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.
#5800
Following the success of their earlier entry on this list, Bachman Turner Overdrive was able to achieve moderate success here in Australia with this follow up which helped them escape the one album wonder bin that many of their contemporaries were getting trapped in throughout the decade due to the shifting trends in the music scene. The band wouldn't last much longer in the mainstream after this album worldwide.
#5799
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#5798
It appears that Rodney Rude's popularity wasn't quite done yet as he had another successful comedy album this year, as his name implies, he told politically incorrect jokes (even for the time) that humoured audiences with how bad they were to good taste.
#5797
This was the only other success that Margaret Urlich was able to achieve here in Australia given how successful her solo debut was from the start of the decade, although it's worth noting that this too underperformed in her homeland, suggesting that the kiwis had grown tired of her music by this point.
#5796
There were two versions of this ballad floating around back in the day, this was obviously the single version as it charted prior to the release of Vanessa's comeback album. It appears the album version did take away enough of this version's success that it really struggled to make it on this bonus list of mine despite how inescapable it was on our airwaves.
#5795
You'd think this would've been a shoe in for the main list, however even as a digital single, this took forever in a day to climb up our charts even after it placed high on the 2007-year end list for Triple J. At least it being a rock track meant that it was able to have more presence on the digital charts than it did on our physical charts which is a luxury it wouldn't have had even a year later.
#5794
Much like the previous entry, this was a hit fuelled by our collective nostalgia of the original, although I guess Natalie was also on a roll around this time thanks to her involvement with the Rogue traders as Shannon's absence on these lists of mine has been noticeable.
#5793
This and her next entry are songs Madonna like to pretend never happened, mainly because of the negative memories she has of the film in question which garnered her second Razzie win for worst actress. Despite the film being a critical and commercial failure (likely due to the obnoxious tone of the film from what I've seen in reviews) the soundtrack was a huge success likely due to both of these songs being among her better work.
#5792
This was a bit of a return to form for No Doubt following their pop sellout from earlier on this list, indeed I haven't heard many people chastise this track the way they have for "Hey baby" which suggests that song was meant to be more of a testing ground for Gwen's eventual solo career later in the decade. The band would have one more hit with a cover of a (then) obscure 80's track before that came to be.
#5791
This was the other big hit that Ashlee Simpson managed to score from her sophomore album, again it was only a success here in Australia which suggests that only we Aussies were able to overlook the SNL blunder she made back in 2004 when she released said album. The success she had down under likely convinced her to make a third album later in the decade, although that was a flop even here when it released.
#5790
This may seem a little low to my Australian readers given how inescapable this was on the radio and even to this day how often it appears in commercials, however it wasn't as big a hit as you might think likely due to some of its success being eaten up by illegal downloads as well as it being the lead single to a highly successful album from him. It was a much bigger hit in NZ where it didn't have these hinderances.
#5789
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#5788
Barry Crocker is perhaps the most well-known pop crooner turned TV presenter in Australian music history, not for his music career but rather for how well known he is as a presenter. This was his only hit as a singer which was one of many entries on this list that has largely been lost to the sands of time over the years.
#5787
This was the only hit either artist involved was able to achieve in Australia, although Stevie Nicks did see a ton more success with her albums and during her time with Fleetwood mac, so we at least knew who she was. Tom Petty on the other hand had less success here back in the day, sure his songs have popped up on oldies stations, but none of them found much success and his albums weren't big either.
#5786
This was a very impressive year for Rick Price as he was able to score two hit singles from his debut album despite already being in his thirties when he released said album, although he was a popular session musician throughout the 80's which explains why it took him so long to release said album. He did score minor success with his second album later in the decade, proving there was potential for him to be even bigger.
#5785
It may not have had any endorsements from De la soul like their earlier entry on this list, however this second single from the Gorillaz was still a massive worldwide success for the British band due to it being just as funky as their other hit from their second album this year. Although they consisted of a real-world band, their gimmick was their comic book style cartoon band that they used for their music videos.
#5784
This was the second single from Bomfunk MC to make it big worldwide, it's more or less like their earlier entry on this list only without the bizarre music video or the shout out to Smokie that the radio somehow missed had an f-bomb in. There's not much I can say about this song, it was a hit for the band that didn't lead them to have any further success.
#5783
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#5782
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#5781
Now that New order finally had a hit single to their name here in Australia, they no longer had any issues with finding success here which is how this timeless classic from them managed to be a huge success for them months after their earlier entry on this list became a huge success for them. The song is best known nowadays for its strange video which seems a typical of their filmography.
#5780
Even though "Always and ever" was a modest success for the band, it was this third single which confirmed them to be the real deal as it became a huge success for them and allowed their debut album to be a huge success this year. They were pipped for greatness for the 90's as were a lot of Australian acts on this list, unfortunately the 90's became hostile towards local artists in 1993 for some reason.
#5779
This was the second single to come from the Spice girls second album/soundtrack to their critically panned film Spiceworld, it's one of their rare ballads which obviously didn't win filmgoers over as it was nominated for a Razzie for worst original song this year (although so was Aerosmith's earlier entry so take that with a grain of salt.) Even with the backlash the girls were receiving, there was no signs of them slowing down this year.
#5778
This was the biggest hit that Paul Young was able to score in Australia, although it wasn't his biggest hit anywhere else in the world as that widely changes depending on where you're referring to. I guess we Aussies were into the Christmas sounds on this track as it was designed to be the Christmas chart topper of 1983 in his native UK, it didn't quite get there but it came close so there's that.
#5777
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#5776
This was somewhat of a surprise hit in Australia, mainly because funk music wasn't doing so well throughout the decade which is perhaps why it took a while for it to crossover here for the band Cameo. It was a huge hit the previous year in the UK and their native America, likely due to the funky groove as well as the ridiculous video which showcases the lead singer wearing a plastic codpiece.
#5775
This was the second hit that the Young divas had here in Australia that was a cover of a song produced by Stock Aiken and Waterman back in the day and was a huge flop down under, this time they update the Lonnie Gordon classic from 1990 which I'm willing to bet was many people's introduction to the dance pop classic of that era given how popular this cover was.
#5774
It looked like that Two fires would finish its album cycle earlier in the year for Jimmy Barnes, that changed when he released the fourth single from the album which became a surprise hit for him likely due to the children's choir towards the end of the song. This helped boost the sales of the album which was already a huge success but became one of the biggest of the decade with this song's success.
#5773
This was the second single to come from Madonna's ill-fated Who's that girl soundtrack, a soundtrack that would've been a success has it been an album tie in that Madonna made herself rather than it only having three songs from her, and the rest filled with filler tracks sprinkled throughout the film. This was played in the animated intro of the film, which many consider to be the only good part of its runtime.
#5772
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#5771
This was a hit exclusively in Australia for Belinda Carlisle, it looked like Runaway horses would be yet another flop for her despite how big her earlier entry was here; however, this third single became a surprise success due to the bittersweet lyrics of her losing the love of her life after a summer fling. I'm guessing this was the song that convinced her label to release her next album here as it was never released in her native America.
#5770
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#5769
This was the lead single to Icehouse's second album Primitive man, an album which gave them massive success in the southern hemisphere and even moderate success worldwide making them one of the more popular Australian bands of the 80's in the process. This is probably their most well-known song despite it being far from their biggest hit, mainly due to the mixing which makes it sound like it was made in a spiritual world.
#5768
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#5767
This was the final hit that Alice Cooper was able to achieve for an entire decade given how he wouldn't bother the charts again until his 1989 comeback album Trash, that also served as a return to form as this era saw him being a soft rocker as opposed to the rest of this catalogue which had him in glam rock.
#5766
This was the lead single from the Eurythmics album Revenge, an album that proved to be the biggest for the duo despite never making clear what they wanted vengeance against. Here they have a song about the possibilities of the future which might have one of Annie's best performances in her career, in fact the album in general has her at her best vocally which is perhaps why it was their biggest album.
#5765
This was originally released as a bonus track from Bruce Springsteen's greatest hits package from two years prior, most likely as a way to capitalise off the film of the same name from 1993. It was given a second chance when it was included in the Jerry Maguire soundtrack where it became a massive success due to it being the soundtrack to Tom Cruise and Renee Zellweger's romance in the film.
#5764
This is the final hit that Gwen Stefani had in her career both solo and with No Doubt, heck she hasn't even had a hit since as a featured artist which should give you an indication of how far into obscurity she's fallen since her second album. At least she ended things on a high note as this third single from said album was one of the better received in her career after two singles that still divide fans to this day.
#5763
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#5762
This was the only other hit that Jamelia was able to achieve here in Australia, this time it's with her version of "Fighter" by Christina Aguilera as this is about her thanking her abusive ex for making her a better person despite treating her like crap in the relationship. It's a shining example of how female empowerment in music has been around for much longer than modern pop artists give people credit for.
#5761
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#5760
This was the second entry from the lucrative Hit machine series, from here on out, this and the 100% series will serve as the seasonal compilations for artists on Sony/Universal labels and Warner/EMI labels respectively. The series would eventually overtake its rival franchise; however, it was at a disadvantage this year due to it lacking strong choices for its franchise.
#5759
Bet you didn't know that Baz Lurhman had a music career, didn't you? Granted this is more of a compilation album of songs from his first two films Strictly ballroom and Romeo + Juliet which he released following the success of the latter this year which did quite well here in Australia as well as in the UK where his song "Everybody's free" became a chart topper there.
#5758
You'd be forgiven into thinking this was the soundtrack to the film of the same name given how Barbra Streisand is the star of said film, however this is merely a studio album that she named after said film given how her Oscar winning ballad from the film was included on here to promote it.
#5757
This was the first new album to come from Crowded house since their 1993 effort Together alone, of course the band had broken up in 1996 and only got back together the previous year on the tenth anniversary of their farewell concert at the Sydney Opera House which of course led to massive hype with their comeback album this year. The hype wasn't quite met given how low this appears on this list.
#5756
Following the success of their debut album from the previous year, Mi-Sex quickly capitalised off their newfound fame by releasing this album which continued with their sci fi theme that their earlier work had established for them. Although this was more of an immediate success for the band both here and in their native NZ, it proved to be less successful overall suggesting their novelty was quickly wearing off.
#5755
Boney M indeed were one of the biggest bands of the 70's, as such it was inevitable that their greatest hits package would be a success given how it serves as yet another reminder from this year of all the biggest success that came in the music industry from the previous decade.
#5754
While he was far from the most successful artist of the decade here in Australia, at least David Bowie was able to achieve minor success with this album which is largely considered to be one of his best albums due to how highly regarded it remains to this day.
#5753
Given the popularity of their previous album load, Metallica decided to double down on their more mainstream sound by releasing this sequel to that album which proved to be slightly more successful due to it having more hit singles spawned from it. Again, this was well received at the time by everyone except for their diehard fans who felt betrayed by their abandonment of their older sound.
#5752
Named after the popular showstopper from the recently released Andrew Lloyd Webber production Cats, Barbra Streisand released this greatest hits package to help her fans rediscover her music even though she only released one album since her last greatest hits album which somewhat made this album redundant.
#5751
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#5750
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#5749
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#5748
This didn't even enter the charts for Nelly here in Australia until this year despite it being an initial success worldwide the previous year for the rapper, this was mainly because hip hop still had issues with crossing over down under which Nelly overcame when one of the tracks on the album became the theme to Scary movie 2. The success of this album led to him no longer having any issues finding success here.
#5747
This is the final successful album that Ben Harper had anywhere in the world, I'm guessing because audiences were becoming more nostalgic for older music and were no longer being satisfied with throwback artists emulating the success of older artists. Given how he was trying to be the (then) modern Jimi Hendrix, it makes sense that audiences would overlook him in favour of the genuine article.
#5746
This guy had been making albums since the start of the decade with very limited success, so to see him cap off the 70's with this throwback album was a bit of a surprise but inevitable given all the throwback albums to make it big over the years. In NZ this was an even bigger success due to his cover of an Elvis Presley classic becoming a surprise hit over there during the start of the 80's.
#5745
This was the second volume from David Campbell's Swing sessions franchise, it was also the final volume despite his next album also being a covers album from the swing era of music. I guess you can consider these his equivalent of his father's Soul deep projects if you replaced Motown covers with swing covers as that's essentially what he's doing on these albums.
#5744
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#5743
This is the other posthumous album from Jimi Hendrix, although this is the soundtrack to a concert film his label put together following his tragic demise which we Aussies clearly had mixed emotions about when it came out. Ultimately, we allowed it to become a hit, however it likely would've done much better if he was alive to see it.
#5742
It was a new decade, so Crowded house decided to dial back the bombast of their previous material to help them fit in with the calmer music scene which provided them their third big hit in a row with their albums. This managed to break them through into the UK where they scored massive success with this album, I'm guessing the Brits were looking to make them a success but couldn't get into their 80's material.
#5741
Fleetwood mac had just lost Lindsey Buckingham as their lead vocalist around this time due to his complicated relationship with Stevie Nicks, as such the band decided to release a greatest hits package to help remind fans of the back catalogue he made with them and how they would struggle without him.
#5740
Last but not least, we have this bonus track that came from Britney Spear's second greatest hits album she released at the end of the decade, this goes to show how much hype she had for her first album of the 2010's which naturally wasn't met when she released it in 2011.
#5739
This was equally as popular on our digital storefront as it was as a physical single, I guess this makes sense given how it fits both as a club banger as well as an alternative rock track much like La roux's entry from the main list. It's a shame these guys remain a one hit wonder to this day despite massive attempts at escaping the one hit wonder bin.
#5738
Well, I did mention that there were two versions of this song floating around on our digital chart back in the day, this entry is for the less popular version (which I can't find album art for) which goes to show just how inescapable this ballad was back in the day with us Aussies as this far out charted many other songs of the day.
#5737
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#5736
This was the only hit that Little river band scored in Australia to have John Farnham on lead vocals, although they would score a huge hit internationally the following year with "The other guy" proving that people were open to the idea of John having replaced Glenn Shorrock as the lead vocalist at least for a little while. They changed their minds as the band didn't find any further success with this line up.
#5735
From what I can gather, this second single from Leona Lewis's sophomore album was chosen for a charity known as Sports relief in her native UK, this meant that the ballad was a hit worldwide likely due to charity which allowed her to escape the one hit wonder bin her earlier entry on this list threatened to trap her in. She wouldn't have another hit in most parts of the world after this.
#5734
This was the final hit that Faith no more was able to achieve in Australia, admittedly this was almost a decade after their final hit in their native America which gives you an idea of how much more popular these guys were here than they were in their homeland. Their lack of success back home led to them calling it quits the following year much to the chagrin of their Australian fanbase.
#5733
It looked like that Billie Piper wasn't going to find any crossover success here in Australia with her debut album, that changed when the fourth and final single from the album became a success here which funnily enough also serves as the title track from said album. This meant that she no longer had any issues with finding success here which led to her biggest hit the following year with "Day and night."
#5732
This was the second single to come from Christina Aguilera's Back to basics, it's a standards ballad that harkens back to the days of Vera Lynn that wasn't as appealing to audiences this year as her earlier entry on this list. It was a decent success for her, however the big hit off the album wouldn't come until the third single which was more of an Andrews sisters' tribute.
#5731
Pablo Cruise sounds like the name of a lounge singer who would perform Barry Manilow covers as your local lounge bar, well they're actually a band which wrote their own music that is admittedly similar to what Barry was releasing throughout the 70's. This was their only hit worldwide which does indeed fit the theme of being on a cruise, perhaps it was big because of it being featured in a commercial for one.
#5730
This was a reggae track that became a success here in Australia due to its massive popularity in the UK of all places, I'm not sure why it took off over there other than the Brits always seeming to have a soft spot for reggae over the years. It was Dave and Ansell Collins only hit down under; however, they did score a second hit in the UK after this.
#5729
This is the final hit that Brandy has had anywhere in the world, mainly because it's a completely different type of song that fans were used to throughout the 90's as it's what's known as a glitch pop track due to the production sounding like it's glitching out during the song. Although it was a hit in certain parts of the world, it was the death nail in her career as her subsequent follow ups flopped.
#5728
This was the first sign of Gwen Stefani wanting to branch out in a pop direction, or at least that's what people who dislike this song will tell you as the song which made No doubt a household name was "Just a girl" which was only slightly less pop friendly than this lead single to their third album. It features a guest verse from Jamaican rapper Bounty Killer who adds his flavour of reggae to the mix.
#5727
One of the few movies that Madonna starred in to be critically acclaimed was A league of their own, mainly because she's more of a supporting character as the film focuses on Geena Davis and Laurie Petty as sisters who become rivals in the women's baseball league of the forties in what's based on a true story. She also wrote and performed the film's theme song which many feel is the worst part of the film due to how bland and lifeless they feel it is.
#5726
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#5725
It looks like Ted Mulry gang wanted to be "hip" and "with it" throughout the remainder of the 70's as they altered their name to be its initials. They did score moderate success with this formula as this was a decent size hit for them this year, however audiences weren't fooled by this change as they didn't change up their sound much from their earlier work. At least they did away with the novelty tracks like "Jump in my car."
#5724
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#5723
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#5722
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#5721
In most parts of the world, Enrique only had two hits with his other appearances on this list from his second English language album Escape, however in the southern hemisphere, he scored a third hit from the album with this track likely due to it having more of a rock edge compared to what he had released up until this point. He would score one more hit this decade with "I'm not in love" before temporarily fading into obscurity.
#5720
This was the other big hit that Jamie Redfern had during his time on Young talent time, this being a cover of the Frankie Avalon track from the late 50's (with no relation to Shocking Blue's track of the same name on this list.) Jamie was another victim of the Countdown purge despite being an Australian artist, I guess this was due to him failing to appear on the show during its run.
#5719
The last time these two were able to score a hit anywhere in the world was from their debut album from five years prior, leave it to the producers of Pretty woman to commission them into writing a song that would appear in the opening scene of the film with a song about trying to get over a bad relationship with someone. This reignited their career over in America where they managed to score further success on the Billboard charts.
#5718
This was written by Burt Bacharach during the height of the Civil rights movement, meaning that this is less about world peace and more about racial harmony (even though the two are of course interchangeable with each other.) Dionne Warwick's version is the most well-known, however it's this version from Tom Clay that managed to be a big hit back in the day, at least it was here in Australia.
#5717
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#5716
Technically this was the first hit that Miley Cyrus had as Miley given how her earlier entry on this list was originally released on her Hannah Montana album before it was later repackaged as her debut single from the real world. This is a song written about her ex-boyfriend Nick Jonas (of the Jonas brothers) which was reportedly inspired by 10 things I hate about you which in turn is a modern adaptation of Shakespeare's Taming of the shrew.
#5715
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#5714
This was the only hit for Australian country singer Reg Lindsay, it was a song written about Neil Armstrong following his overnight fame of being involved with the moon landing a year prior to this song's release. Apparently, he had tried to find success for over a decade by the time he released this track, proving how hard it's always been for Australian country singers in our music landscape.
#5713
This was originally a hit for the Dave Clark five over a decade prior, however Hush managed to make it their own this year with their glam version which proved to be their second and final hit in their discography. They did have moderate success with their album this year due to both of their entries on this list, however they would struggle to find further success as the decade went on.
#5712
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#5711
Given the success of their earlier entry on this list worldwide, Hinder was finally able to find massive success with their album which included this second single from the band that was a hit only here in Australia and their native America. These were the only two hits that the band was able to achieve as their second album failed to become a success for them the following year when it was released.
#5710
This was the second hit that Limahl managed to achieve in his career, although his first hit was with his band Kajagoogoo so technically this was his only solo hit he achieved in his career. This is the theme song to the movie of the same name which is often described as one of the best kids' films of the decade due to its timeless themes and interesting visual style, the song is also considered one of the best themes of all time due to how catchy it is.
#5709
This was the final hit that Boney M achieved in most parts of the world, possibly as a last hurrah considering this came at the end of a very successful decade for them. If you couldn't gather from the title, this is a holiday theme which continues the trend they had with their biggest hit "The rivers of Babylon." It was likely adopted as a theme for TV commercials wanting to sell tropical vacations for a while.
#5708
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#5707
This was released following the tragic death of Freddie Mercury where it became a number one hit in his native UK all over again, in Australia it wasn't quite as huge, however had it been delayed by a few months it likely would've been given that it almost topped the Billboard charts this year due to its inclusion in the Wayne's world soundtrack.
#5706
This was originally a hit for Sandie Shaw back in the 60's, although it never managed to crossover to Australia until Naked eyes made it their own this year likely due to their version adding church bells to the mix which adds to the drama of the lyrics as well as complimenting the music video which further adds drama to the song. This was their only hit worldwide, although Rob Fisher would return later in the decade as Climie Fisher.
#5705
This was the last hit that Pseudo echo had here in Australia before they sold out with their earlier entry on this list, indeed we have another song that some may say is overproduced but to good effect as it's about how the band love thrills and excitements in their lives which is captured in the production on this track. They would release one more single from their second album which sadly wasn't a hit for them.
#5704
This was the only hit that Martha and the Muffins managed to achieve in their career, it's a well-remembered track about how Martha Johnson reminisces about a time where she had the love of her life on the titular echo beach and how she longs to return to the location to meet up with her partner. I guess she wasn't able to find much success going into the decade down under, not unlike another Martha on this list.
#5703
Shakaya was one of the very few Australian groups to have its members be of indigenous descent to make it big in Australia, even then this was their only massive hit as it's about them being harassed by a stalker who they want nothing to do with and them telling this person to leave them alone. They did have buzz with their next two singles, however only "Cinderella" came close to recreating this song's success.
#5702
This is often considered to be the signature tune of the show for Jesus Christ superstar, although I don't think anyone was expecting this rendition from the three leads of the Australian revival this year John Farnham, Kate Ceberano and Jon Stevens to be a huge success. Indeed, it was which no doubt led to the success of the soundtrack which was indeed one of the biggest albums of the year.
#5701
Well, the Osmonds might not have had any success here in Australia, however the same can't be said for their Canadian knockoff the Defranco family who managed to score a huge hit with their debut single as well as in America and their homeland. Basically, we have a rip-off of a rip-off here as the Osmonds are widely considered to be a knockoff of the Jackson 5 (who we'll thankfully get to eventually.)
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