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.
#4500
This seems like a shoe in for this list given how immensely popular that Gnarls Barkley were back in the day thanks to the lead single of this album, indeed even us Aussies couldn't resist the funk grooves this album had to offer from the duo as it became a massive hit on our charts this year. Sadly, this love didn't stick around for their second album which was a massive flop for them worldwide.
#4499
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#4498
It took him nearly ten years, but Richard Clapton was finally able to find success with one of his albums in Australia. I'm not sure why it was this one and not one of his 70's output given how he was more popular in that decade due to his regular appearances on Countdown, I'm guessing this was due to a memorable performance he gave of the lead single to this album which boosted its sales.
#4497
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#4496
This is a covers album consisting of many popular Australian and NZ artists paying their tributes to the discography of both Neil and Tim Finn, meaning that this is a collection of covers from both of their solo careers as well as their bands Crowded house and Split enz which proved to be a massive hit here in Australia and their native NZ.
#4495
This was far less successful than the first volume from the end of the 00's for Glee here in Australia, I guess it didn't have a genuine hit like that album did which had it suffer in the rankings back in the day.
#4494
It appears that KD Lang found her niche as the perfect gift for Mother's Day as this album was all set to flop here in Australia only for it to rebound on the charts when the special occasion rolled around. As such, KD Lang decided to market her music from here on out as the perfect gift for our mothers and releasing her albums during the early to mid-months of the year.
#4493
This was the last album from Queen to have Freddie Mercury on vocals, I guess this is their version of Milk and honey that John Lennon made eleven years prior which gives me complicated feelings about its existence.
#4492
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#4491
Many fans of the Rolling Stones consider this to be their final decent album given the critical reception to their next album Dirty work, even so, it appears that they didn't enjoy this album as much as the rest of their catalogue at the time given how much less successful it was compared to the rest of their catalogue.
#4490
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#4489
By far the most successful show to be performed on theater, we have Andrew Lloyd Webber's stage adaptation of the Gaston Leroux which has been playing nonstop on stage since its premiere in 1986. I'm guessing the soundtrack became a success this year when news broke out that the show would be touring in Australia throughout the 90's, as the last time a soundtrack from Lloyd Webber was a success was with Jesus Christ superstar in 1970.
#4488
This was the only successful album that Dan Hill was able to have outside of his native Canada, mainly for the lead single which became a huge worldwide success for him and likely promised him massive success with his subsequent albums he never achieved. That said he still kept at it and achieved moderate success in his homeland after this.
#4487
It's hard to say how much success Eric Burdon had with his first band the Animals with his albums here in Australia as information for the 60's album chart here is scarce at best. I do know that their greatest hits album was a massive success here, which would explain how well this album from his second band did here.
#4486
This was the first of only two albums to come from Chocolate Starfish, an Australian band who were known for their campy onstage antics who nonetheless were able to see massive success thanks to how well their music connected with audiences. I'm not sure why they didn't find any success with their second album the following year, it unfortunately led to them breaking up later in the decade.
#4485
Here we are with the fourth and final entry from Jordin Sparks on this list as well as Guy Sebastian's second and final entry on here, it was a bit more successful as a digital release likely through the former's appeal given how the latter didn't have much like on the format like he did with his physical releases.
#4484
This was also released just before ARIA began tracking digital sales, meaning that this could've easily outranked itself on my hypothetical physical list were I more confident in how popular it was during the first few weeks of its existence on that format here in Australia.
#4483
This was a short-lived supergroup which comprised of the two vocalists from Led zeppelin as well as members of the Yardbirds and Nile Rogers of Chic fame. Naturally this was going to be a success for the band even though this was the only song they released from their one and only album, it was a temporary project that wasn't going to last regardless of the results they got.
#4482
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#4481
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#4480
This was the only hit for the underage American southern rapper J-Kwon, a hit that sparked a bit of minor controversy as it opens with a song about how teen drinking was bad but he didn't care because he had a fake ID. Naturally this line was cut from the radio version of this song which left audiences with the counting gimmick he had throughout the song, it's about all I remember from it if I'm being honest.
#4479
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#4478
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#4477
This is one of two entries from Jamie Redfern to make the list, Jamie of course being best known for being the first breakout star on the TV series Young talent time which was similar to that of the Mickey mouse club for Australia when it came to breeding child stars in the entertainment industry. This is another two for one deal as this comes with "Rainbow on the river" (which I couldn't find album art for.)
#4476
There weren't a lot of successful British artists throughout the decade here in Australia, however Ronan Keating was a rare exception likely due to the good will he had during his time with Boyzone throughout the 90's. Here he scored a massive hit with the second single from his solo debut ("When you say nothing at all" was technically the lead single) which was a huge hit for the Irish performer down under.
#4475
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#4474
This was the first hit single that Mariah Carey had that had her craft a distinctive personality for her worldwide audience, sure her previous songs were impactful, but they could've been sung by anybody unlike this track which is distinctly her own. It also sees her incorporating RNB into her sound which she would continue to do for many of her songs throughout the rest of the decade.
#4473
Technically this wasn't the only hit that Motiv8 had in Australia as he also scored a hit under the alias of Mozaic the following year with "Nothing in the world" as well as being the brainchild behind Gina G's Eurovision classic "Ooh aah just a little bit." Before he scored a hit with either of those dance tracks, he made it big with this EDM track thanks to the vocals of Angie Brown who you may recognise for her performance on Mark Morrison's "Return of the Mack."
#4472
With all of the controversies involving lip synching that had emerged throughout the decade so far, Mariah had that accusation stick to her initially due to her unwillingness to embark on a tour to promote her music. In order to put those rumours to rest, she appeared on MTV unplugged where she gave a performance which confirms that her reluctancy came from her suffering from stage freight and not a lack of vocal talent.
#4471
There were a lot of hits this decade about young couples falling in love weren't there? Here we have John Cougar score arguably the biggest hit with this troupe (at least in his native America) likely due to this being a heartwarming tale about how the couple made it in the end with little hassle. "Young Turks" from earlier was likely the song which started this trend which lasted all throughout the 80's.
#4470
Although he had already achieved moderate success with his comeback album around this time, it was this third single from Edge which cemented his comeback status due to how fun and catchy it is from the aging pop star. This could've been a fluke for him given how audiences likely had nostalgia for Sherbet around this time, however his next album was even bigger meaning this wasn't a fluke for him.
#4469
This was the second single to come from La Bouche's album this year, it's a song that shares its name with a Eurythmics track that in turn had a cover from Marilyn Manson that was also released this year albeit as a massive flop. This song has nothing to do with that track as it's a dance track about how the duo is looking for love on the dance floor whereas that song is about err...... whatever it's about.
#4468
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#4467
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#4466
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#4465
Given how well-loved Nelly was from around this time, it only seems fitting that Chingy would follow suit into being an overnight sensation from the mid-west which began with his debut single which contains the infamous line "give me what you got for a porkchop." The song regularly appears on worst of the 00's lists for the line in question as well as people believing that Chingy isn't a good rapper.
#4464
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#4463
Although this wasn't her debut single (that honour goes to "Similar features" which sadly flopped) this was the song which made Melissa Etheridge a household name due to a persistent rumour that the song was directed at another woman due to details made in the lyrics. Indeed, Melissa confirmed that it was directed at a woman when she came out as gay in 1992 around the time KD Lang also came out of the closet.
#4462
This was originally released in 1982 to deafening silence for the Belle stars, likely because we didn't need yet another update of the calypso track from the 50's by the early 80's and that the Belle stars already had success with their hit "The clapping song" here in Australia and "Sign of the times" in their native UK. The girls had broken up by the time their cover had appeared in the Oscar winning film Rain man, so the video was reedited to have scenes from the film spliced in with the original clip.
#4461
This was bundled with the lead single to Sleeping with the past in the UK, presumably to give Elton a chart topper in his homeland which compared to the rest of the world, he had very few of in his career. Here in Australia this was the song to help his album become a huge comeback for him after struggling over the past few years with mental health problems as well as a well-publicised drug addiction.
#4460
Even though this is credited to the Art of noise as the lead artist, I think we can all agree that this cover really belongs to Tom Jones for the simple phrase "think I better dance now." There's debate on whether this is better than the original, however there's no denying that both songs sees both men of colour at their sexiest as the lyrics encourage them to be as provocative as they can allow themselves to be.
#4459
This was never a hit in the northern hemisphere, that should tell you how influential Countdown was for Australia and arguably in NZ as this debut single from Martha Davis and company was a huge hit in both countries thanks to it being promoted on the TV series. The band did eventually see success in their native America with their second album, success that didn't translate back here where it all began.
#4458
Even though there's tons of songs with this title from over the years, from what I can gather this is an original pop rock track from John Farnham (known back then as Johnny Farnham) which goes to show that he only occasionally dabbled with covers throughout his career. He would have a couple more hits around this time (which we'll get to) before fading into obscurity for the remainder of the decade.
#4457
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#4456
I guess Duets was a box office hit here in Australia, either that or we Aussies really wanted to allow Gwyneth Paltrow to have a singing career as her cover of the Jackie DeShannon classic (which was used to showcase how weak of a vocalist she was in the film) became a huge hit this year here and nowhere else in the world. This was the only other hit she had as none of her other singles charted down under.
#4455
Well, they were a trio and yet insisted they were a quintet, OK jokes aside this was a huge breakthrough for Ben Folds five who managed to take the Australian music scene by storm due to the lead single becoming heavily promoted on Triple J this year. They remain a one album wonder here likely due to the station not promoting any of their other material, however this was a quirky album for them to get their hands on.
#4454
We looked at the sequel to this film on my 1975 list, suffice to say that the original film that depicts David Essex as a rising star in the 50's and 60's was more of a success back in the day as was the soundtrack which captured all of the films best musical moments.
#4453
Well, I guess we had an album about being hooked on classics, so why not have an album about being hooked on swing music? That was the premise for this group of session musicians who collected a bunch of swing tracks and mashed them together throughout this album.
#4452
I'm not sure why Alicia Key's second album bombed in the southern hemisphere given how popular a bootleg recording of "Karma" was here in Australia (imaginatively titled "Karmastition" as it's the song with the beat to "Superstition" by Stevie Wonder) whatever the reason, it wasn't the case for her third album which seemed to pick up where she left off from earlier in the decade with her debut.
#4451
This was only a modest success upon its initial release here in Australia, I guess this was because it felt too out of place with all of the teen pop that was making it big this year (this was certainly the case according to ARIA.) It was given a second chance here when one of the tracks became the theme to the Adam Sandler flick Big daddy which helped it become a worthy follow up to their self-titled debut.
#4450
This was the first album to be released from the Rockmelons which has the gimmick of having multiple different lead vocalists throughout its runtime, the most prominent being Wendy Matthews who left the group after the albums success to pursue a solo career. The album had a bunch of hype going into it given how many advanced singles there were, and indeed the hype was effortlessly met given how much of a success it was.
#4449
Although this album is credited to the supergroup USA for Africa, really it was the one song they all did together plus a bunch of other songs that some of the participants donated to the album that make up its justification of being an album. For all of the bad criticisms that this album and supergroup has received over the years, there's no denying it was made for a good cause and its novelty was impressive at the time.
#4448
There was a lot of hype going into Evanescence's third album given how inescapably popular their second album was earlier in the decade, alas though it was a success upon its initial release, fans quickly grew to dislike this follow up largely due to them feeling like the magic from their earlier release was nowhere to be found on this album. The band has released new material since this came out to deafening silence.
#4447
This was the first album that the Angels released that managed to score them a hit single on our charts, sure their previous albums were more successful throughout the 70's, however it was this album that finally put them in the same leagues as many of their contemporaries from around this time. This set them up for having a highly successful decade in the 80's and even led to them sticking around in the 90's.
#4446
Bob Welch was the original lead singer of Fleetwood mac when the band decided to have a vocalist among their ranks, he left just before they exploded in popularity which I'm sure was a bit of a sinking feeling he experienced at the time. Fortunately, he was able to find success with a solo album thanks to the lead single being a huge hit for him here in Australia as well as scoring a second hit in his native America.
#4445
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#4444
After two albums that had her working with country and adult contemporary, Linda Ronstadt decided to shake things up yet again in her career by following the new wave trends that had just exploded in popularity around this time. It wasn't an inescapable success like her previous two albums, but it was noteworthy enough to be a worthy experiment in her discography.
#4443
It looked like these guys would be a one album wonder with their debut from 1997 given how their second album was a massive disappointment for them as the 90's came to an end, however they managed to bounce back with their third album largely thanks to its lead single receiving heavy airplay back in the day, although it wasn't a huge hit here likely due to it being the victim of digital piracy.
#4442
There have been a tone of movie themes to make it big in the 70's and 80's, so leave it to British pianist to due piano versions of these themes and find success here in Australia with an album filled with them.
#4441
These guys were known to be a killer live band, so it only makes sense that a live album from them would be a huge success during the height of their popularity. Of course, the real treat came when a live rendition of "Am I ever gonna see your face again" had the crowd shouting "no way get f**ked f**k off" in response which helped the song become a hit twelve years after its initial release.
#4440
Following the success, she had with her entry on my last list, Carole King managed to retain her momentum with this album even if it failed to spawn that massive worldwide hit that "It's too late" was from her previous album. She would fade into obscurity until 1977 when she released her Hard rock café endorsement.
#4439
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#4438
They may not have had much success here in Australia with their singles or even albums, however at least this greatest hits package from Earth wind and fire was able to become a success likely as a way of reconciling with our ignorance of their music throughout the decade. Indeed, they managed to score a major hit this year with the Emotions, proving that we were ready to make them a household name.
#4437
I'm guessing this greatest hits package became a success here in Australia due to Stevie Wonder being featured on Babyface's hit single "How come how long" as a way to remind us Aussies of the back catalogue for one of the greatest musicians to ever make it big in the music industry.
#4436
Given that their E.P from earlier on this list was a huge success (regardless of if it was charting as a single or album) it's fitting that the band's debut album would be a huge success for them as they were given a lot of hype in the leadup to its release. The hype was of course effortlessly met; however, it didn't translate to their second album where it became a massive flop for the alternative rock band.
While her previous two entries proved to be more successful as physical releases than they were on our storefront, the same definitely isn't the case with the singles from Funhouse as this was far more popular as a digital release than it was on our physical charts.
#4434
I did mention that this one and only hit from Wolfmother greatly benefitted from digital downloads upon its initial release, as such we have it appear on this list which goes to show how much we Aussies loved indie music from local artist during the second half of the decade.
#4433
This was the final hit that Jordin Sparks has had anywhere in the world, although in this case she was playing second fiddle to Guy Sebastian who was clearly trying to find an international audience now that he had established his comeback with "Like it like that" going into the 2010's.
#4432
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#4431
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#4430
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#4429
I told you that British artists weren't that successful here in Australia, I'm willing to be the only reason why this track from Westlife was a hit here was due to it being a cover of one of Billy Joel's most recognisable songs in his catalogue and we Aussies were having nostalgia for the original when this came out. If finally got the Irish band out of the one hit wonder bin here despite how inescapable they were worldwide.
#4428
If the melody sounds familiar to you on this track, that's because it was originally the melody from Spandau Ballet's "True" from eight years prior that PM Dawn took for themselves for their breakthrough single this year. This has the distinction of being the first Billboard chart topper when they started using Neil scan to determine their charts, meaning that they relied on computers to calculate what was popular rather than audience engagement.
#4427
This was the lead single to Good Charlotte's third album Good morning revival, much like their earlier entry on this list, this likely wouldn't have been as big a hit in Australia had it been released earlier in the decade given how the likes of "Lifestyles of the rich and famous" and "Predictable" failed to appear on this site despite them both receiving tons of airplay upon their respective initial releases.
#4426
This was the only hit that the Australian dance group Radio freedom scored in their career, although while this was a dance hit it also feels like it would've been a massive hit with the Latin craze had that begun earlier in the decade. While the band did release an album during their time together, the album was a massive failure which led to them breaking up as a result of its fallout.
#4425
It looked like there would only be one hit from Linkin Park's debut album as the second single "Crawling" failed to become a hit here like their debut from the previous year, however this third single from the album picked up the slack as it became their first hit in their native America likely due to it being an emo rock track rather than the nu metal that the rest of the album was.
#4424
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#4423
This was the breakthrough single of Daft Punk, a French EDM duo who would go on to be one of the most influential EDM artists of the 21st century thanks in no small part to a huge hit they had in 2013 with "Get lucky." Sixteen years prior, they had a massive hit in Australia with this track which became as such due to EDM still being a massive success in the music scene here during the late 90's.
#4422
This was a song whose success was very late in Australia, namely because it was already a huge chart topper in NZ six months prior to when this finally caught on here for the Dutch group Time bandits. Although we were late to catch onto their music, we made up for that by giving them a second hit with "Endless road" which became as such due to the band filming the video here while they were on tour.
#4421
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#4420
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#4419
This was one of two hits that Midge Ure scored throughout the world this year, the other being with his other band Ultravox which wasn't as big a hit as this was (though stay tuned for it later on this list.) This was his more Avant Garde hit of the two likely due to him wanting to cash in off the success that Kate Bush and Lene Lovich had with their material from around this time.
#4418
Well, this seems a bit odd, this second single from Big audio dynamite's most recent album became a success around the time "Should I stay or should I go" was a massive success in their native UK. I bring this up because this song is often mistaken for the Clash classic due to them having the same melody as each other, although it's worth noting that Mick Jones was responsible for said melody so it's not like he was stealing from anyone else.
#4417
We have another double entry for this list, this time it's the lead single from Lauryn Hill's solo debut as well as her cover of the Frankie Valli classic which were both needed to have her crossover to Australia despite her already having success earlier in the decade as the main rapper/vocalist from the Fugees. This no doubt helped her album become a huge success here as that too wasn't a hit upon its initial release down under.
#4416
It looked like that Bush's debut album was going to fail given that it had been released two years prior to little fanfare throughout the world, however it was finally a success this year when this became a surprise hit for the band over in America who likely appreciated their brand of post grunge on this track. It may have been their only hit worldwide, although at least it put them on the map of the alternative scene.
#4415
These guys were on a roll as they managed to score a hit with this cover of a Jackie Deshannon track that was made popular by the Searchers in the early 60's. Indeed, this would be another successful year for the band as they would score more success with their earlier entries, although their time in the spotlight wouldn't extend to the 80's.
#4414
Following the success he had the previous year as the lead singer of Mike and the Mechanics, Paul Carrack released a solo album this year which was led off with this cover of the Searchers track from the early 60's. The original was a huge hit here in Australia back in the day, so that would explain how this was a hit for him down under and nowhere else in the world. His next single would be his first solo hit on Billboard with "Don't shed a tear."
#4413
Err.... how did this novelty track about the famous nursey rhyme connect with so many people this year? Oh, that's right, the video which features Claymation of the nursery rhyme which strangely compliments the song's campy tone which no doubt amused people back in the day. Evidentially this was a side project of Tool frontman Maynard James Keenan before his band saw mainstream success with their album Aenima.
#4412
This was the third hit in a row from Vanessa Amorosi, it was an instant success likely due to it being about making the most of what you have as life is fleeting and can end at any moment. This was a hit around the time that her earlier entry saw an international release, although that song was only a success in NZ likely due to rumours that she would perform it at the 2000 Olympics (which she did at the closing ceremony.)
#4411
Although we'll look at Danyel Gerard's version of this track much later on this list, this version from Matt Flinders proved to be the big hit here in Australia which makes this yet another example of a local artist stealing the success that an international artist would've otherwise had back in the day.
#4410
This was about as equally successful as "Right thurr" from the previous year regardless of where in the world you're from, this means that audiences wanted to hear Chingy rap about him being romantic to someone he's interested in as much as whatever his debut single was supposed to be about. He had to more hits in his catalogue (one of which is still to come) before people became bored of his music.
#4409
This is the second song from JT to address his failed relationship with Britney Spears, although this one seems much more caustic than "Cry me a river" mainly because it came out during the height of her meltdown which (in my opinion) says a lot about the type of person he really is in retrospect. I guess if you divorce the context of what this song is about, it's easy to see how this was a huge success from him back in the day.
#4408
Although Sam Sparro is an Australian artist, he initially found success in the UK with this EDM track before it crossed over down under for him likely due to him being stationed over there during this phase of his career. It's a song whose popularity came from its quirky music video, meaning that it hasn't had much of a legacy as even back then, it was a rather tame video compared to its competition.
#4407
This was originally a showtune from the 30's film of the same name, it was made famous by Gene Kelly's rendition which has endured over the years for good reason. Over fifty years later, we have Taco's rendition which helped the Indonesian born German star find international success with the track, although it cemented him as a one hit wonder due to how indicative of the times it was.
#4406
This was the only hit from Dynamic Hepnotics as they failed to make much of a splash here like many of their contemporaries save for this catchy dance track which had little chance of failing in our music scene. The real surprise here is that this managed to become an even bigger hit over in NZ the following year, possibly due to the kiwis finding this to be even more irresistible than us Aussies.
#4405
It had been five years since No Doubt released their breakthrough album Tragic kingdom, although that album did take its sweet time in finding success around the world due to the band being unknown prior to its release. In any case, we have the lead single to their follow up album Return of Saturn which proved to be their only hit from said album around the world, naturally this led to the band changing up their sound later in the decade.
#4404
We haven't looked at a Coldplay song on this site since "Yellow" on my 2001 list, this is because they didn't have much success with their singles here in Australia during the first half of the decade likely due to them being the victims of digital piracy throughout the decade. Fortunately, that was a thing of the past by the time they released their fourth album this year which allowed this Billboard chart topper to be a success down under.
#4403
This was originally a hit for John Paul Young way back in 1978 where it became his big international breakthrough and thus made him a one hit wonder outside of Australia. Fast forward to this year and we have Baz Lurhman commissioning a remix of this track to be used in his film debut Strictly ballroom where this updated version managed to become a hit for John all over again.
#4402
This was Aaliyah's only hit here in Australia, although much like her big hit in NZ from two years prior, this was also a song featured from a film which in this case was a film she also starred in. That film is of course Romeo must die which was panned by critics for its clunky story but praised for the performances from Aaliyah and her co-star Jet Li, suggesting she was also a talented actress as well as a singer.
#4401
This was the final hit to come from Toni Braxton anywhere in the world, likely due to it being a song where she chastised the wife of one of her exes about how he wasn't good enough for her. Needless to say, this left a bad taste in people's mouths given how she was previously known for sweet ballads such as "Breathe again" and "Unbreak my heart," although it is a bop provided you ignore the lyrics.
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