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.
#5900
To think this nearly didn't make the cut for this extended list of mine, although this does feel out of step with the rest of the girls catalogue, so perhaps the audience this appealed to wasn't among their main audience who likely felt alienated by these otherwise promiscuous women standing up for themselves on this track.
#5899
During the midpoint of the decade, INXS decided to host a competition on who would be their lead vocalist given how Jon Stevens (who replaced Michael Hutchence after his tragic death in 1997) left the group to pursue other interests. They landed on Canadian singer JD Fortune who scored a hit with the band with this track likely due to them turning the competition into a reality series around this time.
#5898
This was another alternative track to make it big in Australia during the final stretch of the decade, in this case it's from NZ indie singer Ladyhawke (named after the Michelle Pfeiffer flick from 1985) who had a big of a steady climb to its popularity here despite it ranking very high on the 2008 yearend list for Triple J. Its popularity here resulted in it eventually becoming a hit in her homeland throughout the year.
#5897
I'm not exactly sure how this song managed to become a hit here in Australia, mainly due to it being a huge flop for the band Missing persons in their native America and them never having a hit on Billboard during their career. I'm glad it was a hit here as it's a unique song about how the singer feels like her partner isn't listening to her and that she feels like communicating with them is a waste of time.
#5896
We looked at his final hit "Strokin" from the late 80's on the NZ side of this site, time now to look at the only hit that Clarence Carter had here in Australia which is also his biggest hit worldwide due to how huge it was in the UK of all places. Clarence did find success in his native America throughout the 60's, although none of those songs managed to crossover internationally like this did.
#5895
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#5894
Given how Martha Walsh was no longer part of the group, it looked like C+C Music factory would struggle to find an audience with their second album which they did save for this lead single which was a huge hit for them. I guess Martha did help them stand out from all the other dance rap groups of the day, however they still brought enough to the table to help them find a respectable audience.
#5893
We have another comedy routine to become a hit this year, this was the final one to do so on the singles charts as comedians restricted themselves to only releasing albums from here on out in Australia. This was a comedy sketch about how George Smilovici felt he was tough, the joke being that he was a redneck how was about as threatening as say, an underweight rock rapper from the 90's on TRL.
#5892
This was the lead single to Celine Dion's album Let's talk about love, I'm guessing it was chosen as such due to the resurgence in popularity that Barbra Streisand had this year following the success of her earlier entry on this list. Of course, this songs legacy has long since been overshadowed by the albums second single which also serves as the theme to the blockbuster film Titanic.
#5891
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#5890
Well at least there was an upbeat track from the soundtrack to Phil's first starring role in Hollywood, here we have a love ballad about how he feels that he has as he puts it "two hearts living in one mind" which means there's two sides of his personality which are very different from each other. From what I can gather, Buster is a film loosely based on The great train robbery of 1963, which means this song gives details to a potential romance subplot in the film.
#5889
This was originally a hit for the French trio Gibson brothers just as the decade was starting throughout Europe, I guess we Aussies weren't interested in it at first due to it coming off as a bit too silly for us. We changed our minds a year later likely due to us wanting to support disco whenever we could given how to this day, Americans will claim that the disco backlash of 1979 forever killed the genre.
#5888
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#5887
Well so much for these guys being in the running for the boy band wars in Australia, admittedly they would become worthy candidates on their second album the following year but in the meantime this early single from their debut album took nearly two years to find an audience here in Australia for the main rivals of Backstreet boys. I guess it didn't help there was another song that shared this title around this time from Mel B.
#5886
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#5885
Well, I told you that Alannah Myles managed to have massive success here in Australia with both of the lead single from her debut album, although this had a very slow rise to its success here given how it was initially a flop for her much like it was throughout the rest of the world. I'm not sure why as this is catchier than her earlier track, I guess because it's happier compared to "Black velvet" which is more sombre.
#5884
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#5883
Much like Ginger Spice, Sporty was also able to score more than one hit on her own around the turn of the millennium as this second single from her solo album managed to be a huge sleeper hit here in Australia following the success of her earlier entry on this list. Her last hit would be her reunion with the Spice girls also from earlier on this list before she became little more than a legacy act.
#5882
This was the lead single to No jacket required, an album which many felt was the turning point for Phil Collins given how it was more in line with adult contemporary rather than the pop prog from his earlier hits. This song in particular has received criticism due to the melody sounding similar to "1999" from Prince, perhaps it's this comparison that caused the song to not be as successful here in Australia as it was internationally.
#5881
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#5880
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#5879
This feels like it was tailor made to be on the soundtrack to one of those dance dance revolution games you'd find in the arcade, although that franchise wouldn't launch until 1998 meaning that this was a hit in its own right here in Australia and Herbie's native UK back in the day.
#5878
This was the only hit for everyone involved with the song, it was a massive success in their native UK as well as here in Australia due to it being a catchy EDM track during a time where EDM was about to take over the mainstream in the latter country. This was yet another act who made it big with one hit this decade only to forever fade into obscurity once their said hit had fallen off the charts.
#5877
This is the second rendition of the Christian hymn to make this list, although at least this one is a more conventional cover of the hymn as opposed to it being an (in my opinion) bizarre instrumental rendition played on bagpipes. Judy already appeared on my site with her rendition of "Send in the clown," meaning she wasn't a one hit wonder with us Aussies throughout the decade.
#5876
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#5875
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#5874
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#5873
While this wasn't the debut single to come from Ricki Lee (we'll get to that in a bit) it was the song that confirmed the Australian idol contestant from season two that she was the real deal despite being eliminated early on that season. Indeed, she was a fan favourite for that season which makes her early elimination that much more shocking at the time and especially in retrospect.
#5872
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#5871
These guys were one of the first NZ bands to make it big in their homeland (if the Listener charts are anything to go by) so it was only a matter of time before they saw crossover success here in Australia even if it came several years past their prime. What's stranger is that this didn't even chart on the Listener charts, suggesting their fellow kiwis were done with the band by this point.
#5870
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#5869
This was a short-lived covers band from Australia who scored two hits during the first half of the decade with cover songs, this one being of the Merry Clayton track that's best known nowadays for Cher's rendition for her film Mermaids. These guys likely would've had more success here had they stuck around once Countdown launched, alas they called it quits mere months after the show premiered.
#5868
This was originally the lead single to Peter Allen's third album; however, it was a massive flop for him the previous year and only became a success this year due to his earlier entry being a massive chart topper here. These were the only two hits that the Australian performer was able to score during his career, although he found plenty of success as a songwriter for other people so there's that at least.
#5867
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#5866
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#5865
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#5864
This was another popular EDM track to come from a French producer during the first stretch of the decade, here we have the one and only hit from Supermen lovers who is a sole DJ despite their stage name implying they were a group like Modjo or Daft Punk. I think this song made it big due to the video which depicted Claymation, we haven't seen one of these videos since the 80's on this site.
#5863
This was all set to be a modest success at best here in Australia upon its initial release, likely due to the novelty of a band who named themselves after a controversial prime minister wearing off as the 90's was coming to an end. It received a massive boost in popularity when fan favourite "Blow up the pokies" became a massive radio smash which helped it become a huge sleeper hit for the band.
#5862
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#5861
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#5860
One of the most influential bands of all time when it comes to new wave has to be Kraftwerk, although they never saw much success in the mainstream, they inspired many artists who went on to have massive success throughout the 80's during the height of new wave. This was their only successful album here in Australia proving how well adapted we Aussies were with the "cool" music of the day.
#5859
This is the soundtrack to the miniseries which helped Jon English briefly become an international household name by the end of the decade, it allowed him to find a worldwide audience due to how well received it was internationally which makes you wonder why this wasn't more of a success here in Australia back in the day.
#5858
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#5857
One of the most critically acclaimed films of the 80's was Amadeus, a biopic of the classical composer Wolfgang Amadeus which was a huge box office success due to the performances of both its star Tom Hulce (best known nowadays as Disney's Quasimodo) and F Murray Abraham as Salieri. The film was composed by Neville Marriner, although it does seem a little redundant in having a composer given the subject matter.
#5856
We have another hip hop track that saw sound success on our digital charts back in the day, this time it's the breakthrough hit from the Hilltop hoods who were able to match the success they had on our physical charts on the format, or at least achieve moderate success as we're quickly running out of genuine hits during the 00's in this regard on this list.
#5855
There were quite a few Irish tracks to make it big during the first half of the decade in Australia, one of the more popular ballads was this track about how the narrator of the song reminisces about knowing someone from when they were sixteen years old. I feel this song gets right what "My eyes adored you" and especially "You're sixteen" gets wrong, reminiscing about someone from when they were younger without coming off as creepy.
#5854
This was the final hit for Brian Cadd here in Australia, interestingly Countdown didn't seem interested in promoting his music despite how much success he had both solo and with his two previous bands Axiom and the Twilights over the last decade. I guess if he had of joined the Little river band like his previous band mates then his solo career could've thrived in the second half of the 70's.
#5853
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#5852
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#5851
The legends are true people, Paris Hilton did in fact have a singing career back in the day which consisted of this one and only hit from her one and only album. As I said, I promised myself that I was going to be nice to each and every entry I feature on this site, as such I will say that this is far from the worst song I've ever heard as it at least has a catchy melody and Paris doesn't actively drive me insane on the track.
#5850
This was the only notable success for Scottish singer/songwriter Frankie Miller, although I'm not sure how he made it big with this ballad considering it wasn't a huge hit for him in his native UK. I guess this was a hit here due to the ballad striking a chord with audiences who were beginning to grow tired of Rod Stewart's usual fare, although this didn't lead to Frankie having any more success of his own.
#5849
This was the final hit that the Angels were able to score in Australia during their time together, although this was likely due to them taking their sweet time in releasing another album this decade as they wouldn't release one until 1998. That's an eight-year gap between Beyond salvation and their next album, and needless to say the times had changed against their favour which led to them breaking up.
#5848
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#5847
This was the final hit that Simple minds were able to achieve in Australia, it also stands as their biggest hit in their native UK as it was their only chart topper over there. I guess these guys were a bit ahead of the curve when it came to the Celtic revival of the 90's as this ballad has plenty of Celtic influences on here that wouldn't feel out of place on a Corrs album or the Riverdance soundtrack.
#5846
It seems odd that George Harrison would be the only member of the Beatles to record a tribute for John Lennon following his death from the previous year, although I guess both Paul and Ringo still had complicated feelings about him around this time given how they never made up with him during his lifetime following the bands demise. George would disappear from the music industry for a while before coming back in 1987.
#5845
Mark Lindsay was the lead single of Paul Revere and the Raiders, an American band who curiously failed to score any hits here in Australia despite how popular they were in their homeland. He did win us Aussies over with this ballad about a girl named Arizona (not the state) which sadly did no favours for his band at the time.
#5844
This was the only hit to come from Leah Haywood, a rising star in the Australian music scene who curiously called it quits after just one album likely due to her feeling that she couldn't adapt with the times after said album underperformed on our charts. Indeed, this feels like it was only a hit due to the success that Mandy Moore and Jessica Simpson had this year with their ballads being similar to this one.
#5843
Although they saw massive success in Europe the previous year with "Don't give me your life," this wasn't a bit hit over there which makes its massive success here in Australia for Alex party a bit confusing until you remember that EDM was still all the rage here upon its release. I feel this was their loss as this is a much better song than their international hit largely due to it being catchier and better performed.
#5842
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#5841
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#5840
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#5839
Glen Campbell was on a roll during the first half of the decade given how this was another easy hit he had throughout the world, although curiously it wasn't a huge hit in his native America which was also the case for his other entries on this list.
#5838
This was one of the last hit singles that Marcia Hines was able to achieve in Australia back in the day, although curiously it remains her only hit in NZ despite it being far from her biggest hit over here. Here she proclaims that something is missing in her life, that something of course being the love of her life she's trying to win over on this track.
#5837
This was the first hit that Ol'55 had in Australia, a throwback band to the 50's who scored massive success with decade with songs meant to remind people of the "swell" days of that decade. It appears there were plenty of people from the 70's who were indeed longing for simpler times in music as there were a ton of other bands and artists who also scored success with this formula back in the day.
#5836
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#5835
There was a good chance that these guys would be the biggest British band of the decade and not Coldplay, they were certainly off to a good start with this Britpop track that became a huge hit here in Australia despite it flopping in their native UK for some reason. The Scottish band would release their third album the following year, however it would be largely overshadowed by Coldplay's debut album.
#5834
Suzi Quatro had been seeing diminishing returns in her popularity since her second album in Australia, mainly because she quickly drifted away from glam rock and into a more contemporary sound as the 70's went on. Here she returned to her glam roots which got her one final hit here in Australia before she was once again seen as yesterday's news as she failed to adapt to the MTV era of music.
#5833
This was the debut single for one of the more popular bands to come out of the 80's, although this was originally attached to a soundtrack to a film about a drug addict coping with their day-to-day struggles. It was an instant hit for the band likely due to how well Chrissie Amphlett sells the subject matter of the song and film on this track, it was even included on their debut album on its international release.
#5832
This was another solo hit that Daryl Braithwaite was able to score this decade, I wish I had more to say about these songs but I'm not a fan of his 70's output like I am with his revival period.
#5831
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#5830
This was the last hit that the Sweet were able to achieve anywhere in the world, I feel like these guys got ripped off in the mainstream throughout the decade given how they were one of the most popular bands worldwide thanks to how big glam rock was during the midpoint of the 70's. At least they got in one final hit before the decade was out with a song about how love is like the air that we breathe.
#5829
This was the only hit that Montell Jordan was able to score here in Australia, although considering how new jack swing and RNB in general weren't that big here, it's impressive that he managed to have a hit even if this was a huge Billboard chart topper for him this year. He would have a string of hits on Billboard during the second half of the decade, some of which even crossed over to NZ.
#5828
This was the first solo hit that Diesel had here in Australia, it wasn't his first solo single as that honour goes to "Love junk" which was a huge flop for him, but this was what made him huge without the Injectors. Somehow this managed to be twice as successful over in NZ, I'm guessing he was more popular over there as his third solo single was also a huge success over there as well as his solo debut album.
#5827
Following the success of the title track from Erotica, Madonna decided that she was done trying to shock audiences with her sexual appeal and instead go for a more conventional dance track as the second single from the album. It proved to be a bigger hit for her mainly due to it being a song you can play on the dance floor but also due to the video and its visuals of balloons floating away signifying going deeper into the relationship.
#5826
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#5825
This was originally released as the B-side to "Give it away now" which was a massive flop for the band worldwide, it was given a second chance when it was released as a lead single given that it found its way onto the Coneheads soundtrack likely due to having a music video which has imagery similar to what is found in the SNL movie. I guess we Aussies loved the flick as this became a huge success for them here.
#5824
This was the debut single from Mariah Carey, a song that was a massive hit in NZ and her native America but only a moderate hit everywhere else in the world due to it being little more than a showcase for her powerful vocals. Her later material in the decade is where she would find the balance between her vocals and her personality which would find her the success worldwide she had at home.
#5823
The 90's might have been wrapping up this year, however that didn't mean its trends were as we have this trance track from this German DJ becoming a massive worldwide success after a full decade of successful European DJ's making it big with EDM. I guess this is one of the more popular instrumentals of the decade as well as most of the big hits from the genre in Australia had vocals attached to them.
#5822
This was the first song that Van Halen released with Sammy Hagger on lead vocals, while it wasn't as big a hit as their final song with David Lee Roth, it did launch a new era for the band as the album proved to be a massive success for them. Sammy would remain with the band for the next ten years before he departed under similar circumstances to that of David and was replaced with the guy from Extreme.
#5821
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#5820
This was the biggest hit that AC/DC had with Bon Scott on lead vocals, although they would go on to have bigger success in the 80's once Brian Johnston took over following Bon's death in 1980. This was the lead single to the band's third album Dirty deeds done dirt cheap, an album that didn't see the level of success their second album T.N.T saw back in the day.
#5819
It was surprisingly hard to research this track given how it and the band behind it has fallen into obscurity over the years. From what I can gather, Dusk was a trio who were formed to compete with Dawn commercially, they only seemed to have success in the southern hemisphere given how this was a big hit for the girls in both Australia and NZ.
#5818
This was the debut single from a band who would eventually become known as Icehouse, yeah, these guys went by Flowers originally but had to change it when they sparked international interest in them due to another band with that name also looking to make it big worldwide (wonder whatever happened to them.) The album went on to be one of the most successful here and in NZ funnily enough.
#5817
It looked like that the Euroglider's third album would underperform given how it initially only spawned a hit with its lead single, however it saw a massive rebound this year due to the success of the third single which became a huge success for the Eurogliders in the early months of the year. They would have one more hit later in the decade with "Groove" before they called it quits in 1989.
#5816
This was the only hit that Mary J Blige had here in Australia, although had the digital charts been incorporated into the main charts sooner than they were, she would've also had a hit later in the decade with her cover of "One" with U2. I'm not sure why it took her nine years to find success here in Australia as it's not like her brand of RNB was that different from the tracks that made it big here in the 90's.
#5815
We have another entry from the brothers Gibb, this will be their earliest entry to feature on my site as I don't think I'll ever be looking at what was popular in the 60's where most of their pre disco success came from.
#5814
Well, if you couldn't tell from the name, this was indeed an album that was made out of contractual obligation from the Monty python crew which nonetheless managed to become a huge hit here in Australia likely due to the success of their soundtrack from earlier on this list.
#5813
This was the only success that the husband-and-wife duo Womack and Womack had worldwide, mainly for the lead single which was one of the biggest songs of the decade despite it (to me) sounding like something that was made in the 90's. I'm not sure why these two faded into obscurity once the album had finished its cycle, perhaps the world wasn't interested in their brand of RNB once the new decade rolled around.
#5812
Well Lenny Kravitz was saying around this time that he would be the modern-day equivalent of Jimi Hendrix, that would explain the success of this greatest hits album from the genuine article given how Lenny's popularity was exploding this year.
#5811
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#5810
This was all set to become a mere modest success here in Australia for Good Charlotte given how it was following up one of the more popular rock albums of the first half of the decade, however they scored a huge runaway success with the second single from the album which allowed it to rebound on the charts and make it almost as big as their previous entry thanks to how much airplay that single received.
#5809
This was the second entry in the Great American songbook franchise that Rod Stewart released this decade, it was far less popular than the first entry, however it at least was an immediate success here rather than it needing to find its audience.
#5808
This was an excellent year for the Angels given how they scored their first hit single from their album from earlier on this list, as such they released this greatest hits album to commemorate their achievement which was able to help fans discover their back catalogue.
#5807
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#5806
This was the last album to be released from Crowded house during their initial run together, it was a massive hit here in Australia and an even bigger hit in Neil's native NZ proving they too were able to survive the transition from the 80's to the 90's and even the purge of Australian music from this year in particular thanks to how much more timeless their music was compared to their contemporaries.
#5805
Now that they had three hits to their name, it was inevitable that Culture beat was able to find success with their one and only album here in Australia which would start a mini trend of a European EDM group scoring three hits from an album before fading into obscurity by the end of the year. Corona would follow suit with their album the following year and La bouche the year after that.
#5804
While this wasn't their biggest album here in Australia, this was a huge hit for the Village people regardless due to it including one of their more iconic tracks in their catalogue which helped them acquire a fanbase that was willing to embrace their campy nature at a time where other artists seemed to be more down to earth with their image.
#5803
Given how the lead single from this album managed to become a huge success for Kingston Trio member John Stewart here in Australia, it only makes sense that the album itself would be a moderate success even if this was the only success he achieved here throughout his career (this includes his work with his band by the way.)
#5802
This is one of those albums that's all but been erased from pop culture despite it being a modest success back in the day here in Australia and the duo's native UK, I'm guessing because the lead single has gone down on the internet as one of the worst of the decade and arguably of all time due to how cheesy it remains.
#5801
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
