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.
#2200
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#2199
It looks like 2pac was still able to find success in the mainstream nine years after his death as Eminem decided to take one of his previously unreleased songs and pair it with "Indian sunset" by Elton John which helped it become the rappers biggest hit here in Australia as well as getting him out of the one hit wonder bin that "California love" had trapped him in months prior to his untimely demise.
#2198
This was the first of a string of hits that Ja Rule managed to achieve here in Australia, I think it's due to him having a bunch of features on his songs (in this case RNB singer Case) who usually bring him a catchy chorus to connect his verses with. In this sense, he was the predecessor to Flo Rida as that's exactly what the follow east coast rapper did once the hits for this guy dried up.
#2197
This was the debut E.P from Ugly Kid Joe, an E.P which was largely ignored upon its initial release until the signature track "Everything about you" became a surprise hit for the band over in the UK months after its initial release. This allowed the E.P to become a huge hit in Australia and no doubt led to the band releasing their debut album which it too needed a surprise hit in the UK to take off down under.
#2196
This was the first hit single that Mondo Rock managed to achieve in Australia, this is noteworthy because the last time lead singer Ross Wilson had any success here was as the lead vocalist for his previous group Daddy Cool from the first half of the 70's. Here he trades the pub rock from his old band for new wave for this band which helped him find massive success down under with this band.
#2195
Remember "Top of the world" from earlier on this list? Well, I mentioned that wasn't originally meant to be released as a single and was only done due to the success of a cover it received from Lynn Anderson. This was the song that was meant to sell that album which it failed to do here in Australia, although it at least was a big hit in its own right likely due to how popular the duo was here.
#2194
This was the album which put Elton John's name on the map given how it has one of his most instantly recognisable songs as its lead single, sure his other entries on this list proved to be more popular, but hey everyone's got to start somewhere right?
#2193
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#2192
Well, he might not have had the level of success he had with his partner in crime Bernie Taupin during their time apart, however that doesn't mean that Elton John wasn't among the more popular artists during this period as evidence by this album being a huge success for him worldwide. Indeed, had he had the magic of Bernie during this period, it would've seemed like his popularity never decreased from the mid 70's.
#2191
This was the penultimate album that John Lennon released in his career before retiring throughout the second half of the decade, suffice to say it was a huge success for him as was anything released by him and his former bandmates this decade.
#2190
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#2189
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#2188
This didn't prove to be as popular as Alice Cooper's previous entry on this list, I'm guessing the mediocre reception (comparatively speaking) this album received compelled him to break up the band and move forward as a solo artist whilst retaining his band name.
#2187
This was an album released exclusively in Australia likely due to how much love and support we Aussies gave Billy Joel; OK it was because of how big his previous two albums were here compared to the rest of the world that he released this exclusively for us. It's a reissue of his greatest hits package from five years earlier plus a live album as well as having a bonus disco containing interviews he gave here.
#2186
There weren't any signs of these guys slowing down now that they were receiving international success with their material, indeed this album might not have been as successful as their previous album, however it more than made up for that by spawning multiple hits on Billboard and in other countries. These guys would continue to have success until Glenn Shorrock left the band and was replaced with John Farnham.
#2185
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#2184
This was originally released to deafening silence in Australia, likely because we Aussies had no idea who these guys were as their earlier material were massive flops down under. Fortunately, it was given a second wind when "Legs" became a surprise hit for them a year after the album came out which allowed the album to become a huge success here.
#2183
Felt like you couldn't get enough of their big hit this year? Well Stars on 45 (or Starsound if you're from the UK) have you covered as that mashup was a mere taste of what they had to offer on their debut album. Indeed, they combined many more classics throughout the album which audiences fell in love with back in the day.
#2182
This was the only notable album that Sonia Dada released throughout their career, even then it was only a success here in Australia due to how inescapable the lead single was as well as it spawning a second single following the success of the lead single. I'm not even sure what happened to these guys as from what I can gather, they continued to release new music throughout the rest of the decade to deafening silence.
#2181
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#2180
Given how Madonna was by far the most successful artist of the decade, I guess it only makes sense that there would be rip-offs to try and steal her throne as the queen of pop. One of the more successful was Stacey Q who scored massive success with this track where she titillates her audience with her seductive vocals while going on about how she found the love of her love in the lyrics.
#2179
You'd think that a reggae cover of a Marvin Gaye classic would be sacrilege, although you've also likely noticed that I've never had much of an issue with reggae covers of older tracks with the occasional exception. In any case, we have this reggae trio covering Marvin's only hit he had in Australia (shocking I know) where it became a huge success for them, more so than the original I might add.
#2178
So disco wasn't dead quite yet as KC and the Sunshine band were able to achieve massive worldwide success with this track that has since gone down as one of their most memorable in their catalogue. This was a surprise success over in the UK which allowed it to become an international success before it finally became a moderate success in their native America, proving that even they weren't above disco at this stage.
#2177
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#2176
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#2175
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#2174
Even though she had a bunch of hits with Ja Rule of all people (curious because she was going out with Nelly during the height of her career) this was her only hit as a lead artist here in Australia likely because of her voice juxtaposing nicely with the production in a way that really stood out from the competition back in the day. It was an even bigger hit in her native America where it topped the Billboard charts.
#2173
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#2172
It looked like that Bryan Adam's time in the spotlight had come to an end when he released his third album this decade, mainly because he really did take his sweet time in releasing new music this decade despite him easily being one of the biggest artists of the 90's. This managed to take off for him more due to the presence of Sporty Spice who was all of the news around this time due to the drama going on with her band the Spice girls.
#2171
This was one of two collaborations that Eve had with Gwen Stefani, the other would come later in the decade when the latter released her solo debut to establish herself away from No doubt. In the meantime, we have this sex jam where both of them feel confident in being the love of the listeners lives and how irresistible they feel they are, audiences naturally agreed as it was a huge hit for them.
#2170
This isn't among my favourite tracks from Fleetwood Mac, granted it's certainly a departure from their previous sound as this feels more in line with a prog track as opposed to their usual folk rock but something about the marching beat just doesn't sit right with me. I'm obviously in the minority as this remains their biggest hit in their catalogue outside of America (where "Dreams" has that honour) and is still well loved to this day.
#2169
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#2168
This was the only noticeable hit for Max Merritt and the Meteors both in Australia and their native NZ, although it's worth noting that they did make a splash here at the start of the decade with their self-titled album. I'm not sure why this managed to be a success other than maybe the band performing it on Countdown and getting a huge reaction out of it.
#2167
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#2166
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#2165
This was the only hit that the British glam rock band the Rubettes were able to achieve here in Australia, although like most glam rock bands from the UK, they did considerably better in their homeland and throughout Europe as glam rock continued to thrive during the second half of the decade in the northern hemisphere whilst it was pushed aside here in favour of local artists promoted by Countdown.
#2164
This is one of only two hits that Led zeppelin had here in Australia back in the day, it's a song that's long since been mired in controversy due to it being a rip-off musically of "You need love" from Muddy Waters which led to the latter suing the band's estate fifteen years after the song's release. As that wouldn't happen for another decade and a half, the song was free of this controversy during its initial release.
#2163
Following the success of their first annual countdown at the start of the year, the Radio station Triple J decided to release a compilation album containing many of the songs that appeared on the countdown which became a huge success for them. Naturally they would continue this trend to this day as each of these albums do extremely well every year for them, although they tend to go on the compilation charts on ARIA.
#2162
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#2161
This was the debut album from Bad company, a band who had sound success with their subsequent follow ups, however likely would've done better here in Australia were it not for Countdown pushing aside their brand of hard rock in favour of our local music scene as well as our love for the likes of Abba and Bay city rollers.
#2160
We have another entry from an Australian artist for this list, this time it's the third album from Hoodoo gurus who were able to find massive success with this album due to it spawning their biggest hit in the form of its lead single. Even though they were quickly gaining an international audience with their albums, their popularity would dwindle after this as their next album would fail to see this level of success.
#2159
This was another highly successful album to come from Bob Dylan, although he wasn't among the biggest names in music during the second half of the decade in Australia, he did manage to find a loyal fanbase which helped him succeed along the likes of Fleetwood Mac Pink Floyd.
#2158
With an album title this uncreative, you'd think that Foreigner had run out of ideas which would be a bad assumption to make as this album was a huge success for them and also spawned (at the time) their biggest hit in the form of the second single. Even though this was a huge success for them, they took their time in following it up as their next album Agent provocatuer wouldn't come out for another three years.
#2157
Well, he did score a massive hit on Billboard with his cover of "When a man loves a woman," so it makes sense that Michael would make a covers album based on some of the biggest hits of the twentieth century. Contrary to popular belief, it wasn't just Motown songs that he covered on this album (although a majority of the tracks are from Motown) meaning that he was diverse in what songs he chose to make his own.
#2156
Blondie were on a roll when they released this greatest hits package, so much so that it was an instant success for them even though there were talks that the band would break up due to behind-the-scenes drama. Indeed, that was the case as the band would be no more by the end of the year, in fact we wouldn't hear from Debbie Harry again until later in the decade when she released her second album.
#2155
This was the follow up to Status quo's biggest album On the level, and while it didn't spawn a huge hit for them like that album did, it didn't prevent the album from being any less successful here in Australia proving how well loved these guys were. Sadly, that love began to fade after this album as though they continued to have his, none of their other albums saw the level of success these two did in their catalogue.
#2154
This was another instant success for Robbie Williams, although it would be one of his last successful albums as his next effort would see him venture towards hip hop which would end his popularity for good.
#2153
There was no stopping these guys from making it big in the mainstream in Australia, true this didn't have a hit single on here like their previous two albums, but who cares when it was still a huge success for the band? Unfortunately, their popularity quickly began to dwindle after this album as despite scoring a huge hit with their Semantics E.P the following year, they weren't able to achieve much success with their subsequent albums.
#2152
This was one of the earliest songs to become a success from the club boom, so naturally some of that success would come from the digital storefront given how that's what fueled the success of the club boom during the first stretch of the 2010's worldwide.
#2151
This may have been a hit for Last goodnight right before they decided to call it quits, however the band can at least take comfort in the fact that it was more of a hit here in Australia on our digital charts than as a physical release, meaning that it was more popular with the those who were into the likes of Panic! at the disco and Fall out boy than those who were into reality TV.
#2150
This was roughly as popular on our digital charts as it was on our physical charts, meaning that regardless of what format it was on, this controversial ballad managed to appeal to the masses back in the day here in Australia.
#2149
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#2148
It may surprise you to learn that "Everytime we touch" wasn't a hit for Cascada here in Australia, heck it was a hit in America which should tell you how popular that track was and still remains to this day. Fortunately, the German band were able to score a massive hit here three years later with this track due to it being among the earlier songs to cash in on the club boom that would explode around this time.
#2147
This was one of only two hit singles this sister duo managed to achieve in Australia, although it's easy to see why this succeeded given how it's an affectionate track about how they'll always be there for each other. Unfortunately for them, their legacy has since been overshadowed by another duo from Australia comprising of twin sisters that since went on to have massive international success, that of course being the Veronicas.
#2146
There were many popular EDM acts to make it big in Australia throughout the decade, one of the more popular being Urban Cookie Collective who achieved massive success both here and their native UK thanks to the dulcet vocals of Diane Charlemagne set to some pretty timeless production that connected with audiences back in the day. They would have one more hit after this before fading into obscurity.
#2145
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#2144
Kiss were on a roll when they released their second single from Dynasty, this is despite the backlash they received from their original fans claiming that they sold out for a more mainstream audience. True the lyrics and compositions aren't as complex as their earlier material, however they still had plenty of energy to their tracks which is why they were able to find massive success with this material.
#2143
This was the first official single from Jessica Mauboy given that the only songs she released prior to this were the ones she sung on the fourth season of Australian idol, here she somehow manages to recruit Flo Rida to give her a guest verse which no doubt helped this song to become a massive hit here in Australia upon its initial release. I'm guessing it was meant for an international market who sadly didn't take to this.
#2142
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#2141
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#2140
Following the staggering success he had with Matchbox 20, Rob Thomas decided to embark on a solo career which began with the lead single to his solo album that was a massive worldwide success for him. Unlike most lead singers of popular bands in this vein, there's a distinct difference between his solo material and his work with Matchbox 20 which means that there was a vision he had that differed from his band.
#2139
It seems weird that these guys had struggled for mainstream success earlier in the decade given how often I still hear songs from their debut album to this day, I guess if we had of tracked the digital downloads of those songs then we could have a better representation of how well they did back then. Oh well, we at least have this lead single to the band's second album to represent their music on this list.
#2138
This was a fantastic year for Lily Allen here in Australia as she not only managed to score two big hits from her second album, but the album itself was a massive success proving how much we Aussies loved her coming out of the 00's. Here she is with the third single from that album which is a song about how she feels her partner is being too mean to her which audiences related to worldwide.
#2137
It may surprise you to learn that Rednex weren't the first group to combine country with EDM as that honour (at least as far as I know) goes to this British group who scored a massive hit worldwide with this track complete with the nonsensical music video depicting anthropomorphic CGI TV sets. Obviously, this wasn't meant to be taken that seriously, and yet it was critically acclaimed at the time.
#2136
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#2135
These guys already had massive success in their native America throughout the decade, however it was this lead single to their third album which finally allowed them to have a hit internationally largely due to this type of emo rock still being very popular in the mainstream when it was initially released. It did take a while for this to become a hit here in Australia, however once it did it was a massive success.
#2134
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#2133
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#2132
This was the only notable hit from Belgian pop star Plastic Bertrand, although admittedly the fact that this is in French should tell you why he wasn't able to find more success in an English-speaking market. I'm guessing this had crossover appeal due to how happy he clearly is throughout the track, granted many people (me included) find his energy to be rather annoying, but it clearly isn't the case for everyone.
#2131
Mermaids is perhaps the most underrated film in Cher's filmography, mainly because it doesn't live up to the standards of her other Hollywood blockbusters Silkwood, Mask and especially Moonstruck and the Witches of Eastwick. Despite that, it's a charming coming of age story about how her daughter played by Winona Ryder comes to terms with the family she's a part of. The film has Cher's cover of the Merry Clayton track as its theme song due to it bizarrely being set in 1963.
#2130
Even though the album cycle for Evanescence's debut album was well and truly done by the time Amy Lee collaborated with the south African band Seether, that didn't mean that the world was tired of her music as she was able to make this a worldwide smash for the band largely thanks to her presence as well as the song feeling like it belongs on her album.
#2129
Even though this was only a moderate success in Donna's native UK, it proved to be a massive hit over on Billboard likely due to her combining new age with RNB on this track which makes it one of the most unique songs to ever become a hit. It's a bit of a shame she's a one hit wonder with this track as I feel her voice is unique and could easily chart along the likes of Jewel and Sheryl Crow.
#2128
It's strange to think that the biggest hit these guys had outside their native America would be the rare non disco track in their catalogue, I guess mainstream audiences always preferred sentimentality over dance floor bangers and admittedly these guys certainly had earned the right to make a breakup ballad at this point in their career.
#2127
This was the only hit from British glam rocker Barry blue, naturally this was meant to fuse glam rock with the pop sounds of the day which (to me at least) makes this feel like an early rendition of a disco track more than anything. He would have one more hit in his homeland before forever fading into obscurity despite this type of music thriving throughout the rest of the decade.
#2126
We have another Oscar winning ballad to grace us with its presence on this site, this time it comes to us from Berlin who had previously been known as new wave band and who you may recognise for their hit singles "No more words" from two years prior (especially if you're from NZ where it was a huge hit.) As usual, we have an indie band whose fans cried sellout to once they made it big worldwide by attaching themselves to a Tom Cruise flick.
#2125
This was the first of two new entries to come from the deluxe edition of Good girl gone bad, an album that was already successful by this point but continued to be as such due to these two songs. Here we have Rihanna sing about how she was the fool in the relationship she was in and that her partner should "take a bow" at how they treated her, somehow, I get the feeling this song resonated more with her the following year.
#2124
Much like the rest of their catalogue that wasn't their two Billboard chart toppers, this second single from Savage Garden has production I would firmly describe as well, savage. The lyrical content is also poignant as it depicts the observations Darren Hayes has made over a young woman who seems to have shut herself off from the world for various reasons.
#2123
This is a song that sparked massive controversy upon its initial release, mainly because it contains homophobic slurs in its second verse which even at the time, was a big no no in the music industry. Fortunately, the radio tends to edit out this verse so there's a good chance that most people aren't even aware of what I'm talking about, even if you are I think we can all agree that it's far from the most harmful thing to happen towards the LGBT community.
#2122
This was originally released in 1962 where it was a massive hit for Bobby Picket in his native America, however it fell on death ears back then which is perhaps why it became a massive worldwide hit for him....... eleven years later. I have no idea why this Halloween classic was a hit when it was, however, it resulted in it being among the bigger hits of the early 70's here in Australia.
#2121
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#2120
This was the theme song to the show of the same name, technically it's existed since 1998 when the show premiered, however it was only released as a single in 2000 when the show became one of the most popular children's programs of (then) recent memory. I'm guessing the show didn't become as popular here in Australia until this year (I was too busy watching Cartoon network to notice) which explains its popularity this year down under.
#2119
This was the other big hit that Az yet managed to achieve worldwide, although this time we have them covering a Chicago track with the blessing of the band's lead singer Peter Cetera as he shows up on here to rerecord his chorus from the original while the RNB group cover the verses. It was a huge hit for them, although it likely spelled the end of their career due to them relying on nostalgia baiting.
#2118
If you can believe it, this remains the biggest hit in David Bowie's career here in Australia given how none of his other songs managed to get to number one or even last long enough to be among the biggest of their respective eras. This comes from his covers album Pin ups, meaning that this is a cover of an obscure 60's track (from the McCoy's of "Hang on Sloopy" in this case) which resulted in said albums success.
#2117
This was the final hit that the Beach boys were able to achieve here in Australia, it's interesting that their final hit with us Aussies would be a country song given how they're best known for their surf rock tracks throughout the 60's. If I were to go back to the 60's, they would have a few more entries on this site, but not nearly enough to make it worthwhile for their fanbase.
#2116
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#2115
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#2114
This was the biggest hit to come from Chrissie Amphlett and company, mainly because it was a clear display of Chrissie's sexual appeal which naturally turned many listeners on whenever it came on the radio. The success of this track here in Australia led to it being released internationally where it became a huge hit for the band a decade after they first broke through with the likes of "Boys in town" and "Science fiction."
#2113
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#2112
Although they found plenty of success with their albums up until this point in Australia, this was the first genuine hit that Simply red had here as none of their singles lit up our charts like this song did throughout the decade. Their success would continue to grow in the new decade as their next two albums would break records for them in their native UK.
#2111
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#2110
If there's one artist who saw a huge disadvantage here in Australia during the Countdown era, Cat Stevens would be that artist as this was his final successful album here despite scoring one more hit during the second half of the decade with "Days of the old school yard." He's another artist that dominated our charts during the first half of the decade with this being his least popular of his successful albums down under.
#2109
This was the final successful album that 10cc had here in Australia, I'm guessing because we Aussies were a bit too confused with their direction towards reggae with the lead single but could also be due to us not wanting them around in the 80's for some reason. They admittedly had a good run in the mainstream here so it's not like they went largely unheard of unlike in America.
#2108
This was one of several albums to sit on shelves largely ignored until the digital charts finally came around to restore rock's popularity in the mainstream, that was certainly the case for its lead single which only became a hit this year in Australia despite it already being a massive hit the previous year worldwide. This would lead the band to be a one album wonder as their second album flopped the following year.
#2107
Well I think this is as good as time as any to point out that in addition to having more greatest hits packages than any other act combined, some of these albums had themes to them such as this one which was built around their rock track from their catalogue. Anything with the name Beatles on it is going to be an instant success worldwide, so we shouldn't be surprised that this was a success when it came out.
#2106
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#2105
When news broke that hell froze over and thus allowed these guys to bury the hatchet and make a new album, fans were excited so much so that this greatest hits package released to cash in on their reunion went on to be a huge success for them before they even began their Hell freezes over tour. Despite patching things up and putting on a highly successful show, the band wouldn't release new material for another thirteen years.
#2104
There weren't any signs of the Rolling stones slowing down in the mainstream, even with the fact that they were still incorporating disco into their sound during what was meant to be the dark ages of disco. Of course, their next album would be even bigger as that was a return to form with their sound, indeed it even spawned their biggest hit here in Australia to give you an idea of how much we loved their original work.
#2103
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#2102
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#2101
This is the other big hit that Leon Russell had here in Australia, technically this was the bigger hit, but I allowed his earlier entry to claim that prize given how that lasted longer on our charts than this did. His time in the spotlight was brief, however it did lead to two big hits for him.
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