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.
#4700
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#4699
This year really was on fire during the winter if this album is anything to go by, we have big hits from some of the biggest names in music which allowed it to find an audience with the general public.
#4698
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#4697
This was a very successful decade for AC/DC here in Australia even if they only spawned a total of four hits throughout the 80's, they made for that by having some of the more popular albums of the moment such as this follow up to their biggest album Back in Black.
#4696
We had previously looked at the Band throughout this site, be it with their live album or their works with Bob Dylan. This is their only entry on this list that doesn't fit into either category as it was their big breakthrough here in Australia and indeed throughout the rest of the world.
#4695
We have another successful album to come from Bay city rollers this decade, it was the third album in a row where they saw massive success within a time span of six months, meaning that there was a bit of overexposure towards the band here in Australia and their native UK.
#4694
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#4693
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#4692
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#4691
This was a greatest hits album that was released exclusively in Australia and NZ mere months prior to the death of Karen Carpenter, meaning we have another successful album to become as such due to the death of an artist involved with its creation. I'm guessing this was planned on having an international release back in the day but was cancelled out of respect for Karen's passing.
#4690
The Autumn of 1985 in Australia was a wild time if this compilation album is anything to go by, it was such a huge success likely due to the rich selection of hit singles it managed to collect on its track listing.
#4689
I told you we'd be getting to this song eventually, again it had more than one version become popular on our digital charts back in the day as there is indeed a version of this track without Timbaland's guest verse on it that did moderately well in addition to the version with his verse which is the version that earned this a spot on my list.
#4688
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#4687
This was the first solo hit that Deborah Harry had following the demise of Blondie from earlier in the decade, admittedly she did try to go solo around the time Autoamerican was tearing up the charts from the start of the decade, however no one seemed to be interested in her solo venture at the time. Indeed, this was a massive flop in her native America and only became a success when it crossed over to the UK for her.
#4686
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#4685
This was the final hit that Ciara had anywhere in the world, although it had a chorus provided to her from JT, so it was guaranteed to be a hit for her given that he was still considered a cheat code when it came to artists scoring hits this decade. That said, this would be the last time this would be the case as everything he touched once the new decade rolled around had a difficult time becoming a hit worldwide.
#4684
This was originally an album track on N sync's third and final album Celebrity, as such there wasn't chance of the original becoming a hit for the boy band which wasn't good because the album had failed to produce a hit for them due to it being the end of the boy band wars in America. They decided to get Nelly to contribute a guest verse for the remix which allowed it to become a massive hit for them.
#4683
Given how Phil Collins had established himself as one of the biggest names in music by this point, it only makes sense that Genesis would finally see some mainstream success which they achieved with the title track of their most successful album. People have complained that this is a Phil Collins track marketed as a Genesis track, I personally don't care either way as solo or with the group, I'm a fan of his.
#4682
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#4681
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#4680
This was the signature tune for Nat King Cole during his lifetime, so it only makes sense that his daughter would cover the track forty years after its initial release and would find massive success with her version. What rubbed people the wrong way about this cover is that she made it into a virtual duet with her father, that is she took the original recording and inserted her vocals onto the original to make it seem like she was duetting with him in real time.
#4679
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#4678
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#4677
This was released mere months after the MTV music awards where Madonna kissed both Britney and Christina Aguilera on stage, meaning that moment was meant to hype up this lead single to Britney's fourth album In the zone which it did as it became the biggest hit of the decade for her in most parts of the world. Admittedly Madonna doesn't add much to the track as she's mostly there to bring up the lesbian aspect of the track.
#4676
I guess in celebration of the premiere of Star trek the next generation, this novelty band from the UK through together a Claymation video that goes with a song that I think was meant to be a touching tribute to the original series. It's hard to tell with how bad the impersonations are of the characters, if I had to pick out my least favourite song of the decade, this would be it and I'm not even a Star trek fan.
#4675
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#4674
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#4673
Before there were the Spice girls, there was this Australian equivalent who made a huge splash with their first album here. Indeed, this was their debut single and yet it went straight to number one which should give you an idea of how well marketed these young women were during the height of their popularity. Unfortunately for them, their second album went nowhere due to the notable absence of Robyn Loau.
#4672
Wes Carr was the winner of the sixth season of Australian idol, he was considered the country star of the series which is perhaps why his victory single isn't among the more widely revered songs in this category despite its initial success.
#4671
This will be Busta Rhymes one of only two appearances on the Australian side of my site as the rapper never had much success here for some reason, even so this isn't much of a hip hop track as the rapper instead sings on this song along with Mariah Carey who was still very much cancelled around this time due to her erratic behaviour around the time she starred in her first film Glitter.
#4670
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#4669
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#4668
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#4667
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#4666
Although Midnight oil holds the distinction of having the first entry to debut at number one on the Australian charts, the honour for the first song to debut at number one goes to this third single from Kylie's debut album which should tell you how much anticipation there was for said album here in Australia. The anticipation was met as it was one of the more popular albums from the late 80's.
#4665
This is another song that's relatively low on this list due to shenanigans with the ARIA charts of the 00's, however I've gone on long enough about how dodgy they were on this site already, so I won't dwell on it here. This was the theme to the Baz Lurhman flick Moulin rouge which was a jukebox musical that revived the musical genre in the mainstream after many years of it being restricted to Disney flicks and their knockoffs.
#4664
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#4663
Well, this is a cover that led to interesting developments in Jimmy Barne's career, we have him covering a Percy Sledge track during a live show which proved to be so well received that it was released as a single where it became a huge hit for him.
#4662
Even though he didn't reach the dizzying heights of success here in Australia that he achieved in his native America, Kanye west was able to make a huge splash with his second album thanks to the lead single and its throwback production to that of Ray Charles (especially with the presence of Jamie Foxx.) The album received a boost in popularity when another song became a minor success here, confirming his popularity.
#4661
This is where it all began for Kasey Chambers, a country artist from Australia who would go on to have massive success throughout the decade with her subsequent follow ups due to how unique her vocals are compared to the other Aussie pop divas of the moment. As with most debut albums, this had a bit of a climb to its success here due to her being a relative unknown when it was first released.
#4660
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#4659
These guys made a massive splash with their debut album the previous year, however it was their sophomore album which made them a household name likely due to us Aussies growing to love Heather Smalls vocals the more we heard them on the radio. While this wasn't an immediate success like other albums on this list, it was a huge sleeper hit due to it lingering on the charts longer than most albums.
#4658
This was originally released two years prior to minimal success here in Australia, even with the lead single becoming a surprise success in America, there wasn't any indication these guys would crossover here. That changed when their earlier entry on this list became a massive success here due to the lead single topping the 1994 Triple J year end lists, it was the boost this album needed to finally connect with audiences.
#4657
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#4656
You'd think this would be one of the biggest albums of the decade here in Australia given how well these guys managed to age into the MTV era, in fact the video for "Magic" actually took home the first best video award at their ceremonies which it did so at "Thriller's" expense. Alas this was only a hit when the third single became a hit here, even then I think it was only due to its success in NZ.
#4655
This was the debut album of Culture club, one of the most popular bands of the 80's despite having that popularity largely confined to their earlier entry on this list. Indeed, this was an album that needed the success of their second album to make it big here in Australia, although once their second album took off, it was considered to be among their greatest work.
#4654
They may have never found success in their native America with their debut album; however, it became a huge success here in Australia and in NZ thanks to the band being discovered by Countdown presenter Molly Meldrum while overseas trying to interview bigger celebrities at the time. They were invited to appear on the show which they did which resulted in this and the lead single becoming a huge success.
#4653
One of the wackier bands to make it big through Countdown was Mi-sex, this is largely due to the antics of their lead singer as well as their unconventional song topics ranging from aliens to the rise in videogaming. While this was a sleeper hit for the band, it did set them up for a ton of success here and in their native NZ that they sadly never ended up having after their second album.
#4652
This is the only album from Anne Murray aside from her greatest hits package to find any sort of success outside of America and her native Canada, although I'm guessing this is due to the surprise success of its lead single worldwide which likely came from it compared favourably to an early Olivia Newton John track around the time her British/Australian equivalent went in a more pop direction.
#4651
This had a bit of a cult following to it even prior to when it reached its peak in popularity here in Australia, namely because of the title track which was quickly becoming a huge dance craze across Australia and nowhere else in the world as the decade went on. Of course, the album skyrocketed in popularity here once we Aussies heard the news that Tina had left Ike showing out support for her decision to do so.
#4650
Paul Young was one of the more popular artists to come from the sophistopop genre this decade, although his debut album did need two attempts to make it big in Australia as it was only after the success of its third single that it became a success here. It was more instantly successful worldwide which no doubt set him up for success over in America with his second album.
#4649
One of the most popular films of the decade has to be Ghostbusters, this is mainly due to it being one of the few films to depict paranormal activity in a comedic way given how horror films seemed to dominate Hollywood throughout the 80's. This could explain the success of the soundtrack, although I think it's real success here in Australia came from its theme song being one of the biggest hits of the decade here.
#4648
In 1978, the members of Kiss each released a solo album which went largely ignored due to them being best known as a unit even at the time, however thanks to the success of their earlier entries on this list, their label decided to commission this album which pulled the best tracks from their individual releases which proved to be a modest success here in Australia for the band.
#4647
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#4646
This is the fourth and final time I'll be featuring this second single from Pitbull on this site, it was slightly more successful as a digital release than a physical single which goes to show how quickly our digital storefront were in changing its mind about his mass appeal.
#4645
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#4644
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#4643
You'd think that the biggest hit from the Machinations would be "No say in it" or "Pressure sway," instead it was this track which lasted quite a while on the charts thus making it their biggest hit by how long it lingered in the mainstream. It was also their final hit as the band would call it quits when their third album flopped later in the decade.
#4642
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#4641
It looks like Des'ree was able to escape the one hit wonder bin in most parts of the world with this track, although I get the feeling she wishes this wasn't a hit for her given how it's often considered to be one of the worst written songs of all time. I feel she gives a compelling enough performance to overlook these ridiculous lyrics, although I've never been one for judging a song based on its lyrical content.
#4640
This was a hip hop track that came out of nowhere here in Australia given how it wasn't a success for him anywhere else in the world including his native America, not even the kiwis gravitated towards this track which is really odd because they were the ones who discovered these hidden gems throughout the 90's.
#4639
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#4638
Well, this is a surprise, you'd think this would be one of the most successful songs of the decade here in Australia considering how inescapable it was internationally for Tiffany Darwish. Alas it was only a sleeper hit here despite how catchy the song is and it arguably being her best performance in her catalogue, although she did find success with her follow up from earlier on this list.
#4637
There was a popular TV crime series known as Van der Valk (Dutch for "of the falcon") which aired from 1972-1977 back in the day. As with most popular TV series, its theme song was quite popular in the music scene here in Australia as well as in the show's native UK where it topped the British charts.
#4636
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#4635
Well, this is a song that I'm sure was a success purely through wholesome values, OK jokes aside, this was a song that was tailor made to be as explicit as possible given how we have the female rapper Khia exploiting her sexuality that only those who find her attractive could appreciate (which admittedly would be a lot of people as she is conventionally attractive.) It took a while to take off in Australia, but once it did it was a massive hit.
#4634
This is one of those songs that definitely needed to rely on the nostalgia of an older track in order to be a success, in this case it's the 1984 horror classic "Somebody's watching me" which takes the chorus of that track and makes a dance remix out of it complete with new vocals from Emel Aykanat to replace the king of pop's vocals. All of this to say that the song was a huge success here and throughout Europe for DJ Bobo.
#4633
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#4632
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#4631
It looked like Matchbox 20's third album would be a commercial disappointment for them worldwide given how its lead single "Disease" failed to become a hit anywhere in the world the previous year. Fortunately, this second single from the album proved to be a massive success here in Australia and the band's native America, likely due to the video which compliments the lyrics about Rob Thomas dealing with mental health issues.
#4630
This was both the lead single to Linkin Park's third album Minutes to midnight as well as the theme song to the first Transformers film, it also serves as the turning point with their sound as they moved on from nu metal into alternative rock which would only last for the remainder of the decade before they changed their sound again in 2010. It seems weird that they would recycle this song for "New divide" later in the decade.
#4629
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#4628
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#4627
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#4626
This was a stacked year for Alanis Morissette, not only was her Grammy award winning album the biggest of the year but it also managed to spawn four huge hits for her throughout the world this year alone with this fourth entry being the second biggest here in Australia. This is known for its harmonica solo which has made it one of the more iconic songs in her discography, although it would prove to be her last hit in certain parts of the world.
#4625
This was the theme to Whitney's third and final film the Preacher's wife, I think by this stage audiences had grown tired of her attempts to be a Hollywood star and only supported her films in the hopes that she would return to making music full time. It turns out that this was around the time that she was facing serious relationship problems with her husband Bobby Brown due to their presence in the tabloids.
#4624
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#4623
Although he remains a one hit wonder internationally with "Undercover angel," Alan O'day was able to score a second hit here in Australia with this track about how much he likes skinny girls. I guess everyone is entitled to their preferences and to be fair, this is meant to be tongue in cheek about how thin girls were becoming from around this time.
#4622
This was the second version of the Little Eva track to become a hit in Australia, although considering that the original was a flop here back in the 60's, I feel that these covers being a success was our way of atoning for sleeping on the original. Here we have a disco cover of the song which proved to be a huge hit for Ritz this year, although it was an even bigger hit over in NZ where it was the biggest hit of the year according to RIANZ.
#4621
Given how their American counterpart Az Yet were able to achieve massive success here in Australia this year, it only makes sense that British RNB group Damage would also see success here proving that we Aussies were slowly but surely becoming more susceptible towards RNB music and indeed music of colour in general as the decade was coming to an end. It was their only hit here despite them having a string of hits in their native UK.
#4620
I bet you were beginning to forget that Kelly Rowland had a solo career given how omnipresent Beyonce was even this soon after the demise of Destiny's child throughout the world. Here she is with her first single from her second album which comes complete with a guest verse from Eve who was also still scoring hits this far into the decade despite her also not having much success as a lead artist for several years by this point.
#4619
There didn't seem to be any signs of Craig David slowing down in the mainstream as he released the lead single to his second album which became an instant success for him, I'm guessing because he was making the waves over in America this year with the material from his debut album which made him in the same leagues as Usher who was also enjoying a successful year around the world with his material.
#4618
This was the only hit that Tevin Campbell was able to achieve here in Australia, although he was very popular throughout the decade in America given how he scored multiple hit singles on Billboard throughout the 90's. I'm guessing this was a hit here due to it being bouncy enough to compete with all of the other dance tracks from this year, although it firmly placed him in the one hit wonder bin down under.
#4617
It turns out Biggie Smalls wasn't a one hit wonder here in Australia after all as he managed to achieve a second posthumous hit here with this posse cut with Diddy, Nelly and Jagged edge. I suppose if 2pac was able to keep scoring hits worldwide from beyond the grave there was no reason his main rival in his lifetime couldn't do the same.
#4616
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#4615
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#4614
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#4613
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#4612
This was the final hit that Hall and Oates were able to score here in Australia, although they would still find moderate success during the second half of the decade in their native America. This is perhaps my favourite song from the duo as it's by far the catchiest as well as me relating to the lyrics about being with someone who's out of touch with reality. I've that person on both sides of this relationship.
#4611
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#4610
While this wasn't Yothu Yindi's debut single in Australia, it was the song which made them a household name due to how incessantly catchy it is despite the lyrics being about how the band wants the Australian government to sign a treaty with the aboriginal community (something that's still yet to happen as of this writing.) International readers will recognise this as the song that plays when Brendan Frasier flips over to MTV in Encino man, which gives you an idea of how American audiences received this.
#4609
This was the only hit for British DJ Blue boy, an EDM track that was a shoe in to become a success in Australia due to EDM still being at the height of its popularity during the late 90's. There's not much I could find out about the person behind this track, apparently their birth name is Alexis Blackmore, and they identify as a man, apparently that can be a male name even though I always thought it was a female one.
#4608
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#4607
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#4606
I wasn't expecting to add another entry from an artist who would go on to become a politician apart from Peter Garrett on this site, however that seems to be the case for Mike Curb as the future politician for California would score a hit with the theme to the Clint Eastwood flick Kelley's heroes a decade prior to taking office in the west coast state.
#4605
This was a hit singles twice in Australia for Alicia Bridges, the first time was upon its initial release where it rode the disco bandwagon along with many other RNB tracks of its day and the second was with this remix which was used for the film Priscilla queen of the desert. It's usually this remix people think of whenever they think of any version of this song or indeed, a queer anthem in general.
#4604
It had been almost a full decade since Manfred Mann saw any success on the charts, so here he is with his second band, Manfred Mann's earth band (wow, creative name) scoring massive success worldwide with this staple on oldies stations. This was able to give him a comeback as it helped the album it came from become a moderate success as well as this topping the Billboard charts.
#4603
This was the advanced single from the Pretender's third album, an album which wouldn't come out for over a year after hits songs release due to the behind-the-scenes drama they had with each other. You wouldn't know that from listening to this track as they seem to be well synchronised with each other, the band members grunting to give off the impression that they are working on a jail chain link.
#4602
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#4601
This often gets confused with Joe Cocker's second album given how they're both self-titled releases, however it's worth noting that it would've been odd if that album were the big hit he had instead of this one given how we've technically already featured that album with his earlier entry on this list.
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