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.
#400
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#399
Surprised to see this album so low on the list? I should point out that I'm only ranking these albums based on their original chart runs and while this was a huge success upon its initial release, it wasn't as inescapable as its reputation would have you believe. That said, this album is responsible for why many artists from the 70's and 80's struggled to retain their popularity as the decade went on due to how it revolutionised the rock scene.
#398
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#397
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#396
Following the success of her album Rhythm nation, Janet no longer had any issues with finding an audience in Australia which means that this album (which reportedly was made after a record-breaking contract she made with her label) was a huge success for her. Interestingly, the album popped up several times throughout the decade whenever one of the singles became popular worldwide.
#395
Following the success of her previous album Simple dreams, it appears that Linda Ronstadt decided she wasn't done exploring country and RNB which is perhaps why this album proved to be a successful follow-up less than a year after that albums release. She did eventually move on to new wave in the new decade, and it appears we Aussies at least weren't particularly interested in her tackling a heavier genre like that.
#394
This was the album Neil Diamond released mere months prior to his magnum opus from the top of the list, suffice to say that although it was a huge success upon its initial release, its legacy has since been overshadowed by that live album that refuses to die on our charts.
#393
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#392
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#391
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#390
So, if you're a casual fan of Madonna looking to explore her earlier work in more depth, then I can't give a bigger endorsement for this greatest hits package of hers as it collects most (but not all) of her biggest hits during the first eight years of her career to help you decide if you want to become a bigger fan of hers or not. This was attached to her Blonde ambition tour which was also a huge success around this time.
#389
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#388
Although U2 achieved moderate success prior to the release of this live album captured at their concert at Red rocks Las Vegas, it was this live album that made them a household name in the mainstream due to how raw and energetic the band was during this show. This led to them gaining more and more popularity as the decade went on, which peaked with their Joshua tree album winning them a grammy.
#387
It seems like an anomaly to have this album be a huge success for Bros, partially due to how radio refused to play their songs but also because everything about this album suggests that it was only meant for immediate friends and relatives of the band in question. Of course, that wasn't the case as many people came to love this album upon its initial release, although they didn't stick around for their second album.
#386
This was an instant success for Coldplay given how they had confirmed themselves as the real deal with their second album from earlier in the decade, there's not really much I can say about this album as it continued their critical acclaim without doing much to change their sound from their earlier material.
#385
One of the more critically acclaimed films of the late 70's was the biopic of Janis Joplin called the Rose, the film is notable for being Bette Midler's theatrical debut as she plays a character loosely based on the pioneer for female rock and roll and the ups and downs she had in her lifetime. As the film has several live performances throughout its runtime, this technically serves as a live album from Bette Midler as well as its soundtrack.
#384
This was a massive success for Led zeppelin upon its initial release, so much so that it makes you wonder why they slowed down their album output after this as they only released two more albums after this before they went their separate ways in 1980. I guess because they did release quite a lot of albums during the first half of the decade.
#383
This was the first solo album to come from George Michael, it was a guaranteed success given how he was coming off the success of his time with Wham who themselves were one of the biggest bands of the decade worldwide. What I'm sure he wasn't expecting was for this to win album of the year at the Grammys, especially considering how he felt it was safe pop music only meant for the masses.
#382
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#381
Although these guys had sound success prior to this magnum opus of theirs, this was what made them a household name thanks in no small part to the success of its lead single and how it continues to be a cultural juggernaut even to this day. They did see plenty of success as the decade went on, although nothing would come close to achieving the dizzying success of this album.
#380
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#379
This is one of the first hits to make it big thanks to the power of the internet, specifically how Scottish singer Sandi Thom uploaded this track she recorded in her bedroom to her Myspace account (remember when that was a thing?) which attracted the attention of her eventual management. It was a huge success here in Australia likely due to it being a love letter to how much she loved both punk rock and hippy culture of the 70's.
#378
Following the staggering success of his previous album, John Farnham continued with his adult contemporary sound with this follow up which while not as big of a success as Whispering Jack (nothing to be ashamed of given how inescapable that was) was nonetheless a huge hit for him proving that albums success wasn't a fluke. His success would continue for well over two decades after his comeback.
#377
This had an impeccable run on the Australian charts back in the day, an impressive fourteen weeks at number one which has only recently been topped by less fondly remembered songs. To think this was originally released as a bonus track from a greatest hits package during the height of the Swedish foursome's popularity.
#376
It's strange this was only a sleeper hit at best in Evermore's native NZ given how it was easily one of the biggest hits of the decade here in Australia even without the inclusion of digital sales, of course, having those sales did boost it up to be in the same leagues as the likes of the biggest names in music worldwide that it outranks on this particular list of mine.
#375
Following the massive success of their debut album, Sade went back into the studio to make another album where they combined jazz with RNB which proved to be equally successful for the British band. These two albums would be the last we hear from them for a while, although they did have a surprise comeback in the early 90's with Love deluxe shortly before the success of their spiritual successor M people.
#374
This debut album form Duffy was a hit twice in Australia, the first time was upon its initial release whilst the second was a year after its release for reasons I can't seem to deduce as it's not like any of the singles were used in anything throughout 2009 here. I'd say Duffy would've been the British voice of the 2010's had Adele not stolen her crown with her second album 21 early in that decade.
#373
This was a stellar year for music targeted towards a younger audience given how Hanson managed to become a huge overnight success worldwide with their debut album, although this is more along the lines of a pop rock album that just happens to be made by underage musicians rather than kiddie pop like other popular songs from the late 90's. It's a shame this album was released before the two younger brothers finished going through puberty as their pre-pubescent vocals do hold back the full potential of the album.
#372
There was a good chance that this album never would've been a success even in Destiny's child's native America were it not for the controversy that involved their lineup change, specifically when the video for the second single was unveiled which was how two of its members found out they were fired from the group. This controversy led to people checking out the album to see what all the fuss was about.
#371
This was the album that made the Bay city rollers into a household name in Australia, mainly due to how inescapable its lead single was here as well as maybe being a more suitable band for us to compare Sherbet to over Skyhooks. They would flood the album charts with their material over the next eighteen months which predictably led to a massive burnout for their popularity here.
#370
Even though this album's title is a mere letter off from the name of his previous album, its contents couldn't be any more different as we have a covers album where the former Take that member tries his hand at some of the biggest songs from the swing era of music. Fans naturally found much to love about this album as it was a massive success for the English crooner throughout the world.
#369
We've seen plenty of classic music on this site already, haven't we? Well, here we are with the debut album from the British opera group Il Divo which naturally won an audience with the same demographic that were fans of the likes of Michael Bublé, James Blunt and Human nature throughout the decade.
#368
This had a bit of a slow rise to popularity in Australia, mainly because (as you've likely noticed on these lists) RNB isn't a popular genre here and also possibly due to Terence being a former soldier who was dishonourably discharged from the American army while he was stationed in Germany. He did eventually find his way back home once this album became a huge success for him for the record.
#367
Well, I don't think there's been a more successful greatest hits package that presents itself as a double album meant to collect the best moments of an artist's career more than this entry from Billy Joel. Indeed, the American piano man decided to bundle both phases of his career into one entry which resulted in it being a huge success for him at the time of its release. Volume 3 would eventually be released in 1997 with considerably less success.
#366
Regardless of what your opinions are on the Twilight saga (I haven't seen any of it, nor do I plan on doing so) there's no denying that the soundtracks are at least well received given that they largely consist of alternative rock to fit in with the themes of the franchise. The first soundtrack in particular is what launched the popularity of Paramore internationally due to their theme song becoming a massive hit for them.
#365
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#364
This was the album that finally broke INXS into an American market, mainly due to the lead single becoming a surprise hit over there months after its initial release here in Australia. While this wasn't as successful as the two albums its sandwiched between, I have to say that it remains my personal favourite from them as it's a middle ground between their new wave beginnings and superstar goals.
#363
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#362
Following the staggering success of their album the Joshua tree, U2 decided to make a documentary about their world tour to promote the album which I really don't recommend you watch unless you want further incentive to hate Bono as a human being (in which case knock yourself out.) The documentary came with a soundtrack which has easily overshadowed the film due to how iconic the songs are on here.
#361
Following the disappointment from their previous album Comminique, Dire straits decided to slightly alter their sound from their earlier work which seemed to be a wise move for them as this became just as big as their debut did at the end of the previous decade. They did experiment with their sound on their next album to much better results.
#360
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#359
I guess folk music also heavily benefitted from having its fanbase well connected with digital sales during the second half of the decade, as such we have this one and only hit from Jason Mraz appear much higher on this list than it would otherwise have done had I ranked it based on physical sales.
#358
This was technically the soundtrack to the film of the same name which starred these five very powerful women in music, and while it has its fans, it's really hard to watch unless you're a superfan of this group as the story is a meandering mess and its metacommentary can make most modern media blush. At least the music is still fun and catchy, bolstered once again by the strong personalities of the girls themselves.
#357
This was the lead single to BEP's third album with Fergie, it's a song that's meant to get the party started given how it was one of the first songs to make it big during the club boom of the late 00's and throughout the 2010's. I guess it succeeded as this was a massive hit for the quartet, although it was heavily criticised for being little more than scraps of other songs thrown together by the band.
#356
This was the final album to be released from the Police before they became fed up with each other and broke up, many will tell you that this is their best album (I personally prefer their debut) due to the neo noir feel the album has throughout its runtime. It's certainly their most successful when you factor in the singles as the lead single became their biggest hit both in America and their native UK.
#355
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#354
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#353
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#352
This was released rather late here in Australia even on our digital storefronts, I thought I'd bring that up since ARIA had a rule that prevented songs without a physical release from charting on their main charts during the first year and a half they implemented their digital charts which resulted in many songs charting late down under compared to the rest of the world this decade.
#351
Neil Diamond was completely inescapable throughout the 70's worldwide, Australia was no exception as this soundtrack to the theatrical adaptation of Jonathan Livingston Seagull managed to be a massive success for him despite being yet another album from the first half of the decade that failed to spawn a hit single down under.
#350
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#349
Considering this wasn't among the more successful albums in Bryan's native Canada, it's impressive to see how well it did internationally given how its second single became a Billboard chart topper for him. I guess you can say this was a success due to him being a part of the heartland rock crowd which made the likes of Bruce Springsteen and John Mellencamp huge megastars around this time.
#348
Given that she was one of the biggest names in music (let alone the country scene) it only makes sense that this greatest hits package from Olivia Newton John would be among the more popular albums of the decade in Australia. What's curious is that this wasn't released in America, meaning that her future greatest hits packages are titled slightly differently over there to accommodate for this albums lack of existence.
#347
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#346
This was the solo debut from Kate Ceberano who had previously achieved success as the lead vocalist from the jazz pop band I'm talking as a child star, a pretty impressive transition to a solo career if you ask me. This was an album that promised her so much success going into the 90's, but alas she wasn't able to find a way to retain her audience despite her stellar vocals on her subsequent releases.
#345
These guys had been active for twelve years before they found any success with their fourth album, in fact this was all set to become yet another flop for the Scottish band until "Chasing cars" became a surprise hit on the digital charts worldwide. Due to a contrived rule regarding songs not charting without a physical release here in Australia, the song didn't chart until long after its popularity died out down under.
#344
This was the only notable success that Melanie had with one of her albums, although curiously this didn't contain her biggest hit "Brand new key" which came off her next album which was a slight departure from the chamber pop of this album.
#343
You'd think that Suzi Quatro would've thrived during the Countdown era on the Australian charts, heck she was the very first international artist to not only appear on the program but also perform on it which is likely why her second album did so well during the midpoint of the decade here. Alas she was quickly sidelined in the mainstream in favour of a bunch of up-and-coming Australian artists the show was promoting.
#342
Given how Paul Potts made headline news when he won Britain's got talent in 2007, it only makes sense that his female equivalent would do the same two years later even if she somehow lost on her season to some dance troupe that faded into obscurity once the competition was over. Indeed, this was only the first of three massive albums she released which found massive success worldwide.
#341
While he had success prior to this album worldwide, this was the first to grant Elton John a genuine smash hit as the lead single managed to top the Billboard charts as well as it nearly doing the same on our charts upon its initial release.
#340
People like to dunk on these guys due to being seen as the sellout band for hair metal, that obviously didn't prevent this album from being a huge success for the band given how they managed to retain enough of the genres roots to seem like the genuine article along the likes of Guns n roses and Bon Jovi. Sadly, this success didn't carry them over to the 90's as while Flesh and blood was a hit for them, it wasn't to the scale this album was.
#339
This had a bit of a slow rise to its popularity here in Australia, likely because this is the type of album that screams guilty pleasure thanks to how tastelessly provocative the tracks are (for the most part) that attracted fans who would appreciate this. It's definitely an album that filled a niche when it came to smutty music from pop divas, hence why it doesn't have much of a fanbase anymore.
#338
This was the second album to come from Alex Lloyd following the success of his debut album from the start of the decade, it was far more successful than his earlier entry thanks to spawning a huge hit in the form of its lead single that became an even bigger hit in NZ at the expense of the album's success over there. Sadly, this was his final successful album in his catalogue as his subsequent follow ups would flop later in the decade.
#337
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#336
It looked like this would only be a modest success for the Dixie Chicks (nowadays known simply as the Chicks) given how it quickly fell off the charts the previous year upon its initial release here in Australia. It received a massive boost in popularity when word got out that the trio had been cancelled by their fellow Americans for making disparaging comments towards the (then) American president George Bush Jr, likely to give them our support for calling out the corrupt politician.
#335
There were many success stories in the first year of the 80's in Australia, one of the more notable ones was Australian crawl who scored a massive hit with their debut album following the buzz they received from its advanced singles coming from the previous decade. While their next album would be their magnum opus, this remains a fan favourite for the band due to how iconic the singles remain.
#334
This was the biggest album in Joan Armatrading's career worldwide, possibly due to it spawning her biggest hit in certain parts of the world including Australia and NZ with its lead single. Joan is one of many female singer/songwriters in the music industry to eventually come out as gay when it became less of a stigma, joining the likes of Tracy Chapman, Melissa Etheridge and the Indigo girls in this regard.
#333
Following the success of both Tracy Chapman and Toni Childs, Melissa Etheridge also found success here in Australia with her debut album proving that female singer/songwriters had a clear advantage as the decade was coming to an end. What's interesting is that Melissa's breakthrough in her native America wouldn't happen until years after her debut album was a huge international success, especially considering "Like the way I do" being a hit in 1995 despite it appearing on this album.
#332
The last time Rod Stewart had an album this successful was when he dabbled with disco with his 1978 effort Blondes have more fun, so to see him return to this level of success with his first album of the decade can only mean that fans decided to boycott him throughout the 80's and lifted the boycott once the 90's began. That's the best explanation I have for why there was such a long absence of his popularity.
#331
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#330
Although their previous album was a massive success for them, it was this album that made Powderfinger a household name thanks to how much love it received from Triple J upon its initial release. It received a massive boost in popularity this year when they went on a highly successful tour, thus setting them up as one of the most popular and endearing bands of the new millennium.
#329
Although they achieved modest success with their previous album Dude ranch, it looked like that success wasn't going to repeat for Blink 182 given how this album initially struggled to make it big upon its initial release here in Australia. Fortunately, the runaway success of them lampooning TRL (Total request live for the uninitiated) allowed the album to find massive success from those who despised the music program.
#328
While I can't say that I've ever particularly cared for this remix of the 1983 hip hop classic from Run DMC by Jason Nevins, I will admit that it does bring me joy that everywhere in the world outside of their native America hopped on board with this track and finally allowed the men who broke down barriers between rock and hip hop a decade prior with "Walk this way" finally became megastars.
#327
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#326
I'm not exactly sure how this album from Willie Nelson managed to find an audience in Australia two years after its initial release, after all it's not like he was among the more successful country stars outside his native America, nor was this album used to promote anything worthwhile (that I'm aware of that is.)
#325
This was the first signs of the Abba reevaluation that people gave them throughout the decade, indeed the band would become a well-respected legacy act following the initial success of this greatest hits package back in the day. This was one of many albums to find success multiple times this decade as it recharted two years later due to the success of Muriel's wedding and again when the Mamma Mia musical launched.
#324
This was the only album that Goanna released during their brief time together to receive any major success, presumably due to the theme throughout the album being about aboriginal rights which Midnight oil would tackle later in the decade with their album Diesel and dust. I'm not sure their second album flopped a few years later, but it led to them calling it quits as a result.
#323
Well, here's a band that's unfortunately been largely forgotten over the decades that was inescapable throughout the 70's, here we have Ol'55 who made a huge splash with this album due to it being an affectionate throwback album to the rockabilly of the 50's as well as the band being regulars on Countdown during its early years. Despite their overwhelming popularity, the band unfortunately called it quits once MTV came around.
#322
By some miracle, Anastacia's second album wasn't a complete flop here in Australia, although she clearly took its lukewarm reception to heart by switching her style to have more soul and gospel in it compared to before which allowed her third album to be a massive success here and throughout Europe. Once again, this failed to dent the Billboard charts for the American singer, proving how unpopular she was among her fellow Americans.
#321
This is one of two albums from the Alice Cooper band to appear on this list, it's another case of an iconic single (in this case the title track) missing out on its success here in Australia in exchange for making the album one of the most successful of its time.
#320
How bittersweet must this album's success been for Roxy music, after all they were always planning on going their separate ways regardless of how this album was received after its release and yet it remains their most popular album in their catalogue. I guess they wanted to ensure fans that there wasn't any animosity between them and that their demise was to allow Bryan Ferry's solo career to succeed this decade.
#319
There's an unfortunate truth about the music of the Police, namely that despite him being an English teacher originally, Sting isn't what you'd call a skilled lyricist as evidence by some of the lyrics that can be found on this album in particular. That said, the album more than makes up for this shortcoming by having great instrumentation from the three members as well as Sting being a dynamic vocalist.
#318
This was the final album to be released in John Lennon's lifetime, it's unfortunately impossible not to bring up how John Lennon's life ended when talking about this album as it was a large factor into its success despite there being plenty of evidence to suggest that it would've been decently successful had he lived to see the end of its album cycle. At the very least, it's grammy win for album of the year was understandable.
#317
Jethro Tull were indeed one of the biggest names in music during the first half of the decade, here they are with their magnum opus which true to form for a prog album, is just two tracks divided onto both sides of the L.P much like Mike Oldfield's entry from earlier.
#316
Wings were on a roll when they released their second album given how it came off the success of Paul and Linda's collaboration album (which we'll look at in a minute) their momentum would carry on for the remainder of the decade regardless of where in the world you're from.
#315
But seriously....... this was the album that Phil Collins needed to end the 80's given how he had made a major stumble in his career with his acting debut in Buster the year prior. The success of this album going into the 90's encouraged the other members of Genesis to reunite with him one more time to release and album which was also a huge success, that being We can't dance.
#314
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#313
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#312
As divisive as her first solo album was from her longtime fans, it no doubt won her a bunch of new fans who were likely the people who made her second album a success as the longtime fans (me included) really don't care much for this album due to her doubling down on its camp factor. Still, there's plenty to enjoy on this album which is why it was a massive hit for her, the same can't be said for her 2010's material.
#311
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#310
The late 80's was a dark period in Elton's life, after all he was battling a serious drug addiction as well as having to cope with having his polyps removed which affected the way he sung live. Not helping was a decrease in quality in his music, which perhaps is why he released this album which was meant as a coping mechanism for his mental health which in turn restored his popularity in the mainstream.
#309
To think this had such a long rise to the peak of its success in most parts of the world, despite it spawning several hit singles, it wasn't until Cyndi embarked on her world tour that this became a best seller for her much like how Celine Dion's breakthrough album the Colour of my love did just that a decade later. As for the album itself, it's no wonder it's remained a classic given how iconic the songs remain to this day.
#308
Given that Boyzone was no more going into the new millennium, Ronan Keating was able to release his solo album without any competition from his former band mates which led to it being an instant success for him worldwide. It was a success again a year after its release thanks to a deluxe edition containing some new tracks from him making fans check it out, thus setting him up for a successful decade.
#307
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#306
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#305
It looked like that Bryan Adams was going to become a one album wonder given the commercial failure of his 1987 effort Heat of the night, however following his contributions to the Robin hood soundtrack, he was able to bounce back more successful than ever with this album which led to him having a highly productive decade despite only putting out two more albums in the 90's.
#304
It took them five albums to find a mainstream audience, heck it looked like this album was going to fail as well given how much of a failure its lead single was for the band. Fortunately for them, the second single proved to be one of the biggest hits of the early 90's which allowed the album to find massive worldwide success for them. This of course led to a bunch of band fights resulting in the temporary departure of John Frusciante.
#303
Here's an album that was delayed so heavily that Lionel felt the need to change its name to what would end up being the second single from the album, yes it turns out that this was originally meant to be named after his Oscar winning ballad that served as its advanced lead single and released around the time that took home an academy award for him. As tardy as this albums release was, at least fans didn't have to wait for a decade for it to come out unlike his next album.
#302
This was the second album from the Veronicas which was released during a time where all types of rock music were finding massive success worldwide, it was a predictable success for the duo here given the success of their previous album as well as it finally gaining them an international audience right when the decade was coming to an end. Even with all of this success, they would struggle to make their third album due to issues with their label.
#301
Following the success of his previous album Goodbye yellow brick road, Elton John released this follow up which was a massive commercial success for him at the cost of it spawning a huge hit like his previous efforts did here in Australia. People say that this is a massive disappointment compared to his previous efforts, although I and audiences back in the day disagree as this easily lived up to expectations.
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