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.
#3000
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#2999
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#2998
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#2997
This was the first of three hits that La bouche achieved in Australia, this was keeping in tradition of EDM artists scoring three hits from a highly successful album before the artist in question forever fades into obscurity. They were the most successful act to pull off this formula as they managed to find massive success on Billboard with their album which made their songs even bigger here in Australia.
#2996
Well, their earlier entry on this list was one of the biggest hits of all time moving from the 90's to the 00's, so it only seems fitting that this second single from Eiffel 65 would also be a big hit for the band right down to the music video continuing the story that their earlier entry had. They didn't have a third hit from their album, meaning that the Italian trio were a two-hit wonder worldwide.
#2995
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#2994
This is a reading from radio host Les Crane of a 1927 poem about world peace, naturally it was a massive success for the American disco jokey given how this was at a time where there was a higher drive for world peace than ever when it was delivered over his program and then released as a single worldwide. Honestly, I wouldn't mind if this sort of thing was done in this day and age due to how divided the world is currently.
#2993
This was the only success that Redgum had throughout their career, to think this was a bonus track from their live album Caught in the act which in turn helped the album also become a success for the band here. If you couldn't tell from the cover art, this song tells an emotional story about how the narrator was drafted in the Vietnam war at age nineteen and all of the horrors he went through during his draft.
#2992
I'm just going to say it, Jeremy Jordan is an actor that really should stay away from music because the vocal performance he gives on this track is the type you'd expect from a reality show contestant who fails to make it past the first round of said competition. Apparently, this was taken from the Beverly Hills 90210 soundtrack which would explain its success given how that show was one of the most popular to air on TV this decade.
#2991
As far as I'm aware, this is the last hit to launch the career of a cast member from Neighbours, although I get the feeling this was always going to be a hit considering A: this sounds exactly like something the Veronicas would've had a hit with around this time and B: Stephanie McIntosh is the much younger sister of Jason Donovan who kickstarted this trend in the late 80's.
#2990
This is one of the stranger songs to become a hit this decade, mainly because it does indeed use alien metaphors in order to talk about a sexual encounter that the singer had with this person. The unique sound of the song helped it find an audience for the British band Babylon Zoo, although it also firmly put them in the one hit wonder camp even in their homeland which is why this was their only hit.
#2989
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#2988
This was meant to be a parody of the Beastie Boys classic "No sleep till Brooklyn" which these guys somehow knew about given how the hip hop trio were only successful in their native America at the time of this song's release. Hip hop wasn't even that popular when this song came out, making this feel like the trio is punching down as opposed to taking out a popular genre.
#2987
This was the only hit single for the former wife of Mondo rock lead vocalist Ross Wilson, although he does contribute backing vocals to this track which even at the time received backlash for its admittedly weird production gimmick. This gimmick was to highlight the cool editing of the video where it jump cuts in syncopation to each beat on each chorus which I think is really cool.
#2986
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#2985
Given how Marcia Hines was beginning to see a decline in her popularity in Australia, it seemed like the perfect moment for Diana Ross to reclaim her throne as the woman of colour we Aussies gravitate towards outside the disco scene. Here she is with her first big hit in seven years since "Touch me in the morning" was a success, proving that no comeback is out of the question here.
#2984
This is a song that was meant to be a tribute to Madonna who was quickly becoming less relevant in the mainstream by the time of its song's release, to do this the Androids compared her favourably to other female pop stars of the moment and how they couldn't hold a candle to the queen of pop's legacy. It was a surprise hit for the Australian band likely due to the video where the members cosplay as the different pop stars.
#2983
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#2982
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#2981
Colleen Hewett already achieved massive success nearly a decade prior to this ballad with her hit single "Day by day," it may have taken her eight years, but she finally got herself out of the dreaded one hit wonder bin here with this country ballad even if its popularity seemed to come right out of nowhere for her.
#2980
This proved to be a huge comeback success for Rick Springfield as it had been exactly ten years since he last troubled the charts anywhere in the world with his hit single "Speak to the sky," although it's worth noting that his newfound popularity was likely due to his role in General hospital which was taking the world by storm when this song became a hit for him. Many people feel this to be the unofficial prequel to the Cars hit single "Best friend's girl."
#2979
He already saw success with his cover of "Sky high" from the previous year, now we have this firefighter turned pop star covering another 70's classic in the form of this update of the Dan Hill track from 1977. Newton's version proved to be more successful than the original here in Australia, likely due to the campy nature of this cover as well as it being a danceable track compared to the original which was a soft rock track.
#2978
This was a bit of a surprise hit for Pat Benatar since the last time she had a hit was from three years prior when "We belong" became a success for her. Then again there's little wonder that this was going to be a hit for her given how female rock stars were able to find success this year with little issues. This led to her album Wide awake in dreamland being a modest success for her before the decade came to an end.
#2977
This was a huge comeback for Rod Stewart given how he hadn't had a major hit on the Australian charts for nearly a decade, it goes to show that while he is willing to experiment with his sound on occasion that his bread and butter are the ballads that appeal to his core audience. This would be his last major hit single on the charts, although he did score a moderate hit later in the decade through his appearance on MTV unplugged.
#2976
This was the introduction to (in my opinion) one of the best vocalists to emerge from the decade, that vocalist is Belinda Carlisle who achieved massive success in her native America with her band the Gogo's before taking the world by storm with her solo career during the second half of the decade. Curiously this wasn't among her biggest hits on Billboard despite this nearly topping the Australian charts.
#2975
This was the big hit off of Billy Field's debut album, although in NZ that honour goes to the title track from Bad habits likely due to the kiwis preferring the lounge ambience of that track over this breakup ballad from him. You'd think that with all of this success that Billy would go on to massive success this decade, you'd sadly be very wrong as his popularity died off with his next album.
#2974
Following the success he had with the Power station from the previous year, Robert Palmer released his album Riptide which was unfortunately all set to fail upon its initial release. He rescued the album from obscurity by filling the music video to this classic with what I can only describe as clones of Lilith Crane from Cheers as his backing band which in turn helped this song top the Billboard charts for him.
#2973
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#2972
Well, this is certainly something different from Alecea Moore AKA P!nk, she would become known as a pop rock chick as early as her second album and yet here we are with her second single from an album which is more in the RNB genre. Although I and many others still have love for her early work, she's since disowned her debut album as she admitted to being forced to make it by her management.
#2971
This was the lead single to Donna Summer's final disco album Bad boys, and one which ramped up the sexiness of her earlier material to eleven as she really does seem like she wants to have the night of her life throughout the track. This unfortunately led to some backlash where she was promoting the wrong message for women in the world, something she unfortunately agreed with as she stopped making music like this.
#2970
We've looked at the Bananarama cover from 1986, time to look at the original version of this classic from the Dutch group Shocking blue who scored a massive worldwide hit with this dance rock track at the start of the decade. Even though most people will be more familiar with the 80's version, this still remains a staple on oldies stations to this day, proving how well loved the song is after all these years.
#2969
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#2968
I will say that as iconic as this song remains to this day, it does feel weird that it originally came from the Dick Tracy soundtrack given how out of place it feels on that album (save for all of the shout outs to Hollywood legends she has on this song.) This was sadly Madonna's final chart topper in Australia for exactly a decade, although that didn't stop her from having some of the bigger hits of the decade here.
#2967
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#2966
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#2965
This was the final album Dragon released during their initial run together, despite this being their biggest album they broke up so that Marc Hunter could pursue a solo career that ultimately took him nowhere given how he didn't score a single hit song during the bands time apart. They got back together when he finally gave up on his solo career where they essentially picked up where they left off from here.
#2964
Although Donna Summer had already seen success with her previous album due to its lead single, it was this album which finally made her the queen of disco due to its lead single topping the charts in most parts of the world. Donna always had a unique voice which worked wonders with sexually charged tracks, which is perhaps how she managed to be crowned the queen of a genre she would come to despise.
#2963
This was the penultimate album to be released from Wings before they went their separate ways in 1980, it was another huge success for them likely due to it being released immediately after their biggest hit "Mull of kintyre" which strangely neither appears on this album nor was it ever released in America.
#2962
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#2961
Following the success of their second album, Creed released their third album which continued their momentum thanks to the singles gaining a lot of airplay on the radio despite them underperforming on the singles charts (at least here in Australia they did.) For whatever reason, the band would go their separate ways later in the decade, likely for Scott Stapp to embark on a solo career.
#2960
If we're going by studio albums, then this is the earliest success that the Rolling stones were able to achieve here in Australia, at least success that's worth mentioning on this site as their 60's catalogue couldn't compete with the fab four in terms of popularity.
#2959
This was an album that sat on shelves for nearly two years before it finally saw mainstream success with its singles, this is going to be a recurring trend this decade as we look at albums record labels failed to promote initially only for them to randomly find success sometimes years after their initial release. This led the Spin doctors to being a one album wonder, mainly due to their second album being widely panned by critics.
#2958
For whatever reason, Australian Idol decided to only release live albums of the contestants from here on out which is why we have this collection of songs that Damien Leith sung during his run on the fourth season of the show. His debut album is still to come on this site; however, it didn't bring in the numbers like his time on the show would suggest.
#2957
This was a compilation album that collected the biggest hits in Australia during the winter of 1984, these albums were all the rage here back in the day and indeed were popular enough to get their own rankings once ARIA took over the charts later in the decade.
#2956
It took them nearly thirty years, however the Eagles finally managed to make a new album after the success of the Long run from 1979 due to finally putting their differences aside long enough to do more than simply tour together. The hype was through the roof for this album to the point where it was an instant success for the band despite sounding like something that would've come out of the mid 70's.
#2955
It took him a while to follow up from his earlier entry (this was back in the day where artists released a new album annually after all) however the wait seemed to be worth it for his fans as this managed to be a huge success for George Harrison which even spawned a Billboard chart topper for him.
#2954
Much like the majority of P!nk's songs even since her fourth album, this managed to be far more popular on our digital charts than it was on our physical charts, further proving that Australia's love for her came mostly from our digital storefront as opposed to physical sales. It's also proof that she would've greatly benefitted from the storefront had it existed during the first half of the decade.
#2953
Although this was more of a success on our digital charts likely due to the presence of Kanye West, I'm surprised it wasn't even bigger considering that as far as I can tell, there isn't a version of this song that omits his guest verse and even if there was, it certainly didn't chart on there back in the day.
#2952
This was the debut single for one Melissa Tkautz, a rising star in the acting scene in Australia who was looking to get into the music industry much like her fellow actors from Neighbours. I will say that it's a bit uneasy listening to this track knowing that she was only sixteen when she recorded it, it would've been fine if she were older but hearing the lyrics "if you wanna wait till later, hands off my detonator" coming out of a minor is disturbing.
#2951
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#2950
This song may seem low on this list due to how successful it was on the Australian digital charts; however, I've ranked these songs based on how well they did with their physical sales given how the digital charts were in their infancy when they launched this year and thus, had songs overstay their welcome on those charts. In any case, we have this lead single from Eskimo Joe's third album which finally broke them through to a mainstream audience.
#2949
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#2948
Often considered to be one of the best songs from Mariah's catalogue, this second single from Music box tugged at the heartstrings of listeners back in the day due to its message of empowerment against the odds during a time where uncertainty was all around the world. It no doubt helped out a lot of people get through a rough patch in their respective lives which is why it was such a huge success.
#2947
Even though the Bridge was a massive flop everywhere else in the world, it was a huge success here in Australia proving just how much we loved Billy Joel this decade and how we felt he could do no wrong. Indeed, one of his biggest hits in his catalogue down under was the second single from the album which comes complete with a video that pays homage to the Beatles rooftop concert.
#2946
This was the only notable success that Anne Murray had in Australia, I'm guessing because she was considered to be the Canadian equivalent of Olivia Newton John when the two women first broke through at the start of the decade. Given how Livie has since moved on from her country roots, I guess Anne was able to have little issues with filling in her role as the country singer of choice.
#2945
This cover of the Tommy James classic was originally released to deafening silence earlier in the decade for Billy Idol, however it was given a second chance when he performed it live later in the decade which compelled him to release this live recording where it became a huge success for him. This broke a unique record on Billboard when it replaced Tiffany's "I think we're alone now" at number one, namely that a cover replaced another cover of a track from the same artist.
#2944
This was the third and final hit to come from Backstreet boy's second album Backstreet's back, it's a ballad that showcases what the boys were about which was being a white equivalent of Boyz II men as many of their tracks throughout their career were indeed RNB ballads rather than the teen pop we've been affiliating them with. For some reason, this took its sweet time in becoming a hit in their native America.
#2943
Well, this is a bit of a surprise, mainly because we have Sammy Davis Jr who's one of the very few men of colour to find success in the 50's in the music industry covering a song that was originally written for Willy Wonka and the chocolate factory. I guess it makes sense that a version of the song would be popular given how much of a success the film was at the time, however this version being the big hit just confuses me.
#2942
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#2941
Here's the title track to Lionel's third album, I feel this is a better title track to his album given how he was clearly trying to distance himself from all of the slow ballads he had become typecast as throughout the decade. Indeed, this was his party jam similar to that of "All night long" from three years prior, complete with a music video where yes, he does indeed dance on the ceiling.
#2940
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#2939
Well, if fulfilling their record label's wishes involved making this note for note cover of the Elvis Presley track, then I can understand why these guys weren't too thrilled with selling out this year as this is certainly a far cry from their earlier material from the start of the decade. That said, it appears there were plenty of us Aussies who appreciated this update to the Elvis classic as it became a huge hit for them.
#2938
This was a song that was more in line with their sellout cover of "Funkytown" that made them a household name, mainly for the use of the keytar which added more synths to the track than they already had. Fortunately, the lyrics are still sharply written as it's about how Brian and company are only happy when they have the comfort of their partner due to nightmares they have without them.
#2937
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#2936
This was the biggest hit that Snap was able to achieve in their career, although there's a bit of minor controversy with this song as it contains the line "I'm serious as cancer when I say rhythm is a dancer" which rubbed people the wrong way upon its initial release. That didn't prevent the song from being a massive success for the German band, although it would prove to be their last hit in certain places.
#2935
This was the only notable success that Billy Squier had here in Australia, I'm guessing because his other big hit in his native America had that infamously terrible music video which prevented anyone from taking his discography seriously. This is another sexually charged track to become a hit back in the day, in this case him wanting to stroke you is the type of foreplay that generally isn't PG 13.
#2934
This was another huge success for the Police due to the strength of their musicianship, although it appears that Sting's songwriting had significantly improved on this track as I haven't seen anyone criticise it in any way over the years. This was from their penultimate album which was admittedly not as successful as the two albums it was sandwiched in between.
#2933
Babyface never had that much success here in Australia even as a producer, so to see him score a massive success with this duet with Stevie Wonder was a bit of a surprise given how Stevie Wonder hasn't had a hit since 1985's "Part time lover." The collaboration helped his album become a moderate success here, although it unfortunately failed to make Babyface a household name in RNB down under.
#2932
This took its sweet time in finding success here in Australia, this is because it wasn't promoted on our digital stores until the start of this year despite coming from an album that was released in 2005 (much like the previous entry.) In any case, we have this second single from the Fray which is about the narrator coming to grips with him losing a friend to depression and how he could've prevented that from happening.
#2931
This is the only hit that comedian Benny Hill ever had in his career, although admittedly he wasn't much of a musician as this was clearly meant to be a throwaway comedy track that became a surprise hit here in Australia and his native UK due to the success of his show at the time.
#2930
The last time Gloria Gaynor had any success anywhere in the world was with her cover of a Jackson 5 track from the midpoint of the decade, so it must have been surprising for audiences to see her back in the spotlight with the second big disco hit from her during the height of Donna Summer's popularity. Most people will likely be more familiar with the remix of this track from the 90's as the original version isn't as bombastic as that version.
#2929
This was the other Billboard chart topper that Savage Garden had, although it's worth noting that this wasn't a number one hit in Australia likely due to how inescapable the album itself was upon its initial release. Another fun fact about this song concerning the American charts is that it was the final chart topper for a while for anyone who wasn't from North America or Jamaica as the next person to top the Billboard chart outside these demographics was James Blunt with "You're beautiful" in 2006.
#2928
This was where it all began for Alecea Moore, even during her RNB phase she was all about female empowerment as her debut single was about her calling out her partners bad behaviour and how she wasn't going to tolerate it. Naturally it was a massive worldwide hit for her as female empowerment anthems were commonly accepted in the mainstream by this point in time.
#2927
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#2926
Given how UB40 managed to score a huge hit the previous year with a reggae cover of an Elvis Presley track, I suppose it makes sense that these guys would score a hit with their reggae cover of a Peter Frampton track a mere five years after Will to power made a soft rock cover of the song in question. This was commissioned for the film Reality bites which is one of the more critically divided films of the decade.
#2925
In most parts of the world, Robbie Nevil is a one hit wonder with "C'est la vie" likely due to audiences only connecting with the one song from him and none of his other tracks. In Australia, he scored a second hit with this track where he expresses a desire to be with someone he finds inspirational, this helping him escape the one hit wonder bin down under with a song twice as big as his previous entry to boot.
#2924
There didn't seem to be any signs of Usher's popularity slowing down here in Australia or anywhere else in the world as he scored the biggest hit of his career (at this point at least) I guess it was because RNB was at the height of its popularity and that Usher had fully matured into an adult by the time he released this and his album 8701. Of course, his biggest hits were still to come much later in his career.
#2923
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#2922
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#2921
One of the more quintessential disco tracks to come out of the decade, we have this trio (who weren't an actual family funnily enough) scoring their one and only hit worldwide with a disco track which led to their album being a huge commercial success for them. I'm not sure why these women didn't have more success with their subsequent material other than perhaps due to them not being huge in their native America.
#2920
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#2919
This is a song that was false advertising for the music the band in question was making, Extreme are best known for their hard rock tracks and hair metal image and yet it was this acoustic ballad that made them a household name worldwide. The lyrics are often misinterpreted as people seem to think it's a love ballad which it technically is, however, it's actually about how the phrase "I love you" no longer has any meaning given how easy it is for anyone to recite.
#2918
While it wasn't their debut single by any means, this was the song which launched Bananarama into the big leagues likely due to it telling a story about how the girls made a boy into a man that they collectively dated on this track. Even though their popularity in their native UK remained consistent throughout the decade, we Aussies wouldn't hear from these three again until their cover of a Shocking blue track.
#2917
Following the success he had the previous year with his Bob Dylan cover, Graham Bonnet returned to the mainstream again with the help of the Bee gees who allowed him to cover this song they originally had for an obscure band Rare earth that went nowhere for them. It's another disco classic and one that fits into a sub-genre I've dubbed as the late-night rock; this is rock music I imagine hearing whenever I'm driving home late at night.
#2916
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#2915
Oh, wow you couldn't release this song nowadays, heck I think even back then this was a controversial song as it implies that Joe Tex has had such bad luck with heavier women on the dance floor that this feels more like a protest anthem against him dancing with them than anything else. I don't think he cares about what people think of this track considering he's been dead since the early 80's.
#2914
We have another entry from a cast member of Neighbours on this list, this time it's Holly Valance who managed to score a massive hit worldwide with this English language cover of a Turkish sex jam from the late 90's. It was the first of four hit singles the Australian singer/actress managed to achieve down under, although she remains a one hit wonder everywhere else in the world with this sex jam.
#2913
There were three different occasions when John Waite saw massive success in Australia, this band was by far the most successful of these occasions as it not only gave him his biggest hit in the form of this classic but also allowed him to score a second hit the following year. Like many successful British bands who made it big in America, these guys weren't so lucky in their homeland.
#2912
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#2911
How is it that a song whose lyrics suggest that it's a stalking anthem can come off as one of the most beautiful songs to ever become a success? That's the power of this trio's instrumentation and Sting's vocals and a large reason as to why his songwriting has been given a pass by audiences whenever they find themselves listening to one of their songs. This was their biggest hit in America and the UK due to how timeless if feels even to this day.
#2910
This was the final hit that the Hollies managed to achieve here in Australia, although I'm sure they would've had continued success in the second half of the decade had Countdown not pushed them aside in favour of our local music scene. It's strange to think these guys found more success in the 70's than they did in the 60's down under considering how they greatly benefitted from the British invasion in America.
#2909
It seemed like it was open season when it came to EDM taking over the mainstream in Australia this year, as such we have this track from Dutch duo Twenty 4 Seven scoring a massive hit at the start of the year with this track that largely went ignored in the UK, NZ and America back in the day. Many other EDM artists throughout Europe would follow suit and find varying degrees of success here.
#2908
It looked like that Vanessa Williams would never touch a chart outside of her native America with one of her songs given how her second album was initially a flop for her just like her debut, however her fortunes changed for the better when she released this song from her second album which became a surprise hit for her worldwide. It turns out that in addition to being a talented actress, she's an amazing singer as evidence by her performance on this track.
#2907
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#2906
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#2905
This was the only notable hit that Dan Hill had outside his native Canada, although it's worth noting that this was a huge hit in his homeland which generally isn't the case for many Canadian artists who make it big internationally. My Aussie readers will perhaps be more familiar with the dance version of this ballad from the 90's as that proved to be more successful here than this ballad, however this was a huge deal back in the day as well.
#2904
Although they had buzz earlier in the decade and even appeared on Countdown two years prior, this was the first hit single that UB40 had in Australia as the band do a reggae cover of an old Neil Diamond track that connected with audiences at the time. The real interesting story about this song is how it got big in America, namely that it took five years after it was a hit worldwide to finally top the Billboard charts.
#2903
Given that this Oscar winning ballad was written for a film called White nights, I think it's safe to say that it's since become an anthem for those who would describe themselves as the name of the film. Originally this was meant to be the title track of his third album, however said album took so long to make that he changed the name to the second single that would also serve as his final hit single to date.
#2902
Even though their album Angel dust was already a huge success here in Australia, it was this cover of the Commodores classic that made Faith no more a household name for the second album in a row due to how well it did on our charts. In all honestly, I could never tell these two songs apart despite knowing that this has a more rock sound to it as opposed to the original which was more RNB leaning.
#2901
This was the second hit that JX managed to achieve in Australia, although just like his first hit "Son of a gun," this was a huge flop in his native UK which gives you an idea of how well loved EDM was down under this decade. His third hit "There's nothing I won't do" finally broke him through in his homeland, and hilariously it wasn't a huge hit here like his other two entries were.
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