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.
#2400
One of the better rom coms of the decade was My best friend's wedding, a film about how Julia Roberts realises that she's in love with her best friend and tries to win him over his fiancé who's played by Cameron Diaz (I swear it's better than I'm making it out to be.) The film spawned a successful soundtrack due to its lead single being a cover of one of the most romantic songs of the 60's.
#2399
I would've thought Kate Miller Heidke would've found more success with her songs on our digital charts this decade given her brand of quirkiness seems to be in line with many of the entries on this list that saw more success on that format than on our main charts, alas her one and only hit was merely as successful there as it was as a physical release.
#2398
This is another song that saw equal amounts of success on our digital charts as it did on our physical charts, further proving that Rihanna was one of the hottest stars of her day regardless of how one would consume her music.
#2397
We looked at their previous collaboration on the 2004 list, so now let's look at the second collaboration between Baby Bash and Frankie J only with their roles reversed on this track as Baby Bash is now playing second fiddle to the RNB singer for his one and only hit internationally. I mean it when I say that their roles were reversed as this is essentially the same song as "Suga suga" when it comes to the subject matter.
#2396
This was the solo breakthrough for Gerry Rafferty who had minor success earlier in the decade as the lead singer of Stealer's wheel (of "Stuck in the middle with you" fame.) Let's face it, the main reason why this song is so popular to this day is for those sax solos that play at the end of every chorus, sure his vocals are nice too, but they would've have been enough to help this stand out from the crowd on their own.
#2395
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#2394
This was one of only two hits that Ne-Yo had in Australia throughout the 00's, the other was "Closer" from two years later which was more upbeat than this track which is a slow RNB ballad about his complicated feelings he has in a relationship he's in. He was much more popular in NZ and especially his native America where he scored multiple other hits in both countries in addition to these two.
#2393
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#2392
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#2391
This was the final hit single that Chicago had outside their native America, now this might shock some of my readers, but I really like this ballad as it does a good job of balancing out Peter Cetera's vocals with the instrumentation in a way I feel many of their other tracks fail to do. I guess my love for this ballad was tested when the RNB group Az yet convinced him to rerecord this track for their hit in 1997.
#2390
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#2389
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#2388
I know the 70's were a bizarre time in pop culture, however I'm finding it very hard to believe that one of the biggest hits of the decade was this novelty track about a duck (presumably Donald Duck based on the impersonation) wants to go out to the disco to dance. I guess this was funny the first time I heard it, although for me at least this quickly wears off its charm after repeated listens.
#2387
This was originally a solo track from the Pussycat dolls on their album, I'm guessing because they felt this track was sexy enough on their own and felt they didn't need a rapper of colour to validate their attractiveness. Their label obviously disagreed as they pulled in Snoop Dogg to put in a feature for them which is perhaps why this managed to be a slightly bigger hit than the second and third singles on the album.
#2386
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#2385
If you felt that her earlier entry on this list was too much of a victory single from a reality show, then fear not as the rest of Delta's catalogue (well at least most of it) is a lot more personal such as this second single from her debut album which details her trying to live without her partner at the time. It was the second of six consecutive chart toppers here in Australia for her which predictably led to her backlash.
#2384
This was the first UK chart topper Mariah Carey had, I'm guessing because the Brits still had fond memories of the Harry Nilsson original who just so happened to pass away shortly before this song was released. In fact, there's a theory that this was not meant to be released as a single given how it was bundled with "Never forget you" but was in order to cash in on his recent passing.
#2383
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#2382
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#2381
Although these guys had received plenty of buzz prior to this becoming a huge runaway hit for them, it was this track that helped them achieved their goal of scoring massive success in Australia to then take back home to their native NZ. This has been a surprisingly common phenomenon over the years with NZ artists temporarily migrating to Australia and returning home once they achieved their success.
#2380
This was the only noticeable hit for Bertie Higgins even in his native America, while I'm glad this crossed over to Australia, I can't say I understand why as at least in his native America, this was one of only many soft rock ballads to make it big this year. In any case, this song did become a huge success for him before he faded into obscurity.
#2379
If Lionel's earlier entry on this list wasn't the indication that he was about to become one of the biggest names in music this decade, then this third single from his sophomore album cemented his place among the A-list despite it being subjected to heavy backlash over the years for what many perceive to be highly creepy lyrics. That's to say nothing of the video which makes them arguably worse by having them be directed at one of his students at a university.
#2378
This is one of two collaborations that J-Lo made with LL Cool J throughout the decade, the other was with "Control myself" three years later which was a hit in most parts of the world but not here in Australia. Here the duo is in a relationship that's falling apart and how she feels like that her pride is all she has left, although in the chorus, he points out that she no longer has that either.
#2377
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#2376
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#2375
This is a song that's slightly different depending on which version you're referring to, if we're looking at the version from the album then it's a pop country track whereas the single version is more of a straightforward pop track with additional lyrics to help it boost the sales of the album it spawned from. It paid off as said album was by far the most successful of the decade because of this.
#2374
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#2373
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#2372
It looked like Paula Abdul wasn't going to be able to find an audience in Australia given how "Straight up" was a huge flop here the previous year. Fortunately, this duet with the Wild pair was a success for her, presumably due to the duo being depicted in the video as a cartoon cat by the name of MC Skat Kat. This cat would go on to release a hip hop album the following year which many consider to be one of the worst of all time.
#2371
This was originally released the previous year in order to promote the show of the same name, for some reason this theme song only caught on in Australia once season two premiered. Regardless of when it caught on, it remains one of the most popular TV themes of all time due to how much of a success it was.
#2370
This is one of the more divisive songs to emerge from the decade, mainly because people are split with the opinion whether or not Linda Perry is a good vocalist (personally I don't think she is.) As a result, this song has often been described as very shrill and earnest from its detractors, although it also did lead Linda into becoming an in-demand songwriter for many of the biggest stars of the 21st century.
#2369
This was the debut single for one of the more popular artists to emerge from Disney's new Mickey mouse club which ran throughout the decade, and I think it's safe to say that compared to her main rival Britney Spears, Christina had the more prominent vocal presence in her music even if she wouldn't fully demonstrate it until her second album. In the meantime, we have a cute introduction to her discography.
#2368
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#2367
This guy had been active in the music industry for almost two decades before he finally saw massive success with this ballad, I'm guessing this was due to him singing the second verse in Spanish to help appeal to those who find the language to be the embodiment of sexy. I have to say that this is another vocalist whose voice I never really cared for, I just find it too pitchy on his biggest hits.
#2366
This is another song that should be much higher on this list due to its sales alone but isn't because it was pulled from shelves to promote the album (or in this case soundtrack) it came from. I honestly think it was for the best as I doubt many people would've even checked out the Men in black soundtrack if this theme song from the film's star Will Smith were able to remain on shelves indefinitely.
#2365
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#2364
This was the first major success INXS had on the singles chart in Australia, admittedly their previous album Shabooh shoobah did spawn the fan favourites "The one thing" and "Don't change" which both did decently well, however it was this track and its poetic lyrics that finally brought the band into the big leagues here in Australia and even over in NZ.
#2363
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#2362
Many people find this to be Billy's most annoying song due to how the melody is structured, I don't agree but can see where they're coming from as it does seem like it was metered this way to accommodate for the lyrical structure which is just him shouting out a bunch of pop culture references that took place during his lifetime. This gimmick paid off for Billy commercially as this remains his biggest hit worldwide despite the backlash it's received.
#2361
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#2360
So, this is another song that fits into the sub-genre I've dubbed as nursery pop as this sounds like it was built off the melody of a nursery rhyme before becoming a pop tune. Despite this I find myself enjoying this track due to how playful Sheena sounds on this track, and it appears most of the world shares this sentiment as it became a huge worldwide success albeit after having its name changed to avoid confusion with the Dolly Parton track.
#2359
So, Nelly Furtado's second album was a huge critical and commercial disaster from 2003, so much so that she felt the need to go in a completely new direction with her third album by enlisting the help of Timbaland to be its executive producer. The results were an album which had her shifting towards an early prototype of the club boom starting with this lead single which had the producer/rapper provide a guest verse for her.
#2358
Their previous album was a decently huge hit for these guys, however following the success he had with his main band Genesis, Mike Rutherford saw a huge surge in popularity worldwide to the point where the main vocalist Paul Carrack scored a huge hit two years prior with "When you walk in the room." All of this led to this ballad becoming a huge success for the band when it did.
#2357
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#2356
So, this turned out to be Julian Lennon's biggest hit outside of America, granted "Too late for goodbyes" wasn't that big of a deal in Australia as even "Now you're in heaven" managed to be a bigger hit for him here. That said, this was also decently successful for him in his native UK, in fact it was able to match the success of his debut single over there seven years after that came out.
#2355
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#2354
You may be surprised to learn that Kid rock is a one hit wonder outside of his native America with this track, I'm guessing it was only a hit for him internationally due to audiences feeling nostalgia for both "Sweet home Alabama" and "Werewolves of London" which this track samples both of throughout its runtime. Even though I and many others only know him for this one track (and also his personal antics due to constantly being on the news) he was much more popular on the Billboard charts.
#2353
This was one of two hits that the Finnish group Bomfunk MC's had here in Australia, we'll get to their other hit in a bit, but for now we have their song which was able to have the F-bomb played on the radio due to listeners missing the "Who the f**k is Alice" reference in the lyrics. I'm guessing this means that the song was a hit mainly for the sound as this was a bit before songs became a hit due to being a meme for its lyrics.
#2352
First off, can we admire this cover art for the second biggest hit of the Rolling stones catalogue? If only there were more WTF artwork for singles like this so that I could make a list about it. With that out of the way, we have this lead single to the band's album Goat's head soup which was their biggest hit here in Australia until 1981 when "Start me up" took that prize away from the track.
#2351
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#2350
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#2349
One of the more bizarre trends of the decade was that of the mashup single, granted there weren't as many as the decade would have you believe but when one became popular, it tended to make a huge splash in the mainstream like this medley from Dutch group Stars on 45. This was so popular that it even managed to become a hit in America, although for some reason they called themselves Starsound in the UK.
#2348
This was the only notable hit from Scottish lounge band Fairground attraction and let me tell you I for the longest time thought this was a 90's hit given how out of place if feels on this year which itself feels like an early prototype of what was to come throughout that decade. This song's legacy has thrived due to it being used in many commercials to this day.
#2347
There was so much hype going into this band that they were even dubbed as the new Beatles (given that there were four of them who played rock and roll music like the fab four ten years prior.) Despite this being a massive success worldwide for the band, said success sadly didn't translate to a second hit for them, although the album this was pulled from was indeed a huge success here in Australia.
#2346
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#2345
This was originally released as a single from Elvis Presley in the late 60's to deafening silence, likely because it was during that period where he was more focused on his acting career rather than his singing career and the original version not being among the more memorable songs in his catalogue. This remix came to be due to the song being used in the film Ocean's eleven which allowed it to become a surprise hit worldwide.
#2344
While I'm sure there were people at the time who considered this cover to be in poor taste given how Roxy music recorded and released this mere months after John Lennon's assassination, they did make it clear that it was a tribute to the late Beatle and that they weren't trying to cash in off his sudden death. This incidentally was the first hit the band had in Australia despite how big Bryan Ferry was in the 70's.
#2343
This was the first of many Billboard chart toppers that George Michael would have both solo and with his partner in crime Andrew Ridgely, however that would come six months after this topped the charts throughout the rest of the world proving that he really didn't need the approval of the American market he was so desperately trying to appeal to with his songs.
#2342
If this song feels like it was ripped from the 70's then there's a logical explanation for why, this and the album it came from was clearly meant to be released following the success of Meat loaf's first Bat out of hell album but wasn't due to him falling out with Jim Steinman who was the driving force of both of these albums. The two men patched things up earlier in the decade which resulted in this sequel coming out.
#2341
It looked like Queen's fortunes had run out as the 70's was coming to an end given how they had failed to score any noticeable hit singles since the release of "We are the champions/We will rock you," however their popularity was revived with this lead single from their album the Game. One thing I'll point out about this track is how different Freddie sounds on here, almost like he was going for an Elvis impersonation.
#2340
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#2339
Delta was on a roll when she released her third album this year, although it was noticeably less successful than her previous efforts likely due to it only spawning two hits as opposed to the numerous hits her earlier work spawned throughout the decade. Still, it allowed her to continue her momentum into the 2010's, although she would have a quiet period until her time as a judge on the Voice Australia.
#2338
It had been a while since Vanessa Amorosi had a hit here in Australia, in fact it was at the very start of the decade when she scored her final hit "The power" before she faded into obscurity for reasons I can't seem to ascertain. She was able to gain buzz the previous year with "Take your mama" which became a minor hit down under, however it was this ballad that helped her regain the dizzying success she had from her debut album.
#2337
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#2336
I guess this was meant to be Fergie's attempt at creating a power fantasy for the working-class population for what it's like to have the lifestyle of the rich and famous, it paid off given how this was a massive hit for her and would've been her biggest solo hit were it not for her earlier entry on this list stealing that title from this track. The song is perhaps best known for Fatman scoop's infamous line "if you ain't got no money take your broke ass home."
#2335
To think that this is the biggest hit that Crowded house achieved here in Australia, admittedly my shock towards this fact comes from this being one of my least favourite songs from the trio and believe me, I'm a massive fan of these guy's other work. I guess their big hit worldwide is "Don't dream it's over" and that songs lack of success here was more due to it being the fourth single released from their debut.
#2334
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#2333
At first this seems like another contender for claiming the prince of RNB crown from Chris Brown given how it was one of the first new hits of the decade for Iyaz, however it turns out that the Jamaican singer was a protegee of Sean Kingston (despite being older than him) meaning this was more of a passing the torch moment between the two stars even though this was the former's only big hit.
#2332
The original version of this track won the Oscar for best original song due to it being extensively used in the film Slumdog millionaire, however that song is largely in Indian and as such, wasn't going to connect with an English-speaking audience. A.R Rahman went to the Pussycat dolls of all people to commission an English-speaking remix of the track which allowed them to have a massive worldwide hit.
#2331
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#2330
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#2329
If you're a fan of this collaboration between Bonnie Tyler and Jim Steinman (yes, this was originally meant for Meat loaf) then do yourself a favour and don't check out the music video for this classic as it will ruin any and all fond memories you have of it. That out of the way, we have this comeback single for Bonnie who briefly went MIA following the success of "It's a heartache" due to issues she had with her previous management.
#2328
It's easy to forget that this wasn't the lead single to MJ's album Thriller, no that honour goes to the critically panned "The girl is mine" which was a modest success due to it being a collaboration with Paul McCartney. I'm guessing this wasn't the lead single due to its subject matter, one that seems oddly more relevant since its initial release given the multiple accusations levied against him.
#2327
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#2326
As far as non-Australians and kiwis are concerned, this was the debut single from Kylie Minogue as the updated version of "The locomotion" was released as the third single from her self-titled album released this year. As well respected as she is nowadays, critics and audiences from back in the day were rather harsh on her, going as far as to call her the singing budgie likely due to her chipper vocals here.
#2325
I'm guessing this was an instant success in Australia despite it failing to be released as a single in the trio's native America due to us Aussies having fond memories of the song this track sampled from 1973 of the same name. Of course, the three rappers take the song in a different direction which is more than I can say for many future hip hop tracks which relied on nostalgia for their success.
#2324
So UB40 were still a thing this far into the 90's, granted this is due to their cover of the Elvis Presley classic being chosen to close out the critically panned film Sliver starring Sharon Stone and William Baldwin, but it goes to show this was the most popular aspect of the film upon its initial release. This would be the last most people would hear from Ali Campbell and company in Australia.
#2323
This was the lead single to Eminem's album the Eminem show, an album that's meant to be a display for all of the rapper's thought process given how his previous two albums had been criticised for the way it influenced the youth of the day. This is far more light-hearted compared to the rest of the album (complete with a wacky music video) however it does fit in the theme of him making art and not propaganda on the album.
#2322
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#2321
This is one of many hit singles this decade that saw massive success despite it never charting on Billboard, it goes to show you how out of touch the American charts were this decade when this signature track from Lenny Kravitz fails to dent their charts. In any case, we have one of the more iconic songs on this list primarily due to that guitar lick that is instantly memorable the second you hear it.
#2320
When the Notorious B.I.G (or Biggie Smalls if you prefer) was tragically gunned down this year, Puff daddy (now known as P Diddy) released this track that was an obvious tribute to his fallen friend that tugged at the heartstrings of audiences worldwide. I would be more moved with this track if A: the Police sample wasn't so egregious and B: if Diddy were on the same level as his former friend in terms of rapping.
#2319
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#2318
This feels like a much more appropriate placement for Silverchair on this list compared to my hypothetical physical list, indeed this is further proof that rock music was completely screwed over in the mainstream during the first half of the decade given how much of this song's success came from its digital sales when it first came out.
#2317
Although she had moderate success throughout the 70's in Australia, this was the first album that we Aussies took notice of from Joan Armatrading likely due to her voice finally clicking with us this year. Of course, she would find even bigger success later in the decade where she was finally able to score a hit single here, but this was a good introducing to her in the mainstream and for the 80's.
#2316
This looked like it was going to be a mere moderate success upon its initial release, likely due to the lead single already being part of a successful E.P thus negating any incentive for audiences to check out the band's debut album. Fortunately, they were given an incentive to do so when their cover of a Harry Chapin track became a huge hit for them, although it's worth noting how out of place this cover is on this album.
#2315
If this sounds like an ELO track to you, then you're not far off as several members of this band would go on to be a part of that band later in the decade. This also has members of the Move who were a 60's band that was a part of the psychedelia movement which explains those elements on this track. This was their only hit here in Australia, however they were quite popular in their native UK this decade.
#2314
There seemed to be two lanes this year with popular music, the kiddie pop which dominated the first half of this list and the alternative scene which will dominate the second half of this list. Marcy Playground managed to appeal to those in the middle ground as this became a huge success for them in the alternative scene and also while charting along the likes of the Spice girls and Backstreet boys.
#2313
This was the only hit that Biggie Smalls had here in Australia, at least his rival 2pac managed to score one hit here during his lifetime with "California love." Indeed, I question if this even is a Notorious B.I.G track as this feels like more of a posse cut due to how much time both Diddy and Ma$e get on the track, although I get the feeling this song was only a hit due to the Diana Ross sample.
#2312
This was the first successful album that Rihanna had anywhere in the world, although I'm not sure why her debut from the previous year was a flop worldwide given how it spawned two of the bigger hits of the midpoint of the decade. In any case, this was the first stepping stone towards her eventual chart dominance she would acquire by the end of the decade thanks to how inescapable the singles were.
#2311
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#2310
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#2309
We have another live album to become successful here in Australia during our summer period, this time it's from Billy Joel who was on a roll throughout the decade here as just about all of his albums managed to become a success here during the 80's.
#2308
While this was a decent success as a physical release here in Australia, this might be because it was a huge success on our digital charts which is the best proof I have for the Foo fighters being another candidate as a band who would've greatly benefitted with their singles had digital downloads been tracked during the first half of the decade here in Australia.
#2307
Given how this was a mere bonus entry on my 2006 list specifically for how well it did on our digital charts whilst still receiving a physical release so that it can chart on ARIA, it goes without saying that it would appear on this special list of mine in a respectable placement given how the band's previous single proved to be the most successful song on the format throughout the decade.
#2306
This was the only Billboard chart topper that Taylor Dayne managed to achieve in her career, and admittedly this was the song which saved her second album from tanking across the world given the crushing failure of its lead single "With every beat of my heart" outside of America. In Australia, the song which saved the album was the next single which was more upbeat than this ballad.
#2305
This was one of the bigger sleeper hits of the year thanks to it becoming a hit twice during its chart run, the first was when the third single became a surprise hit in Australia and the second was when the deluxe edition came out which spawned a second minor hit for the trio on our charts. They would be one of the few rock bands (well more pop rock in this case) to find success throughout the 2010's.
#2304
Following the success he had with his breakthrough album on the previous list, James Taylor no longer had any issues with finding success here in Australia as this follow up proved to be a massive hit for him among us Aussies. It didn't spawn that chart topping single here like it did in his homeland, but it was a hit regardless.
#2303
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#2302
Even though the lead single was an instant success here in Australia, it wasn't until the second single where Duran Duran found massive success with their debut album here largely thanks to the raunchy music video which made it among the first to be banned on MTV. This controversy only strengthened their appeal as their next album would see more flashy videos (albeit family friendly ones) to promote their music.
#2301
This was slightly bigger on our digital charts than it was on our physical charts, suggesting that TV rock were enjoyed more from those who consumed music through digital downloads rather than an audience that bought physical copies of their music.
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