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.
#4000
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#3999
This was the first of two charity singles which led to the inception of Live aid, this one has more honourable intentions than its American counterpart due to it being written by Bob Geldof after he saw a news bulletin about the Ethiopian famine which obviously tugged at his heartstring. It's also since become a Christmas staple and that's spawned several different updates over the years.
#3998
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#3997
Her victory album from two years prior might have been a complete dud (mainly because she only came in second place in Australian idol despite the album being called the Winner's journey) however that didn't mean that Jessica Mauboy would be yesterday's news as she managed to find success with her official debut album this year thanks to it spawning multiple hits for her throughout the year.
#3996
This is the second greatest hits package Cher released since her (then) most recent album Believe, it's a bit of a surprise that this found any success given how big her last greatest hits album was as well as the lack of new material she released since 1998.
#3995
It took them fourteen years to break through to the mainstream worldwide, however the alternative duo Everything but the girl (named after an ad they saw) managed to take the world by storm thanks to a remix of one of their ballads from two years prior. They leaned into the EDM scene with this album which proved to be a massive success for them, however they quickly ran out of steam which costed them their popularity.
#3994
Following the failure of two bands, one here in Australia and one in her native NZ, Jenny Morris decided to go solo on this album which had a bit of a slow start to it due to her not having that big crossover upon its initial release. That came when she released the second single which was a perfect display of her vocal talents and thus helped it and the album become a success here but not in her homeland.
#3993
It took him a while, but Art Garfunkel finally decided to release his own solo album following the success that Paul Simon had with his two entries on the main list. I should also point out that this is considered a sleeper hit here in Australia, thus I'll mark it as such by replacing POPULAR IN with PEAKED IN with these entries.
#3992
This was another album that was very successful here in Australia that would've appeared much higher on this list had it been more of an immediate success rather than a sleeper hit, then again, the fact this debut album from Brendan Urie and company did managed to become a hit when it did is impressive considering how many of their contemporaries had to wait until the digital era began before they found success here.
#3991
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#3990
Well Faith no more might have been this biggest band this decade in Australia to combine hip hop elements with rock, however the most critically acclaimed by far was Rage against the machine who made a massive splash worldwide with their debut album thanks to the lead single being a heavy hitter on the radio even to this day. It was their biggest album here, although they've retained a fanbase thanks to their sound and politically charged lyrics.
#3989
Bob Seger was one of those artists that seemed to find more success with each subsequent album he released, although many will tell you this is his best work thanks to several of the tracks remaining as staples on oldies stations to this day. He would find the success he deserved by the end of the decade when his greatest hits package matched the success of many of his contemporaries on this list.
#3988
One of the wackier films of the decade was the live action TMNT movie, a film based on a cartoon which in turn was based on a comic about anthropomorphic turtles fighting crime with their ninja skills. The film is way better than it has any right to be as is the entire TMNT franchise for that matter, also it came with a killer soundtrack which of course was a massive success here in Australia.
#3987
I always wondered why the signature track from this soundtrack was a surprise hit at the start of the decade here in Australia, it turns out our love for the film Fame was so prevalent that it allowed us to rediscover the film that originally spawned "The time warp" which resulted in the success of that films soundtrack six years after its initial release.
#3986
This is the final Motown album that Rod Stewart found success with, rather coincidentally, it was his final album of the decade, which meant that going forward he needed to come up with new ways of retaining his fanbase which he of course managed to do.
#3985
This was an album that was originally released six years prior to deafening silence for the Greek pop artist, it was given a second chance this year for reasons I can't seem to fathom which allowed him to close out the decade with a successful album here in Australia. He was a one album wonder here of course, although I have heard him described as the Greek Bob Dylan over the years.
#3984
This was a mere bonus entry on my 2008 list, which goes to show how much OneRepublic owe their success here in Australia to our digital storefront even if their earlier entry that Timbaland "presented" was a massive success as a physical release here.
#3983
This is my final entry that appeared as a bonus entry on one of my official lists, here it's the fourth single from JT's second album which naturally was a victim of high album sales on the physical charts that resulted in its placement as a bonus entry.
#3982
This is the only appearance from Fedde Le Grand on this list of mine, I guess the absence of the Dutch DJ on this list is why I was surprised with the entries that achieved their success through YouTube thanks to their wacky music videos given how that was the bread and butter of his success here in Australia.
#3981
While this was far less successful as a digital release than as a physical single here in Australia, the fact that it still lingered in the top twenty of that format should give you an idea of how well-loved Kelly Clarkson was even if fans were admittedly weary about the direction she was taking her career in with this track and the album it came from.
#3980
This arrived a little late to the party here in Australia given how it was already a huge hit for Sean Kingston months prior in NZ and his native America, however it did eventually find success here likely due to the popularity of his debut single "Beautiful girls." He would have one more hit down under with Justin Bieber on "Eeenie meenie" before fading into obscurity worldwide.
#3979
Following the success of No doubt and their album Tragic kingdom, it appears that the ska punk scene had little issues with finding success here in Australia which leads us to this breakthrough hit from the Mighty mighty Bosstones. This is one of those songs that was featured in just about everything you can think of back in the day, as such it's become more of a meme nowadays than a genuine hit single for the band.
#3978
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#3977
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#3976
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#3975
You'd be forgiven into thinking this was a late 90's cover of the Carl Douglas classic from 1974, heck Carl himself is back to rerecord the chorus of that track for the British hip hop group Bus stop. Alas the chorus is just here to connect their verses which technically makes this an original track that simply relies of nostalgia baiting its audience to make it a success.
#3974
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#3973
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#3972
The second half of the decade was a massive success for Hot chocolate who saw tons of worldwide success with their blend of RNB and disco, in fact they even became the multicultural band of choice in America over Kool and the gang who didn't score another hit on Billboard until the early 80's. Indeed, these guys also continued to see success well into the 80's, albeit mainly in their native UK.
#3971
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#3970
I'm not even sure what to make of this track, I guess it's cool that the video heavily promotes queer culture even if it stereotypes the LGBT community as sexually driven who will do it whenever wherever. It was a massive success for Wayne G and helped him become an in-demand producer over the years.
#3969
Here we are with the lead single to the band's third and final album, naturally it was a continuation from their earlier sound but with them appealing to the early MTV crowd months prior to when the program would launch later in the year. This was likely a success here for two reasons, the first was that they performed it and "Antmusic" on Countdown this year and the second was that it and their previous entry were both chart toppers in their native UK.
#3968
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#3967
Unlike her E street co-star Melissa Tkautz, Toni Pearen waited until she was an adult before she began recording songs which it turns out were far less sexually charged given how she went for a more adult contemporary direction with her music. This means that while her songs are admittedly less memorable, they're also less embarrassing which is why Toni was able to successfully become a TV host once the hits dried up.
#3966
This was the only other success that Iggy Pop was able to acquire anywhere in the world, although here he required the assistance of Katie Pierson from the B52's fresh off the success she had with their album Cosmic thing. Neither artist on this track would see any further success with their subsequent material.
#3965
The legends are true people, Lindsay Lohan did in fact have a singing career that consisted of two albums that saw a moderate amount of success for the former Disney star. This was the lead single of her first album which was her version of "Piece of me" from Britney Spears as it addresses her public behaviour (back when it was mostly innocuous) and how she was fed up with tabloids exploiting it for profit.
#3964
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#3963
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#3962
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#3961
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#3960
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#3959
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#3958
It's easy to think that Jessica Simpson came from Disney much like Britney and Christina, however she was a teen idol that had no such affiliation with the House of mouse and was instead looking to make it big during the height of the teen pop era of music. She was off to a good start with her debut single as it showcases how much of a powerhouse she was as a vocalist, rivalling that of Christina at her best.
#3957
If you can believe it, this wasn't initially created for the Chef aid episode of South Park and was instead a DJ battle between Mouse T and Hot n Juicy that became a huge success throughout Europe before Trey Parker and Matt Stone discovered the track and included it in the episode. I'm guessing this songs success was what inspired the duo to release the Chef Aid soundtrack which became a huge success for them.
#3956
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#3955
This had a rather slow rise to its success here in Australia, I'm guessing because these guys weren't among the more popular Australian bands of the decade despite scoring a huge hit with their debut single "Great wall." Their fortunes changed for the better when the album became a huge success around the turn of the decade due to fan favourite "Dancing in the storm" taking over the airwaves.
#3954
Now that they had international success from their previous album, Icehouse decided to experiment with their sound in an attempt to keep up with the trends of MTV. While this and their next album were a success for the band in Australia and NZ, they aren't fondly remembered due to them moving away from the sound which made them iconic on their first two albums and especially their fifth album.
#3953
This was the first album that U2 had any success with, it's a politically charged album as was many of their earlier material about how war is bad and that it needs to stop. It connected with audiences worldwide who agreed with this sentiment, although their later material would be less politically charged which would result in them scoring more hits from their albums.
#3952
This was the final album that Linda Ronstadt managed to have any success with worldwide, although I'm guessing it was due to audiences resonating with the lead single about how getting old kind of sucks, but she doesn't care now that she's found the love of her life with Aaron Neville. Indeed, this is her most sombre album that I'll be featuring on this site, likely a reflection of how she's matured over the years.
#3951
I'm guessing the novelty of there not being a year of the cat was what allowed this album to be a success worldwide, either that or there was a ton of love for adult contemporary artists such as Al Stewart back in the day that I didn't realise was a thing.
#3950
Although the peak of their popularity wouldn't come until 1982's Eye in the sky, this British duo did receive a ton of success throughout the 70's thanks to being a worthy candidate of the best prog group to come out of the decade. Named after the sci fi book of the 50's, this album had a concept about a dystopian future that naturally connected with audiences around this time.
#3949
This was originally released twenty years prior, as such it was given a CD release this year which allowed it to be a massive success worldwide for the fab four. They also rereleased the sister album this year which we'll look at in a bit.
#3948
This was a highly successful decade for Lenny Kravitz who saw massive success with his second and third albums throughout the world, although it's worth noting that only this album was a success for him in his native America as his next album bombed there for some reason. This initially struggled to become a success here in Australia, however once his second single made him a household name on Billboard the album flew up the charts here.
#3947
It had been a while since Supertramp last troubled our charts, in fact their last successful album was with Famous last words from four years prior which gives you an idea of how they failed to adjust with the MTV era like many bands from the 70's. Still, they were able to find success with this greatest hits album proving their back catalogue had secured their legacy.
#3946
This was originally released three years prior under the band's original name Bjorn Benny and Agnetha Frida to deafening silence, likely because that's not a compelling band name to give yourself regardless of what language you speak. The band reissued the album under their new name this year which became a huge success here likely due to how much in love we Aussies were with their music.
#3945
Leann Rimes was only fourteen years old when she recorded this album, not only that but it wasn't even her first album as she had been active since the start of the decade meaning she was only nine years old when she released her first album. That's impressive considering this would be a highly critically acclaimed album as well as a huge commercial success despite it being a country album.
#3944
This was a greatest hits packaged named after one of their singles from their breakthrough album Hold on to me, indeed this was another example of a band whose popularity died out by this point but was able to find success with an album looking over their biggest success which secured their legacy in the music industry. This decade had a ton of these albums find success over original material.
#3943
There's a good chance the Rogue Traders would've found more success on our digital storefront after all given how much more successful this solo debut from Natalie Bassingwaighte was on there compared to its physical release, although it's worth noting that this wasn't the case with her duet with Shannon Noll which won't be making a reappearance on this list.
#3942
This was the debut single for one of the most well-beloved bands from around this time, to think this sat on shelves for an entire year largely ignored due to their debut album having original album art that was completely horrifying. This has become a staple in hair metal from the late 80's, to the point where I don't think I can add anything to the conversation that hasn't been said a thousand times over.
#3941
These guys were certainly on a roll going into the new millennium given how they were able to finally score a number one hit in their native UK with this second single from their sophomore album Invincible. It seemed like they would be moving away from their hip hop roots going into the new millennium, however their third single traded in these roots in favour of a dated cover of a Queen classic.
#3940
This was the third hit that Shaggy achieved on his comeback album hot stuff here in Australia, this time he recruits Samantha Cole to provide the chorus for him as he gushes about the love of his life and how fortunate he is to have her as his partner. Apparently, this was originally recorded with Janet Jackson for a soundtrack a movie no one has ever heard of from 1998, that would explain why he rerecorded that track for this album.
#3939
P.M Dawn were all set to be one hit wonders in Australia given how none of their other tracks managed to crossover down under, however they were able to score a second hit seven years after "Set adrift on memory bliss" became a huge hit for them thanks to Prince Be from the duo crediting his solo hit to the project. As you can tell from the title, this is a song about how things are only getting better for him.
#3938
This was the last song that the Hollies released in the 60's, meaning that it was inevitable that its success would roll over into the start of the 70's throughout the world given how they were at the height of their popularity when this came out. My UK readers will likely be surprised to see this ballad here and not from my late 80's lists, that's because it became a chart topper over there in 1988 as a rerelease.
#3937
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#3936
This was the second hit from DJ Sammy to become a success this year that was a cover of a song from 1985, this time we have him making a dance track of the Don Henley classic which got him out of the one hit wonder bin in most parts of the world that his earlier entry threatened to trap him in. I guess he ran out of 80's classics to make his own which led to him failing to score any other hits.
#3935
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#3934
I never understood how this song was credited, mainly because it's Kenny Dope presenting, himself as the Bucketheads is just an alias he used on this one and only hit he had worldwide. The song was a massive success for the American DJ everywhere except of course his native America, this was a huge hit in the UK which is why we Aussies and most of Europe knew about it.
#3933
We have another successful soft rock track from Dr Hook to become a hit during the second half of the decade, although admittedly this was one of the last hit singles that they were able to have in Australia despite their growing popularity internationally, likely because they were already a huge deal with their earlier ballads.
#3932
It looked like Pitbull was here to stay going into the new decade as this second single from his club boom phase was also a massive worldwide hit for him, there's honestly not much I can say about this track except that aside from this, "I know you want me" and his theme from Men in black III "Back in the time," all of his hits have had the assistance of someone else in the music industry.
#3931
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#3930
If Princess Diana had of lived till the end of the decade, this would've been Elton John's final hit single anywhere in the world as it serves as the emotional ballad that plays during the end credits of the Lion King. This became the third Disney ballad to win an academy award for best original song despite people feeling that it doesn't rank among Elton's best work, the lyrics are admittedly not his strongest.
#3929
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#3928
This was the only notable success that indie pop darling Sarah Blasko was able to achieve in the mainstream, mainly because of how much love this album of hers received from Triple J which was a good source of alternative artists making it big in the mainstream throughout the decade down under. Even though indie pop thrived throughout the 2010's, she unfortunately didn't have much success then.
#3927
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#3926
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#3925
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#3924
This was initially a flop for Roberta Flack worldwide, likely because nobody knew what to do with the umpteenth album that was inspired by Burt Bacharach and his brand of jazz. It was given a second chance three years after its release the lead single became a surprise chart topper for her in America and here in Australia.
#3923
While this wasn't anywhere near as successful as their previous album due to lacking that runaway hit that "Legs" proved to be for the band, ZZ top was nonetheless able to retain their popularity with this album here thanks to their brand of hard rock fitting in rather well with all of the heartland rock and folk rock that was permeating the rock and roll scene during the midpoint of the decade.
#3922
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#3921
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#3920
This was originally released at the start of the decade for the film of the same name, a film that remains a cult classic to this day due to the hilarious hijinks that ensues involving the titular Blues brothers band. I'm not sure what took this soundtrack so long to be a success here given how John Belushi had already been dead for a year by the time it did find its audience here.
#3919
This was the debut album for a band who would see many ups and downs in their career here in Australia, indeed they wouldn't trouble the charts again for eight years after this album and it would be another two years after that before they would find a second successful album in their career. I guess the girls needed to find the right sound to pair their vocals with in order to connect to us Aussies.
#3918
I'm not sure how he did it, but Chris Rea scored an impressive comeback this year with this album given how his previous hit "Diamonds" was only a modest success for him nearly a decade prior. I think NZ had something to do with this as he suddenly saw a massive surge in popularity over there around this time, this leading to the lead single to nearly topping their charts and thus becoming a hit here.
#3917
Their self-titled debut album was a massive flop in Australia, this is despite the fact it was one of the biggest albums of the decade in NZ proving there was an audience for them upon their initial breakthrough. Indeed, it's likely due to this audience over there that their second album was a huge success here, even managing to spawn a hit single here that they lacked over there.
#3916
Their debut album was a massive commercial flop for them, so to see this album succeed as well as it did must have been a huge shock for Smashing pumpkins given how they were infamously known for not being able to handle their success very well. This album led to them becoming more ambitious with their subsequent material which translated to even more success that they weren't prepared for.
#3915
This was another song from 2008 that actually began charting on our digital charts in late 2007, meaning that it was bound to be more of a success on our digital charts than it was on our physical charts even though there's little indication that the Rogue traders would've done better on our main charts if ARIA tracked digital downloads for their earliest hits.
#3914
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#3913
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#3912
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#3911
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#3910
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#3909
This was released the previous year to deafening silence here in Australia, I guess we Aussies felt that we didn't need a folk song from a Scottish woman even though Sandi Thom dominated our charts with her entry from the top of this list. It was given a second chance when it was featured in the film the Devil wears Prada which is considered one of the best rom coms of the decade.
#3908
Even though she was based in America when she released this country ballad, Diana Trask was nonetheless able to find success back home with this ballad despite it bombing on the Billboard charts. It became a huge sleeper hit down under this year likely due to older audiences being still being in love with female country ballads buying this despite what the younger audiences wanted to hear.
#3907
This was the only notable success that Phil Seymour had in his career, admittedly this sounds completely different from everything else that got popular this year as this would've felt more at home several years prior. Australia was the only country in the world to make it a hit for what it's worth.
#3906
This was the only hit that Blue mink had in Australia, likely due to it being a plea for world peace given how the titled the track after the phrase "melting pot of friendship." They were far more successful in their native UK as well as NZ likely due to them having a woman of colour as their main vocalist in a band otherwise consisting of white men, a lineup that helped them stand out from the crowd back in the day.
#3905
Given how Culture beat had completed the album cycle for Serenity, it only seemed fitting that Corona would step in and take over the Euro dance scene with their EDM track named after a Debarge hit from almost a decade prior. It turns out there was some minor controversy in regard to who actually sung this track, in fact lead singer Olga De Souza didn't sing a note on their album despite her performing each of these songs live, I guess at least she didn't lip synch to someone else's music on stage.
#3904
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#3903
Roger Whittaker saw a sudden rise in popularity this year due to the surprise success of his song from earlier in the decade "The last farewell," as such people wanted to hear more from his music which prompted his label to release this greatest hits album to make that task easier for his new fans.
#3902
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#3901
This was a direct sequel to Paul McCartney's solo debut album from a decade prior, technically it is his second solo album as Ram was a collaboration he made with his wife Linda and the rest of his output from the 70's was with her band Wings. Indeed, most of Paul's solo material would be duets with other people, notably people of colour as both Stevie Wonder and MJ collaborated with him multiple times in the 80's.
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