due to the success Bobby Brown had around this time which likely explains the success of Johnny Gill from earlier on this list. They had better luck over in NZ where all of their recognisable songs were massive hits for them.
#6719
This is a song I would've thought had done better back in the day, mainly because of how fondly it seems to be remembered on oldies stations to this day. Greg Kihn did manage to score a second hit here in Australia with "Jeopardy" the following year, however that hasn't been as fondly remembered as this track likely because of how Greg seems to miss how songs used to be written here.
#6718
I feel that this instrumental belongs in a horror movie, either that or people really wanted to hear ice cream music on the radio back in the day. This was Frank Mills only hit even in his native Canada, although from what I can gather it was originally recorded five years prior to when it became a hit.
#6717
This was the bigger hit that Supernaut were able to score here in Australia, although we'll get to their signature track in a bit as "I like it both ways" was the song that put them on the map originally. I'm guessing these two songs weren't as big as what Countdown made them out to be due to these guys arriving a little too late to the glam rock party to be among the biggest bands of the decade.
#6716
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#6715
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#6714
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#6713
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#6712
Well, this was a surprise hit here in Australia, mainly because nowhere else in the world was this British/American band able to score a hit other than with "I've been thinking about you" from the start of the decade. There wouldn't be any more surprise hits from these guys despite them never breaking up.
#6711
It appears there were two different versions of the Jennifer Rush track to become a hit this year in Australia, although this version from Italian singer Beverly Skeete was an EDM rendition as opposed to Celine Dion's take from earlier on this list so it's not like there was any mistaking the two versions of the track.
#6710
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#6709
Although she had minor success earlier in the decade as the lead singer of Q.E.D, Jenny Morris was able to finally score a massive hit on her own with this track from her solo debut album. It would lead to her releasing a second album as the decade was coming to an end where she saw even more success with her hit "She has to be loved" both here and her native NZ.
#6708
This was the only hit single that Christopher Cross was able to score in Australia, I'm guessing it was due to being a theme to the Dudley Moore flick Arthur which allowed it to win an academy award for best original song shortly into the new year. I haven't seen the original version, although I have seen the remake and if the original is anything like the remake, then it's a very overrated film.
#6707
This was the big breakthrough that Robert Palmer had here in Australia and in America of all places as this wasn't a huge hit in his native UK for some reason, in fact he never saw much success over there despite him being one of the biggest artists of the 80's worldwide. Here he scores a hit where he admits to falling in love with his doctor, a situation that I'm sure many found amusing upon its initial release.
#6706
This was the second hit that Supercharge had here in Australia, and just like their biggest hit from the previous year, this was also a flop everywhere in the world except for Australia likely due to a possible performance these guys gave on Countdown back in the day. This would be their final hit as they would break up due to the lack of success they had in their homeland not long after this.
#6705
This was the follow up to Kenny Rogers controversial song "Ruby don't take your love to town" that he released at the beginning of the decade, naturally it was a big hit for him and his band the First edition due to the artist momentum they had from that track.
#6704
Although it failed to appear on this list, "Lifestyles of the rich and famous" was a big sleeper hit here in Australia that found most of its success in the lower half of the charts from the previous year. Their second single from their sophomore album proved to be more of an immediate hit here which also helped the album become a commercial success and put the band on the map of the emo rock scene.
#6703
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#6702
I've got to be honest, I'm not sure how this managed to become a hit in Australia as Adrian Gurvitz didn't have any success with this track anywhere else in the world. I guess this was a hit due to audiences who didn't want to buy into the MTV generation getting something out of this ballad.
#6701
Karen Knowles was one of the stars of Young talent time throughout the 70's, so it only makes sense that she would see massive success with this ballad given how she was still a teenager when it was released as a single. It makes you wonder why she didn't have any success once she was all grown up.
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