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.
#6500
Apparently, this cover of the Bangles classic was meant to be a tie into a Happy day's musical that premiered this year, although I doubt anyone even remembers this and likely thinks this was just the big hit off their second album which was named as a way of counting down to the new millennium. They would have further success in the 00's still as a boy band before switching over to being a throwback group.
#6499
Although these guys had success in their native America prior to this hit, this was the first of several Billboard chart toppers that Three dog night had likely due to them taking an Eric Burdon track and running through the funk sound with their interpretation. The rest of the world liked what they did with the track which allowed it to crossover internationally.
#6498
This is a song that I'm going to have a hard time being nice to, mainly because there have been so many jokes about it over the years that I've found amusing that perfectly sum up my and other people's problems with it (the only one I'll repeat is "someone please tell this woman what her name is so that she'll go away.") It was a huge international success for the British duo likely through ironic enjoyment.
#6497
It had been four years since these guys had a hit anywhere in the world, although at this point this was more of a Chrissie Hynde solo project as the other original members of the band had left for various different reasons. This meant that she went in a more pop friendly direction as opposed to her new wave roots from earlier in the decade which would explain how she was able to score hits from Get close.
#6496
If you're wondering how Hollywood legend Lee Marvin managed to score a hit with what appears to be a spoken word track about wishing on a star, that's because this is from his film Paint your wagon which co-stars Clint Eastwood who also has spoken word songs which led to the films critical backlash upon its initial release for the two leads lack of singing talent.
#6495
Although Tin tin was a duo from Australia, it took a year for this song of theirs to become a success here likely due to them releasing it in the UK to deafening silence and not releasing it here around the same time for whatever reason. Honestly the story behind the song is more interesting than the song itself as it's your typical bubble-gum pop track that history has long forgotten about.
#6494
Well given how the Crazy frog was no longer able to score hits in the music scene, this allowed the German creation Gummibear to fill in for the amphibian which managed to score one hit this year thanks to its CGI video making the waves on YouTube. This won't be making my weird videos list as it was obvious that the bizarre imagery on there was intentional much like it was on Crazy frog's videos.
#6493
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#6492
This was the only hit to come from American singer Bobby Bloom, mainly because he would tragically pass away four years after its release due to a self-inflicted gun wound (there's actually speculation on if it was a suicide or his gun misfiring on him.) The song would be covered by Australian band Allniters a decade after his death where it became a modest success for them (albeit a sleeper hit.)
#6491
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#6490
This is the final hit that Bon Jovi was able to achieve anywhere in the world, it was a bit of a surprise hit here in Australia given how they didn't have one since the start of the decade with "It's my life." I guess the general public wanted to give them one more hit before they became a legacy band as everything they've released ever since has only been a success due to nostalgia for their older work.
#6489
Orianthi is an Australian guitarist and vocalist who was hired by MJ himself for his This is it tour, unfortunately she was unable to showcase her skills as a guitarist due to the tour being cancelled for obvious reasons. Still, that did give her enough buzz for her second album to spawn a huge hit with its lead single about how she doesn't care about what her ex thinks of her so long as her current partner thinks the opposite.
#6488
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#6487
Well, here's that other hit that Juice Newton managed to score in Australia this year, this time it's a cover of a Dave Edmunds track from a few years prior which in addition to it being a bouncy number is likely why it found success here for the country singer. Although these two songs on this list were the full extent of her popularity in Australia, she found further success in her native America as the decade went on.
#6486
This was the lead single to Prince's first album with the New power generation, a band he formed following the demise of his previous band the Revolution due to the critical and commercial failure of his third film Graffiti bridge. This was a bit of a novelty hit for him giving how there doesn't seem to be many lyrics in the song, although it was popular enough for his next single to be a worldwide smash.
#6485
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#6484
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#6483
This was the only hit for both men involved with this track in Australia, although in the case of Clarence Clemons that was more due to him being known for being a saxophonist and this being his only song he recorded vocals for. Jackson Brown on the other hand is one of the most respected singer/songwriters in the music industry and yet was only able to score his one and only hit with this duet.
#6482
This was another two for one deal to make it big in Australia, this time it's the fourth and fifth singles from Vanessa Amorosi's debut album which were likely bundled together in order to give her a fourth consecutive hit from the album. The two songs are totally different from each other as "The power" is an upbeat track about living her life to the fullest whilst "Everytime I close my eyes" is a downtempo love song.
#6481
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#6480
This was the first song that Icehouse released once they changed their name to match that of their debut album, indeed this feels like a bonus track from their now self-titled album as they released this purely to tie fans over to their second album which is where their international appeal was finally met.
#6479
Livie was on a roll when she released this title track to her album this year, it became her second Billboard chart topper in a row following the success of "I honestly love you" from the previous year. It would be her last hit here in Australia for a few years as we were growing tired of country music around this time, although she would return later in the decade in a more pop friendly direction.
#6478
This was the second hit that Daft punk had here in Australia, it was also their final hit for over a decade as none of their other songs from the 00's managed to crossover here (not even "Harder better faster stronger" which was the song Kanye West sampled for his worldwide smash "Stronger" in 2007.) The song's popularity likely comes from the video which showcases an anime style band playing along to the track.
#6477
Following the moderate success of her cover of "Fire and rain," Marcia Hines managed to score a huge hit here in Australia with this original ballad which no doubt led to the success of her debut album from around the time of its release. This would be the start of a highly successful music career here in Australia after a successful run as Mary Magdalene in the Australian production of Jesus Christ superstar.
#6476
You'd think that "Stairway to heaven" would be the big hit from Led Zeppelin's fourth self-titled album, alas it wasn't as that honour goes to this track instead which is more of a conventional rock track as opposed to the prog classic that continues to invade our airwaves even to this day.
#6475
You'd think that this would be a fast-paced RNB jam judging by the name of the band who made it as well as the name of the song, instead we have a smooth RNB jam that wouldn't have felt out of place on the Saturday night fever soundtrack making it big this far into the 80's. This was their only hit back in the day, and sadly Fat Larry would pass away later in the decade putting an end to their time together.
#6474
This was the first of three hits that Maxi Priest scored in Australia over the years, it's also his only cover as he took the Cat Stevens original and turned it into a reggae track to help him establish a career away from UB40. This was likely one of the songs to kick star the 90's fascination with reggae given how many other tracks from the genre made it big that decade.
#6473
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#6472
James was on a roll this year as he managed to score a second hit from his solo album, further proving that he was the driving force of Australian crawl throughout the decade given how their popularity dwindled after their third album. All of this success led to him receiving buzz the following year for his album internationally, so much so that his album was given an international released that sadly flopped for him.
#6471
Given how MTV had taken over the mainstream, it only makes sense that this art rock track from Johnny Warman would be a huge success when it was. With that said, it's little wonder that it hasn't endured the test of time given how it seemed to be tailor made for the launch of the program and little else.
#6470
This was the other big hit that Mental as anything were able to score this year, it's not quite as silly as their earlier entry as it seems to be a role reversal of that situation which makes this a roundabout hit from the album both songs came from. The band would see a quiet period for a while as their next album underperformed on the charts, however they came back strong than ever in 1985.
#6469
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#6468
This was the final hit that the Bay city rollers were able to score in Australia, I guess all good things must come to an end which is what happened to these guys when this only barely became a success for them.
#6467
This was the first of the Unforgiven trilogy, a group of songs that Metallica released over the next fifteen years which seem to have a theme of them being unable to forgive someone in their lives. This wasn't even the biggest hit of the three songs as volume two from Reload wound up being a huge hit for them later in the decade.
#6466
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#6465
You may have noticed that Madonna had released a bunch of ballads throughout her career, she certainly noticed as she collected all of her biggest hits in this vein onto her themed greatest hits album Something to remember which she released around this time. This was the first of three songs released from the album, proving that audiences wanted to hear more of her sombre tracks going forward.
#6464
Well, this was a surprise hit for Belinda Carlisle this year, she last troubled the charts five years prior with "Live your life be free" from the album of the same name which became her first album to not be released in her native America. I'm guessing this was a hit to commemorate the tenth anniversary of her solo single "Mad about you," the times may have changed but Belinda's appeal certainly hadn't.
#6463
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#6462
Even though Kevin Johnson is an Australian country singer and that his one and only hit was far from the most successful here in Australia upon its initial release, this somehow managed to become a minor international hit for him likely due to being based in the UK when he released it as a single.
#6461
This was the other big hit that Sophie B Hawkins was able to achieve worldwide, although it was originally released the previous year to deafening silence likely due to people thinking she was gay due to some lyrics in her other big hit from three years prior suggesting as such. Here there's no such subtext, it's just Sophie professing her love towards this person (who could be a guy or a girl) in a sweet and humble way that connected with audiences.
#6460
Well, here we are with the second hit that Leif Garrett achieved from his debut album in Australia, this time it's a cover of the doo wop singer Dion's big hit of the same name which became as such fifteen years prior for the American singer. These covers would lead to him finally releasing an original track of his from earlier on the list which also helped him find an audience in his native America.
#6459
It looked like there were no signs of this husband-and-wife duo slowing down as they were able to score further success during the second half of the decade thanks to their breakthrough single "Love will keep us together" from the previous year, although their popularity here in Australia wasn't anywhere near as successful as it was in their native America where they scored a ton more success.
#6458
This was the debut single for a band who named themselves after the dog from the Wizard of Oz, it was an impressive first impression given how it was a massive worldwide hit as well as making the album it came from a huge success for the band. They were in danger of being a one hit wonder here until their fourth album took home album of the year at the Grammies which made it a huge hit for them.
#6457
This is a song whose success caused controversy this year, mainly because Dean Geyer came in third place on the fourth season of Australian idol and yet was able to score a hit here over the runner up which was Jessica Mauboy. Of course, the controversy has long since died out due to her being way more successful than either artist from that season to appear on this list.
#6456
This was the other big hit that the Hooters managed to score here in Australia, it was actually the lead single to their debut album which became a hit exclusively here in Australia likely due to the religious lyrics connecting with us in a way that they failed to do so internationally. Even though they saw massive success with both of these songs and their album here, they would fade into obscurity after this year.
#6455
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#6454
This was the debut single from the grunge band Collective soul, a band who only had one hit here in Australia but did very well in their native America throughout the remainder of the decade with their subsequent follow ups. I'm guessing this was a hit here due to this being the height of the grunge era, although it makes the failure of the rest of their catalogue all the more confusing if that's the case.
#6453
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#6452
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#6451
I did mention when I featured their debut album that the Foo Fighters saw more success with each subsequent album they released, although this appears lower on this list compared to what their debut would appear, that's mainly because rock music took a back seat to all of the pop featured on this list so far according to the ARIA charts which wasn't the case on the AMR charts where it reigned supreme.
#6450
This was the only album that Wendy Matthews made with the members of the Models, technically this was a comeback album for the band as they replaced James Freud with Wendy fresh off the success she has with the Rockmelons and Kate Ceberano from two years prior. The success of this album led to her releasing her solo album later in the year which would become a massive hit for her the following year.
#6449
This was the only successful album that Iron Maiden were able to achieve here in Australia, mainly for a memorable performance on Countdown with the singles from the album which helped them breakthrough the MTV crowd with their brand of 80's heavy metal. Their popularity would only sustain them for this one album here, although they did see a rise of success in their native UK as the decade went on.
#6448
You'd think that this breakthrough album from Simple Minds would've been more of a success here in Australia given how it not only managed to spawn two of their more memorable hits from their catalogue, but also due to the band appearing on Countdown earlier in the year to promote their previous album. Alas this wasn't the case, although it did quite well over in NZ for some reason.
#6447
We have another wacky Australian band that Triple J fell in love with throughout the 90's, this time it's Regurgitator who made it big with their debut album which combined hip hop with rock in a way that was far less serious than the likes of Rage against the machine and Faith no more from earlier in the decade. It was a huge success for them and led to them evolving their sound to include EDM elements on their next album.
#6446
This was released on the fortieth anniversary of the band first getting together, this explains A: the title of the album given how random it would otherwise be and B: why it was released to begin with given how the band hadn't released anything worthwhile in over a decade by this point. These two selling points explain why it was a success worldwide, that and the decade quickly becoming known for its nostalgia bug.
#6445
It appears we Aussies had enough love for the Offspring to give them one more successful album in their catalogue, although I get the feeling this was more due to rock music being at the height of its popularity now that digital downloads had made the genre mainstream once more. It's hard to say if their previous album would've succeeded if downloads were a thing, although there is a possibility it would've.
#6444
This was the second RNB album that Billy Ocean released this decade, proving that he had found his niche as the British equivalent of Lionel Richie as he continued to score a string of hits throughout the decade with this album. His third album in this vein wouldn't be as successful two years later despite it spawning arguably his biggest hit with its lead single, although it's still bigger than anything he released in the 90's.
#6443
While he was quickly losing popularity here in Australia as the decade began to wind down, it's worth noting that Leo Sayer nonetheless managed to retain some of it making his supposed comeback at the start of the 80's that much less surprising given how he simply managed to reach some of the levels of success he achieved earlier in the 70's.
#6442
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#6441
At this stage, these were two women from highly successful bands collaborating together to make a soundtrack for an Australian miniseries known as Stringer. This serves mainly as a platform for both women to launch their respective solo careers as indeed both Kate Ceberano and Wendy Matthews would go on to have massive success on their own after this collaboration.
#6440
Lee Kernaghan always had some degree of success here in Australia due to him being on the same level as Keith Urban as the king of Australian country music, however like Keith, his popularity only grew as we Aussies became more receptive to our own country scene with this entry being one of the key stepping stones to his eventual chart dominance in the 2010's.
#6439
Following the success of his soundtrack to Chariots of fire, Vangelis decided to team up with Yes member Jon Anderson to create a prog album that was a huge hit for the pair this year. It even spawned a sleeper hit with the lead single which was rare for a prog track back in the day, although as this was a novelty, it didn't lead to any further success for either man in the music scene.
#6438
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#6437
They did manage to have one of the biggest albums of the decade with their debut, so it's only natural that Baby animals would follow up that success with this album even if it was a mere fraction of what their earlier work achieved. I'm guessing this would've been even bigger had there not been a suddenly resistance to supporting local artists this year as is the case with many Australian entries on this list.
#6436
It may surprise you to learn that Soul II soul weren't very popular here in Australia during their heyday despite their brand of dance RNB being able to fit in perfectly with all of the EDM and dance pop that made it big around this time, I guess we eventually gave them a shot with their second album which is why it managed to become a modest success this year for them here.
#6435
This was the last album that Santana had any success with for nearly two decades, it was more of the same of their south American style pop rock that had made them a household name throughout the 70's but didn't do them any favours going into the 80's. They would need the help of the 90's scene to find success in the mainstream again.
#6434
This is the debut album from Sophie Ellis Bextor, an album that was a flop upon its initial release due to the lead single failing to connect with audiences here in Australia. It was given a second chance when the deluxe edition was released following the success of her second single which spawned a second hit for her worldwide as a result, although all of this led to her being a one album wonder.
#6433
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#6432
Well, you know that the winter of this year was chaotic when we have the third compilation in a row to have songs that peaked during this period, there was too many good choices to be had on these albums.
#6431
I guess this album was released to overlook the full career of the Eagles given how they had only previously released greatest hits albums during their career in stages, even so I have to wonder how this managed to become a success for a band who had been broken up for six years at this point.
#6430
This was the third album to come from Tool as well as their second album to find massive worldwide success, likely because it came off the success that lead singer Maynard James Keenan had with his side project A perfect circle which was a band that didn't reach the dizzying heights of his main band here in Australia unfortunately. Their next album wouldn't come out for another four years due to him working with his side project.
#6429
Even though these guys were from the UK, this proved to be a massive flop throughout Europe due to Europeans not being as invested with opera music as we Aussies and kiwis were back in the day. The fact that the lead vocalist was from NZ allowed it to be a huge success here and a massive success over in his homeland which led to them releasing another album the following year.
#6428
I bet you were beginning to wonder just what happened to Vanessa Amorosi following the success of her debut album from the start of the decade, it turns out she had label issues which resulted in her second album only being released in certain parts of Europe which meant she had to go back to the drawing board with her third album. This was that album which thankfully saw the light of day here.
#6427
Although he never saw much success here in Australia throughout his career, there appears to have been enough appreciation for Barry White going into the new decade for this greatest hits package to be a huge success for him a mere three years prior to his death. For what it's worth, he did have a hit with "Never never gonna give you up" in 1974 that I didn't feature on that list due to being a hit too early in the year.
#6426
This is another album that came out two years prior to deafening silence that only saw success this year, although this was mostly the case in Australia as its success wasn't as tardy in the band's native America given how the singles on here managed to become massive hits on Billboard the previous year. I guess the wait was worth it as it became their biggest success here in Australia as did one of the singles.
#6425
This was the only notable success that Pantera was able to achieve here in Australia, likely due to heavy metal never being that popular here save for some rare exceptions. Indeed, this was a massive hit here due to the records it broke in their native America, and to be fair they did have minor success with their next album two years later.
#6424
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#6423
These guys were on a roll when they released their second album of the 80's, although it didn't spawn a huge hit for them which is perhaps why it wasn't as big as the two albums it was sandwiched between. Still, this did make them one of the more popular Australian bands of the early 80's which was a great time for the Australian music scene both locally and internationally.
#6422
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#6421
It took him a while to follow up his comeback album Waking up the neighbours from earlier in the decade, however once he did, Bryan Adams found little issues with retaining his popularity with this album which proves just how well loved he was back in the day. That said, his popularity would quickly dwindle later in the decade and by the 00's, he would be yesterday's news.
#6420
This is another greatest hits package that Pink Floyd's label released that became a worldwide success, proving that fans were still hungry for new material that they would have to wait for another decade before it finally came to them in 2014.
#6419
The song this live concert is paying homage to was originally released by Abba from their 1977 self-titled album which was clearly meant to be a homage to the music of the 40's and 50's given that was no doubt the music which made Abba want to become musicians. So basically, we have a live rendition of a song that was made in the 70's which in turn was paying homage to music from the first half of the century.
#6418
Even from the very beginning, Rihanna was able to achieve massive success throughout the world with her singles, it's just that she wouldn't be the household name we all know her as until later in the decade as this second single from her debut album often gets forgotten about when looking over her catalogue.
#6417
While this wasn't the first hit these guys had here in Australia (stay tuned for that in my next list) this was the first hit that AC/DC had that sparked international interest in them likely due to their usage of bagpipes on the song. It's a bit of a surprise these guys weren't as big down under back in the day considering A: how well promoted they were on Countdown and B: their eventually worldwide success.
#6416
This was the big hit off of Cold Chisel's breakthrough album East, a song about how Jimmy Barnes gets day drunk to help him cope with the loss of his girlfriend (who may or may not be the mother of his son David Campbell.) The song remains a classic to this day as does the majority of the tracks from East, it makes you wonder why it wasn't a bigger hit until you remember it coming from a highly successful album.
#6415
You better believe that the Glee phenomenon was so inescapable when the show debuted that it was able to spawn a genuine hit for its cast in the music industry, indeed this cover of the Journey classic was one of the last hits of the decade worldwide due to it being so well received on the show that it single handedly made the original a cultural icon despite it being a massive flop back in the 80's.
#6414
This was a tie in song to the short-lived Aussie comedy series Summer heights high, it's a show that resonated with audiences back in the day due to it being a parody of School life in Australia (specifically that of Sydney) which no doubt boosted the popularity of this song from one of the characters of the show. The show is certainly a product of its time, however it's worth a watch if you're into politically incorrect humour.
#6413
This is the closest that Suzanne Vega will ever have to having a hit single worldwide, although this is more of a DNA track hence why they're credited as the main artist on this hit. The original is an a Cappella track from her album Solitude standing, however the British duo added production to the ballad which helped it become a hit on the radio and also made them an in-demand production team going forward.
#6412
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#6411
Baby Spice was always my favourite from the Spice Girls, so it brings me great pleasure in presenting her one and only hit she had in her career away from her friends which sadly wasn't as big here as it was in NZ and throughout Europe. She was the member of the group most affiliated with adult contemporary, which is perhaps why she didn't find as much success as the likes of Ginger and Sporty.
#6410
This would've been Guy Sebastian's final hit in his career given how his fourth album Memphis album failed to produce a hit single for him and that none of his albums were that successful (barring his debut of course.) He would score a massive comeback by the end of the decade which would extend his popularity well into the 2010's.
#6409
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#6408
The legends are true people, Jennifer Love Hewitt did in fact have a singing career before she transitioned into acting beginning earlier in the decade as a teen pop idol similar to that of Alanis Morissette. Like the Canadian singer/songwriter, she transitioned into a more mature singer/songwriter with this track that was written for the second film in the I know what you did last summer franchise which she also happened to star in.
#6407
It looked like the album cycle for Achtung baby had come to an end when this single was released, however that wasn't the case as the song became a surprise hit here in Australia during the summer of 1992/1993 which kept the album going for over a year after its initial release. It was the final single from the album as they went back to the studio to record Zooropa after this.
#6406
This was the only solo hit that Foreigner front man Lou Gramm managed to score worldwide, although the success of this track in Australia likely led to the band scoring one more hit the following year with "Say you will" down under. This was during that time where everyone from a band was launching a solo career, so this did better than you would expect considering what else was coming out at the time.
#6405
Well, he may have lost the magic he had with Bernie Taupin from earlier in his career (don't worry he'll get it back later in the decade) however that didn't mean that Elton John wasn't able to achieve success as indeed this was a huge hit for him worldwide as was the album it serves as the lead single to. He would go on to have many highs and lows throughout the 80's, making it a very unpredictable decade for him.
#6404
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#6403
Here we are with the third single from NKTOB's second album here in Australia, it was their second Billboard chart topper in a row which should tell you how popular these kids were around this time. This song has received a lot of flak over the years for it desperately trying to prove how tough these kids are when in reality they obviously had it pretty easy in life up until this point.
#6402
This was meant to be the third single to be released from Five's debut album, although it was pushed back to be the fourth single likely due to them having the same "na na na's" as what Will Smith had on his hit "Getting jiggy with it" from the previous year. The similarities didn't prevent this from being a hit here in Australia for the British boy band, although I'm sure Will Smith fans weren't happy about this.
#6401
We have another song that's a protest for peace on this list, this time it's from Brotherhood of man who scored a massive hit from the second half of the decade with their Eurovision winning song "Save your kisses for me" which sounds very different from this track. This is mainly due to the lineup being completely different from both renditions of the band.
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