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.
#100
Well, it seemed inevitable that these guys would return to their loser personas they had from their album Smash earlier in the decade, sure Ixnay on the hombre was a commercial success but it didn't reach the highs they achieved with the likes of "Come out and play" and "Self esteem." Indeed, not only was this album their most successful, but it also spawned their biggest hits that still resonate with audiences to this day.
#99
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#98
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#97
There were many cast members on Neighbours who were able to successfully translate their success into a music career, however after Kylie Minogue I think Natalie Imbruglia was the most successful due to how popular she managed to be in America with this album. I feel this is due to her going down the Alanis Morissette route with this album by making an album about her raw emotions rather than the usual bubblegum pop that her costars settled with.
#96
These guys did have minor success earlier in the decade when they were a trio devoid of Fergie, however their fortunes changed once they added their sole female member to the group permanently (or at least it was permanent for nearly a decade) where they started having massive hits worldwide. Of course, the album that spawned these massive hits was also a huge success, although not immediately like their follow ups.
#95
Following the buzz they received from their debut album Definitely maybe, the Gallagher's and company released their sophomore album which proved to be so much of a game changer that it single handedly brought Britpop to most parts of the world that wasn't already familiar with the genre. Unfortunately, due to the cocky nature of the Gallagher's, the band have received tons of backlash in recent years as people have dismissed their music as overblown and pretentious.
#94
This had a very slow rise to its success throughout the world, I'm guessing because these guys were on a tiny indie label and as such weren't able to find much success with their brand of alternative rock on most stations. Fortunately, in Australia, Triple J came to the rescue and heavily promoted this album on the station which resulted in it becoming a massive success for them here.
#93
This was released as a self-titled album everywhere else in the world, however here in Australia, she named it after her debut single which became an instant hit here when it was first released. While Suzi wasn't the first woman in rock to find massive success (that honour goes to Janis Joplin albeit posthumously) she nonetheless became a pioneer for women in rock thanks to her tough as nails attitude and skills as a guitarist.
#92
With the rise in popularity of Celtic music in the mainstream, it was only a matter of time before artists began incorporating traditional Irish music into their sound. Enter one of the more respectful artists to do so, this family act who saw massive success with their debut album albeit only in Australia initially. I'm guessing because only we Aussies could appreciate their blend of adult contemporary with Celtic music.
#91
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#90
This is one of the last Australian groups to find international success over the years, here we have the debut album from the Veronicas who scored instant success here in Australia and over in NZ once it was released over there which sparked interest for the duo in the northern hemisphere. That interest turned into success once they released their second album later in the decade which spawned their biggest hit.
#89
This had a bit of a slow start to its success here in Australia given how Usher had yet to become a mega superstar here like he was in his native America, however we Aussies were eventually won over thanks to the success of its singles which no doubt led to the success of his American counterpart throughout the decade. Craig is a bit of a one album wonder here in Australia as his second album was a massive commercial disappointment.
#88
This was the debut album from Maroon 5, an album that sat on shelves largely ignored for two years before finally becoming a massive success once the second single took off worldwide. As you can tell from the title, this is an album dedicated to a woman in Adam Levine's life and all of the emotions she made him feel during its production, I wonder if their subsequent material is also about this Jane in question.
#87
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#86
Well, this is certainly a surprise given how the last time anyone cared about Paul Simon's solo career was back in the early 70's when he was making a name for himself without his former partner in crime Art Garfunkel. I guess the reunion tour they had earlier in the decade resparked interest in his solo work, that or people couldn't get enough of the African influences throughout the album which won it the grammy for album of the year.
#85
One artist I will say I have very little patience for going through their albums is Rod Stewart, oh sure he has his audience which still persists to this day, however I'm not among his target demographic which means me being positive towards his music will be a challenge for me. This was his biggest album in his career, likely due to it spawning his biggest hit over in America in the form of its lead single.
#84
I've never understood exactly what these two were seeking vengeance against when making this album, whatever it was they clearly got it as it remains their most successful album in their catalogue thanks to Annie arguably sounding her best throughout its runtime. It did somewhat come at the expense of a huge hit for them worldwide, however I don't think they mind considering how well remembered they are.
#83
This was the debut album from Avril Lavigne, an album that remains her most successful to this day thanks to how inescapable the singles were on the radio worldwide. While it wasn't the first album from a female musician to become a success due to having more personal lyrics and a rock sound to it this decade, it was the album that shifted the trends away from the likes of teen pop and girl groups worldwide.
#82
The acronym for this album is "the energy never dies," this seemed to be the case for the quartet when they released their third album together given how it seemed like their party jams weren't going to die going into the 2010's thanks to how inescapable they were. Of course, their time in the spotlight did eventually die out when they released their next album which was critically panned for being lazy and repetitive.
#81
There was a five-year gap between this album and the band's previous album Mirage, during that time Stevie Nicks released two solo albums to give you an idea of how long it was between both projects. Although this album remains a masterpiece to this day, it came at the expense of the band's tolerance of each other, specifically that of Lindsey and Stevie's relationship which all but imploded during its production.
#80
Although her debut album did decently well in Australia earlier in the decade, it wasn't the juggernaut like her second album was which spawned multiple hit singles here and in her native UK just as the decade was coming to an end. Despite being compared to P!nk during the 00's, her popularity didn't translate to the 2010's likely due to her failing to crossover to America like some of her other fellow Brits.
#79
Many Madonna fans will tell you that this is her sellout album, considering her debut had the budget of a ham sandwich and only became a hit in Australia due to heavy promotion on Countdown, I can understand why Madonna would appeal to the masses with this album if it meant an entire career of making the music she felt passionate about. Even so there's still plenty of merit to this album even if it isn't as ambitious as some of her other efforts.
#78
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#77
Many will agree this to be the band's magnum opus (I personally prefer their previous two albums) this is due to it being a huge success for them in America following the splashes their earlier efforts made for them internationally throughout the decade. This led to them having plenty of international success throughout the following decade, although they would never reach these dizzying heights again here.
#76
Although their debut album Kissing to be clever (fun fact that title appears as a lyric on this album) was a moderate success for these guys, this was the album which made them a household name largely thanks to how much shameless fun the tracks are despite there being an underlying theme of tolerance and acceptance throughout its runtime. It's a shame that their next album saw the band lose the magic they had on here.
#75
Although the band already had massive success earlier in the decade with their victory at Eurovision, this was the album that finally made them international superstars thanks to how many hit singles it managed to spawn from the album (back when it was rare for an album to have more than one hit single from it.)
#74
Well, they may have received a ton of backlash over the years (much like many artists whose success appeared to have happened overnight) however there's no denying just how inescapable this debut album from one of the last Australian artists to make it big internationally was. This was through a combination of Daniel Jones admittedly savage production as well as Darren Hayes captivating vocals throughout the album.
#73
Although her debut album was a modest success here in Australia at the start of the decade (mainly through how inescapable its singles were) it was her second album where fans really started taking notice of her evolution as a pop diva as she would begin writing her own songs to go with the theme of her being "stripped" of the pop machine that had gone into her previous work with Disney.
#72
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#71
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#70
This is another album that took its sweet time in taking off upon its initial release, however once it managed to spawn a huge hit (or in Australia's case a double A-side with two of its singles on it) it became a huge success for Boz Scaggs worldwide. This led to him releasing a follow-up during its chart run which also became a huge success for him.
#69
This had a bit of a slow start to its success here in Australia given how it was lacking that obvious radio hit that "Yellow" proved to be from their previous album, of course that radio hit came when "Clocks" was overplayed to death upon its initial release which helped the album become the band's second-best seller worldwide. This is the album fans consider to be their best work given how the songs linger to this day.
#68
We have another live album to feature on this list, this time it's from Joe Cocker who scored massive success with this live release thanks to putting on such an explosive show for the tour this album is named after.
#67
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#66
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#65
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#64
Shakira had been active for a decade in her native Columbia at this point, however it was when she learned English and decided to appeal to an English-speaking market that she finally achieved mainstream success worldwide with this album. It was one of the last Latin albums to make it big as the Latin craze was quickly dying out as the decade went on, however it spawned multiple huge hits to ensure its success.
#63
This had more of an immediate success for Lady Gaga internationally than it did in her native America, similar to her obvious influence Madonna who only found success in her homeland once the rest of the world made her a household name in the 80's. The similarities between the two pop divas led to them being compared with over the years, although Madonna certainly grew tired of these comparisons rather quickly.
#62
Even though she was always one of the most gifted vocalists of all time (even outside of Australia) Tina's first album from the start of the decade was a huge failure save for its lead single "I need your body" largely due to it being dismissed as a Paula Abdul rip-off album (which I thoroughly disagree with.) Here she took that criticism to heart by releasing an album more in line with RNB which was a huge success for her both locally and internationally.
#61
BEP were on a roll when they released their second album as a quartet, although it's worth noting that this album greatly expanded Fergie's presence with the group compared to their previous album where she was more of a backup singer rather than a full member of the group. In any case, the songs proved to be more irresistible than their previous work which resulted in the groups success with it.
#60
Following the success of her debut album, Kelly Clarkson decided to write more personal ballads on her sophomore which had it have a slow start to its success given how audiences weren't ready to have the reality show star becoming the likes of P!nk and Avril Lavigne with this album. Eventually they were won over which allowed this second album to be a massive success for her worldwide.
#59
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#58
Although Mariah Carey was the first performer to benefit from the MTV unplugged series, it was this compelling performance that Eric Clapton gave later in the year which made the segment a huge sensation. Part of that was due to this being the first performance he gave following the death of his son, thus showing the raw emotion of a man who was going through a lot in his personal life at the time.
#57
She had a lot of hype going into her debut album thanks to not only her debut single, but also her role in Neighbours which quickly became a fan favourite of the series. The hype was effortlessly met as this was declared the bestselling album of the decade according to ARIA given how it spent almost a full year in the top three on the charts. It was inevitable given that is has five out of five chart toppers to come from the album.
#56
For whatever reason, Elton John ended his professional relationship with Bernie Taupin in 1976 which resulted in his albums between then and this album losing the magic the songwriter brought to Elton's best work. The two patched things up when making this album, resulting in the magic being restored in Elton's work and thus, setting the two up for a highly successful decade with its creative ups and downs.
#55
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#54
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#53
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#52
It took a while for this second album from Kasey Chambers to take off here in Australia, however the surprise success of "Not pretty enough" allowed it to become a runaway success for the Australian country singer and even opened her up to an international market given how the song also did quite well in NZ. Sadly, her international success would be limited to what she achieved in NZ with that song.
#51
This is the album which broke so many records upon its initial (international) release, having it and the signature track "Down under" top the Billboard and UK singles and album charts simultaneously. The album was of course a massive success here in Australia thanks to how huge the singles were as well as how quirky the band was, they were no Midnight oil, but they certainly had their place in our hearts.
#50
This album was originally released in 1999 for Dido, it was a massive flop that went unnoticed worldwide until it was discovered by Eminem of all people who decided to sample the lead single for his song "Stan" which propelled its success for the English singer/songwriter. Although none of the singles were successful here in Australia, that didn't prevent the album from being a massive success here.
#49
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#48
This was originally released to mere moderate success for Celine Dion despite it spawning her version of the chart topper "The power of love," however the album gained a second wind a year after its release when Celine embarked on a highly successful world tour as well as the surprise success of "Think twice" over in the UK. This allowed her to join the elite ranks of Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston as a top-notch diva of the 90's.
#47
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#46
This was a massive hit for Wolfmother who was a throwback band to the rock of the 70's which made them a household name on Triple J leading up to the release of their debut album. The songs saw a lot of airplay whenever they were released as singles, however it was only when "Joker and the thief" became a huge hit on the digital charts that the album finally became a mainstream success for them.
#45
Like many popular artists of the day, Billy Joel was in danger of becoming typecast as the type of music our mothers would want to listen to (thankfully this is an opinion very few have nowadays) as such we have his foray towards 50's rockabilly on this album which proved to be a wise move for him as it remains his most successful throughout his entire career. We even get elements of doo wop done in a very respectful manner towards those who created the genre.
#44
This was the biggest album of the decade to not conform to the mainstream given how it was a jazz pop number from Norah Jones, the daughter of popular jazz artist Ravi Shanker who is considered to be one of India's best musicians of all time. She made a massive splash with this debut of hers that led to her next album also being a massive success, however her popularity quickly dwindled after that.
#43
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#42
This had a bit of a climb to its popularity given how Michael Bublé was an unknown crooner prior to its success despite it being his third album in his catalogue, indeed it only became a success here in Australia thanks to the success of its single "Sway" which became popular on the radio when it was released as a single.
#41
This will be the earliest entry from Wings I'll be featuring on this site, although rest assured, they would've dominated the rest of these lists had I covered the first half of the decade given how each of their albums were highly successful here in Australia. This came at the expense of the singles doing well here as they weren't as popular on our singles chart as they were with their album sales.
#40
This was the big album from Cat Stevens that spawned multiple hits for him back in the day, naturally it was quite the success even if his earlier entry on here proved to be more successful in the long run due to it rebounding on the charts when he released this follow up.
#39
Well, we needed at least one entry from the back catalogue of Simon and Garfunkel to feature on this site of mine, didn't we? Here we are with their final album which contains some of their most instantly recognisable work in their catalogue which indeed was big at the time of its release.
#38
It looked like these guys would've had their success confided to the 90's given how their album from the start of the decade was such a commercial failure (despite the singles permeating on radio to this day) that it seemed no one was interested in them going into the 21st century. Of course, that changed when they got political with their second album of the decade which was highly critical of the American government.
#37
This was one of many albums that initially sat on shelves ignored due to a lack of promotion that the artist in question received from the mainstream this decade, however much like many others we've looked at on these lists, Matchbox 20 had their fortunes changed a year after this album first came out by having the singles receive heavy airplay around the world. This led to be band being one of the more successful throughout the following decade.
#36
Although her previous album was a massive hit here in Australia, many consider this to be the comeback that Kylie needed given how it was the album that finally got her out of the one hit wonder bin over in America that she had been trapped in since her debut single from the late 80's. Like many successful albums this decade, the singles largely took a back seat down under in favour of how big the album was.
#35
Following the massive success of her previous album, Celine Dion decided to spice things up with this album by expanding on her subject material which resulted in easily her most successful album in her career. It did receive some backlash due to it winning album of the year at the Grammys over the likes of Smashing pumpkins and the Fugees, however people have since come around for her and realised how talented she is.
#34
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#33
This is the debut album from one of the most divisive artists to make it big so far in the 21st century, it's largely due to people finding it to be one of the wimpiest albums of all time due to its lead single despite coming from a man who has served his country in the army and achieved a high ranking in said army. For what it's worth, he does have a dedicated fanbase to this day, meaning people genuinely love his music.
#32
This is often considered to be the magnum opus for Eminem, likely because it continues his shock rap that his earlier catalogue was known for whilst addressing the fact that none of it was meant to be taken seriously and that he wasn't actually bigoted towards women or the queer community like he was accused of being. It was a massive success and briefly reassured the public that he was harmless to the youth of society, although that changed with his next album.
#31
This is the second and final album to come from Savage Garden, it was equally as successful here in Australia as their debut was even if it wasn't as successful internationally for the duo. Still the fact it was a massive worldwide success does leave you wondering why they went their separate ways once their world tour for the album came to an end, they've been vague about it but essentially it was to allow Darren to have a solo career.
#30
Following the moderate success of his first solo album, Lionel Richie released this album which he admitted was what he really wanted to launch his solo career with but decided to release his first album with safer material to ensure his fans would be on board with his new direction in music. It paid off as regardless of your thoughts about his music, the tracks on here have been remembered since its initial release.
#29
This was an album that took its sweet time in finding an international audience back in the day, I'm guessing this was due to having a rocky album cycle where the best songs on the album weren't released as singles until late into its existence. Whitney was an undeniable talent, although one criticism levied against her is that she often squandered her impressive vocals on mediocre ballads. I don't agree for the most part, but I can see why people felt that way.
#28
This is Elton John's magnum opus in his catalogue, mainly because it contains some of his most iconic work, three of which managed to become massive hits back in the day for the English piano man. While this wasn't his first successful album in his catalogue, it was the album which confirmed him to be the piano man of choice back in the day given how Billy Joel released his breakthrough album around this time initially to deafening silence.
#27
Who'd thought that an appearance on the Daredevil soundtrack would be all it took for this second album to be one of the most successful of all time? Granted it could also be due to it being close enough to nu metal to be welcomed by fans of that sub-genre given how it was still one of the most popular genres of the moment when it came out, although those fans would jump shift once the band released their second album.
#26
While this wasn't her debut album (that honour goes to her self-titled from 2006) this was the album which made Taylor Swift into an international superstar thanks to its theme of her being a Disney princess which connected with the teenage girls of the world back when no one had an issue with the Disney princess brand. It led to her becoming the biggest pop star in the world the following decade.
#25
Although these guys already had moderate success earlier in the decade, this was the album which finally made them into a household name thanks to them living up to their band name with the sound of this album. Indeed, Jeff Lynne and company hired an actual orchestra to create the sound they were going for on this album, which resulted in audiences who were into the rock opera of the day flocking to their album.
#24
Bruce had always had massive success with his album; however, it was this magnum opus that truly made him a household name given how many hits it spawned on Billboard back in the day. Unfortunately, none of his other albums achieved this level of success throughout his career, although given how iconic this remains in the realms of heartland rock, I doubt even he minds much.
#23
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#22
This was the second biggest album of the decade in Australia, it's easy to see how this connected with so many people back in the day as it's the perfect blend of the bands core sound mixed in with more contemporary sounds of the day. The big hit single did cause some controversy due to perceived homophobia, although aside from that it remains a classic to this day.
#21
It took him a while to follow-up his solo debut, however once JT dropped his second album, it had confirmed him as the superstar of the decade given how inescapable the singles were as well as all of the critical acclaim it received. Whereas there was only a four-year gap between his debut and sophomore album, fans would have to wait for seven years before he released album number three.
#20
Before there was Avril Lavigne, there was Alanis Morrissette and she made quite a name for herself initially in the teen pop market in her native Canada before she did a 180 on her career and released this deeply personal album about her heartbreak she had from a relationship. This in turn has led to many jokes (most notably on How I met your mother) to how a teen idol managed to evolve into a voice of a generation.
#19
Were it not for a live album from Neil Diamond from earlier in the decade, this would've been the most successful album of the 70's in Australia, I'm glad it is as even to this day the album continues to receive a ton of love from the music community thanks to how iconic the songs remain. To think that this was an album built around the behind-the-scenes drama that the band was going through at the time.
#18
This was released the previous year to massive success, needless to say that success went well into this year which allowed it to qualify for this bonus list of mine. Suffice to say, this was the album which not only put Pink Floyd on the map, but also their magnum opus in their catalogue due to how instantly recognisable the songs are even if none of them charted here in Australia or NZ.
#17
There was a rivalry between Missy Higgins and Delta Goodrem throughout the decade, ultimately Delta won out thanks to have a stronger fanbase (and arguably due to her hate dom as well) however Missy had the slightly bigger debut album of the two women with this entry thanks to endorsements from Triple J as well as her folk pop connecting slightly better to audiences at the time of its release.
#16
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#15
This is the oldest album to appear on this list, in fact it was already one of the biggest successes of the 60's by the time that decade ended, which goes to show how long its popularity lasted here in Australia given how I'm not even including its full chart run on this ranking (mainly because I don't have access to it.)
#14
Although their previous album was a huge success here in Australia and in certain parts of the world, people were certain that the RCHP moment was over due to it failing to produce a hit single for them. Fortunately, now that John Frusciante had rejoined the band by this point, their next album was a huge success for them both by spawning hit singles and by having high album sales like their breakthrough.
#13
Although her earlier albums were plenty successful throughout the world, this was the album which made Mariah Carey into a superstar given its blend of diva pop from her earlier work and RNB which had taken over the mainstream by the time this was released. She's had plenty of success since this album's release, although nowhere near the level of success she accomplished here.
#12
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#11
As far as the world is concerned, this is the biggest album of the decade due to how inescapable it was particularly in MJ's native America, although in Australia both John Farnham and Dire straits did outperform this album which only makes it the third biggest of the decade here. Was there any chance this album was going to fail given what's on here? Many credit it for breaking down racial barriers in the music industry that were unfortunately prevalent up until its release.
#10
Cat Stevens was indeed one of the biggest names in music during the first half of the 70's, although it's worth noting that A: this album didn't produce a big hit like a later entry on this list did and B: it was his first successful album despite being active for most of the 60's.
#9
They may not have had that inescapable hit single (at least when it comes to legal physical sales, trust me these guys were inescapable on the radio back in the day) however that didn't prevent Jet from becoming the biggest Australian band of the decade with their debut album, and all before Apple ever discovered their music and decided to use their singles in their ads for their products.
#8
P!nk was on a roll with her fifth album as it retained the popularity of her fourth album right to the end of the decade worldwide as well as being a massive worldwide success in its own right. It's also a project that saved her marriage despite it being a breakup album given the problems her and her husband was going through during its production, however they patched things up prior to its release.
#7
This was the biggest album of the decade in Australia, mainly due to how inescapable the singles were as well as the heartwarming tale about how it came to be. John's manager Glenn Wheatly had to mortgage his house in order to get this off the ground given how sceptical the mainstream was in hearing this former teen idol mature into adult contemporary. The name of the album itself is a reference to him being introduced as Jack instead of John.
#6
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#5
This was the bestselling album of the 90's worldwide, although it sort of cheated for this accomplishment by being released twice in the latter half of the decade. The first time it was a traditional pop country effort, while the second was slightly modified as a more pop oriented album to transition the Canadian starlet into a more mainstream audience.
#4
It's strange to think this album is still one of the most successful Broadway soundtracks of all time, stranger still is that by all accounts, this actually sold more than what Phantom of the opera did despite the original run of this show ending decades ago at this point.
#3
If we were going purely by chart runs, this was the biggest album of the decade in Australia due to how it seemed like this would never leave our charts from its initial release. It was a huge comeback for P!nk following the commercial disappointment of her third album Try this which suggested that her time in the spotlight would come to an end in 2004. That obviously wasn't the case as she's still going strong to this day.
#2
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#1
Even though this live album was released in 1972 and thus would've otherwise failed to appear on this site as I'm not going that far back in my retrospectives, it was nonetheless popular enough during the midpoint of the decade to qualify for these lists due to its refusal to die on our charts for many years. In fact, this album frequently recharts due to how ubiquitous it's become in Neil Diamond's catalogue throughout the years.
