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.
#5200
This is one of those songs that was well promoted by Triple J which resulted in its success, although the song was a catchy throwback to the psychedelia complete with a video that seems to be an homage to the Alice in wonderland books. This was the only hit for Swoop, likely because the rest of their catalogue wasn't nearly as catchy as this breakthrough single was for them.
#5199
I bet audience were surprised to see this RNB jam become a hit in Australia back in the day, mostly because these two while big in their native America, weren't exactly chart toppers on Billboard like so many of their contemporaries that failed to crossover here. That said, boy does it make sense that this was a hit down under due to how groove the production is, it's like the two women went back to the 70's and picked out the grooviest melody they could find for this number.
#5198
This was a two for one deal for John Denver as he released two of his more popular tracks from his (then) latest album Windsong in order to retain his popularity in the mainstream. This paid off for him as the double entry was a success as was the album itself, although it appears audiences suffered from overexposure from the country singer as he struggled for relevancy after this.
#5197
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#5196
This was originally written by Michael Bolton for Laura Branigan, that would explain his earlier entry on this list as Cher made this ballad her own following the success of her performance in Moonstruck which got her an academy award for best actress. Although this was a massive worldwide success for her, it would be her next album where she would truly be welcomed back in the music scene.
#5195
From what I can gather, Michael Bow was a German singer who scored a massive hit here in Australia with this song that was used in a Countdown competition during the final months of the show's existence. I consider this to be in the trilogy of queer anthems from this year, the other two songs being "Boom boom" and "Male stripper" due to how well loved they remain in our queer community.
#5194
This was the only hit that Canadian singer/songwriter was able to score in Australia throughout his career, it's curious because he did score success with his earlier hit singles on Billboard and in his native Canada and yet this was his only hit here despite this being a huge bomb in both countries. I guess this became a hit due to us wanting to give him at least one hit down under and this was our favourite track from him.
#5193
This will be the last entry from Don Mclean on this site given how he didn't score any other hits throughout his career, indeed this was only a hit here in Australia likely due to the massive success of his two earlier entries on this list as well as the album they came from which didn't seem to be much of an incentive for the rest of the world in making this a hit.
#5192
This is the last hit that Human Nature were able to achieve in their career, this is less because their popularity faded after this song and more because this came from their final album as a boy band before they reinvented themselves as a throwback group to the likes of Motown and other music from the mid twentieth century. Indeed, their popularity wouldn't die out for another decade because of this shift in their image.
#5191
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#5190
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#5189
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#5188
If you're wondering what this song even is, it was the theme song to Happy feet which is a film that divides audiences to this day due to how preachy they tend to find the environmental message of the film. It was a massive box office success worldwide which allowed this theme to be a hit here in Australia for the unknown singer Gia Farrell.
#5187
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#5186
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#5185
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#5184
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#5183
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#5182
This is the final album to come from Blink 182 during their first run together, they would go their separate ways later in the decade only to reunite for the 2010's where they struggled to find relevancy as did any band or artist that was from the rock genre. This had a bit of a climb to its success given how only the second single managed to become a hit for the band which was very different to the rest of their catalogue.
#5181
Well Mariah Carey did have a bunch of chart toppers on Billboard this decade (and likely would've had more if the chart format hadn't changed in America in 1991) so it seems fitting that she would release a greatest hits package themed around how many number one hits she had in her home country.
#5180
This was the other album that the Beatles released twenty years prior that became a success this year due to it finally being available on CD's, naturally it was a success even if audiences were more interested in their earlier work as evidence by this predecessor success on this list.
#5179
It may surprise you to learn that these guys had at least one successful album prior to their big breakthrough in their native America Only by the night in Australia and NZ, this was that big album they had which of course was a success thanks to the band's popularity on Triple J both upon its initial release and when several of the singles appeared on their annual list for 2007.
#5178
This was the album which Billy Thorpe and the Aztecs came back with after a brief breakup from the end of the 60's. I don't think anyone was expecting the otherwise conventional rock band to go in a more prog direction with this album, but they did which resulted in it not being as big as their 60's efforts but still big regardless.
#5177
While the momentum had begun to slow down for Britney Spears by the midpoint of the decade, she was still very much one of the most popular artists of the moment which explains why this greatest hits package of hers managed to be a huge success for her this year. Of course, it would all be downhill from here save for her album Circus which in addition to spawning multiple hits was a success in its own right.
#5176
This was a bit of a commercial disappointment for Kylie Minogue as it's the only album of hers where she tries her hand at standards music in addition to more of the fun bubblegum pop she had from her debut album. It was a moderate success here in Australia and the UK; however, it was such a failure in America that it resulted in her getting dropped from her label over there.
#5175
Well, the 80's was coming to an end, so what better way for these guys to end it with one final album in their catalogue? This was more of a last hurrah for the duo as their last album Savage wasn't a huge success for them, this is despite the fact that was the album they released after their biggest album Revenge which was only three years old by this point.
#5174
Well, this was Icehouse further experimenting with their sound from their previous album, again it was a huge success given how people were too curious to look away at what Iva Davis and company were doing at the time, but I feel people were relieved when they returned to what made them a household name on their next album. Still the fact this album was a success proved that people did genuinely like what they had to offer.
#5173
It looked like these guys wouldn't be able to have a career going into the 90's given how their previous album Temperamental suggested they would be an 80's band and no more, however thanks to the success of its lead single worldwide, they were able to extend their popularity past the 80's and even acquire a worldwide audience. This was a brief comeback as the band would struggle for relevancy later in the decade.
#5172
There seems to be at least one of these albums on my list for every year in the 90's, although it's worth noting that La bouche's success here likely came from how huge they were over in America more than us preferring them over their predecessors Culture beat and Corona. Just like those two bands, these guys scored three massive hits from the album and then faded into obscurity once the album cycle was done.
#5171
This was the only notable success that the Sports were able to achieve here in Australia, they were among the more popular pub rock bands of their time even though they didn't reach the same heights as Cold chisel or Dragon during the Countdown era. They would sadly not last for very long as their next album didn't bring in the numbers of their earlier work which would cause them to break up.
#5170
One of the more popular TV soaps of the decade from Australia was the Secret life of us, granted it never reached the dizzying heights of success that Neighbours of Home and away did, however it had quite a lengthy run on TV partially due to the success of its soundtracks which the first soundtrack of course being the most successful of the lot.
#5169
This also saw a massive improvement on this ranking compared to my hypothetical physical list, although perhaps not as much as some of the other entries on this list as its success on there is much closer to what it achieved through its physical sales here in Australia.
#5168
This is the final entry to have multiple versions of it chart on our digital charts back in the day, although I can't imagine how the other version of this song goes that took a good chunk of the main version of this track's success back in the day, it was apparently enough that it diminished its chances of appearing higher on this list.
#5167
Although they had seen plenty of buzz here in Australia prior to this standalone hit they had, this was the song which convinced us Aussies they were worth our time which made the failure of Paul Weller's previous band the Jam here that much more puzzling in retrospect. I wouldn't feel too bad for him though, the Jam were one of the most successful bands of the decade in his native UK.
#5166
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#5165
This was a huge success for Things of stone and wood (again with a silly band name on this site) mainly because it was an E.P named after their signature tune which helped them find an audience during a time where it was beginning to become difficult for Aussies to make it big in the mainstream. Indeed, they wouldn't find any success with any of their singles despite having a decently successful album.
#5164
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#5163
This is the earliest entry from Sherbet to feature on my site, naturally it was the song that finally caught the mainstream's attention of their work after several minor hits that failed to put them on the level of many other bands that have appeared on this list.
#5162
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#5161
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#5160
The original version of this track from Bobby Brown was a massive flop here in Australia back in the late 80's, so that means this cover from Britney Spears is likely the only version we Aussies are familiar with given that it was a huge hit for her from her first greatest hits album. Aside from gender flipping some of the lyrics to refer to her younger sister, it's essentially the same song as the original.
#5159
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#5158
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#5157
This was the only hit that Big pig managed to score here in Australia, I guess they were technically a British band as they were based in the UK when they started releasing songs two years prior, however they're often claimed as an Australian act likely due to them not having any success over there. This was a massive success over in NZ for some reason, I guess it pop up on a popular DJ's set over there.
#5156
This was a hit for Brian Hyland a decade after his first hit "Itsy bitsy teenie weenie yellow polkadot bikini" (I can't believe I had to type that up on this site even after mentioning its 1990 cover on the NZ side of my site.) This meant that the former teen idol was able to escape the one hit wonder bin here in Australia with this track about a Romani woman he's in love with (though not enough to not refer to her as a slur.)
#5155
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#5154
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#5153
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#5152
Following the success of her live album the previous year, Pat Benatar was able to score a second hit in Australia with this lead single to her album Tropico likely due to the inclusion of a children's choir in the final chorus. This would be her final hit in most parts of the world, although she would score one more hit later in the decade with "All fired up" here in Australia which was a return to her rock roots.
#5151
This was the only hit to come from Puddle of Mudd here in Australia, although their big hit internationally was "Blurry" from the previous year which flopped here for some reason. The song is infamous for being written from the perspective of a teenage boy who got dumped for the first time, at least that's what people who despise this song have claimed given how it's been widely mocked since its initial release.
#5150
While this is still harder than what they would release later in the decade, many people point to this ballad as the turning point for their transition towards a more mainstream audience as this was a more watered-down version of their sound compared to what had come previously from them. It was a best of both worlds situation as fans weren't quite off the bandwagon while it also being a huge commercial success.
#5149
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#5148
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#5147
Bread was another band who managed to achieve quite a bit of success in their native America throughout the decade, this was their biggest hit here in Australia despite it not being their biggest hit on the Billboard charts (we'll get to what was in a bit.) Bread are one of those bands who are often described as "white people music" mainly due to their lack of appeal in other demographics.
#5146
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#5145
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#5144
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#5143
This was the second single from Johnny Diesel's debut album, while it wasn't as big as their earlier entry (likely due to it not being as catchy) it did continue their winning streak here in Australia as it fuelled the popularity of the album thanks to Diesel's strong passionate vocals. They would score one more hit this year (which we'll get to) before contributing to the Delinquents soundtrack in 1990.
#5142
This will be one of only three appearances from the Sugababes on the Australian side of my site, although like most British groups (specifically the girl groups) they were much more successful over in NZ throughout the decade. The girls are best known for their multiple lineup changes throughout their career, to the point whereby the time the band was no more, none of the original members were a part of the group.
#5141
This was the second single from Kylie Minogue's self-titled album, it's a song that has a video which pays homage to the Jane Fonda classic Barbarella which I'm sure helped it win over audiences back in the day. It's also catchy as hell, which is unusual for a downtempo ballad, I guess Kylie managed to find a way to make this formula work as she would release a whole album of this material later in the decade.
#5140
This was the theme to the first film that many feel was a dud in Will Smith's filmography, that being the theatrical adaptation of the TV series Wild wild west which race swaps the main character to justify his casting. The film was a box office success likely due to nostalgia of the 60's western, however it was torn apart by critics and even had the theme song be the only one to be nominated for worst song at the Razzies for 1999.
#5139
This was originally a hit for Candi Station two decades prior where it remains a disco classic to this day. Rather than use the original for the party scene where the two leads meet in Baz Lurhman's adaptation of Romeo and Juliet, he instead got unknown American singer Kym Mazelle to cover the original which allowed her to finally score a hit single after almost a decade of no success in the music industry.
#5138
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#5137
For eight years, this was the only hit that Underworld managed to achieve anywhere in the world, they eventually escaped the one hit wonder bin with "Born Slippy" from the Trainspotting soundtrack. In the meantime, their only hit was this infectious EDM track which was much bigger here than it was in their native UK despite EDM not being our favourite genre until well into the 90's.
#5136
The hits kept on coming for Ja Rule in Australia as he released the lead single to his album the Last temptation, I'm guessing it was due to the presence of Bobby Brown who hadn't had a hit here for a decade and was now providing a chorus for Ja about what it's like to have thug loving (basically a term he coined for the "thugs need love too" troupe.) This was a huge flop for him in his native America, although at least it was released over there.
#5135
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#5134
This was the only hit that Jimmy and the boys managed to achieve during their time together, although they did so with by far their most normal sounding song as the band were known back in the day for being rather androgynous and no doubt a favourite among the Australian LGBT community. This is hands down the least queer track in their catalogue, which is perhaps why it was such a hit for them.
#5133
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#5132
Many credit this one and only hit from Gary Numan as the beginning of the new wave craze, technically that honour should go to "Are friends electric" as that also had him on vocals and was a new wave classic, although I guess that was a flop over in America whereas this was a top ten hit on Billboard. Between these two songs, this was the full extent of Gary Numan's popularity worldwide.
#5131
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#5130
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#5129
This was originally released the previous year to deafening silence here in Australia, after all, we Aussies had no interest in the works of Kid Rock given how we were thoroughly unimpressed with his brand of rap rock from earlier in his catalogue. We briefly changed our stance this year when he scored a surprise hit thanks to the power of nostalgia which in turn fuelled this album's success.
#5128
This was the final successful album to come from Bad company given how the band were among the many victims of the Countdown curse, that is, they were pipped for good things before the show launched and gave their potential success to local artists as well as international artists who appeared on the show instead.
#5127
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#5126
While many will tell you (me included) that this album did lose the magic that their previous two albums had which fueled their success, that didn't stop it from being a success in its own right given how the songs nonetheless remained as catchy as ever as well as the band becoming even more political with their lyrics which perhaps is why some of the magic was lost in this release.
#5125
While this wasn't as successful as their first album from earlier in the decade, it made up for that by spawning two of D12's biggest hits which was a given as it was during the height of Eminem's popularity. I guess you can say this album eased fans into accepting Eminem's Encore album which will be appearing on the following list despite it being a critical failure for the rapper.
#5124
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#5123
So, you remember me mentioning late night rock on my singles lists, well this band exemplifies that definition for the genre I've come up with as they really do feel like the perfect choice to listen to when having a late-night cocktail. This would be the only album affiliated with John Waite to have any success in Australia, although he would find further success with the band and as a solo artist.
#5122
This serves as the soundtrack to Led Zeppelin's concert film of the same name, naturally it was a big hit here in Australia given how we Aussies were hungry for more material from the band which we wouldn't receive until the end of the decade.
#5121
This is the second album to come from Taxiride, it's also their final album to find any success in their career as their third album was such a failure later in the decade that they would eventually call it quits. This is a shame because this gained some minor traction over in NZ, particularly with the lead single which became their one and only hit over there years after the boy band wars came to an end.
#5120
This was one of only two albums to be released from Frankie goes to Hollywood, the other was such a commercial flop for the band that they called it quits shortly after its release later in the decade. I'm guessing audiences were turned away from it due to how their label had arrogantly hyped up this album upon its initial release, true it was a success however they announced the fourth single as a chart topper in UK before it was even released.
#5119
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#5118
This is the first appearance from one of the more well-respected Australian bands of the decade, again we have Triple J to thank for how Something for Kate (what a weird band name) managed to make it big in the mainstream to the point where I remember hearing their songs on the radio back in the day. Much like many other alternative bands of the decade, the trio were likely victims of digital piracy back in the day.
#5117
John Williamson has been active in the music industry since the early 70's, however aside from a massive hit with his debut single "Old man emu," he hadn't seen much success in his career until he released this magnum opus which contains his signature tune "True blue." Interestingly enough, this came out not long after Madonna's album of the same name, resulting in there being two tracks to chart with that name.
#5116
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#5115
There weren't that many successful prog albums back in the day in Australia, one of the lucky few to make it big with this genre is the British/Australian group Sky who scored two massive albums this year with their brand of prog rock. Naturally they didn't trouble the singles charts too much which is perhaps why they aren't as fondly remembered as other prog legends.
#5114
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#5113
From what I can gather, the two Young guns movies from back in the day are among the more popular spaghetti westerns to this day thanks to its cast consisting of several members of the 80's Brat pack scene as well as them being lighthearted innocent fun. The second film had a soundtrack that served as a solo debut album for Jon Bon Jovi at the height of his popularity with his band.
#5112
This was the last album that Guns n roses would release for fifteen years, it's a covers album that was released at a time where covers albums were becoming in vogue hence why it was a huge success for them. Fans like to pretend that this was the last anyone had heard from the band, however they did eventually return in 2008 with Chinese democracy.
#5111
While this wasn't James Blundell's debut album, it was the album that broke him through thanks to his collaboration with James Reyne serving as its lead single which almost got both men a chart topper for them in Australia. Unfortunately, through a combination of country music not being popular in Australia and local artists struggling throughout the 90's, this was the only success he managed to have in his career.
#5110
This was also a massive hit on our digital charts for the Veronicas, in fact "Take me on the floor" only barely missed the cut for this list, which means that also did far better on our digital charts than it did on our physical charts much like this third single from their second album.
#5109
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#5108
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#5107
This was the only hit to come from Samantha Mumba worldwide, although she did score a second hit in her native UK with "Body II body" which is a song that sampled "Ashes to ashes" by David Bowie on its twentieth anniversary. Here she is with an RNB jam about how she was in love with someone and her confessing her love to that person, it's a topic universally relatable so much so that it was a hit in America as well.
#5106
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#5105
It looked like Peter Gabriel would only score one hit from his album So with "Sledgehammer" from the previous year, however he then decided to release this duet with Kate Bush as a single where it became a surprise hit for the two of them this year. I'm guessing this was a hit due to the popularity of Kate given how she was still one of the biggest names in music this far into the 80's.
#5104
This was the only hit from NZ singer Kim Hart, likely due to it being a disco record which means she was perhaps a little bit late to the party given how disco was supposedly beginning to lose its popularity this year. Admittedly it could also have been that she was only barely in her twenties when she broke through, after all there weren't that many younger female pop stars during the days of Shaun Cassidy and Leif Garrett.
#5103
This was the only hit that Big Country were able to achieve in most parts of the world, I'm glad it was as it's easily one of the most passionate songs to become a hit this decade thanks to the killer instrumentation and Stuart Adamson's vocals. They did try to get a second hit throughout their career, but it was to no avail which I think is a shame.
#5102
Well, I did mention that this was a huge hit for Sherbet earlier in the year when we looked at their other big hit they had this year, so let's look at this title track to Sherbet's third album which indeed confirmed them as a household name a year after "Cassandra" from their previous album put them on the map. They did have minor success during the first half of the decade; however, this was where they made it big.
#5101
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
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