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.
#4400
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#4399
We looked at the big hit these guys had as Drummond earlier on this list, time now to look at their other big hit they had once they rebranded themselves as Mississippi a year after that big hit. From what I can gather, this is an original track from the band which meant that there was appeal for their original music as opposed to many of their contemporaries from this list alone.
#4398
This was a bit of a surprise hit for Julian Lennon as the last time he troubled the charts anywhere in the world was with his debut single "Too late for goodbyes" from five years prior. Indeed, this lead single to his third album was a massive flop throughout the rest of the world and yet it was a huge success for him here in Australia, likely for the video which depicted him with a prototype of Slappy the dummy from Goosebumps.
#4397
This was the fifth hit in a row that the Pussycat dolls had here in Australia, it was a massive success here due to it being a female empowerment anthem about how they don't need the satisfaction of a man to have their lives fulfilled. I guess you can say it's hypocritical for them to have a song like this given their other entries on this site, however I and many others do agree that it's their best song by a mile.
#4396
It had been a good twenty years since Johnny Mathis last troubled the charts with one of his ballads, so it was a bit of a surprise to see him score a number one hit in his native America with this ballad that introduced the world to Deniece Williams who would go on to have massive success in the 80's. As an extra fun fact, Johnny is one of the first musicians of colour to come out as gay in the music industry.
#4395
This was the lead single to Marcia Hines third album in Australia, an album that spawned her biggest hit which we looked at earlier on this list. She would continue to have success here for the remainder of the 70's, although she struggled to retain her popularity going into the 80's once Diana Ross started having hits down under again.
#4394
Of the four hits that these guys had in Australia back in the day, this was by far the most normal as it wasn't a cod reggae track like "Dreadlock holiday," a glam rock track like "Rubber bullets" or even a sophistopop track (or whatever the 70's equivalent of that was) like "I'm not in love." Instead, we have a fairly straight forward pop rock track from the band which came from their biggest album Deceptive bends.
#4393
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#4392
Well, this is a ballad that still manages to hit hard all of these years later, Christmas of 1974 was a dire time for those living in Darwin as they were struck by Cyclone Tracy proving that climate change has been a thing for many years at this point. In order to raise funds for the survivors, NZ duo Bill and Boyd recorded this track which had all the proceeds going towards those that were affected by the disaster.
#4391
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#4390
Well, this is an album that many have claimed to be a carbon copy of the band's debut album, I'm guessing audiences felt this was too much of the same back in the day to pay as much mind to it as they did with their earlier entry on this list even though it was still a massive success back in the day due to how talented the band was.
#4389
Cat Stevens hadn't had any success since the release of his previous greatest hits album in 1982, although I guess this was the first album of his to be released on CD which perhaps makes its success this decade more of us going digital (that's how the transition of vinyl to CD was referred to back in the day) rather than there being a recent uprise in appreciation of this man's music.
#4388
I feel like we need to give these three women a round of applause for finally making it big in their native America given how the rest of the world had little issues with making them a household name with their earlier work. Here the girls continue spitting the rhymes that made them respected in the hip hop game whilst having fun catchy beats to go along with their rhymes that captivated audiences.
#4387
This was the sequel to Queen's previous album A night at the opera, true the novelty of having a rock opera had become the norm which is perhaps why this wasn't as successful as that album, but it did draw in high sales making it a success for the band. That said, their popularity would dwindle during the second half of the decade and wouldn't bounce back until the start of the 80's.
#4386
This was originally a flop for Lauryn Hill due to hip hop not having much presence in Australia, however it saw a surge in popularity this year when it won the album of the year at the Grammys thus breaking through our prejudice against hip hop (and female hip hop at that.) Unfortunately, this was the last anyone would hear from Lauryn as her mental health would see a sharp decline in the new millennium.
#4385
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#4384
There were plenty of British RNB girl groups of the decade, however with the possible exception of the Spice girls (depending on how you define their music) this was the most successful group in this category thanks to how inescapable their debut album was. They were previously known as All Saints 1.9.7.5. due to two of the members being born that year, however they dropped the date when they released this album.
#4383
This was the only notable success that Crash test dummies had outside their native Canada, presumably due to the overwhelming success of a song that remains one of their least successful hits in their homeland despite it being their only international hit. Indeed, that song trapped the band in novelty status despite the rest of the album being fairly serious, which explains why the rest of their catalogue didn't catch on.
#4382
Although the soundtrack wasn't as successful as its predecessor, it was enough of a hit to appear on this list of mine likely thanks to the lead single being a massive success on the singles chart. Of course, it wouldn't really matter if the soundtrack flopped given how phenomenal the film is even without its music, it improved on the original film in every way from the characters to its sense of humour.
#4381
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#4380
This was the soundtrack to a film that was mired in controversy back in the day due to the accidental death of its star, I won't go into the details here but suffice to say the film has a lot of sentimental value to Brandon Lee's fans even after all of these years. The film itself remains a classic more than just the circumstances surrounding it as it was a serious take on a comic book series much like the Batman films.
#4379
Much like his top entry on this list, this was more of a hit on our digital charts for JT suggesting that we Aussies simply weren't interested in making T.I a hit through our digital storefront given how his only solo entry won't be making an appearance on this list.
#4378
This is another new entry onto this list which comes to us from the soundtrack of Eragon of all things, although most people likely consider this more an advanced single from Avril's third album given how it was later included on Best damn thing due to how well it did on our digital charts as well as on Billboard.
#4377
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#4376
This is the only hit that Naughty by nature managed to achieve in Australia, it's curious that this was the song that made them big here considering that this was a massive flop in NZ and their native America back in the day. I guess we Aussies wanted them to have at least one hit here now that we were open to having our charts be dominated by RNB and hip hop like the rest of the world was throughout the 90's.
#4375
From what I can gather, Ketha Ebstein was a singer from east Germany who represented the country multiple times over the years to varying degrees of success. Her only success here in Australia was with this English cover of a song she released in her homeland to deafening silence, your guess is as good as mine as to how we Aussies came across this track back in the day.
#4374
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#4373
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#4372
These guys already had a hit earlier in the decade with "United we stand," although it was this song which helped them win Eurovision that made them a household name as that earlier track was only a modest success upon its initial release. These two songs were the British group's only success here in Australia, although they scored further success later in the decade by ripping off Abba's material.
#4371
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#4370
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#4369
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#4368
While it's not exactly a cover of the Bob Marley classic, the fact that Warren G sampled the chorus of the original (more specifically the Eric Clapton version) does leave people to believe this is a cover when in fact it's like his earlier hit on this list where it's just nostalgia baiting to connect his rhymes together. It appears we Aussies became fed up with this trend of nostalgia baiting as there weren't many hits like this after this year.
#4367
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#4366
This was the only hit that the German band Scorpions were able to achieve in the English language market, although they are one of the most popular bands throughout Europe so it's more our loss that the best they could do internationally was this ballad about how things were changing. This was inspired by the fall of the Berlin wall, making it an anthem to the end of the Cold war which happened this year.
#4365
This was the final hit that Kim Wilde was able to score in Australia under her first label, she would return later in the decade with "You keep me hanging on" although that only became a hit for her once her contract with her first label ended in 1984. As such this was her final new wave hit in most parts of the world as she would change her sound when she switched labels for a more mainstream market.
#4364
This was the first big hit that the Angels were able to score in their career, mainly due to how Doc Neeson describes the woman in question as someone who usually keeps her guard up except for the person he's talking to. It's a compelling performance he gives and a large reason as to why it remains one of their biggest hits in their catalogue, although there would be a huge quiet period for them after this.
#4363
Here's another favourite on oldies stations that made it big back in the day, although the Cars had to wait until their second album to find any success here due to how their debut album flopped here despite being one of the biggest albums of the decade in NZ. Indeed, they seemed to be more popular over there which is odd because normally new wave bands did better here in Australia.
#4362
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#4361
With the popularity of John Farnham being at its peak around this time, it only makes sense that a band clearly inspired by his comeback would follow in his footsteps and find massive success in their own right. Enter Southern sons, an Australian band who wanted to lead of the decade with their album which many have mistaken for one of Farnham's, it's a large reason why they were a huge success this year.
#4360
It seems odd that Glen Campbell would score so much success here in Australia and have his sellout track about well...... selling out be his final hit single here. Indeed, this song about how Glen was going to be as he puts it, a rhinestone cowboy to the masses was his final hit here in Australia despite it being the first of two Billboard chart toppers for the country legend.
#4359
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#4358
This was originally an instrumental theme for the Hollywood blockbuster Love story; however, it was turned into a love ballad at the last minute when the producers decided to recruit American crooner Andy Williams to sing over the instrumental theme in order to score a hit for the film's soundtrack. This gambit paid off here in Australia where it was a huge hit, not so much anywhere else in the world where it wasn't.
#4357
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#4356
It appears Beyonce and Shakira watched the Bette Midler flick Outrageous fortune and wanted to make a song based on that movie's plot of her and Shelley Long falling in love with the same man only to find out he had been lying to both of them (minus the terrorist subplot of course.) The result is this song which was the second single off the former's deluxe edition of her second solo album and a massive worldwide hit for them both.
#4355
This was the only hit that Robin Jolley managed to score in his music career, although like many Australian pop crooners, he found more success as a TV presenter which seems to be how the music industry worked here in Australia back in the day.
#4354
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#4353
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#4352
While this wasn't Leo Sayer's first hit in Australia (that honour goes to "The show must go on" from the previous year) it was the song that made him a household name despite it being a far cry from the soft rock ballads or even pseudo disco bangers that he would become synonymous with later in the decade.
#4351
This was the second single from Backstreet boy's third album Millennium, and it's a song that's notable for two reasons. The first is the guitar solo which was a more common troupe in teen pop from around this time (likely to spark outrage from rock snobs) and the second is for its music video which was one of the most expensive to ever be created, the price tag certainly shows with its high budget CGI.
#4350
Given that he served in the American military earlier in the decade, it's a bit surprising that Shaggy's debut single was a flop on Billboard and needed to find success in the UK and throughout Europe to kick start his music career. I'm guessing Americans weren't too thrilled with this reggae cover of an early 60's hit, either that or they didn't realise that this man would go on to rule over both hip hop and reggae throughout the 90's.
#4349
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#4348
This is a song that on its own is inoffensive enough (heck it can even be inspirational) however was ruined by many people due to that infamous performance on SNL where this track played instead of "Autobiography" which was the song Ashlee was meant to perform when that moment happened. For what it's worth, she wasn't entirely lip syncing that night and only had a backing track to enhance her performance that of course backfired.
#4347
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#4346
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#4345
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#4344
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#4343
This was the fourth and final single to come from BEP's first album with Fergie, although I should point out that this song was called "Let's get retarded" on the album which makes the lyrics about acting stupid make a bit more sense even if it also makes the song ableist as heck. Naturally the band changed the offending word to avoid any implications that they were down is that sort of behaviour.
#4342
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#4341
This was one of two hits that the German EDM group Fragma had throughout the world at the start of the decade, the other was with "Everytime you need me" which sadly was too much of a sleeper hit here in Australia to be appearing on this site. I guess the EDM scene was still going strong going into the new millennium even if it was quickly losing steam in the mainstream compared to how inescapable it was in the 90's.
#4340
Skyhooks were on a roll as they released the advanced single to their third album, a song that acknowledges that they needed to up their production if they wanted to remain relevant now that they've become one of the biggest names in Australian music. Although it wasn't as successful as their earlier hits, this was a huge hit regardless and reassured the band that they had a loyal fanbase.
#4339
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#4338
This was a big hit for American soft rock band the Gallery here in Australia as well as their native America and interestingly enough, Canada where it was a huge chart topper for them. Despite its international success, it remains their only hit worldwide given how the band only lasted a few years together before calling it quits in 1974.
#4337
There was a popular sub-genre from the 70's that I've dubbed as late-night rock, this is the type of rock music I picture myself listening to whenever I'm at a cocktail bar late at night or driving home alone on a dark lonely highway. Here we have Edwyn Collins score a hit in this sub-genre I invented with his one and only hit which is about how he's dumbfounded by this woman he's talking to and how abnormal she seems to him.
#4336
Well, this feels like something that should've come out during the height of the hippy movement, instead it was a little late to the party as it was released at the start of this decade for Australian singer Hans Poulsen. I guess the spirit of the 60's was prevalent enough for this to become a success for him, however it also firmly put him in the novelty camp as a result of its sound.
#4335
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#4334
This was originally a hit here in Australia a good six months before it finally crossed over to the band's native UK, I guess Countdown came to the rescue again as I'm confident this ballad from PH. D would've never been a success anywhere in the world had it not been promoted on the show. If the vocalist on this track sounds familiar to you, you probably recognise him for his big solo hit "I should've known better" from later in the decade.
#4333
The legends are true people, Mark Wahlberg did indeed have a career as a rapper before he took Hollywood by storm as one of the better actors to emerge this decade. Here he recruits soul singer Loleatta Holloway to provide a chorus for him while he flexes how awesome he is in the hip hop game; it went about as well as when his older brother flexed how tough he was on "Hanging tough."
#4332
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#4331
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#4330
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#4329
This was the only hit that Roger Voudouris was able to score anywhere in the world, again we have his appearance on Countdown to thank for this as I don't think it would've been as big here in Australia had he not performed the song on the show. I guess you can file this in the same category as all the hits that Leif Garrett and Shaun Cassidy had during the second half of the decade, a good-looking pop star scoring a hit with girls who found him attractive.
#4328
Well so much for Ginger Spice wanting to get away from the spotlight, although I don't think it's uncommon knowledge that she just wanted to get away from the Spice girls given all the behind-the-scenes drama that was going on at the time (to say nothing about the revelations revealed year later.) It makes sense that her first hit single would be akin to a cabaret number as she was the vaudeville performer in the group.
#4327
This was the first hit that both men on this track had in Australia, in fact it was their only hit here for both of them as they didn't have other hits here like they did internationally. At least this duet helped Julio score a massive hit with his first album in English, although it did no favours for Willie Nelson who didn't bother the charts outside of his native America after this.
#4326
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#4325
I don't think anyone was expecting this to be a success for Stacey Q due to the very poor quality of the music video, alas it was and got her out of the one hit wonder bin that her earlier entry threatened to trap her in. Sadly, this was her final hit anywhere in the world as she was unable to compete with Madonna and later on Kylie Minogue for the title of the pop princess of the music industry.
#4324
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#4323
It seemed like these guys weren't destined to have a successful career in Australia given how they released two songs from their debut album before it dropped to deafening silence, their fortunes changed when this third single became a hit once the album dropped and allowed said album to become a massive success for them. Even though they never saw international success, Human nature was a contender for the boy band wars in Australia as they competed with Backstreet boys and Five for the title.
#4322
Now that these guys were established hit makers, they didn't seem to have any issues with finding success with the rest of the songs from their sophomore album. Here we have their ballad which was a huge chart topper in the UK and their native America, although in the former it didn't reach the top spot until the 90's which means this was a hit here thanks to its popularity on Billboard.
#4321
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#4320
It looked like that Elton's popularity would be more permanent in the 80's now that he had reunited with his partner in crime Bernie Taupin, indeed he scored a string of hits over the next few years including this lead single to his album Breaking hearts which is him justifying how sad songs are necessary in the world of the 80's. He would hit a low point later in the decade when he had his polyps removed.
#4319
This is the last song from Lady Gaga which didn't have an over-the-top music video, sure you can make the argument that all of her videos are somewhat over the top, however at least her first four videos only had erratic choreography at worst and took place in relevantly normal situations. It's a bit of a missed opportunity that this didn't have her trademark imagery given the subject matter of the song.
#4318
Well, here we are with what's often considered the best song not just of the decade but of all time, yes, this lead single from Nevermind was indeed a huge success back in the day much to the chagrin of the band who brought it to life in the first place. Admittedly this was their only big hit in Australia as the success of the album ate up the potential success of the other singles from the album.
#4317
The last time Snoop Dogg had a hit here in Australia was almost a decade prior with his breakthrough single "What's my name," so to see him return with a song that seems to be respectful towards women as opposed to his other hit which had casual sexism in it (it's not as offensive as you would think) is a bit of a surprise but inevitable given its catchy chorus and production provided by Pharrell Williams.
#4316
Here's the title track of Madonna's third album, it's a song that hasn't been as fondly remembered as her other hits this decade likely due to its exclusion from the Immaculate collection from 1990. I'm guessing because this is the song on the album that she has the worst memories of given how she dedicated it to her then husband Sean Penn and how that marriage wound up turning out.
#4315
Given how successful his debut album was in Australia, it only makes sense that Leif Garret would continue to have success with his second album given how it was a huge success in his native America. For whatever reason, his popularity came to a screeching half once the album cycle was complete, which no doubt led to his drug addiction which preventing him from launching a comeback.
#4314
This was the first major hit that Boney M achieved here in Australia, it's a Eurodance classic that fits in perfectly with the disco scene which made its worldwide success inevitable for the German band. Although their subsequent songs would become even bigger here as the decade went on, this still remains one of their most popular tracks on oldies stations due to how incessantly catchy it is.
#4313
This was the second year in a row where a Triple J compilation album was among the most successful albums in Australia, although I'm basing this list on the AMR charts as these albums naturally didn't chart on the ARIA charts due to ARIA considering them compilation albums and thus excluding them from their rankings.
#4312
This is the other big hit that Roberta Flack had here in Australia, she rounded out her success with her 1975 entry Feel like making love before she fell into obscurity down under. This is until she came back in 1983 with Peabo Bryson with for their big hit "Tonight I celebrate my love."
#4311
It had been seven years since these three released an album together, even then they were one man short as Neil Young was nowhere to be found on this collaboration which is perhaps why this didn't reach the dizzying heights of Deja vu from the start of the decade. They would eventually make a second album with Neil young over a decade after this album, however many fans would wish they hadn't.
#4310
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#4309
This was originally released as Enya's debut album back in 1986 to deafening silence, I'm guessing because it was a bit ahead of its time seeing as though new age music wouldn't become a thing until her second album Watermark. It was rereleased under this title in 1992 where it didn't make much of a splash, however it did three years later for some reason which led to the success of her next album.
#4308
People have complained over the years that this second solo album was where Stevie began to abandon her roots in folk music, I feel it was for the best as it helped her stand out from Fleetwood mac as well as explore different genres to experiment with her voice. It wasn't among her most successful albums; however, it did serve as a warmup to her next album which remains her biggest solo effort to date in Australia.
#4307
I guess Robbie Williams managed to retain some of his popularity after the disaster that was Rudebox after all, this wasn't even his final successful album here as he would release a sequel to his 2001 effort in 2013 that did decently well over here that year.
#4306
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#4305
You have no idea how popular Ally McBeal was back in the day, it was so popular that it doesn't even surprise me that the series was able to spawn another successful soundtrack which included songs performed by its co-star Robert Downey Jr (this is what he was doing before he became Iron man.)
#4304
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#4303
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#4302
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#4301
Given how he was now one of the biggest artists in the music industry, it feels natural that this album from Andrea Bocelli would be a huge success for him worldwide. Indeed, he would continue to find massive success well into the new millennium, proving that there were plenty of fans of what many would consider to be music for soccer mums.
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