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.
#1500
While this wasn't their debut album, it was the first album that Faith no more saw any success with worldwide likely due to the strength of its lead single. This was the band's only success in their native America, although here in Australia, they would release three more albums which would prove to be three of the most successful of the decade. They broke up after the fourth album likely due to frustration of their lack of success back home.
#1499
Even though this was a massive success for Donna Summer and is often considered to be the quintessential disco record from a musician of colour, it unfortunately led to her developing resentment for her previous work as the marketing depicted her as a sex worker which she felt sent her audience the wrong message. As a result, she became a devoted feminist after this album cycle was finished and changed her image going into the 80's.
#1498
There were no signs of Foo Fighters slowing down as they released their third album in a row to be a massive worldwide success, it even spawned a genuine hit single for them given that the digital charts were all about promoting rock music in the mainstream which is why there's been an uptake in rock albums on this list alone. If I were to make a retrospective of the 2010's (which I won't) these guys would feature on those lists.
#1497
We have another greatest hits package to look at here, although you wouldn't know that from the title or packaging of this album which is perhaps why this failed to be an even bigger success for Neil Diamond here in Australia back in the day.
#1496
Even though this song's appearance on my 2008 and 2009 lists were primarily based on how well it did on the ARIA charts as opposed to every other entry where I based it on the AMR charts which never incorporated digital sales onto their charts, it appears ARIA was a bit liberal with how big this song was given how it somehow appears lower on this list than it did if I ranked it based on ARIA stats.
#1495
It's odd that Mika failed to score a second hit in NZ considering how popular he was on our digital charts with his first album back in the day, I'm guessing the kiwis really didn't care for his precocious nature back in the day the way us Aussies did as their digital data was far stronger on their main charts than ours was over here.
#1494
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#1493
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#1492
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#1491
This was the last big hit that Ronan Keating had anywhere in the world both solo and as a member of Boyzone, although he would become a pop crooner on his later work along the likes of Michael Bublé and Michael Crawford so it's not like his popularity dwindled as far as his career was concerned. Here we have a cover of one of Garth Brook's earliest songs which suggests he was experimenting with country music.
#1490
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#1489
This was the debut single for Joanne, an Australian singer who discovered an obscure track from Bluezone who is nowadays best known as the band that launched Lisa Stansfield into the spotlight. In order to honour the original (given how there was another version by someone known as Redzone around this time) Joanne credited herself as a featured artist with Bluezone as the main artist.
#1488
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#1487
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#1486
One of the more popular bands of the decade were the Divinyls, mainly due to the lead singer Chrissie Amphlett who much like the Pretenders, had an attitude which made her seem like one of the boys which allowed her to connect with many audiences who would otherwise pass up music made by women. Indeed, their brand of new wave helped them stand out from a bunch of other now long forgotten female lead bands.
#1485
This is the second solo album to come from Rob Thomas, it wasn't quite as successful as his earlier entry due to it getting lost in the shuffle with all of the commotion that was happening this year, but it was a massive success regardless and proof that he was all set for a successful run in the 2010's. Indeed, his final album with Matchbox 20 would be a massive success despite the mainstream's adversion towards rock music.
#1484
Following the success of their live album from earlier on this list, U2 released their fourth album which was the first one to spawn a hit for them in most parts of the world with the lead single. As I said earlier, their popularity only continued to grow with each new album this decade until it culminated with their Grammy award winning fifth album which also remains their most commercially successful to date.
#1483
Joe Jackson is another English piano man who managed to find success over the years, OK he only found success with this album likely through the strength of its lead single which seems to question the relevancy of toxic masculinity that's instilled on boys while they're growing up. While he had moderate success with his other albums, none of them reached the dizzying heights of success as this album did.
#1482
Well, you all knew this album was coming, although you may be surprised at how low it is considering how inescapable it was during the midpoint of the decade (well the singles that is.) It was the point where people began to turn against the band, more for how overexposed they were as this won them their second Grammy of the decade (third overall) as well as the songs (particularly "City of blinding lights") being flogged to death on the radio.
#1481
This was the second hit from JT's second solo album Futuresex/Lovesounds, an album that seemed to want to make JT into a sex symbol which it arguably succeeded in doing given how successful it and the singles were in addition to him being considered one of the sexiest men of the decade. This was also the song which made T.I a household name here in Australia due to his guest verse being memorable.
#1480
This is one of those songs like "Sweet dreams" from the Eurythmics that's meant to be hypnotic in its sound to make up for how repetitive it is when you look at it objectively, while it doesn't have that magic with me, it does with most people as it was not only a massive hit for the British group Starsailor back in the day, but also remains a critical darling in the music scene to this day.
#1479
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#1478
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#1477
This was the debut single from one of my favourite pop stars of the decade, mainly because of how much I adore how well her vocals compliment the new wave production on each of her tracks. It appears the general public agreed as she saw massive success during the first half of the decade here in Australia, arguably more so than her native UK where her songs weren't as successful.
#1476
There were several songs that were delayed this year in order to allow the contestants of Australian idol to reign supreme on our charts, this third single from Evanescence's debut album was one of them and the song that suffered the least from this trend as it managed to be as successful as it would've been were it not for its delay. It's a good thing as it's a haunting ballad from the band showcasing Amy Lee's pain from a breakup.
#1475
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#1474
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#1473
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#1472
Technically this was the big hit off of I am Sasha Fierce here in Australia as "Single ladies" and "If I were a boy" were bundled together which allowed them to both be bigger on our charts, I can see how this was the standout track down under given how it's a song about Beyonce finding the inner beauty of the person she's singing to which admittedly is a nice change of pace from her other material.
#1471
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#1470
This was the second solo album to come from Ronan Keating, it was a massive success like his first album, although not nearly as much due to it not having a deluxe edition spawning a surprise hit for him. It would be his final successful album as a pop star as he would reinvent himself as a crooner later in the decade which vastly limited his fanbase without necessarily earning a new fanbase from the likes of Michael Bublé.
#1469
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#1468
We'll be looking at his first two albums in a bit, but it's worth noting that this was where Elton John began to be taken seriously as an artist here in Australia given how it became a best seller for him despite him still lacking that inescapable hit he would acquire not long after its release.
#1467
This is another album that was a breakthrough and not a debut this decade given how Ross Ryan saw very limited success during the first half of the decade here before the lead single became a massive success for him this year. He's also another Australian singer/songwriter from this year that strangely didn't benefit from Countdown, I guess the series was detrimental to certain local artists here.
#1466
It had been ten years since Guns n Roses last released new material, although we're using that definition loosely as their most recent material by this point had been their covers album the Spaghetti incident. The fact that this greatest hits package was such a huge success for them even at the time (let alone over the years) should tell you how eager fans were to listen to new material from the band.
#1465
This is the magnum opus from Prince given how it also serves as the soundtrack to his autobiographical film of the same name, it also made him a household name in his native America as he hadn't had much success on Billboard prior to this albums release despite finding huge success internationally with his earlier work. This albums legacy inspired him to release two more films, both of which were panned by critics.
#1464
You'd think this song would've have most of its success on our digital charts considering that even back in the day, people felt it was little more than a meme. It turns out it was equally as popular on both formats for the rapper here in Australia albeit months after it was a worldwide phenomenon for him.
#1463
This is one of the few songs on this list that arguably had its success through its music video, bearing in mind that YouTube data doesn't count towards digital sales which suggests people bought the song thanks to finding the song soundtracking the video to be worth their money.
#1462
Well, this certainly took its sweet time in finding success here in Australia, heck even in NZ it was a hit upon its initial release the previous year due to it being among the last rock tracks to top the Billboard charts. I guess the consolation for its tardy success was that it was arguably bigger here than it was anywhere else in the world, after all it's the kind of Christian rock that while cheesy, can still comfort audiences.
#1461
The last time Crystal Waters had any success in the music scene was back in 1994 where "100% pure love" became a massive hit for her here in Australia and eventually her native America, fast forward thirteen years and she manages to score another hit here with this track largely thanks to the music video which really hammers home the trumpet production throughout the track.
#1460
While this was a decently big hit for Jamelia in her native UK the previous year, it was a massive success here in Australia likely due to us Aussies finding more love for this empowerment anthem that she made likely for her significant other. It allowed her to have a second hit down under (which we'll get to in a bit) before she sadly faded into obscurity here and the rest of the world.
#1459
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#1458
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#1457
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#1456
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#1455
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#1454
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#1453
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#1452
Want to know something strange about this track? It was written by Nicky Chinn and Mike Chapman, two names you'll be very familiar with if you're a fan of the glam rock from earlier in the decade. Here they allow American band Exile to have a massive hit with this soft rock track that now that I think about it, has lyrics that are begging to be performed with bombast but aren't on here.
#1451
One of the more promising Australian artists from the EDM scene was this trio, although they were mired with behind-the-scenes drama as the vocalist on this track Keren Minshull didn't appear in the video which had future vocalist Holly Garnett lip synching to her vocals. The trio patched things up on their next single which featured both women singing on the track as well as appearing in the video.
#1450
It's easy to forget that this wasn't the lead single to MJ's album of the same name, after all few people remember that "I just can't stop loving you" was the lead single to that album likely due to it not being among his more popular songs over the years. This on the other hand was such an instant classic that Weird Al decided to parody it a year after its release as "Fat" which was also a huge success.
#1449
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#1448
This was originally a hit single for the Spanish group Los bravos back in the mid 60's, although over a decade later, this French trio turned the garage rock track into a disco track which allowed it to become twice as success worldwide as the original. This took its sweet time crossing over to Australia, presumably because we Aussies needed a bit of convincing to allow these girls to disco fy an older track.
#1447
This is a cover that only exists to cash in off the success of a beloved classic, Nicki French is a singer whose popularity began and ended with this cover which is little more than a dance remix of the Bonnie Tyler version from 1983 sung by her. I guess enough people had nostalgia of the original for this to be a huge success, and admittedly this dance track was a huge success throughout the world and not just in the EDM loving Australia.
#1446
Although this was an instant success for Garbage upon its initial release, it didn't become a best seller until the second single became a surprise hit here in Australia due to it being their most pop friendly track in their catalogue. It unfortunately didn't do the band any favours with their next album which was a complete flop for them despite coming out at the height of alternative rock.
#1445
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#1444
Disco was at the height of its popularity this year, so much so that even a band who I'm sure even at the time everyone new to be queer was able to find success with their breakthrough album. Even though these guys were closeted at the height of their popularity, they have since admitted that they're all gay which has only strengthened the popularity of their music as many champion it for lessening our stigma towards the LGBT community.
#1443
Although the Cars weren't among the most successful bands in Australia when they released this greatest hits package, they did manage to score a massive hit with it proving that there was enough of a fanbase here to appreciate their back catalogue at this point in their career. I'm not actually sure why they weren't bigger here as in NZ they saw massive success with their albums.
#1442
While this wasn't his first solo album, this was the first solo album from Eric Clapton to achieve massive success given how this was the first thing he released following the demise of his (then) most recent band Derek and the Dominoes. Here he incorporates reggae into his otherwise blues sound which resulted in his first solo hit in the form of its lead single much to the chagrin of Bob Marley fans.
#1441
David Bowie has seen plenty of ups and downs throughout his career, however this album did help those ups remain as such for at least half a decade as his next album would be the more pop friendly Let's dance which was his most successful in his career. I'm guessing this connected with audiences due to the lead single, specifically the video where he cosplays as the Tinman from the Wizard of Oz.
#1440
Given the sudden rise in popularity that Elvis Presley was having between his songs being played in Ocean's eleven and Disney's Lilo and Stich, it only seems fitting that we have this greatest hits package which collects thirty of his biggest hits throughout his entire career and ends off with the remix that put his name back on the map.
#1439
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#1438
You'd think that both artists on this track would've thrived in the 2010's here in Australia given how popular this was on the digital charts which had all but taken over the mainstream going into the new decade, alas this was the rapper's final hit here and Alicia would only score one more hit in 2012 before she too faded into obscurity.
#1437
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#1436
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#1435
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#1434
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#1433
This was Donna Fargo's only other hit here in Australia, although given how it appears so close to her earlier entry on this list, it's safe to say that both of these songs were equally as popular back in the day with us Aussies as each other. That is until you realise, they were from the same album, and this came out first, meaning that her earlier entry was even more popular if we factored in album sales eating its success.
#1432
We looked at the second Oscar winning ballad that Maureen McGovern scored a hit with worldwide, time to look at her first big hit both critically and commercially as two years prior, she took home the Oscar for this ballad for the film the Poseidon adventure which she also had a minor role in. From what I can gather, the film has a similar plot to Titanic in that it's about the sinking of a ship albeit a fictional one in this case.
#1431
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#1430
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#1429
As it turns out, there is a version of this track that's just has Alicia Keys on it known as "Empire state of mind II" meaning that this likely would've been a hit for her even without Jay Z commissioning her to provide him a chorus to how much he's proud of being from the east coast. This would be the rappers last hit outside his native America, although Alicia would have one more hit with "Girl on fire" in 2012.
#1428
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#1427
This was the one and only hit from the Plain white T's, an American band who originally released this track the previous year to deafening silence only for it to pick up momentum this year for whatever reason. I guess it was popular due to the indie sphere becoming more mainstream now that the digital storefront was supporting music that wasn't centred around reality TV.
#1426
Well, I think this is the first song to become a success where a pony is used as a metaphor for one's family jewels, no wonder this managed to be a huge worldwide success for Ginuwine as I'm sure older audiences were trying to figure out what he meant by riding his pony throughout the lyrics. Like most RNB tracks this decade, this had a slight delay with its release in Australia due to our slow acceptance of the genre.
#1425
Oh, Bloodhound gang, you were a bunch of very naughty boys indeed as you made this track which came complete with a music video that was clearly meant to shock and horrify audiences from back in the day. Of course, this was going to be a huge success for the band given how this was back in the day where people were rewarded with being provocative in the mainstream rather than shunned.
#1424
The last time we saw Linda Ronstadt in the mainstream was over a decade prior when she scores a massive hit with her album Living in the U.S.A, although it's worth noting that Linda is known for experimenting with her sound and as such often reinvents it to varying degrees of success. Here she decides to release a song about how growing old kind of sucks but at least she's with the person of her dreams, that apparently being Aaron Neville who is the person she's duetting with here.
#1423
If you're wondering why there was such a gap between when this advanced single from Affirmation came out and the album itself, that's due to this being the theme to a romantic comedy known as the Other sister. Needless to say, that this track has done better to stand the test of time than the film itself given how obscure that film is nowadays. As with all of their other songs that weren't Billboard chart toppers, the production on here is savage and lives up to their name.
#1422
Although it's become a staple for the decade in Australian music, you may be surprised to learn that "Living in the 70's" was a flop for Skyhooks despite it being one of the first songs to be promoted on Countdown on the show's inception. Fortunately, the second single from the album of the same name was a massive hit for the band, likely due to them referring to the 6:30 news as a horror movie.
#1421
This was the breakthrough single for one of the most prominent disco artists to emerge from this decade, although unlike many of their contemporaries, these guys would be eventually revealed to be a queer band as people noticed how intentionally campy their antics were compared to other disco acts of the day. This has helped them retain a loyal fanbase to this day as opposed to their contemporaries.
#1420
Even though she made a huge splash with this disco rendition of an old Eddie Floyd track, Amii has gone on record saying that she was never a fan of disco and would've preferred it if she had made easy listening ballads during the height of her popularity. Naturally the world disagrees with that sentiment as she makes for a great vocalist for the dance floor and even had this rechart in the UK during the height of Live aid.
#1419
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#1418
This was the biggest hit of Bananarama's career in most parts of the world, likely due to the nostalgia people had for the original by Shocking blue back from 1969. This is also the first song of theirs to have Stock Aiken and Waterman produce their track, something that would happen for their next album where all of the tracks received this treatment.
#1417
One of the more poignant films of the decade was An officer and a gentleman, mainly because it depicts the blooming romance of a renegade navy soldier and a working-class woman who both bring out the best in each other. To highlight this steaming romance, Joe Cocker and Jennifer Warnes were commissioned to record this duet which played over the ending scene of the film and led to it winning an academy award.
#1416
This is a cover of an obscure track from Gloria Jones from the mid 60's, although I don't think anyone would know that nowadays given how this English duo made the track their own at the dawn of the MTV era. It turns out there's two videos floating around out there to this classic, although I'm only familiar with the one that has the love sprites haunting the (possibly queer) man in the video as a metaphor for how sexually frustrated he is.
#1415
This was originally a hit for the Righteous brothers back in the mid 60's, however when this ballad was used in a steamy love scene with Patrick Swayze and Demi Moore in the comedy horror Ghost, it became a hit all over again as the scene turned the love ballad into a raunchy sex jam overnight.
#1414
This was one of only three hit singles that Andy Gibb was able to score in Australia throughout his lifetime, it's a shame because while he wasn't as much of a musical genius as his older brothers, he did have the same energy and charisma as the Bee gees to sustain a long and prosperous career had the trends not turned against them all.
#1413
This was the only album that Mel and Kim ever released, mainly because during its production, Mel was diagnosed with cancer which would eventually claim her life less than three years after its release. The girls tried to record new material during the final years of her life, but aside from "That's the way it is" which would eventually be included on here as a bonus track, nothing ever came into fruition.
#1412
Footloose is a film I can easily see annoying people due to how nobody in the town realises the obvious delinquents were the ones causing all the problems in said town, although I feel this was more to make the film's message about not oppressing an entire demographic based on the actions of a select few resonate with audiences. At least the music is really catchy, hence why the soundtrack did so well.
#1411
What better way to end the decade than with an album overlooking the success you achieved throughout it? Rod Stewart decided not to release a new studio album once the 70's ended which might have costed him his success throughout the 80's as he wouldn't have a bestselling album again until 1991's Vagabond heart.
#1410
It seems weird that this greatest hits package would be so successful in Australia given how the popularity of Dr Hook was quickly dwindling around the time of its release, this is even stranger considering how their international popularity was quickly growing but I digress. I guess this became successful due to the success of their hit single "Girls can get it" which wasn't even on the album.
#1409
Given how Ed Sheeran flourished on the digital charts worldwide throughout the 2010's, it's little surprise that his predecessor Newton Faulkner would also see a chunk of his success on that format here in Australia which makes the lack of success he had throughout the 2010's that much more puzzling in retrospect.
#1408
I would say this collaboration being a success on our digital charts was due to the presence of JT, except I have a feeling that those who bought music through digital sales were hungry for music from pop diva's given how Madonna's obvious successor Lady Gaga dominated in that format mere months after this became the queen of pop's final hit single anywhere in the world.
#1407
(THIS IS THE ARIA ENTRY)
#1406
This song was written by R Kelly, I guess there's a lot of problematic elements to this song knowing what both men have been accused of, however I'm not going to get into that here as this is meant to be a fun site and not one about conspiracy theories. Instead, we have the perfect balance between both men's talents which made this a huge success for them back in the day.
#1405
These guys were already a household name by the time Countdown launched the previous year, although they saw their popularity grow even further from their debut album when this cover of an obscure 50's track became a huge success for them likely due to the glam rock phase still being as strong as ever this year. Sadly, their popularity would dwindle once their next single "Glad all over" dropped off the charts.
#1404
It appears we Aussies had finally embraced RNB of all types into our mainstream as this track from the British girl group Honeyz wasn't even the most successful track of theirs in their native UK. I'm guessing we gravitated towards these guys following the demise of Eternal around this time, although we quickly discarded them once TLC rolled out their third album.
#1403
This was the lead single to INXS's magnum opus Kick, the reason why it's their magnum opus is because not only is it their biggest album worldwide, but it also spawned them a Billboard chart topper with this very single from the band. Even though the song was released on its own, the video has it bundled up with "Mediate" which is the song which immediately proceed after this song ends on the album.
#1402
While this wasn't the biggest hit off of Simon and Garfunkel's final album, it was the highest charting song on said album here as this went to number one as opposed to their earlier entry which only hit number two on our charts. I guess we Aussies were open to having the duo put lyrics to an instrumental that was made half a century prior to their version's existence.
#1401
Well, this might've been the duet to sink the reputation of both artists involved, bear in mind that the original from Peter Gabriel and Kate Bush was a huge hit in Australia exactly twenty years prior to when Shannon Noll and Rogue trader's frontwoman Natalie Bassingthwaighte took their stab at the ballad to massive commercial success. I bring this up because fans of the original were not thrilled with this remake.
No comments:
Post a Comment