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.
#2500
From what I can tell, Duets is a film that exists. It's about Huey Lewis teaching Gwyneth Paltrow how to be a singer which led to this cover of the Smokey Robinson track that I personally don't have much issue with, although how it became a huge success in the southern hemisphere and nowhere else in the world is beyond me.
#2499
One of the cheesier films to come out of the decade has to be Footloose, mainly because the plot hinges on the fact that no one in the town the film is set in thought to suspect the obvious delinquents they have was responsible for a tragic accident that occurred there and instead blame it on popular music. Stupid premise aside, the film remains a classic thanks to how excellent the songs written for the film were such as this title track.
#2498
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#2497
This is another song on this site that I'm going to have a hard time being nice to, mainly because it repeats the word suicidal a disturbing number of times (fifteen to be exact) despite it not being a song about that subject matter and instead about how in love Sean Kingston is with the girl he's singing to. I guess there's also the Ben E King sample from JR Rottem, however that's not really why people dislike this song.
#2496
So, does any of my readers know what a bogan is? If you don't, it's basically what we Australian refer to as a redneck which in turn is someone who lives in a rural area that's highly out of touch with mainstream society (to put it mildly.) Comedian Bob Hudson decided to make a song about this type of person which he included on his comedy album which became a surprise hit for him in Australia and NZ.
#2495
They may have lucked out from having a chart topper in their native UK with the title track (you can blame Joe Dolce for that) however at least these guys were able to see massive success with this album here in Australia due to the strength of said title track here. This was one of two bands that Midge Ure was a part of this year, the other being Visage who didn't see as much success with their album.
#2494
This took quite a while to take off here in Australia, likely because John Mayer never had that huge crossover with any of his singles despite how much airplay they received back in the day. In fact, I'm willing to bet it was because of the radio's refusal to stop playing these songs back in the day that audiences finally checked out what all the fuss was about and grew to love his music.
#2493
This was the third time that this greatest hits package became a success in Australia this decade, this time it was due to the success of the premiere of the Mamma Mia show on Broadway which completed the redemption arc of Abba's back catalogue and made it cool to like them again.
#2492
Well, it looked like Elvis Presley was able to find success till the bitter end as he released this album a mere month prior to his untimely death. Much like John Lennon's album Double fantasy, it's hard to say if this album would've been as big as it was if he were to live to see the following year, it did spawn two hit singles before his passing, so I think this album did have a genuine fanbase to draw from.
#2491
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#2490
This was the third greatest hits package from U2 within a decade of each other, although this time it collects songs from their entire catalogue which I guess explains its success as fans likely didn't want to buy two separate albums to have all of their must own songs in their catalogue when this came out.
#2489
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#2488
This was the final album to be released from Wings before they went their separate ways in the new decade, it's worth noting that every one of their albums was a huge success here in Australia proving how much we Aussies loved Paul McCartney back in the day as he didn't start to feel irrelevant until the mid 80's.
#2487
Another Australian entry for this list, this time it's for the Models who saw massive success this year with their two big hits from the album. They already had buzz from their previous album due to it spawning the hit "I hear motion," however it was this album which allowed that buzz to expand internationally which resulted in them having minor success throughout the world.
#2486
New age was at the peak of its popularity throughout the 90's thanks to the efforts of Enya and these guys, it's little wonder this managed to find overwhelming success given how unlike Enya, they were able to find success with their singles from each of their albums. Unfortunately, the tides turned against them when they were sued by the original composers of the lead single which ended their good will with the new age community.
#2485
These guys saw a lot of hype with their debut album, so much so that they were declared to be the American equivalent of the Beatles before it even dropped. Fortunately for them, the album was a huge success thanks to the strength of its lead single. Unfortunately for them, this made them a one album wonder as their subsequent releases failed to find much of an audience for them.
#2484
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#2483
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#2482
This was originally released at the start of the decade to deafening silence here in Australia, however it was given a second chance when Hot Chocolate scored a massive comeback here thanks to a memorable appearance on Countdown with their (then) most recent album which helped stretch their popularity here this far into the 80's.
#2481
These guys were always described as a great live band, so it only makes sense that this live album would be a huge success for them. This no doubt brought in even more fans who only knew them from their studio releases prior to this album which in turn led to more fans for their subsequent follow ups.
#2480
His debut album had a bit of a climb to its success due to him initially being dismissed as a Bryan Adams knockoff, however it did eventually find an audience here through the strength of its singles. Here Richard Marx had no such barrier as this was able to become a huge success upon its initial release once again due to how big the singles were throughout the world.
#2479
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#2478
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#2477
This was the most successful compilation album of the 80's in Australia, it was beaten out by those Triple J albums in the 90's (going by the AMR charts of course) but this was during the height of the popularity of seasonal compilations here in Australia. This overlooks the popular songs of spring of 1984 which allowed it to peak during the Christmas season of that year and well into this year.
#2476
This is a song that really suffered in this ranking due to it being more popular with physical sales, I know that because there's no version of this song that's devoid of Kesha (although I'm sure she wishes otherwise) meaning that this song wasn't anywhere near as popular on the digital storefront as it was with its physical sales.
#2475
You'd think this would've been far more popular on our digital charts than it was on our main charts, alas it appears that the emo scene had become mainstream by the time these guys were able to cross over which admittedly was likely due to this being released two years after it first saw mainstream success.
#2474
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#2473
This is the only other hit that Melanie had in her career, although this is a much better representation of her overall sound given how this came off her magnum opus that is Candles in the rain. Here she joins forces with the Edwin Hawkins singers for a song that feels like it could've been made on Motown by the likes of the Supremes or even the Jackson five if they collaborated with a female vocalist.
#2472
He may be best known for his work from the late 80's, however John Williamson scored his one and only hit here in Australia with his debut single which true to form, is about a man and his emu farm. He was always the voice for the outback Australian, although it appears his fellow Aussies weren't interested in what he had to say until "True blue" hit our airwaves sixteen years later.
#2471
If my American readers are confused as to where this song came from, that's because it wasn't released as a single over there as "Clap back" was released instead which was a massive flop for the rapper worldwide. This was a massive hit here in Australia which goes to show how much we Aussies loved him back in the day, although that love wouldn't last much longer thanks to his beef with 50 cent.
#2470
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#2469
There weren't any signs of these guys slowing down in round two of the boy band wars, heck they even had some support in America as they were able to achieve success on Billboard during a time that was becoming increasingly hostile towards British artists. Here they double down on their hip hop influences with the lead single of their second album which also remains their most successful in their career.
#2468
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#2467
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#2466
This was a bit of a surprise hit for Carly Simon here in Australia given how as far as I can tell, this wasn't released anywhere else in the world for the female singer/songwriter. The success of this track ensured that her earlier entry on this list would be one of the biggest hits of the decade down under, although not that it wasn't a huge success throughout the rest of the world or anything.
#2465
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#2464
Both of these artists were on top of the world when they released this duet, so naturally it was going to be a huge success for them given how it appears on both of their most recent albums from when it came out. This would be Neil's last hit single in Australia as his popularity dwindled going into the new decade, Barbra would hang around for a little while longer thanks to her feminist anthem with Donna Summer.
#2463
This was the first of three singles that Culture beat would score in Australia before fading into obscurity here, a trend that would be passed over to Corona and La bouche after them as those two European EDM bands went through a similar fate to these guys. It was the same formula, find an attractive woman of colour with an amazing voice, have her sing these songs that will forever be played on dance floors and reap in the rewards.
#2462
This is where it all started for Rihanna, although you wouldn't be able to tell that she would become one of the most inescapable artists of the next decade given how this was the type of club banger that many of her contemporaries would have a hit with before fading into obscurity shortly after its success. Indeed, she would evolve from this sound whilst still keeping her commanding presence she provides on here.
#2461
This was originally meant to be the lead single from the second volume of Listen without prejudice, however the album was cancelled when George Michael decided to instead take over from Freddie Mercury as the lead singer for Queen following his tragic passing the previous year. That didn't prevent him from releasing this track where it became a massive success for him due to how sexually charged it is.
#2460
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#2459
Glen Campbell had an impressive run on the Australian charts during the first half of the decade, indeed this was his biggest hit here despite this not being a hit in his native America. His popularity would die out here the following year when he sold out to become as he puts it "a rhinestone cowboy" which ironically is where his popularity skyrocketed in his homeland.
#2458
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#2457
The Bee gees are here to save the day once again as they were able to resurrect the dying career of Dionne Warwick by giving her this ballad to sing which allowed it to become a huge success throughout Europe and here in Australia. The last time Dionne had any success here was back in 1964 when "Anyone who had a heart" first broke her through onto the scene, and indeed this wouldn't be the last time we hear from her.
#2456
It feels weird that Kelly Rowland was the first member of Destiny's child to release a solo album given how she's long since faded into obscurity since the demise of the girl group, here she is with her first solo single which is an ode to her fallen friends she lost during her teenage years that she felt she should've been there for. It remains a highly poignant track from her to this day and was a guaranteed hit for her back then.
#2455
I'm sure we're all familiar with "The girl is mine" from MJ and Paul McCartney, so here's the female equivalent which sees 90's child stars Brandy and Monica fight over this guy they both believe to be hers respectively in a way many feel Paul and MJ should've done sixteen years prior. It proved to be a massive success for the both of them as well as both of their first Billboard chart toppers.
#2454
This was the only other hit that Atomic Kitten managed to achieve in Australia, I'm guessing because they interpolate the Blondie classic of the same name in the chorus while they provide their own verses which makes the song their own. Like many British groups of the late 90's and early 00's, they were much more popular in NZ likely due to the kiwis following the British charts as opposed to the American charts like we were.
#2453
This was the only notable success to come from Robert Miles, a Swiss DJ who managed to take the world by storm with this instrumental track that has become popular for soundtracking special moments in one's life. Indeed, this was a modest success over in America, proving that even they could appreciate the beauty of this track during the height of its popularity.
#2452
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#2451
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#2450
If you didn't know, Rocky Burnette is the son of the late Johnny Burnette who had a string of hits in the early 60's until his untimely death in 1964. Fast forward nearly thirty years and we have his son scoring a massive hit with the type of rockabilly that made him a household name during the height of his career, making this a huge success as well as a touching tribute to Rocky's late father.
#2449
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#2448
This was the first song that the Aztecs released following their reformation in 1971, it became their biggest hit throughout their career despite it not being their highest charting single as they did score a number one hit in the 60's with "I told the brook." That said, this is by far their most fondly remembered song if its overplay on oldies stations is anything to go by, likely due to it being a rare pub rock track from the band.
#2447
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#2446
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#2445
This was the final hit single that Taylor Dayne managed to achieve in her career, hey if you're time was going to be up regardless of what you did, why not go out with a bang that is a cover of a Barry White track? This proved to be a huge success for her here in Australia, likely as penance for us ignoring the original back in the day but also likely due to us wanting to give her one final hit before she inevitably faded into obscurity.
#2444
This is the first song that Shakira recorded in English given how her earlier entry on this list was originally recorded in Spanish before it was translated into English to sell to an English-speaking market. As such, the lyrics on here are more coherent as they weren't translated from Spanish, I'm guessing this is how it managed to become her second consecutive chart topper in most parts of the world.
#2443
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#2442
This was one of several hits that Jam and Spoon were able to achieve here in Australia, although I should point out that their later material would have them change their name to Tokyo Ghetto Pussy likely to cash in on the anime craze that was beginning to become a thing this decade. Here they recruit American vocalist Plavka who gives a performance that's very similar to that of what Madonna was doing at the time.
#2441
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#2440
From what I can gather, Triple X was a pseudonym for one Massimo Persona who was an Italian DJ who scored a massive hit with this remix of the X files theme that was made popular this year by the Mark Snow theme becoming a hit throughout Europe. I'm not sure why this remix outdid the original here in Australia, but it did which is why this is here and that isn't.
#2439
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#2438
We looked at her second biggest hit from the start of the 80's, time to look at the biggest hit that Colleen Hewett had in her career which proved to be among the bigger hits from an Australian artist during the first half of this decade. I'm not sure why she failed to score a hit throughout the rest of the 70's here given that she did resurface in 1980, however at least she eventually escaped our one hit wonder bin.
#2437
So, did anyone know who this guy was before he released his magnum opus saying he would come back bigger than ever? Yes, I know that this song is actually about him bouncing back from a bad relationship he had from his girlfriend, however between this and the Backstreet boys, this was a surprisingly good time for upstarts to declare themselves back to an audience who wasn't previously familiar with them.
#2436
This was the biggest hit to come out of Belinda Carlisle worldwide, mainly due to the theme of finding heaven on earth (and more specifically how you define that word) resonating with audiences during a time where the world seems more interested in spreading chaos and madness over anything else. It led to her second album being a massive success everywhere except for Australia where it underperformed.
#2435
This was always meant to be the lead single to Destiny's child's third album Survivor, however it came out as such an empowering feminist anthem that it was selected as the theme to the theatrical adaptation of Charlie's angels which has received a mix reception over the years due to some praising it for its female empowerment while others feel that it's a campy remake of a property made at the height of misogyny in pop culture.
#2434
Well, here's a song that I'm sure would've been a huge chart topper on Billboard had MTV existed in the late 70's, this is due to the video where female vocalist Leslie Maria wears an outfit that doesn't exactly leave much to the imagination around her chest area. Fortunately, the song itself is a classic thanks to those dreamy keys used throughout its runtime as well as Leslie's powerful vocals.
#2433
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#2432
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#2431
Well, this is a song that's gone down in infamy, mainly for the lyrics which suggests that Paul Anka's girlfriend (played by Odia Coates in this song) is having his baby purely for his benefit and not for hers. I get that this song was supposed to be a celebration of starting a family, but I can absolutely see how it's gone down in infamy as being one of the worst songs of all time.
#2430
This was the first of two collaborations that Baby Bash made with the RNB singer Frankie J, the other would be on "Obsession" where the two roles would be reversed as Frankie would be the lead artist whilst the rapper was the featured artist. This is another song that was heavily delayed a release in Australia as it was meant to come out last year like it did internationally, thankfully it didn't affect its success here.
#2429
This is the final hit that Gary Glitter had here in Australia as his fortunes seemed to have run out fairly early on in the glam rock days with us Aussies, even so, at least it remains as his biggest hit here given how there's still plenty of entries to come from the former legend of glam rock.
#2428
Given how inescapable Jimmy Barnes was during the second half of the decade, it only makes sense that the other vocalist from Cold Chisel would follow in his footsteps and release his own album to prove that he was a worthy member of the pub rock band. Indeed, Ian Moss scored massive success with his first solo album largely thanks to its lead single which tells the story of a girl he's in love with but also knows is bad for him.
#2427
This is the biggest hit in Jimmy Barne's career both solo and with his band Cold chisel, I'm guessing because it was the lead single to his album where he wanted to appeal to an international audience and as such saw success both from his fanbase and the more contemporary listeners of the day. He would abandon his ambitions at appealing to an international market following the failure of his album Freight train hearts outside the southern hemisphere.
#2426
Following the success that he had with Dru hill in his native America, Sisqo left the group to pursue a solo career which was off to a good start with this track about how he fell in love with a woman based on her thongs (a bikini bottom for my non-American readers.) Some have accused this song of being sexist as it glorifies the objectification of women based on a piece of clothing, usually by people who do the same thing to men.
#2425
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#2424
This originally came from Kate Miller's second album Curiouser from the previous year, however it was chosen as the bumper music to this year's season of Neighbours which allowed it to become a massive surprise hit for the quirky singer. In fact, this song was so big that the album was given a second wind as it was only a minor success for the singer upon its initial release and became a massive success this year.
#2423
Angry Anderson is best known as the lead vocalist for Rose tattoo, an Australian band who rivals AC/DC as the band who rocks the hardest from the 70's and 80's. So, you can his fans horror when he agreed to rerecord one of the bands earlier songs and rework it as a wedding theme for Scott and Charlene in Neighbours (Jason Donovan and Kylie Minogue for the uninitiated.)
#2422
This was the magnum opus for Heart's discography as far as their singles are concerned, admittedly it's one that received controversy over the years due to the story having a few problematic elements to it. If you're like me, it's best if you avoid reading too much into the lyrics and instead enjoy the track for its catchy instrumentation and some of Heart's best vocal performances.
#2421
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#2420
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#2419
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#2418
One of the most powerful scenes in cinematic history was when this song was playing over a massacre that took place throughout Vietnam, it took this completely innocent song about how beautiful the world was and flipped it to be the most cynical piece of irony you could imagine. The scene in question was what allowed this song to finally become a hit in Australia twenty years after its initial release.
#2417
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#2416
"Jesus to a child" might've sparked initial curiosity towards George's comeback album Older this year, however it was this track which confirmed it to be worth checking out given how it was a huge success for him and seemingly rewound his career back to 1992 when he was originally working on this album before he delayed it to briefly become the new lead singer for Queen following Freddie Mercury's death.
#2415
This was the debut single for a woman who had already conquered Hollywood with her stunning performance in Selena as the titular Latin performer, given how she was well received for her vocal abilities in the film, it only makes sense that she would launch a singing career which began with this track. J-lo has proven herself to be a capable singer over the years, even though she hasn't always given the best vocal performance in her songs.
#2414
This is the second single released from Cosmo's factory, it was also the first of two chart toppers the band had here in Australia which goes to show how immensely popular the swamp rockers were during the height of their fame. Like many bands that began the decade on a high note, their time in the spotlight would quickly dwindle due to behind-the-scenes drama resulting in their breakup in 1972.
#2413
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#2412
Even though Londonbeat were an American band, they were based in the UK when they released their first album which is why it took them a while to find success with this track in their native America this year. A big part of that was due to this becoming a huge hit in Australia, likely due to how they blended RNB with pop rock in a way that I'm surprised hasn't been replicated that often over the years.
#2411
After the slow but overwhelming success of her debut album, Whitney was off to a good start with replicating its success with this iconic track which remains one of her more popular tracks even to this day. Unfortunately, though the album was a success, the same can't be said for any of the other singles on the album outside of her native America, perhaps due to how they helped her break a record on Billboard.
#2410
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#2409
Even though this appears on Wham's sophomore album Make it big, this is curiously credited as a George Michael solo ballad which goes to show that even before they took America by storm, he was already having ambitions of making it big without his partner in crime Andrew Ridgely. The two stuck together for one more album before going their separate ways two years later.
#2408
Following the success of their previous album, Wendy Matthews decided to leave the group in order to pursue a solo career which led them to replacing her with Deni Hines who is the daughter of 70's icon Marcia Hines. Deni's presence took the band more towards reggae and RNB which proved to be more of a winning formula for the band as this album was more successful than their previous effort.
#2407
America is another band I'm unsure if they were affected by Countdown during the second half of the decade here in Australia, after all, they weren't that much popular throughout the rest of the world even if they curiously achieved their one and only hit from here and nowhere else.
#2406
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#2405
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#2404
There weren't any signs of these guys slowing down when they released their penultimate album this year, although it wasn't quite as successful as their other albums given how it only spawned one hit and didn't last as long on the charts as the rest of their catalogue. It was a very good run they had but unfortunately there was too much behind the scenes drama for them to cope with each other for long.
#2403
This is another one of those greatest hits/studio album hybrids that was popular throughout the 90's, although it was released right when the decade was coming to an end making it more popular in the 00's. This was both the final chart-topping album of the 90's down under as well as the first for the 00's, suggesting that Celine Dion would have far more success going forward than she ended up having.
#2402
It was only inevitable that John Farnham would release a live album that would see massive success for him, it comes around the time he had his collaboration with Jimmy Barnes on his Soul deep project from earlier on this list to remind audiences of what a phenomenal talent he was this far into his career.
#2401
ELO was another band who released a greatest hits package just as the 70's was coming to an end, this really was a time to celebrate the accomplishments of the biggest names of the decade given how many of them found success with these albums. They also managed to gain some mileage going into the 80's thanks to their sustained popularity.
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