Here it is, the long-awaited NZ equivalent of my greatest hit singles/albums of all time list I made a while back. Just like last time, I’ll be presenting this as a countdown, meaning that each entry will be more successful than the last as we go down this list. The main difference here of course is that unlike here in Australia, there was only one chart in NZ over the years, meaning that there won’t be multiple entries from singles/albums from the late 80’s/90’s/00’s like there was on my Australian list. Also, I won’t be including entries from the RIANZ charts given how they didn’t track album sales and that they were based on popular votes rather than sales, that and there was only ever a top twenty which means there’s a good chance they were struggling to fill out the top twenty each week during its run.
#4500
Well, here's the second biggest hit that Talking heads had from their album Little creatures in the southern hemisphere, although their biggest hit is either their earlier entry on this list in NZ or "And she was" here in Australia from the following year. It's easy to see why this was their most successful point in their career as each of these songs have become popular choices for trailer music over the years.
#4499
This was the second hit that Altered images had in NZ, although it was a bittersweet hit for them as they would call it quits shortly after this came out likely due to them failing to compete with the likes of the Pretenders and even the Divinyls here in Australia. Much like those two bands, they remain quite popular in the music scene even to this day, at least they do internationally as they flopped here in Australia.
#4498
At least this double entry from All Saints managed to be a success on time in NZ, although once again, the trade-off appears to be that it didn't do nearly as well over there as it did over here which seems to be a pattern when it comes to songs getting a delayed release here in Australia (particularly from the RNB genre.) I guess it could also be that the kiwis simply weren't as impressed with these covers as we Aussies were this year.
#4497
Well, it took us long enough, but we've finally gotten to that other big hit that Brownstone was able to achieve in NZ this year. This is a cover of the Eagles final hit single before they called it quits in 1980, curiously around the same time they had embarked on their Hell froze over tour which means the kiwis were very hungry for not only more music like SWV but also new music from the band this year.
#4496
It seems curious that the one hit these guys didn't have in Australia from their debut album would be their biggest hit in NZ, not to say that their other two hits from the album weren't a success over there, rather it just seems like this was the big hit over there due to how successful the other two singles were here. In any case, this was proof that the Sydney based NZ RNB group were able to find massive success in the southern hemisphere back in the day.
#4495
We didn't have any of Talking heads songs on the Australian side of my site, did we? Well let's rectify that with the first of two entries on this list which is this lead single to their biggest album Little creatures which was a huge hit for the band over there despite it being a huge flop here in Australia. The success of their singles from this album was inverted over there as "And she was" was the big hit here despite it flopping over there.
#4494
Even with a film as disastrous as Graffiti Bridge (at least from what I've heard it was a disaster) Prince was still able to find success in NZ with its theme song as this track did manage to become a moderate success for the Purple one this year over there. Admittedly it was a minor success here in Australia as well, proving that its failure might be more due to the film it was attached to rather than the quality of the song.
#4493
While this was still the least successful song to become a hit for Evanescence over in NZ like it was here in Australia, it was able to score a better placement on this side of my site due to its success not being affected by high albums sales over there like it was over here. This and "Call me when you're sober" from their next album managed to find more success over there while their other two hits found less success.
#4492
This was the first of two big hits that the Scottish band Altered images managed to have in NZ during their short time in the spotlight, as you can see they were another band that was all male except for the lead vocalist who was a woman which was pretty common for new wave bands back in the day as Blondie, the Pretenders and the Divinyls also had massive success with this approach.
#4491
It was only inevitable that this would be more of a hit in NZ than it was here in Australia for New edition given how much more popular the boys were during their heyday over there, heck I would've been dumbstruck if this had failed over there given how much more successful the individual members were over there throughout the decade and that this was a hit over here in Australia.
#4490
Well, I bet you were wondering if me saying this duo's album was more popular over there than anywhere else in the world meant that they managed to score a second hit in NZ, it turns out they did as they scored a massive hit over there with this song about how awful it is to live in New York City at the time the duo had made it big. Naturally this criticism of the big apple didn't go over very well in their native America.
#4489
Although this was a modest success upon its initial release from the start of the decade in NZ, it didn't become a best seller for Bruce Springsteen until this year over there thanks to his highly successful world tour from the top of this list.
#4488
You'd think this love album from the Beatles would go to number one in NZ given how the nostalgia bug had kicked in by this point, alas it didn’t, and it appears lower than it did on the Australian side of my site due to falling out of the charts much quicker over there than it did over here.
#4487
This was also the final successful album to come from Hunters and collectors in NZ just like it was here in Australia, hey I'm as surprised as you are these guys maintained their popularity down under let alone with the kiwis this far into the decade.
#4486
It's a bit of a misconception that Sinead's debut album was her 1990 magnum opus I do not want what I haven't got, this is her actual debut which was a decent success for her in NZ and her native UK upon its initial release and even received some buzz here in Australia even if it flopped here.
#4485
Queen certainly had a much more successful decade in NZ than they did here in Australia, as such it only seems inevitable that their penultimate album with Freddie on lead vocals would prove to be more popular over there than it was over here even if it wasn't that much more successful there like most of their work this decade was.
#4484
Although this was a bomb here in Australia it appears the kiwis were more willing to allow yet another live album from the Rolling stones to become a success in their homeland which is how this managed to appear on my list.
#4483
This is one of the earliest albums to find success from the sophistopop genre, basically it's the type of music that is similar to new wave except for bring nowhere near as bombastic or even particularly loud and was often accompanied by bands and artists whose image was more in line with the squares of the day rather than the androgynous crowd. China Crisis definitely fitted the mold which is why they made it big early on.
#4482
Although this struggled to match the success of their previous work in NZ, the fact that it finally gave Simple minds a chart topper in their homeland ensured that it would achieve at least some level of success with the kiwis back in the day. Alas their prospects in the 90's over there were the same as they were internationally, namely that they were left behind in the 80's.
#4481
This was a live album from Eric Clapton that went over really well in NZ this year, I'm actually surprised there haven't been more successful live album from him or any of his bands over the years apart from this and his MTV concert from the early 90's.
#4480
Although it was panned by critics, the film adaptation of the book series the Saint was a huge commercial success back in the day to the point where its soundtrack was a massive hit in certain parts of the world. It was particularly a success in NZ largely due to its techno soundtrack which the kiwis were getting into at the time.
#4479
They may have been a bit late to the party, however it appears the kiwis wound up being much bigger fans of the Tour of duty franchise than we Aussies were given how the third volume managed to be a massive success over there when it was a hit over here.
#4478
This was a big hit for the Mockers this year, a band who would achieve massive success with the lead single of their next album by the end of the year which was an album that didn't achieve much success over there.
#4477
Andre Bocelli had a good run in the mainstream while it lasted, as such it makes sense he would find success with a greatest hits package just as his popularity was coming to an end in favour for the likes of Andre Rieu and Paul Potts worldwide.
#4476
Given how the first volume to the Commitments soundtrack was released late in NZ, it only makes sense that its second volume would also have a tardy release even if it wasn't as tardy which resulted in it competing with the first volume over there.
#4475
This is a bit of an odd entry as this was released nine years after the death of Dusty Springfield, it was a moderate success in NZ likely due to nostalgia the kiwis had for her back catalogue even if she didn't find much success over there (at least according to the Listener charts.)
#4474
We have another successful album to come from Il Divo on this site, although it appears the kiwis were growing tired of these guys a lot quicker than we Aussies were given how much lower they appear on this side of my site overall.
#4473
Following the success of their previous album Broadcast, the Strawpeople were able to continue their dominance in their local music scene with this album that sadly didn't receive any love from Triple J like their previous album did which is why it remains in obscurity outside of their native NZ.
#4472
This proved to be slightly more successful in NZ than it was here in Australia for Rihanna, although this clearly came at the expense of the singles not performing as well over there as they did over here (save for the third single of course.) Her momentum would of course continue to grow as the decade went on, culminating in at the start of the 2010's when she had one of the biggest albums with her entry Loud.
#4471
It looks like this was a bigger success for the Rolling stones in NZ than it was here in Australia, I guess the kiwis were willing to have these sorts of albums dominate their mainstream at the time even if I'm unsure how successful this album was upon its initial release 22 years prior over there.
#4470
This was where it all began for Split enz in their homeland, it's curious this didn't crossover here in Australia even when they began appearing on Countdown later in the decade to promote their subsequent follow ups. This was their debut album as well as the first of two to not feature Neil Finn on vocals as he would've still been a teenager when this was released.
#4469
It appears that even monks were able to find success in the mainstream in NZ back in the day, to think that a bunch of priests who called themselves the Priests made headline news in the late 00's when they scored a top ten album in 2008 when this was one of the bigger albums of the year back in its day.
#4468
This was the last successful album that Tina Turner had in NZ, admittedly it's with an album I'm sure most of her fans outside of NZ wouldn't even realise existed given how little remembered this album is in recent memory. In fact, it was a success mainly due to a successful tour she had with the album which boosted its sales over there.
#4467
It had been a while since Alison Moyet troubled the charts anywhere in the world, however she was able to score a massive hit in NZ with this greatest hits package likely to commemorate the eleventh anniversary of her solo breakthrough over there with Alf which remains one of the biggest albums to come out of the 80's.
#4466
I'm a bit surprised that XTC didn't appear on the Australian side of my site as they were heavily promoted by Countdown around this time, heck they even appeared on the show to promote the lead single of this album where it became a minor success here. The kiwis passed up the single in favour of the album itself which remains one of the greatest new wave albums to come out around this time.
#4465
This was an inevitable success for Jerry given how much the kiwis loved his band up until this point, although it was his only success there as none of his other material charted there which was also the case everywhere else in the world. Still, it was impressive that he managed to achieve this much on his own given how much of a failure his work with Talking heads was over there by this point.
#4464
This is the only other successful album that Yulia was able to achieve in her homeland, I guess the rise of the nostalgia circuit over there proved to be the downfall for classical music making it big as there would be far less of these albums making it big as the decade began coming to an end.
#4463
We have another disco compilation to make it big in NZ back in the day, the kiwis must have really loved the genre if we have this many albums that focused solely on disco hits of the 70's making it big over there.
#4462
This was also a bit of a minor comeback for the Rolling stones in NZ like it was here in Australia, although it was a fluke over there like it was over here as none of their subsequent follow ups managed to recreate this level of success never mind what their classic albums achieved throughout the century.
#4461
This was another successful compilation series to make it big in NZ back in the day, although it doesn't escape my notice that all of these compilation albums centre around disco which should tell you the type of music the kiwis were supporting back in the day.
#4460
We all know who the three tenors are by this point, so let's look at an Irish trio of opera singers who managed to score a massive breakthrough in NZ at the start of the decade with this album of theirs that failed everywhere else in the world. It appears this was a fluke for the three gentlemen in question as their subsequent follow ups failed to make it big over there as the decade went on.
#4459
This was the last successful album that Pat Benatar had in NZ, likely due to hit being led off with her theme to a now long forgotten film being one of the more prominent songs in her catalogue despite it underperforming over there like it did here in Australia. She would have one more successful album down under with her next album which contained one of her biggest hits here.
#4458
This was shaping up to be an excellent decade for British jazz artists in NZ as Jamie Cullum was the latest to find massive success over there with this album from the genre, although it remains his only successful album in his catalogue despite having a long career in his homeland. Still, it's one of several albums on this list to find more success over there than it did over here thanks to a lack of competition from reality stars.
#4457
I haven't seen Footrot flats (although from what I can gather, it looks terrible from the animation displayed in the music videos of its singles) so I can't say how much of this soundtrack's success was due to how good the film was and how much of it came from it being Dave Dobbyn's first project away from his old band DD Smash.
#4456
This is the second greatest hits package to come from Prince Tui Teka posthumously this decade, I guess this was a success due to the nostalgia circuit being strong enough to keep his memory alive this decade much more so than in his lifetime.
#4455
Well at least this second single from Outkast's double album managed to be more successful in NZ than it was here in Australia if only because it wasn't pulled from shelves over there like it was over here, although it still wasn't among the biggest hits of the year over there suggesting that it wasn't as popular in the southern hemisphere overall as it was in their native America.
#4454
I guess the kiwis weren't as impressed with this posse cut from Ja rule, Ashanti and R Kelly compared to us Aussies given how this lasted much longer on our charts than it did on theirs, although at least this now means all of the former's "thugs need love too" tracks have reappeared on this side of my site, proving that he did indeed have a formular that helped him stand out from his contemporaries over there.
#4453
Well, it appears the kiwis found this surprisingly juvenile side of Andre 3000 to be equally as amusing as we Aussies did this year given how it retains roughly the same position on this side of my site as it does on the Australian equivalent. It's interesting that none of the singles from their double album managed to see more success over there than they did over here save for the second single.
#4452
You'd think that this would've appeared much higher on this list given how NZ had already incorporated digital data onto their main charts by the time it was released as a single, I guess the kiwis weren't as impressed with this lead single to Stadium arcadium as we Aussies were (at least according to our digital charts) given how it had no disadvantage over there and yet it still has a lower placement on this list.
#4451
This would've been the last hit that Mariah Carey had anywhere in the world were it not for her 2013 effort "#beautiful" which became big that year due to having a # in its title, I guess it's safe to say that the 90's diva had to resort to meme culture to keep her relevancy going given how this song references YouTube among other things that made it a success in NZ but not here in Australia.
#4450
This was another hit that Wet wet wet managed to score in NZ this year, although at least their earlier entry did chart here in Australia which is more than I can say for this third single from their debut album (which also came out the previous year in their native UK.) They wouldn't score another hit over there until "Love is all around" from the Four weddings and a funeral soundtrack.
#4449
Even though this song is in Spanish, it became the first hit from Julio Iglesias in the English-speaking parts of the world as it led to his first UK chart topper "Begin the beguine" later in the year. Of course, we Aussies didn't allow for him to have a hit in Australia until he learned English later in the decade which resulted in his first English speaking album, 1100 bel air place.
#4448
Like her other two entries on this list, this third single from Madonna's Like a prayer album was far less popular in NZ than it was here in Australia due to all of the stiff competition it had with the other entries on this list so far. Even so, the kiwis weren't willing to completely pass up on this heartfelt ballad from an otherwise controversial album about exposing the lies and hypocrisy of the catholic church.
#4447
This was only a minor hit here in Australia this year, although at least it charted for a while here where it became a sleeper hit which is more than I can say for the likes of "Long hot summer" and "Walls come tumbling down" which have both surpassed this song as the signature tracks for the band. It was more of a success in NZ likely due to how the kiwis were quick in making them a household name over there.
#4446
You'd think that this song and indeed all of the singles from the Velvet rope would've been far more popular over in NZ than they were here in Australia, although at least in this case I can see the kiwis being unfamiliar with the Janis Joplin classic that this song heavily samples from as that was a huge flop over there from what I can gather as opposed to it being a genuine hit here back in the day.
#4445
It appears the kiwis were a bit too frightened by Kate Bush's weird facial expressions in the video to make this a big hit over there, I guess there's another explanation for why this underperformed in NZ compared to Australia and her native UK, but I won't share it out of fear of angering her fanbase. At least it was a hit over there as opposed to "Running up that hill" which flopped later in the decade.
#4444
These guys were so popular over in NZ that they managed to achieve a second hit over there with this disco track, further proving that the genre was far from over as far as the kiwis were concerned. That said, I should point out that both of their hits this year did crossover in their native America even if neither of them saw the level of success on Billboard that they did internationally.
#4443
Well at least this second single from Labour of love II was a hit upon its initial release in NZ, although it was noticeably less successful over there compared to here in Australia as its lower appearance on this list can attest to. Still, there's no denying that the kiwis were in love with the band at this point in time, and this love wouldn't fade until at least the midpoint of the 90's when Ali Campbell went solo.
#4442
It had been a while since Tina Turner last troubled the charts in NZ, indeed it wasn't since "Typical male" from 1986 since she reached the upper echelons of the charts which is strange because that means that "The best" was a massive flop over there for her. Fortunately, she scored one more hit over there with this track from her biopic What's love got to do with it even though it flopped here in Australia.
#4441
The original from Bill Withers was a song about how he was certain that his love for his partner would stand the test of time, here Will Smith takes the instrumental of that track and instead dedicates it to his son Trey about how he'll always be there for him which obviously touched the hearts of audiences around the world who made it an international success. Naturally this was recorded following his marriage to his second wide Jada Pinkett who isn't the mother of Trey.
#4440
Well, it looks like the kiwis had already grown tired of Paula Abdul going into her second album, I guess this was a hit for the pop star over there due to how inescapable it was throughout the rest of the world, however it's clear that they were ready to move on from her to the likes of the pop divas from earlier on this list.
#4439
It looks like the kiwis gave Guns n Roses one more hit for the road during the Use your illusions era, although it's worth noting that "November rain" was still one of the biggest hits here in Australia during the entire chart run this song had on our charts as opposed to it finally dropping out of the charts over there when it was released.
#4438
At least this was a massive hit here in Australia for Wilson Phillips, it wasn't quite the case in NZ where it was half as successful likely due to there being another song with its title that became a success over there that we looked at earlier in this list. I guess I should mention that these girls were the daughters of some of the biggest names in music from the 60's which is why they were so big in their native America.
#4437
Well, this is a song that I'm a bit embarrassed to admit wasn't a big hit in Australia back in the day, mainly because this was released on time over here towards the end of the previous year which suggests we Aussies were at least curious about this song about a freaky girl in Rick James's life. The kiwis were slow in making this a success (by almost a full year) however once it caught on over there, it was a hit for the Motown rocker.
#4436
Well either the kiwis really didn't like Barbra Streisand throughout the 70's or they weren't willing to have Donna Summer be a feminist icon so quickly after she released her final disco album which depicted her as a sex worker in the marketing. I'm guessing it was the latter as Barbra did find success over there with her duet with Neil Diamond and she would have more success going into the 80's.
#4435
This was the first big hit that 10CC achieved in NZ given how "Rubber bullets" flopped on the Listener charts two years prior, this means that the band only achieved three hits over there with only two of them also being hits here in Australia. Even so, I can see how this managed to be a success over there for the band given how well it fitted in with the trends of the day.
#4434
Well, this wasn't anywhere near as successful in NZ as it was here in Australia, I'm not sure why other than perhaps the kiwis being a bit colder to the duo initially going more mainstream with their third album but eventually warming up to the idea as the album grew more and more successful over there. It would explain the success of their earlier entry on this list there and in their native UK a lot better.
#4433
This was the theme song to a film known as Friday, it's a black comedy starring Ice Cube and Chris Tucker which has retained a strong fanbase in black communities as well as fans of 90's comedy (I haven't seen it but should probably get around to doing so.) It was also the only hit that Dr Dre had as a lead performer in NZ given how he was better known for being a producer by this point in his career.
#4432
Shihad is a metal band who made it big this year with this breakthrough single of theirs in their homeland, they had plenty of buzz on the alternative rock scene to the point where some of their tracks managed to appear on the Triple J going into the new millennium. That would explain why their popularity exploded in the 00's and how they even managed to have minor success in Australia that decade.
#4431
Well, this proved to be much less successful in NZ than it was here in Australia, I guess her having all of this success with her albums over there prevented her from having a giant hit on their singles charts like she did here in Australia. I didn't mention the video on the Australian side of this site which no doubt was a large reason why it was such a huge hit for her back in the day, mainly because of it contextualising this as a female empowerment anthem.
#4430
This was also a success for Rupert Holmes in NZ at the start of the 80's, I guess the kiwis were also amused by the story he told about him wanting to cheat on his girlfriend only to find his mistress he's seeing is his girlfriend who wanted to do the same thing to him. I guess it's a cute story about how the couple was always meant to be even if the relationship clearly needs some work.
#4429
This was the first big hit that Pras Michel had without the other two members of the Fugees anywhere in the world, although here he teams up with another rapper by the name of John Forte as they both sample "Electric Avenue" from Eddy Grant for this theme song to a film known as Money talks. From what I can gather, the film was a critical disaster due to it having Chris Tucker and Charlie Sheen as its leads.
#4428
This almost made it to the Australian side of my site, it only didn't because I didn't want my lists to be too exhausting for my readers which meant I had to make a cut off point for each of them. Fortunately, this easily cleared that cutoff point on the NZ side of my site likely due to the kiwis finding much to love for this song back in the day despite it facing a lawsuit against Wild cherry's song of the same name.
#4427
Although Neil was the one to score a massive hit from the Young ones in their native UK, in NZ it was actually Alexei Sayle from the show that managed to have the big music career in NZ as he scored two hits over there with this being the bigger of the two. This is the type of humour you'd expect from 80's British comedy, which is perhaps why it managed to click with the kiwis, makes you wonder why we Aussies passed this up.
#4426
This was the second hit from Hysteria that nearly topped the NZ charts for Def Leppard over in NZ, although unlike their earlier entry, it was neither a Billboard chart topper nor a sleeper success here in Australia for the hair metal band. Both of these songs on this list allowed the album to be a success this year for the band as opposed to becoming a sleeper success the following year like it was down under.
#4425
This was also a cover from Paul Young even if it came from an obscure artist that no one's likely heard of, I guess it was due to the obscurity of the original track that this became his biggest hit in NZ as it flew up to number one in the early months of the year for the English crooner. Interestingly, "Love of the common people" would be less successful over there than it was over here even if it's still to come on this list.
#4424
It appears the kiwis were equally on board with the "Willennium" that he promised on this lead single to the album of the same name as it was among the first songs to become a success for him over there this decade as it was over here, although nowadays it serves as a dated reminder of how much the world was looking forward to entering the 21st century.
#4423
You'd think that these two would've had more success in NZ than they did here in Australia, for the most part that's true as this managed to be a hit over there where it wasn't over here, however this will be their only new appearance on my site which is odd given how much the kiwis loved hip hop of their calibre. At least all of their other entries from the Australian side of my site will be reappearing on this side of it.
#4422
Well, it might have been about six months late to it being a success in NZ, however this second single from Wet wet wet's discography did become a success over there likely due to it being released at the height of the sophistopop craze that was taking over the world in the mid to late 80's. Their popularity in Australia was nonexistent until the 90's when "Sweet surrender" became a surprise success for the band.
#4421
Well, this proved to be less successful in NZ than it did here in Australia, I guess the kiwis felt this guy was a bit too overexposed by this point given how he just had four hits in a row over there like he did everywhere else in the world. That said, he would return two years later with fellow Welsh singer Bonnie Tyler with their take on "A rocking good time" everywhere except for Australia.
#4420
Well, it looks like the kiwis were also fans of the Joel Schumaker film this serves as the theme song to, either that or they really liked the theme song enough to make it equally as successful over there as it was over here. This was a number one hit on Billboard despite John Parr being British, although most people likely didn't realise he was from the UK given how he sounds like an American singer on here.
#4419
Like everything she released this decade after the Immaculate collection, this wasn't as big in NZ as it was here in Australia which is why this theme to the second Austin Powers film appears much lower on this side of my site than it does on the Australian side. Still the kiwis did enjoy this bop of a tune enough for it to be one of the biggest hits of the year for the queen of pop.
#4418
This was the final hit to come from Vengaboy's debut album, although it was released on the deluxe edition of the album which perhaps explains why it managed to be a chart topper in NZ at the start of the decade despite having a rather low placement on this list of mine. Their next single would be their earlier entry on this list which no doubt overshadowed this song even throughout the year.
#4417
I guess the kiwis didn't care as much for the Australian miners back then as they did for Aboriginal rights, although there was still a level of appreciation for this track given how it peaked higher over there despite it being less successful overall. Midnight oil were arguably bigger in NZ throughout the 90's mainly because their next album spawned them a genuine hit over there.
#4416
This was a song that would've been higher on this list had the RIANZ charts launched sooner in the year given how well it did on the Listener charts and that it retained its popularity on the newer charts once it launched. It was Helen Reddy's final hit anywhere in the world given how it was a surprise hit for her over there following the success of "Angie baby" in Australia and America.
#4415
It's a bit weird that this debut single from J-lo found less success than her earlier entry on this list in NZ, although it does have the distinction of debuting at the top spot as opposed to "Waiting for tonight" which had to work its way up the charts to reach its peak position. In any case, it's apparent that she had far less success over there than she did over here which will become more evident as we get into the new millennium.
#4414
Well, here's that third single from David Bowie's Let's dance that became a hit over in NZ this year, it may not have racked up the numbers like his other three hits did, however it was still a massive success for him likely due to it being a song originally written for and with Iggy Pop for his 70's output. Bowie took the punk track and made it more mainstream which resulted in its success.
#4413
This was the second solo hit that Tim Finn managed to achieve in his homeland, although given how it came two albums and six years after his first solo hit anywhere in the world, it was a bit surprising that this succeeded for the former Split enz frontman until you remember that this was the final year of the decade and thus likely became a success as a last hurrah for a popular artist of the 80's.
#4412
These guys didn't have much success here in Australia back in the day, in fact the only reason why we Aussies know about them at all we because No Doubt covered their signature track "It's my life" nearly two decades after it was initially released. The kiwis were a bit more familiar with them back in the day as this critically acclaimed album was a moderate success over there this year.
#4411
This managed to become a surprise success this year for Bob Marley, I'm guessing it was just to it randomly becoming popular over the years across the world given how there hasn't been any major updates to his career postmortem since the start of the decade with his duet's album.
#4410
Much like it waws here in Australia, this was only barely a success for Enigma in NZ, again likely due to the controversy that their previous album sparked with its big hit "Return to innocence" two years prior.
#4409
This is the only noticeable success that Sybil had anywhere in the world, heck this was initially a flop everywhere outside of NZ and only became a success throughout Europe once some of the singles crossed over later in the decade due to them becoming surprise hits in the UK for her. I don't know how the kiwis got a hold of this upon its initial release, however they clearly love it and its singles.
#4408
This was much less popular in NZ than it was here in Australia as was everything that Cliff Richard released at the time of MTV's launch, although at least the kiwis had enough nostalgia for his love ballads in his back catalogue to make this a success over there as opposed to his (then) most recent album Wired for sound.
#4407
This was only barely a success here in Australia despite "Private Idaho" being a modest success from the album and a song you can still hear on oldies stations to this day. It was a much bigger hit in NZ likely due to the band performing the lead single on Countdown (along with "Rock lobster") which I'm guessing the kiwis found amusing enough to make the album a success as the song didn't even chart there.
#4406
While this wasn't quite as successful in NZ as it was here in Australia for Patrizio Buanne, the fact it was a modest success over there should tell you how in love the kiwis were with classical music this decade like the rest of the world was.
#4405
Even though Cats wasn't a phenomenon in NZ or Australia like it was in the northern hemisphere, it appears its main star Elaine Paige was well liked by the kiwis as her performance in the stage show allowed her to find massive success with her third album with them this year which was a rarity for theatre actors this decade.
#4404
Whereas this was only a decent hit for Madonna here in Australia, it appears the kiwis were far more impressed with this remix album from her given how it makes it onto this site proper as opposed to being an honourable mention. She would sit out 1988 due to her failing marriage with Sean Penn, however she would be back by the end of the decade stronger than ever.
#4403
Given how Police managed to put their differences aside this year long enough for a reunion tour, it makes sense that this greatest hits package would be a success for them even if this was the third greatest hits album they released since their final album from fifteen years prior. I'm guessing this is why it was a hit in NZ and not in Australia given how nostalgia was working at the time.
#4402
This was an excellent time for oldies to make it big in the mainstream over in NZ, as such we have this greatest hits package from Roy Orbison which became a success over there eighteen years after his untimely death, proving that the kiwis will always have a soft spot for his back catalogue.
#4401
This was the only big album that New order had in NZ, I'm guessing because it took the kiwis a while to realise that their big hit "Blue Monday" doesn't appear on here which I'm guessing is why it was a massive flop for the band here in Australia. The band was well known for not including any of their singles on their studio albums during their heyday.
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