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.
#1000
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#999
It's staggering to think that these guys would be considered yesterday's news here in Australia once "Please Mr postman" fell off our charts during the midpoint of the decade given how inescapable they were here during the first half of the 70's. Here they are with their big breakthrough hit which was far more popular than many other tracks that 70's afficionados will likely name these days.
#998
I'm usually the type of person to get annoyed whenever someone cries sellout to an artist's biggest hit in their catalogue, however in this case I'm on board with those who consider this to be a sellout from Bon Jovi despite it not being that far off musically from their earlier efforts such as "Wanted dead or alive" or "Bed of roses." I think the issue here for me is how painfully earnest they are even compared to their earlier work, but that's just me.
#997
This was a happy ending for John Farnham who has spent most of his career as an adult musician in obscurity save for a few hit singles as the front man of the Little river band from earlier in the decade. This even managed to give him a second hit throughout most parts of the world almost two decades after his initial success "Sadie the cleaning lady."
#996
This was one of only two hits that Owl city had in most parts of the world, the other being with Carly Rae Jepsen who was also a one hit wonder on her own worldwide. Here we have a song about his mindset which was so fascinating to listeners that it not only became a massive hit for him, but also had him confirm that he was neuro divergent which should be obvious when reading the lyrics.
#995
Although this was a huge success in the band's native UK, it would up becoming even bigger here in Australia likely due to us Aussies loving the 50's throwback rock that was popular this decade more so than the Brits. Sadly, this was the lead single to their one and only album which despite being a huge success, didn't prompt the band to make a second album in their career.
#994
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#993
They had two albums which didn't bring in much success for them, however when Spandau ballet released their third album their fortunes changed likely due to how the second British invasion in America made most British artists thrive internationally. Many people feel this album exemplifies the second British invasion as it has many of the qualities affiliated with the genre.
#992
This is the only studio album from Slade to appear on this list, although their other albums were successful here in Australia back in the day, just not to the extent of this and their other two entries on this list.
#991
It turns out these guys were similar to Chicago in that they began as a much hipper band in the music scene with albums such as this before selling out to a more conventional crowd during the second half of the decade, admittedly this feels like something that belongs in the 60's which makes it success somewhat impressive.
#990
While I'm sure this would've been a huge success here in Australia given how iconic the lead single has remained over the years, I have a feeling its popularity was boosted due to the surprise success of "I've got to have you" from her previous album mere months before this was released here.
#989
I know this shouldn't' qualify for this list given how it was more of a 2010's hit here in Australia, however I decided to include songs that got big in early 2010 for this list given how they can fill in for the first three months of 2006 where the digital charts still didn't exist on ARIA's database.
#988
Given how the Monkees were one of the most successful bands of the 60's, it only makes sense that their spiritual successor when it comes to bands created for TV would also find massive success worldwide. This song is nowadays better known for the Voice of the beehive cover from the early 90's, however for twenty years, it was this version people thought of whenever the title came to mind.
#987
Well, they did score a massive hit earlier in the decade by adding hip hop verses to a Bee gees classic, so why not repeat the formula by replacing "Staying alive" with one of Rod Stewart's more upbeat tracks from the 70's? The results were equally successful for the band as this too was a massive hit for them throughout the world.
#986
This is another contender for the worst song of the decade according to the internet (no arguments from me) largely thanks to the lyrics being much creepier than you would otherwise expect as well as James Blunt's performance being highly irritating to many listeners. It was also the first Billboard chart topper to not come from an American, Canadian or Jamaican artist since Savage Garden from the start of the decade.
#985
This was the only noticeable success from Jennifer Paige throughout the world, which I find to be a shame because this was such a breath of fresh air from all of the kiddie pop of the day that I'm sure that was the reason why it was so big for her. I'm guessing this made it big due to an endorsement from the Lilith Fair crowd given how popular music made by women was around this time.
#984
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#983
Sweet were on a roll when they released their biggest hit in Australia this year, although it's worth noting that around the time this became a massive success here and in their native UK, their earlier hit "Ballroom blitz" had only just crossed over to America where it became a huge success on Billboard. This is another song that was huge back in the day to be fondly remembered today by oldies stations.
#982
There were no signs of Akon slowing down even here in Australia where he was considerably less successful than the rest of the world, heck this lead single to his second album proved to be more successful here than in most parts of the world likely due to the presence of Eminem who reduced himself to the odd guest verse during his hiatus from recording a new album throughout the second half of the decade.
#981
The ballad which won Stevie Wonder an Oscar at the academy awards, although many will tell you that this is easily one of his worst songs in his catalogue due to how sappy they find the lyrics to be. I can't say I've seen the Woman in red despite it starring Gene Wilder and Kelly Lebrock of Weird science fame.
#980
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#979
This was a huge comeback success for the Offspring following the mediocre reception of their previous album, it appears fans wanted to hear these guys talk about how much of a loser they believed to be so much that it not only became one of the biggest hits of the decade down under but also topped the Triple J year end charts for 1998.
#978
Even though this remains a staple on oldies stations to this day, this solo breakthrough from George Harrison sparked massive controversy back in the day due to the melody being similar to a track from the Chiffons known as "He's so fine." This led to a legal battle where he wound up giving songwriting credit to the older track even if he insists the plagiarism was unintentional.
#977
Now here's a song that brings me great joy that the internet expects me to hate with every fibre of my being (see how I was initially hostile towards music I didn't like?) we have this debut single from the Spice girls which is so much joyous fun that I don't even care that the lyrics don't make much sense once you read into them.
#976
Even though this came out several months after the tragic suicide of Kurt Cobain, the tragic event didn't seem to hamper its sales proving that while the two bands were similar to each other, they had very different fanbases at the time. Pearl jam would continue to thrive throughout the decade over Nirvana's sequel band Foo fighters, even though both bands would evolve in similar ways.
#975
I guess a change in imagery was what these guys needed to survive the into the MTV era given how the band ditched their clown get up when promoting this album. Granted it wasn't a permanent solution as the band would struggle to find success with their next album and would go their separate ways two years after this came out, however it's likely this process wouldn't have taken as long as it did if they stuck to their guns.
#974
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#973
OK here's an album which I have to tread carefully with given how infamous the story is behind its creation, I guess I can safely talk about why the US version is on here instead of the original as we Aussies were very sceptical about these guys but were eventually won over when they won a Grammy for best new artist. Of course, our initial sceptism was accurate as it was revealed they never sung a note on the album.
#972
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#971
Following the huge success of the Saturday night fever soundtrack, it was only inevitable that the Brothers Gibb would find massive success with whatever album they put out provided it was within the disco genre. Indeed, this album was a massive success for them and likely would've been even if it weren't released at the height of disco, although it has been cited as one of the contributing factors to the disco backlash in America.
#970
For whatever reason, Alicia Key's second album was a complete dud outside of her native America, I'm guessing this was due to the existence of the bootleg remix of "Karma" known as "Karmastition" which I vividly remember playing on the radio in lieu of anything from the album back in the day. Fortunately, her third album was able to spawn a massive hit with its lead single which restored her popularity worldwide.
#969
It looked like the Bangles would become a one hit wonder with "Manic Monday" given how the second single from Different light failed to become a success anywhere in the world and that said album was initially a flop for the girls. Fortunately, this third single was enough of a novelty that it managed to not only become a huge hit for them but encourage audiences to check out their album which has far more serious material.
#968
Often considered to be one of the greatest songs of all time (rightfully so in my opinion) this nearly six-minute rock opera initially struggled to find an audience due to its crushing length on the radio as well as record executives finding it too silly to be pushed as a single. Needless to say, the general public disagreed with those assessments.
#967
A song about de stigmatising sex in the mainstream becoming big this year? Well, colour me shocked as we have this all-female hip hop trio to thank for why sex prudes became rarer as the decade went on (OK so they were far from the leading cause of this happening but still.) Strangely the girls were still yet to find success in their native America, although their fortunes would change there with their next album.
#966
I really don't like it whenever I have to call out a sellout a band is doing for the worse, however this really applies to this track as Chicago went from one of the more progressive bands of the decade to what many will say is one of the worst bands of the 70's and 80's with this ballad. Simply put, this song is a bore and a half for most people to listen to (me included) due to how the melody is structured.
#965
This was a huge surprise for Pearl jam given that they hadn't had a hit since their initial breakthrough from the other side of the decade, although many people feel this was the start of their sellout period given that they had long abandoned their grunge roots in favour of an adult contemporary sound.
#964
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#963
From what I've heard, Dangerous minds is a mediocre film looking to cash in off the success of Dead poet's society only with Michelle Pfeiffer in the lead instead of Robin Williams. At least it had a killer theme song courtesy of Coolio who did a 180 from his previous hit "Fantastic voyage" with this song that goes into brutal detail about the struggles he and people like him face on a day-to-day basis.
#962
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#961
Well, the title of this song has become toxic to the music industry these days, hasn't it? Prior to being the name of a social media site that's forever going to be blamed for the decline in the music industry, it was the title of Kesha's debut single (as a lead artist that is) which was another example of how big the club boom was even in its infancy given how it was a huge hit during the transition from the 00's to the 2010's.
#960
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#959
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#958
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#957
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#956
This was the first of three hit singles that Dutch DJ Fedde le grand managed to achieve worldwide thanks to having a provocative music video to accompany it going viral on YouTube, imagine how much bigger this would've been if the mainstream included YouTube views onto their respective charts.
#955
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#954
It took them five years to follow up their debut album Songs about Jane, OK technically it was only three years given how that album sat on shelves ignored for the first two years of its existence due to it not being promoted by their label initially. Even so, there was a bit of a wait for fans between the two projects which perhaps why this wasn't as inescapably popular as their earlier work.
#953
While Split enz had yet to call it quits by this point in time, that didn't prevent Tim Finn from releasing a solo album which went on to have massive success due to the popularity of his band. No doubt it was the success of this album which tanked the bands next album and eventually led to them breaking up, that wasn't necessarily for the worst as it led to his younger brother Neil forming Crowded house.
#952
Well at least I can finally feature some of Yes's earlier work on this site as it did indeed find success here in Australia during the first half of the decade. From what I can gather, this was their biggest success here likely due to their brand of prog rock fitting in with the likes of Deep Purple and Jethro Tull.
#951
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#950
They had released two albums to deafening silence earlier in the decade, so to see this album become a huge success for the Australian alternative rock band must have been a massive surprise for them even with all the promotion it received on Triple J. The band would find further success with their second album without promotion from the station, proving that they did indeed strike a chord with audiences with this release.
#949
Following the eventual sleeper success of their debut album, Evermore managed to find little issues with finding a mainstream audience with their sophomore album even though they for some reason lost the support they had from Triple J when it was initially released. Although the album itself was a massive success here for the band, the singles were among the first to heavily benefit from digital sales which likely further fuelled its success.
#948
This album set records for Simply red over in their native UK, namely it became the first album to top the year end album charts there for two years in a row which should give you an idea of how inescapable they were back in the day. It wasn't quite that big here in Australia, although it was riding off the success of their first three albums, so its success was notable regardless.
#947
It looked like these guys were ready to grow up from their previous album Smash as this album has a much more mature tone to it than the rest of their catalogue, however though it was a huge success for them, it appears that fans really appreciated them for their loser persona as evidence by their next album being their most successful despite them returning to that persona.
#946
This was the last big hit that Miley Cyrus had during her Hannah Montana days, sure she tried to mature into her new sound the following year with her album Can't be tamed, however no one was buying it given how Disney imposed restrictions on her with how risqué she could present herself on that album. I guess if you went from this to the title track of that album, "We can't stop" isn't that far of a leap in her evolution.
#945
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#944
Unfortunately, there won't be any further appearances from Sneaky sound system after this entry, although at least I can truthfully say this was a hit almost entirely through digital sales which is why it has a much more respectable placement on this list compared to it being a mere bonus entry on my 2007 list for the band.
#943
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#942
Often considered to be one of the quintessential industrial bands of the decade, we have Garbage led by the seductive Shirley Manson who made a huge splash with their debut album which connected with many people back in the day. It was a slow rise to success as they were an alternative band competing with EDM, however they made it big down under thanks to heavy promotion from Triple J.
#941
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#940
These guys had really taken the world by storm when they released their debut album in the final year of the 90's, they copied the formula that made Aqua have the biggest EDM album of the decade and added an extra gimmick of having a bus that played their music as the coolest place on earth. Naturally this all combined for a highly successful album that I'm sure many kids back in the day loved.
#939
Well, he may have failed to score a hit single this decade aside from "You are the sunshine of my life," but at least Stevie Wonder had a massive hit with this album during the height of the Countdown era. I guess if there was a negative affect the TV show had on our music scene, it was that many musicians of colour got sidelined in favour of our local talent, not entirely though due to the rise of disco.
#938
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#937
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#936
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#935
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#934
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#933
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#932
Often considered one of the best albums of all time, this was a surprise hit here in Australia at the start of the decade likely due to the lineup of well-known musicians that came together to make it as iconic as it’s remained over the last five decades.
#931
Bjork is one of the most unconventional artists to ever make it big in the music industry, while this wasn't her debut album by any means, it was the album that made her a household name due to the success of its second single which saved it from falling out of the charts upon its initial release and allowed it to become one of the more popular alternative albums of the 90's.
#930
While this wasn't the debut album from MC Hammer, it was the album that put him on the map thanks to him having access to a bunch of catchy samples that he uses to provide beats for his rhymes on the album. It was a big enough success upon its initial release here, however it became a best seller due to the third single becoming his second hit which had it rebound on the charts.
#929
While I've never been a fan of the show, I have seen a few episodes of Hannah Montana and remember thinking they were OK for what they were, basically a teenage girl leading a double life of an ordinary high schooler and a worldwide pop star. The film on the other hand looks absolutely terrible which of course didn't prevent it from being a massive commercial success as was the soundtrack (it was likely that Taylor Swift cameo.)
#928
This was another album that sat on shelves ignored for well over a year, it's a pity because Sheryl Crow was in the same boat as Tracy Chapman and Melissa Etheridge in terms of women who wrote personal ballads for a mass audience. In any case, the album did finally become a major success when the lead single was picked up on the radio, admittedly Sheryl was far from the only victim of this delayed cycle.
#927
I guess grunge had officially taken over the mainstream this year as this fourth album from Soundgarden proved to be a massive hit upon its initial release, although it's true appeal came when the video for "Black hole sun" dropped which helped the band stand out from their contemporaries. They're often considered to be one of the big four for grunge, the other three bands being Nirvana, Pearl jam and Alice in chains.
#926
Given how her second album was a massive success for her, it only makes sense that Kasey Chambers would continue the momentum she had with her third album which also proved to be a massive hit for her. It saw a minor rebound on the charts when "Pony" became a surprise hit for her, although to a much lesser scale than what "Not pretty enough" did for her previous album.
#925
This was originally released to deafening silence in Australia, even though the Badloves did receive plenty of promotion on Triple J upon the albums initial release. Their fortunes changed when Jimmy Barnes convinced them to do a duet with him on his hit single "The weight" shortly after this came out, which resulted in this album being a massive success for the band following the success of that track.
#924
This was the first of several songs to be released from Black box's one and only album Dreamland, although that's likely due to the behind-the-scenes drama the band went through when lead vocalist Martha Walsh (of Weather girls fame) was replaced with a more attractive woman on the cover art and in the videos. This led to her leaving the group which in turn led to them disbanding once the album cycle was done.
#923
This was the solo debut for James Reyne, I guess this should serve as proof that despite his inability to enunciate on many of his songs, audiences loved Australian crawl specifically for his presence as he brings a lot of charm and charisma to each of his songs. He would continue to have success into the 90's proving that he was a welcomed presence with his brand of rock music.
#922
While this wasn't the most successful album from Simply red (that would be their second album) it did spawn the biggest hit of their career in the form of the second single which in turn helped the album become a massive success following a slow start to its chart run. These guys would continue to find success well into the 90's, proving that their sound was able to withstand the test of time with their audience.
#921
While their popular had begun to dwindle by this point in time (thanks largely to the internet) Nickelback were still widely successful worldwide with this album proving that it would take the death of rock in general for them to be seen as yesterday's news in the mainstream. Even when that happened in the new decade, their next album was still a modest success, proving that wasn't even enough to kill their popularity.
#920
This was a runaway success for Kate Bush given how inescapable the lead single from the album was back in the day, indeed she quickly followed this up with a second album Lionheart which obviously didn't have the same beauty and grace that this album had. She bounced back with her third album and retained her popularity here in Australia due to appearing on Countdown more than once.
#919
While it wasn't as inescapable as her earlier entry on this list, this second album from Norah Jones nonetheless managed to make a huge splash in the mainstream this year thanks to jazz pop still being in vogue for the most part all throughout the decade. Her next album was also a modest success for her, however that would be the end of her relevancy once it fell off the charts.
#918
This likely wouldn't have been a success in Australia had it not allowed Christopher Cross to sweep the Grammys, after all having him win the big five at the award ceremony at a time where it was seen as the most prestigious awards for music did give it a huge endorsement. Fortunately, the album was well received and even spawned a bunch of radio hits that permeate on oldies stations to this day for the soft rocker.
#917
One of the most popular Broadway musicals of all time is Mamma Mia, mainly due to the renditions of Abba's catalogue as many will tell you that its story is a bit jumbled even for a Broadway musical. The theatrical version made nine years after it first premiered was a commercial success despite a mixed critical reception due to the plot and also the song renditions not being as good as the stage version.
#916
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#915
This is another band I'm confident would've had more success with their first album back in the day had ARIA tracked digital sales when it came out, at least the lead single to their second album greatly benefitted from the format given how much bigger it was compared to its physical sales back in the day.
#914
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#913
This was easily Janet Jackson's biggest hit in Australia largely due to her hopping on the new age bandwagon with her album the Velvet rope (sort of at least) resulting in her connecting with a wide range of audiences at the time of the album's release. It may surprise you to learn that this was a difficult process in making the album considering its themes of spirituality and self-empowerment.
#912
This was the biggest album to come from Mental as anything, mainly because of how inescapable the second single was to the point where it was chosen as the theme song to the Crocodile Dundee film the following year. This album's success led to Martin Plaza briefly embarking on a solo career which was also a moderate success the following year, he rejoined the band just in time for their next album.
#911
Given that Akon will only have one appearance on this list (two if you count his earlier feature with David Guetta) it's a bit surprising how much more popular this debut single from Sean Kingston was on our digital charts given how he was frequently compared to the older RNB star back in the day.
#910
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#909
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#908
Much like "How you remind me" two years prior, this song was also a hit here in Australia much sooner than it was over in America given how it managed to be one of the biggest hits of the year down under before it even touched the upper echelons of the Billboard charts. I maintain that these guys were very over hated throughout the decade as while their songs did sound similar to each other, there were far worse songs floating around.
#907
Madonna has seen massive success throughout the decade with each of her albums, although I don't think she was expecting this album to be the biggest of the decade considering it was a return to form to her indie roots. She was clearly trying to appeal to the indie crowd which she succeeded with flying colours as this was not only a huge success for her but arguably her most critically acclaimed album in her catalogue.
#906
This was another album that took its sweet time in finding success here in Australia, although at least it was a success unlike in the bands native America where they didn't have any success until their comeback from the late 80's. It's little wonder this appealed to Australians as it's the type of wacky throwback rock from the 50's that was all the rage at the time, that and appearing on Countdown also did the trick.
#905
I'm somewhat surprised this is Shirley Bassey's only successful album here in Australia, although given how the title track is easily her biggest hit here, it only makes sense that this would be a massive success for her upon its initial release.
#904
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#903
Her debut album Union was one of the most successful of the decade in Australia and NZ, so it only makes sense that Toni Child's second album would also be a success given how female singer/songwriters were among the more popular artists during the transition from the 80's to the 90's. Her popularity would come to an end with her third album, although it would explode later in the decade with her greatest hits package.
#902
You may have noticed a distinct absence from Diana Ross on these lists, this is likely due to her being overshadowed by Marcia Hines back in the day as the American born Australian diva of colour was indeed one of the biggest names in our music scene throughout the decade. This was her debut album and one which made her an instant success due to her run as Mary Magdalene in the Australian production of Jesus Christ superstar.
#901
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
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