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.
#7000
This was John Farnham's penultimate hit here in Australia until his comeback from 1980, it's a song released during our Christmas which makes its lyrics about how things go out of season appropriate given how we Aussies have Christmas in summer as opposed to most of the world which has it during winter.
#6999
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#6998
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#6997
I remember this being bigger than it would up being here back in the day, then again it was one of the biggest hits of the decade in Daniel's native UK so perhaps this was one of those songs that was overhyped here at the time of its release. Daniel would only have two hits outside of his homeland with the other one being "If you're not the one" from the following year.
#6996
This was the last hit that Roxette had over in America, although the rest of the world would keep them around a little while longer given how well they had aged into the 90's from their 80's material on their album Joyride. Here we have Marie trying to cope with a breakup she went through and how that person makes her have conflicting emotions about how it ended, it was a surefire hit for the duo thanks to the complicated feelings she provides in the lyrics.
#6995
This often gets lost in the shuffle when it comes to BEP's catalogue, mainly because it wasn't as big a hit as all their other entries on this site likely due to it being a rehash of "Shut up" from their previous album only with Fergie also needing to defend herself from her partner like the other three with theirs. It was still a hit for the group, mainly for the laid-back production and the sentiment still coming through.
#6994
This often gets lost in the shuffle for the singles from Mariah Carey's comeback album, mainly because it wasn't a huge number one hit in her native America like "We belong together" or "Don't forget about us" was nor as memorable as "It's like that" despite that being her lowest charting song on the album worldwide. It could also be that a much more famous song with this name has since come out over the years.
#6993
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#6992
There was a popular British drama series known as Minder that ran throughout most of the 80's, it came with a theme sung by its star Dennis Waterman that needed several attempts to find success worldwide on the singles chart. This was the fourth attempt to have this be a hit here in Australia, becoming as such two years after it succeeded in NZ and his native UK.
#6991
This was the lead single to Billy Joel's biggest album An innocent man everywhere in the world except for the UK where his earlier entry was the lead single, indeed this was his second Billboard chart topper due to how instantly popular it was in his native America which prompted its success here in Australia. The album has a doo wop revival to it which explains why it's so bouncy even after all these years.
#6990
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#6989
The last time Aretha Franklin troubled the charts in Australia was with her 1968 hit "I say a little prayer," that's nearly two decades where she went unheard of here (save for her role in the Blues brothers.) This makes this track about her finding love in a Pink Cadillac a triumphant comeback for her and one that gave her a second run in the mainstream given how she scored a hit with George Michael in 1987.
#6988
There were many music programs in Australia over the years, one of the more popular ones albeit only for a little while was Ground zero which I guess was meant to be the 90's equivalent of Bandstand and Countdown as it was a hybrid of having live performances and showing music videos. The show was such a success in season one that a CD was released containing tracks that were performed live on the show.
#6987
This was heavily overshadowed by the first 100% hits entry from earlier on this list, I guess this is a reason why that became a franchise as this still managed to be a success even if it didn't have as strong a selection of hits as that did.
#6986
This was released on the tenth anniversary of the album; it does remain the BIGGEST album of all time in Australia (albums from Spotify streaming not withstanding) so naturally its success was warranted this year.
#6985
This will be the only appearance from Marilyn Manson on this side of my site, I guess we Aussies weren't that interested in the shock factor he offered up in his music as many will tell you (me included) that his music was rather standard when divorced from the context of his stage antics.
#6984
It seems a little odd that this debut album from Wham wasn't more of a success here in Australia, I guess there was only so much we could take from George Michael rapping before it became too much of a novelty for us (it might even explain why hip hop took so long to become a success here.) Naturally they would achieve more success with their second album the following year as they dropped the rapping on that release.
#6983
Hanson were so inescapable this year that they managed to release a Christmas album which became a huge success for them, although it isn't one of those seasonal albums that reappears at the end of every year like the ones that Mariah Carey and Michael Bublé released.
#6982
This album manages to collect the biggest hits of the summer of 81/82 here in Australia and market the collection as the songs of autumn, it was a modest success due to this tactic but could've been more popular as evidence by the other entries on these lists.
#6981
Given how successful their first two albums were the previous year, it's a bit surprising that this was much less of a hit for Duran Duran here in Australia despite it managing to spawn two of their most popular songs in their catalogue. I guess at this point, we Aussies had officially declared these guys to be a singles act similar to the likes of Kim Wilde and Laura Branigan.
#6980
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#6979
While this wasn't anywhere near as successful as their previous album from two years prior, Soundgarden nonetheless managed to achieve massive success here in Australia with this follow up proving how big grunge was even after the tragic loss of Kurt Cobain in our music scene. Despite how big this was worldwide; the band would call it quits after this to allow Chris Cornell to form Audioslave.
#6978
This was Ben Harper's gospel album which became a moderate success here in Australia likely due to the success of his previous album from the previous year, he also recruits a gospel group known as the Blind boys of Alabama who have been active since the 30's, although I'm guessing this is the offspring of the original members given how old said members would've been around this time.
#6977
This was a bit of a surprise entry from Julio Iglesias given how he hadn't had any success here in Australia for exactly ten years, I guess this was more a success out of nostalgia for his first English language album 1100 bel air place than anything else.
#6976
Well, I did mention earlier on this list that this was a commercial disappointment for Kelly Rowland, in fact I'm willing to be that it was only a success here in Australia thanks to how big the two lead singles were here (despite the fact that one of them came from Nelly's appearance from earlier on this list.) At least this does make an appearance on this site, which is more than I can say for her second solo album.
#6975
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#6974
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#6973
Well, this was the album where Prince as Eminem put it a decade later "turn himself into a symbol" which was a modest success upon its initial release due to the popularity of his earlier entry on this list despite it receiving a polarising reception due to fans and critics not knowing what to do with his new sound and image.
#6972
This is a covers album from John Farnham where he takes several Australian classics from the twentieth century to make his own, it was a surprise hit for him likely due to the nostalgia circuit becoming stronger as we ventured towards the new millennium. It would prove to be the last successful album in his catalogue save for a few Christmas albums in the 2010's.
#6971
This was the last successful album that the Corrs had anywhere in the world, I'm guessing this was another victim of Australian idol pushing aside established artists in order to promote the contestants of the show as I don't remember hearing much about this back in the day. They would release one more album the following year to deafening silence which resulted in them going their separate ways afterwards.
#6970
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#6969
The Jacksons were on a roll during the first half of the decade, as such we have this live album being a massive success here in Australia which is slightly odd given how it wasn't very popular in NZ or even their native America despite the band being more popular in both of those countries up until this point.
#6968
This was a modest success for the Living end this year, although I maintain that it should've been a massive success for them this year given how I firmly believe they were done dirty by digital piracy even this far into the new millennium. Indeed, had they delayed this album by just a few months, it could've easily been among the most popular albums of the decade thanks to legal digital downloads.
#6967
This was released at the start of the decade to deafening silence here, I'm guessing the brothers Gibb wanted to continue tradition of beginning each decade with the highlights of the previous decade in their career even if they only scored one notable hit during the 80's worldwide. It was given a second chance this year for some reason, I'm not sure why as this was an otherwise uneventful year for them.
#6966
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#6965
Given the overwhelming success they achieved with their previous album, Oasis decided to go big with their third album which resulted in it dividing fans and critics alike due to them not holding back with their ambitions. It was a success worldwide due to how big they were; however, many believe that this was the beginning of their decline due to how hard it was to get on board with their antics.
#6964
Following her departure from the Rogue traders, Natalie Bassingthwaighte decided to embark on a solo career which was off to a good start with her solo debut album given how it not only spawned two giant hits as the decade was coming to an end but was also a massive success in its own right given its appearance on this list. Alas this was the full extent of her popularity away from her meal ticket band.
#6963
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#6962
Well, here's the seasonal album that will forever be the album that charts during the Christmas season for the rest of time, however it may surprise you to learn that while it was a success back in the day, it only charted for the first two Christmas seasons of its lifespan before never touching the charts until the 2010's. This was more due to having an extremely short shelf life as the album would be pulled from shelves once the new year rolled around.
#6961
For whatever reason, this greatest hits album from Barbra Streisand became a hit again this year in Australia, likely due to the song this album is named after finally becoming a minor hit for Elaine Paige due to her breakthrough.
#6960
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#6959
This is the last solo album that Kasey Chambers had success with here in Australia as her next few albums would be collaborations with her husband Shane Nicholson, it's also the final album to spawn a hit single for her albeit a minor hit given how it failed to appear on the singles list for this year.
#6958
This is another successful album that collects the biggest hits of winter this year, as such it was guaranteed some level of success even if its success pales in comparison to other albums collecting the biggest hits of the midpoint of other years this decade.
#6957
This is the only successful album to come from the Black Crowes here in Australia, a southern blues band who achieved massive success over in NZ of all places with their previous album even though this album was only a modest success over there given how big their earlier work was.
#6956
While this year was a bit scarce when it came to successful compilation albums, it at least had a decent winter period which is why this managed to be a success even if it didn't live up to the standards from other winter releases throughout the decade.
#6955
This is the final taste of success Marcia Hines had in her career, one thing you'll notice going through my site is that an artist releasing a greatest hits package is generally a sign that they're anticipating a turbulent time in their career with there being little chance of them overturning said turbulence which happens to be the case here.
#6954
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#6953
We haven't seen many Christmas albums make it big in recent memory, indeed one of the more successful entries comes from Enya who scored a surprise hit with this album proving that the new age genre of the 90's still had some commercial appeal this far into the new millennium.
#6952
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#6951
Given how this album managed to spawn Bobby Brown's biggest hit not just here in Australia but throughout the rest of the world, it only makes sense it would be a success for him even if that success was a fraction of what his previous album achieved from the end of the previous decade here.
#6920
It took them fourteen years, but Cold chisel were back with a new album and fans were delighted to see them return as it was an instant success for them this year. While this would be the last big album from them and Jimmy Barnes, they would go on to retain their popularity throughout the 21st century.
#6949
It's a bit sad that this album was only a modest success upon its initial release here in Australia, heck even after the tragic passing of Kurt Cobain less than a year after its release, it only occasionally pops back onto our charts proving that we Aussies were more interested in the works of Pearl jam back in the day. Still, this was a decent success here, and hey, it also remains one of the best albums of the decade much like its predecessor.
#6948
This guy was completely inescapable this year, so much so that one of his earlier albums managed to become a modest success here in Australia which further boosted his popularity.
#6947
The last time we looked at an album from Ronan Keating, it was with his second solo album from seven years prior which was a far cry from this covers album he dedicated to the mothers of the world this year. He conveniently released it in time for Mother's Day which is why it managed to become a success this year.
#6946
Apparently, there was archival footage of John Lennon making songs for the Beatles, meaning that at some point before his death, he was considering reuniting the band which I guess meant he was willing to patch things up with the other three members (particularly Paul.) When this footage was discovered, the rest of the band honoured his wishes by pseudo reforming and releasing these new tracks on this greatest hits album.
#6945
Just a heads up that I'll be having a bunch of two for one deal entries on this site as there were quite a few singles that were bundled together here in Australia to help boost their popularity. In any case we have our first entry which was the second and third singles from Back in black which managed to become the band's second top ten hit in the decade due to how well fondly remembered both tracks are to this day.
#6944
How on earth did this ever get radio play? I think we all know what MF stands for, so the fact that part of the title of this song had to be censored in order for it to reach the airwaves is quite the conundrum if you ask me. None of this was much of an issue for the song becoming a hit here in Australia (if anything I think it boosted its popularity) hence why this was able to make it on this list.
#6943
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#6942
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#6941
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#6940
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#6939
Well, this was a bit of a surprise hit for Paula Abdul, even in her native America she hadn't had any success since her sophomore album from earlier in the decade and yet here she is scoring a hit in Australia with something that sounds like it belongs in the world music genre.
#6938
Kulcha was a NZ band based in Australia who of course managed to score a hit with their debut single both here and in their homeland this year, I guess its success was inevitable even though it's from the new jack swing genre which didn't do well in Australia throughout the 90's. I guess the quartet did resist the urge to "boom shaka laka" even though the song was clearly inspired by the phrase.
#6937
This was the only hit to come from Billy Joel's greatest hits package from this year, it's a song about gaining your second wind after you've been shot down by someone in a relationship. There weren't any signs of him slowing down in the industry as his next album would be a huge success for him, that is only in Australia it was as it underperformed throughout the rest of the world for some reason.
#6936
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#6935
This is the second single where Robbie Williams is questioning his place in this world, while it isn't as anti-religious as "Better man" was, it does have references to how he feels that God doesn't think much of him throughout the song that makes it somewhat similar to that song. It was a massive hit for him worldwide and likely the reason why his third album this decade was a massive success here in Australia.
#6934
This was the other big hit that Madness achieved here in Australia, likely due to it coming out around the time they performed this and their earlier single on Countdown making them one of the more popular bands here this year. Their next song was "Our house," a song that underperformed here despite it easily being one of their most recognisable tracks likely due to its popularity on Billboard.
#6933
This was the lead single from Cargo in America, as such it's the reason why it was the big hit in America as opposed to their earlier entry which was a massive flop for the band on Billboard. The success of the song here in Australia was inevitable as the band were still on top of the world as far as we Aussies were concerned this year, although aside from "Down under" recharting this year, it would be their final hit.
#6932
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#6931
These guys had been active since the mid 50's, which means they scored their final hit in Australia and most parts of the world two decades after their initial breakthrough. They had another hit earlier in the year with "Like sister and brother" meaning this RNB ballad didn't come out of nowhere for the band down under, indeed they were fairly successful worldwide as both of these songs were huge in the UK.
#6930
Given that "Stronger" was a defining moment in Britney Spears career when it comes to female empowerment, I guess it's only fitting that Christina Aguilera would make a song of her own where she overcomes an abusive relationship only to thank her toxic partner for making her a stronger person in the process. It was as successful as her former rival's track from earlier in the decade even though it was far better received by critics.
#6929
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#6928
This is often considered the best song to come from JT given how it airs out his dirty laundry with Britney Spears as it was recorded not long after their breakup, I won't go into the details of what drove them apart except by mentioning that it involved her hooking up with Wade Robson while she was dating Justin. It was the weakest selling single on the album at the time, although time has made it more popular over the years.
#6927
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#6926
There were no signs of these guys slowing down in Australia this year as this title track from their (then) latest album became the second hit from the album after "Money honey" from earlier on the list.
#6925
Darryl Cotton was the lead singer of Zoot from a decade prior, so he seems to be a little late to the party when it comes to 60's rockers finding it big on their own given how the likes of Glenn Shorrock and bandmate Rick Springfield already had massive success by this point in time. Even so, he got there eventually with this one and only hit about how a girl he used to date hasn't changed over the years.
#6924
Well, this is the lead single to the first of two albums which saw Metallica go in a more mainstream direction than their previous album which fans had already complained was a watered-down version of their earlier work, I guess the message their old school fans were sending these guys was that they really didn't want the masses to influence what these guys would make in their discography.
#6923
This was the third hit that Johnny Diesel and the Injectors were able to score from their debut album, proving that they were one of the hottest Australian bands of the day right when the 80's was beginning to come to an end. Their popularity was so huge this year that they scored buzz over in the UK which likely explains why their music occasionally pops up in international media throughout the 90's.
#6922
We haven't seen a lot of nepotism on this site so far, so let's rectify that by looking at the one and only hit from the daughter of a record label founder Kate Alexa. There's not much to say about the song itself, it's your typical teen pop that was still thriving from around this time here in Australia. The real meat of this song's success is that Kate is the daughter of Michael Gudinski who founded Mushroom records which is THE record label of choice here in Australia.
#6921
This lead single to Robbie William's swing album was delayed here in Australia due to the sudden rise in popularity of his earlier entry on this list, it certainly had little to do with the presence of Nicole Kidman who was fresh off her Oscar nominated performance as Satine from Moulin Rouge where she even scored a minor hit the previous year with co-star Ewan Macgregor with the film's one original track "Come what may."
#6920
While their popularity wasn't as inescapable as it was earlier in the decade, Abba was still able to find success with their singles here in Australia as the decade was coming to an end, proving that their dip in popularity was more due to overexposure rather than the quality dropping. This was the second single from their album Voulez vous which allowed it to be a modest improvement commercially over their previous album.
#6919
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#6918
This was the theme to the Bond film of the same name; it remains the most successful Bond theme of all time due to it being the band's second Billboard chart topper as well as the only Bond theme to top the Billboard charts. It appears that this song had cursed everyone involved with the project as Roger Moore would step down as the titular character after this and Duran Duran would never again have a hit in Australia.
#6917
Wang Chung were a British band who were all set to fail in the music industry given how their debut single was a flop on the British charts the previous year, fortunately it somehow caught on in America which allowed it to find an audience here in Australia several months after its initial release. The band would return three years later with "Everybody have fun tonight" which was their biggest hit.
#6916
This was a two for one deal from Frente, although it wasn't originally as "Lonely" was released on its own as the band's American debut single and flopped due to it being a departure from their sweet and innocent image from their debut album. They attached their cover of a New order track which also came on an E.P named after their other song which helped them score one final hit this year down under.
#6915
It looked like Anastacia's second album was going to become a complete flop for her around the world given how its lead single "Paid my dues" failed to become a hit for her, in order to prevent that from happening, the second single was given a remix which people pointed out made it seem like it was "I'm outta love" 2.0 which regardless proved to be a hit for the American pop star here in Australia at least.
#6914
This was the lead single to Tina's third album In deep, an album that didn't exactly live up to the hype that her previous album set up but was nonetheless a huge success for her here in Australia. I personally would've gone with "Now I can dance" as the lead single as that was more fun and a better album opener than this track.
#6913
This was the only other hit that Joan Jett managed to score in Australia, I'm guessing because it was a cover of the Tommy James classic of the same name which was also a huge hit here back in the late 60's. One thing interesting about this track is that Joan doesn't change the pronouns in the sex jam, leading to a long-standing rumour that this was her way of confessing she was in fact a lesbian.
#6912
This is another song that was way more popular back in the day here in Australia than its placement on this list otherwise suggests, again you can blame Sony of Australia for tampering with its release schedule to cater to the Australian idol masses of the year. This was the only song to come from Big Boi's side of the duo's album Speakerboxx, I'm guessing Andre 3000 wanted all of the singles from the album if this was the only song to be released from the album as a single not by him.
#6911
This will be the final appearance of Holly Valance on my site, mainly because "State of mind" wasn't a big enough hit here to qualify for this list even though it might arguably be her best song (it's my personal favourite at least.) Instead, we have this third hit from her debut album which is about how she know she's a "naughty girl" (whatever that's supposed to mean) and how she can't help by be the way she is.
#6910
So, I feel there was a bit of a minor controversy with this song, mainly because Baby animals had a song from around this time known as "One word" which had a similar chorus to this track (lyric wise that is as the two songs have different tempos.) Naturally this was the big hit as U2 were on top of the world by this stage, although Baby animals had the bigger album which I guess was their consolation from us.
#6909
This was another female empowerment anthem to become a hit worldwide, this time it comes from Christina Aguilera and Lil Kim who collaborated with each other for the second time this decade after "Lady marmalade" from two years prior for a song that might not have been as successful, but still resonated with audiences worldwide due to them making an anthem for women for the ages.
#6908
Well, you know that Sesame Street was a phenomenon by this point in time when there's a popular hit single that remixed the theme song that the show uses to open up every episode. It became a huge worldwide success for the British EDM group likely due to the nostalgia people have for the show, although it hasn't received any love since its initial release this year.
#6907
Well, I guess even D12 can prove that they had a serious side to them during their time together, as such we have their third and final hit from their discography which seems to take a page from some of Eminem's more serious work from his solo albums. They never released a third album due to the death of Proof two years later, although they did try to reunite throughout the 2010's to little avail.
#6906
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#6905
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#6904
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#6903
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#6902
From what I can gather, St Elmo's fire is arguably one of the best Joel Schumaker films due to it being the story of a bunch of young adults which happens to comprise of some of the most popular actors of the 80's in the 20 something year old bracket. By far the best part of the film according to modern audiences is the theme song which was a huge success for John Parr due to the inspirational lyrics.
#6901
The winter of this year was a hectic time indeed if this was only slightly less popular than the Hit machine counterpart from earlier on this list.
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