Biggest albums/singles of all time in Australia

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.

#6400

(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)

#6399

This is a song that's so awesome that people will claim that it became a hit twice this year, the second being Stevie Nicks track "Stand back" which was reportedly inspired by this second single from Prince's album 1999. I feel this is the song where his lyrics start to become their most poetic which is one of the strongest points of his appeal over the years and a reason as to why so many people have covered his music.

#6398

(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)

#6397

This was the backing band for Gary Glitter, a man who has gone down in infamy for his disgusting habits that I won't be sharing on this site. He at least had a talented band to back him up during his heyday, and it appears the public agreed as they gave them a hit without their troubled front man once his popularity began to die down this year.

#6396

This was the third and final hit that Euphoria was able to achieve back in the day, this time we have Andrew Klippel on lead vocals which is perhaps how it was able to find success given how the other two tracks featured Holly and Keren on lead vocals. Sadly, this story doesn't have a happy ending to it as Holly would tragically take her life later in the decade due to family drama.

#6395

This is where the Willennium pun came from as Will Smith decided to cash in on the Y2K scare by releasing this track that became a success due to its meme status (or whatever we called a viral hit back then.) Naturally this was seen in poor taste for the rapper considering all of the stress people were going through due to Y2K back in the day.

#6394

This is the final appearance that Bryan Adams will be making on this site, mainly because he scored a massive hit with the British DJ Chicane who felt he could make a dance track with the Canadian crooner providing vocals. He turned out to be correct as this was a massive worldwide hit for the duo, although it was also the DJ's only hit as none of his other collaborations caught on anywhere.

#6393

This was the lead single to Janet's breakthrough album Control, an album that didn't see much success here in Australia save for this track likely due to it being a display of female empowerment during a time where that was becoming popular in the mainstream. She wouldn't have another hit down under until the lead single of her next album, even then her popularity wouldn't explode here until the 90's.

#6392

This was the lead single to Jimmy Barne's Soul deep project, an album filled with covers of Motown classics that was a massive success here and in NZ for the otherwise pub rocker. It has its fans given how many sequels it's received as well as it being his bestselling album in his catalogue.

#6391

(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)

#6390

(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)

#6389

This was a bit of a surprise hit for the Pet shop boys considering they hadn't had a huge hit here in Australia since their cover of "Always on my mind" on the tenth anniversary of Elvis Presley's death. Then again, the lead single to their album Very was a modest hit earlier in the year, so perhaps they were due for a comeback this year even if it came with this cover of the Village people classic.

#6388

(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)

#6387

Following the mediocre reception of Kick's second single "Devil inside" (which we'll look at in a bit) INXS were able to bounce back with the third single here thanks to how energetic it was proving they were still able to have a banger in their catalogue as they appealed to an international market. The fourth and final single from the album was "Never tear us apart," a song that's considered their signature track.

#6386

This was the second single to be released from this RNB star's debut album, I get the feeling this was a massive success due to the whistling on the track as RNB didn't tend to do too well here in Australia back in the day. This was eventually a chart topper in his native America once the album became a huge success for him throughout Europe, I'm guessing he used the proceeds to help him get home after being stranded there by the US army.

#6385

This was the debut single for one of the most popular bands of the decade, although it's worth noting that this video is rather ordinary compared to the rest of their videography which perhaps explains why it was only a hit in Australia as there weren't any flash visuals to go with the bombastic track. True to the name of the song, this is a pro earth song made during the height of the cold war.

#6384

This was the lead single to Elton John's least favourite album Leather jackets, mainly because of the bad memories he has of making the album as it was during its production that he had to have his polyps removed which prevented him from making his trademark falsetto that he was known for earlier in his career. We Aussies were there to support him by making this and the album a success, however that courtesy wasn't matched anywhere else in the world.

#6383

For over a decade, this was the only hit that Eric Carmen was able to achieve anywhere in the world, it's up there with "Without you" as one of the most melodramatic songs to come out of the 70's which is perhaps why it's endured over the years (that and the popular Celine Dion cover from the 90's.) He would score a surprise comeback twelve years later by appearing on the Dirty dancing soundtrack.

#6382

Bet you didn't know that Patrick Swayze had a singing career back in the day, well he didn't actually as this was one of only three songs he recorded before he realised he was a much better actor than he was a singer. This ballad he wrote and recorded was played during the emotional highlight of the film where he and Baby couldn't be together due to him being fired, it works in the film which is perhaps why it was a hit for him.

#6381

(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)

#6380

Well, his band members Beeb Birtles and Graham Goble were able to score a huge hit this year with their duet from earlier on this list, so it seems fitting that lead singer of the Little river band Glenn Shorrock would score his own solo hit this year with this cover of the Bobby Darin classic from twenty years prior. It would be his final hit both solo and with the band until he rejoined them nine years later.

#6379

Well neither the original version from Nina Simone nor the popular version from the Animals was a success in Australia back in the day, however this disco rendition from the French band Santa Esmeralda was a success so at least there's one version of this soul classic that managed to make it big here. Naturally the band failed to capitalise off their surprise hit worldwide as they were never heard from again.

#6378

This is the final hit that Axiom achieved during their short time together, it was the lead single to their second and final album which proves that although they weren't quite as popular with their first album, there was still love for the band regardless even mere months prior to them calling it quits.

#6377

Noiseworks were another band that were able to successfully transition from the 80's to the 90's in Australia, however they did so by releasing their goofiest song likely in response to Warrant's earlier entry on this list. Despite the success they had with their third album, it was also their final album as the band would break up the following year so that Jon Stevens could pursue a career in theatre.

#6376

(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)

#6375

Here's the other big hit that ABC were able to achieve this year, although instead of it being a song about how Martin Fry was bitter at his ex-girlfriend's success, it's about how he's falling in love with another person and that they should take a chance on him. This was the band's biggest hit in their native UK likely due to how bouncy it is, and it even sparked their crossover success over in America.

#6374

This was the biggest hit that the Cure were able to score here in Australia, it seems odd that they weren't that successful here in the 80's considering how many times they appeared on Countdown during its run. I think the video had something to do with this being a success as it successfully demonstrates the claustrophobia that the lyrics and Robert's vocals paint out in the song, this being able to connect with stressed out audiences.

#6373

(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)

#6372

The was the other hit that Yazoo managed to score this year, it was their bigger hit in their native UK due to being a far catchier song than their earlier entry. They would have one more hit in their homeland the following year with "Nobody's diary" before they called it quits so that they could pursue their own ventures. Alison would find success with her debut album the year after that while Vince would rule the EDM scene.

#6371

Well, this is the trio's commentary of how songwriting had become stagnant in the music industry, let's just say Sting wasn't in a position to be making these claims considering even at the time people were calling into question his songwriting skills. The point of the song is to showcase how songs had begun to heavily rely on catchy choruses, this having a copout chorus to force audiences to pay attention to the verses.

#6370

(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)

#6369

This wasn't intended to be an LGBT anthem as it was simply another dance track that George Michael released this decade; however, it became one when it was revealed that he was gay against his will as the British tabloids discovered him at a gay bar around this time and outed him as a result. At least he was able to embrace who he truly was after the fact as otherwise that would've been a traumatic experience for him.

#6368

This is the final hit that Billy Idol managed to achieve in his career, likely because it came out when the 90's was still considered to be the 80's and thus was able to connect with audiences upon its initial release. Now unlike many other people on this list, Billy did try to change with the times with his next album. The album was Cyberpunk which sees him moving towards industrial rock to hilarious results.

#6367

This was originally released as the lead single of the trios album Break out; however, it was a huge flop worldwide likely due to them failing to shoot a music video for the song. It was given a second chance later in the year when "Automatic" became a surprise hit for them in the UK, but this stage they had filmed a music video which helped this song become a huge hit worldwide.

#6366

This was the first of two hits that British singer/firefighter scored here with a cover of a 70's track (yes, we have a firefighter scoring hits in Australia.) Here Newton resurrects the camp classic from Jigsaw (or British Jigsaw as we Aussies called them) for an even campier dance hit that became a huge success on our dance floors. He would score an even bigger hit the following year by covering Dan Hill.

#6365

This was the first solo hit that Annie Lennox had, OK technically it isn't as this was a duet between her and Al Green which was made for the Bill Murray flick Scrooged which was a modern take of the Ebeneezer Scrooge fable. From what I can gather, the film was a critical and commercial success thanks to Bill's performance as the titular character, thus enabling this to be a huge success for the pair.

#6364

(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)

#6363

Much like the album cycle for I'm not dead, this title track from Funhouse also got pushed back as the fifth single here in Australia in order for P!nk's earlier entry on this list to be released as the fourth single which proved to be the right move as both of these songs were massive hits in the southern hemisphere as well as in certain parts of Europe just like "Leave me alone" and "Dear Mr President" was two years prior.

#6362

(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)

#6361

This was the only hit that Princess had here in Australia, oh yeah there was an RNB singer from the UK who called herself Princess just how there was a British band who called themselves King from around this time. This was one of the earlier hits to be produced by Stock Aiken and Waterman, meaning that their earliest cliental consisted of women of colour and members of the LGBT community.

#6360

This album covers the summer period of 97/98 which allows it to be a decent success despite failing to live up to the standards of the Hit machine franchise.

#6359

This was arguably the biggest album to come from Hunters and collectors, mainly because it was already a success upon its initial as it as it rebounding on the charts due to the success of the second and third singles on the album. It allowed them to find success during a time where it was becoming increasingly difficult for Australian artists to do so, particularly those coming from the 80's.

#6358

This is the last album that Talking heads made before they went their separate ways, although it failed to spawn a hit single for them as opposed to Jerry Harrison's album which did, at least it managed to be more of a success overall which allowed them to have one last hurrah before they went their separate ways for good.

#6357

This was the solo debut for Graham Bonnet he released exclusively in Australia and eventually NZ due to how popular the lead single was here, the success this and his second album from the following year eventually led to him relocating back to the UK and joining Rainbow where he finally managed to achieve success in his homeland.

#6356

Happy feet remain divisive to this day much like another Australian film that talks about the environment from 1992 Fern Gully, mainly because contrary to what people will say about it (sadly) they actually don't care about the environment that much and feel that children's media should not dabble in politics in any way. At least those who do like the film (me included) appreciated it and the soundtrack for what they were.

#6355

(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)

#6354

(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)

#6353

It had been almost a decade since Dire straits released an album, however that didn't mean their legacy had died out as indeed this greatest hits album which came ten years after their previous album was a huge success for the band three years after they called it quits for good.

#6352

Given how her third album My December was a critical failure and only a fraction as successful as Breakaway, Kelly's management had to convince her to give them back full creative control over her music direction which resulted in this fourth album that can best be described as a Veronicas's project. It wasn't a bad thing given how successful it was without compromising her core appeal from earlier in the decade.

#6351

(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)

#6350

There haven't been that many action films to have a successful soundtrack here in Australia, one of the lucky few comes from the film Armageddon mainly due to the theme song becoming one of the biggest hits of the decade as well as Aerosmith's biggest hit in their entire catalogue. The film itself is cheesy melodrama, but you can say that about most action films of the 90's which is why people still love it.

#6349

(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)

#6348

(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)

#6347

These guys had an impressive run throughout the 70's, however they decided to call it quits after one failed album throughout the 80's which likely failed to them preemptively releasing a greatest hits package going into the new decade to overlook their success from the previous decade.

#6346

One of the more successful films to be critically panned this decade was Godzilla, audiences were impressed with the CGI (which admittedly still holds up pretty well) but critics felt the storyline to be rather lacking and that it was little more than style over substance. The soundtrack was better received given how it was a collection of tracks from the alternative scene of the day.

#6345

This is the last album that Little river band released that had Glenn Shorrock on lead vocals until his return much later in the decade when his replacement John Farnham released his magnum opus which compelled him to leave the band in the first place. It was a modest success due to them being one of the more popular bands of the 70's worldwide, although its success was more noticeable in America than it was down under.

#6344

Hamish and Andy are a comedy duo who are best known for their stint on radio, however they became so well liked in their native Melbourne that they released a comedy album which proved to be a massive success for the pair all across Australia.

#6343

I really believe that these guys were done dirty by with the digital piracy throughout the 00's as I refuse to believe that they didn't have much success with their earlier material throughout the decade given how much airplay it all received back in the day. In any case, we have this album from Living end which won't be qualifying for my comeback list due to my stance that their popularity didn't fade away where it counted.

#6342

This peak during the Christmas period of 1982/1983 here in Australia, as such it wasn't able to make it on a yearend list for Neil Diamond and thus excluded on this site up until now. It was the final album from his discography that found any success even in his native America, proving he didn't last very long in the MTV era of music.

#6341

This was the second live album from Nirvana to be released posthumously, again fans were clearly not ready to say goodbye to Kurt Cobain even though the other two members had moved onto other projects by this stage, proving what an immense talent and tragic loss he was to the music industry.

#6340

This was the other successful album Sky had this year, again it wasn't among the most popular albums of the year here or in their native UK, however it did spawn a single that almost became a hit meaning there was potential for these guys to be big in the mainstream here.

#6339

This looked all set to be a flop here in Australia, although the success of the lead single did eventually come this year which translated to the album being a success for Cliff Richard. This was the last we Aussies had hear from the crooner until 1999 when he capped of the twentieth century with "The millennium prayer," however the Brits kept him around in the meantime in their mainstream.

#6338

While this wasn't the inescapable hit that his debut album was from two years prior, this sophomore album from 50 cent proved to be enough of a hit worldwide that he felt comfortable releasing his own biopic similar to Eminem's 8 mile from earlier in the decade. The biopic was poorly received mainly due to it being a carbon copy of the original film but with worse acting and a more cliche plot.

#6337

These guys took their sweet time in following up their breakthrough album from four years prior, although once they did release this album, it did see moderate success which goes to show you how loyal their fanbase was back in the day. Alas that loyalty would all but evaporate going into the 2010's due to that decades allergic reaction to rock music.

#6336

(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)

#6335

One of the more critically acclaimed films of the decade was the Boat that rocked, a film that looks over the issues of radio piracy back in the 60's in the UK which resulted in the music industry facing a serious decline due to how much money the artists were losing from the practice. Naturally the film featured a who's who of 60's legends, which explains why it was a massive hit this year.

#6334

(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)

#6333

Now this is an album which has a name that can be taken the wrong way, much like their third album, I think they were trying to give a voice to a minority group here (in this case the mentally disabled) but that's probably me giving them too much of the benefit of the doubt. You can't blame me for sticking up for them as they did have politically charged lyrics that seemed to speak up for the every man in their career.

#6332

This is to date the penultimate album from System of a down which they released mere months prior to their final album Hypnotized which wasn't a big hit here in Australia although will be appearing much later on this list regardless. This was also the album where the band went political which is perhaps why it did as well as it did down under given how Green day had opened the door to safely criticising the American government without getting cancelled.

#6331

(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)

#6330

From what I can gather, this is the only heavy metal compilation to become a success throughout the 80's here in Australia, I guess the fact that this was a success was impressive given how the other themed albums were much more accessible to the mainstream back in the day.

#6329

One of the best comedies of the decade was Sister act, mainly for the ridiculous plot involving Whoopi Goldberg being put in witness protection in a nunnery and having her teaching the church choir how to be "hip" with the youth of the day through song. The film was a critical and commercial success as well as spawning a soundtrack which did include renditions of the songs used in the film as advertised in its credits.

#6328

This was a bit of a comeback for Kate Ceberano, much like her album from ten years prior as that spawned the hit "Pash" for her, meaning that she could potentially score a comeback once every ten years had she succeeded in doing so in 2017. Alas she was unable to, making these two albums' successes be little more than a freaky coincidence.

#6327

There were talks of Deep purple reforming around this time which no doubt inspired us Aussies to check out this greatest hits package from two years prior to rediscover their back catalogue, indeed the rumours were true as the band would reform two years after this and have been going strong to this day.

#6326

This was another successful album to come from an artist who hadn't seen any success in several years at this point, Paul Young was one of the biggest artists of the 80's worldwide due to the strength of his first two albums so it makes sense that this album overlooking that success would be huge this year.

#6325

This was the third album from this decade that Faith no more saw a ton of success with here in Australia, it was more of their hybrid of hard rock and hip hop just like their previous two albums even though it didn't have that obvious hit on here that "Epic" and their cover of "I'm easy" was for their other albums. They would release one more album after this before going their separate ways in 1998.

#6324

These guys were also able to successfully make the transition from the 80's to the 90's as their third album proved to be more successful than their second from three years prior. Admittedly they didn't dial back their bombast on here so perhaps that had little to do with who was making it big during the first stretch of the decade and who wasn't. They called it quits the following year so that Jon Stevens can become a theatre actor.

#6323

Well, he did score one of the biggest hits of the decade with his previous album, so it makes sense that this follow up would achieve some level of success here in Australia even if it was a mere fraction of what its predecessor achieved four years prior. At least he would bounce back with his next album even if that was more due to the runaway success of one of its singles.

#6322

It had been six years since T Rex had broken up due to the death of their lead singer Marc Bolan, as such they decided to release this greatest hits package which became a moderate success here in Australia proving that they would've thrived in the 80's had Marc had lived to see this decade.

#6321

I told you this only barely missed the cut for appearing on the main list, in fact it's technically more popular than "This love" on the digital format but only because it charted much higher on those charts. It of course didn't chart nearly as long which is why it places much lower on this list than that does.

#6320

I guess "When you're gone" was meant to be a calm before the storm for Avril's older fans as she released this third single from her album which confirmed that she was making music for the type of audience she was originally rallying against on her first two albums. I get that she wanted to change things up with her third album which worked out for her commercially, however fans cried betrayal at this change in direction.

#6319

(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)

#6318

This was originally the B-side to Elvis's hit single "Don't cry daddy" from 1970, there it was a big hit here in Australia and in most parts of the world given that it was the first song he released after the success of "Suspicious minds." British DJ Paul Oakenfold decided to remix the track where it became a big success for the king of rock and roll posthumously just like "A little less conversation" the previous year.

#6317

This was the first single that Rihanna released after a very dark period in her life, I won't mention what it is because I want this site to be a safe space for everyone, but I feel that I don't have to regardless because it's so ingrained in pop culture that it would be redundant for me to do so. One thing I will say is that it appears that she didn't want people getting the wrong idea that she was suddenly turned off by sex with this track.

#6316

(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)

#6315

Apparently, EMF stands for Epson Mad Funkers and not Ecstasy Mother F**ker's like I and many others had assumed, I thought I'd bring that up as the band came from the Madchester scene the previous year before scoring a massive Billboard chart topper with this track. Indeed, this has gone down as one of the most quintessential dance tracks to play in a scene that involves strip dancers or a seedy night club.

#6314

Not counting her collaboration with Busta Rhymes on "I know what you want," this was the first hit that Mariah Carey had in the 21st century anywhere in the world given how she began the century with her acting debut in Glitter, a movie so infamous that it reportedly was responsible for her declining mental health earlier in the decade. Here she returns to form with the lead single to her comeback album under her alter ego Mimi.

#6313

Given how Talking heads were on the verge of breaking up this year, it only seems reasonable that Jerry Harrison would form a new band with the Casual gods in order to find success on his own. Indeed, he was off to a good start as this debut single of theirs proved to be a bigger hit here in Australia than anything that Talking heads released, although the album wasn't anywhere near as success as their work.

#6312

This was the final hit that Skyhooks managed to achieve in Australia this decade, although it wouldn't be the final time they trouble the charts as they would return twelve years later with "Jukebox in Siberia" for their brief reunion tour in 1990. This is a song about the band's love for women in uniform, making this a female empowerment anthem given how more women were finding jobs in the workplace.

#6311

It took us long enough, but we finally have a single from Garbage appearing on my site even though they were one of the more successful bands of the 90's with their first two albums. It's by far their most pop friendly song as well as one of their shortest as it's about Shirley Manson addressing the love of her life (which is hinted at being a trans woman in the lyrics) that was an instant success for them.

#6310

(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)

#6309

This was the second single to come from Nickelback's second breakthrough album the Long road, it was only a hit here in Australia which suggests that the band was more popular here than anywhere else in the world which is backed up by their songs being hits much sooner than they are in most other places. I think the less said about the subject matter of this song is for the best, although that would explain why it flopped internationally.

#6308

(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)

#6307

(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)

#6306

This likely wouldn't have been a hit here in Australia were it not for a memorable performance that Judie Tzuke gave on Countdown with this song, it was a huge hit in her native UK but there were plenty of hits from British artists over there that failed to see crossover success over the years. Sadly, this was her only hit anywhere in the world, likely due to it being another ballad from a female singer.

#6305

This was one of the last hit singles that Abba achieved before their inevitable demise later in the decade, in fact you can make the argument that this was the song which broke them apart as the two couples were going through a highly publicised divorce when this song was released. Let's just say that Frida and Agnetha sound like they've been defeated by their husbands on this track given how the men wrote the lyrics they're singing.

#6304

(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)

#6303

The Wrights were a supergroup consisting of members of bands and artists that were some of the biggest names in Australian music during the 00's, here they cover the Stevie Wright classic for its thirtieth anniversary (they were a little late when they released it as a single) which was promoted for charity and thus became a success as a result.

#6302

This was the first big hit that R.E.M were able to score in Australia, although they did have minor success in NZ during the late 80's with the likes of "The one I love" and "Orange crush" which have both become staples on oldies stations down under. I'm guessing this made it big due to the sudden rise in popularity of people questioning their faith in religion, that and the jangle instrumentation being catchy as hell.

#6301

This was the debut single for Go West, a band who would see massive success this year with their debut album throughout Europe and would return five years later with a song that made it big off the Pretty woman soundtrack. Here they have a song about taking a chance in a relationship, this can be an obvious metaphor about the music industry taking a chance on their music which it did sporadically.