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.
#2100
This also had a bit of a delay to its release over in NZ, mainly because the previous entry was also delayed a release over there due to how long it took for the band to take off in their music scene due to there not being a Countdown equivalent to help introduce the kiwis to their music.
#2099
From what I can gather, Billy T James was a NZ comedian who had died in 1991 despite only releasing two albums in his catalogue throughout the 80's. Apparently, there was a lot of nostalgia for his work during the last stretch of the 00's as this greatest hits package containing his best work managed to become a massive hit for him posthumously.
#2098
This was originally released as the debut single from the hip hop quartet to deafening silence even in their native America, I guess this was considered to be too hard core in 1994 even though Cypress hill managed to find success with little issues that year. It was given a second chance this year following the success of their earlier entry, which must have been a mood whiplash for fans back in the day.
#2097
It appears the kiwis were as enamoured by this breakthrough single from Enya as her fellow Brits were, although it didn't quite get to number one over there like it did in her homeland likely due to there being more fierce competition by the time it was released in NZ. This opened up many doors for the new age crowd for the 90's including the likes of Enigma and Deep Forest.
#2096
Although "Because we want to" was a sleeper hit over in NZ this year, it was this second single from Billie Piper that would help her stand out from the countless British and European teen pop stars that seemed to be clogging up the mainstream worldwide as the decade was coming to an end. Billie is perhaps best known nowadays for her role as Rose in the Doctor Who franchise.
#2095
This was the third biggest hit from MC Hammer's breakthrough album, although it was his second highest ranking album given how much like in Australia, parents would've appreciated him making a song about praying to the lord (also that Prince sample is pretty neat even nowadays.) He would have one more hit after this over there before becoming a joke much like everywhere else in the world.
#2094
Well, this was an inescapable hit for Abba in NZ just like it was here in Australia, it must be due to the group's criticism of capitalism which seemed to resonate with audiences back in the day.
#2093
Well, this is a site that's meant to be fun more than anything else, as such I won't be saying anything about this song other than it has good intentions and those intentions fueling its success back in the day.
#2092
Now given how she had tons of more success in NZ throughout the 90's than she did here in Australia, you'd think that this comeback from Mariah Carey's alter ego Mimi would've been inescapable over there given how well it did over here and especially in her native America. Alas it was only a sleeper hit for her with the kiwis and also lacked that huge chart topper it spawned worldwide.
#2091
To my knowledge this was the final country album that Livie released throughout her career before her pop makeover she underwent from her involvement in Grease later in the decade. We Aussies were done with her country image; however, the kiwis weren't as this and the title track was a major hit for her over there.
#2090
This is the final hit that Anika Moa had in her homeland, even then it was a sleeper hit for her likely due to her fellow kiwis being more interested in the other entries we've looked at so far on this list rather than keeping the LGBT singer around the music scene but doing so anyway albeit in the lower half of their charts for quite some time.
#2089
Of all the songs from Living end I could've featured on this side of my site, I wasn't expecting it to be this second single from their fourth album State of emergency, although I do remember hearing this on the radio quite a bit back in the day and yet it was only a minor "fan single" on our charts here in Australia. I guess this is a song that could've easily benefitted from the digital charts had they been implemented sooner than they were.
#2088
Well, this wasn't quite as big in NZ as it was here in Australia, let alone the massive chart topper it was in her native America. Still, this did quite well over there likely due to it winning an academy award which helped it tread water over there months after it peak outside their top ten for the Christian singer.
#2087
Even though this was released slightly later in NZ than it was here in Australia, the kiwis were quick to make this a success over there following its success over here due to the band performing it on Countdown and the performance going over very well with us Aussies this year. As it turns out, these guys had far more success over there this year as their second album was also a hit for them with the kiwis.
#2086
This is another song that managed to squeeze onto this list due to it being a sleeper hit in NZ, this time it's the second single from Fleetwood Mac's album Tusk which proved to be quite the success for the band in the southern hemisphere despite it being a dud throughout the rest of the world for them.
#2085
From what I can gather, this was the earliest success that Leo Sayer had in NZ given how none of his songs prior to the release of the first RIANZ charts were successful on the Listener charts, I guess it makes sense that one of his more upbeat tracks would be the kiwis introduction to him as opposed to his single "The show must go on" which was the case here in Australia and his native UK.
#2084
Even though the lead single was a huge hit for these guys over in NZ upon its initial release, it appears the kiwis needed some further convincing to allow this debut album from Simply red to be a success over there which came when the third single became a massive success worldwide despite bombing over there. Even then, it was more of a sleeper hit which makes their further success a bit confusing.
#2083
Given how they saw massive success with Dave Dobbyn around this time, it makes sense that Herbs were able to achieve a huge hit with their fourth album this year even if it was more of a sleeper hit for the reggae band. You'd think this would've rebounded the following year when the deluxe edition came out and spawned a second hit from the album, alas you'd be wrong.
#2082
Much like here in Australia, it appears the debut album from Sophie Ellis Bextor only took off in NZ when its deluxe edition was released over there despite the lead single being somewhat of a success over there where it wasn't over here. I guess the album was overall as successful there as it was over here provided, we redistribute the success each single it spawned received.
#2081
Although this didn't chart as high in NZ as it did here in Australia, the trade-off was that this lasted much longer on their charts due to it spawning several minor hits over there in addition to their one inescapable hit they had around this time. Nowadays it's only known for two reasons, it being the launching pad for frontwoman Linda Perry's career as a songwriter and for how hated the lead single remains to this day.
#2080
Although neither of these songs were that big in NZ like they were on the Australian digital charts for Panic! at the disco, it appears that the kiwis were able to divide the success between the two much better to allow their second single to make it onto this list where it failed to do so on the Australian side of my site. Again, its absence on that side of my site is due to how its success not coming from physical sales.
#2079
All throughout this side of my site, I've brought up songs that have benefitted in NZ thanks to strong airplay due to the kiwis implementing the format onto their charts in 1999. I bring this up here because you'd think that this would've benefitted the Foo fighters who are to this day heavily flogged on the radio in exchange for their high album sales. It appears this wasn't the case over there as this got big purely through digital sales.
#2078
Although this was a sleeper success in NZ compared to its immediate success here in Australia, this is once again an example of a song being released on time over there as opposed to it being delayed over there which seems to be a pattern when it comes to how big a song is in the southern hemisphere. I guess its delayed release here was due to "Urgent" refusing to die on our charts back in the day.
#2077
It seems weird that these guys would find more success in NZ at the turn of the millennium than they did here in Australia given how the opposite was true throughout the 90's, here they score a huge hit with the bonus track from their greatest hits package they released following the success of their (then) most recent album.
#2076
One of the bigger groups from the first half of the 70's was the Stylistics, they for whatever reason had their popularity die out by the midpoint of the decade save for this ballad which became a surprise hit for them in NZ this year. This would be the last anyone would hear from the band in the mainstream as their subsequent follow ups all flopped throughout the world.
#2075
This was less of a success in NZ than it was here in Australia, at least at first it was as I included the stats from its remix on this ranking given how the remix was slightly more popular over there than it was over here in Australia where it didn't affect this song's ranking on that side of my site. I guess it's safe to say that queer music from queer folk was very welcomed in the mainstream in the southern hemisphere.
#2074
It looks like the kiwis were more forgiving of Annie's image makeover on this album than we Aussies were given that it was a genuine success over there despite being a minor success over here back in the day, this would be their final success over there as their last album was a complete flop over there despite being a decent success over here as the decade was ending.
#2073
This was far more successful in NZ than it was here in Australia for No doubt, I guess this was proof that the kiwis preferred Gwen's career when she was part of the band rather than her solo outing giving that her two albums would be less popular over there than they were over here.
#2072
I guess the kiwis weren't as interested in having the older brother of Miley Cyrus dominate their charts with his band's one and only hit like we Aussies did back in the day, either that or they just didn't find this as catchy as we did as it was much more of a sleeper hit over there than it was over here this year. Sadly, they were a one hit wonder over there just like they were internationally with this pop rock jam.
#2071
Naturally this wasn't as inescapably popular in NZ as it was here in Australia for the Ian Carey Project due to it being an EDM track that found its initial popularity on YouTube worldwide, although it did do better than most of the other tracks to make it big this way from the likes of Fedde Le Grand and those ringtone downloads looking to cash in on the Crazy Frog's popularity.
#2070
This was only one of two hits that After 7 had in NZ, they were a new jack swing trio similar to Tony Toni Tone from earlier on this list who unfortunately didn't see the same level of success as those guys did. Curiously, they did manage to score a minor hit later in the decade with "Till you do me right" over there and in Australia, proving that there was some crossover potential in the group.
#2069
This was originally released two years prior to deafening silence on Sonique's native UK, I guess her fellow Brits didn't recognise her as the vocalist from "Theme to s'express" from a decade prior and felt this was too generic a trance song to make an impact on their dance scene from the late 90's. It was given a second chance this year due to its surprise success over in America, although it was only a modest sleeper hit here in Australia.
#2068
This wasn't nearly as successful for Harpo in NZ as it was here in Australia for the Swedish pop star, I guess the kiwis only had enough love for one Swedish act and Abba was already filling in that void for them this year. Still, they managed to squeeze this guy in for just enough time for him to make a second appearance on this site.
#2067
Coolio was on a roll this year in NZ when he released the second single from his sophomore album named after his top entry on this list, this time he samples the Kool and the Gang track of the same name for this summer jam that was curiously released during the winter in his homeland which prevented it from becoming a hit on Billboard like it was in NZ.
#2066
Unlike here in Australia where it was more of a success upon its initial release and was a mere modest success when it rebounded in the new year, the opposite was true in NZ where it was a mere modest success upon its initial release only to reach its true success in the new year for whatever reason.
#2065
Much like here in Australia, this album from Blur was more of a sleeper success than it was a mainstream hit which is why it appears rather low on this list despite it being a massive success overall. I'm guessing this was due to the album failing to spawn a hit single over there as "Song 2" didn't even chart there, likely a result of it being denied a physical release due to strong airplay stats.
#2064
Whereas I had to bend the rules to allow this on the Australian side of my site, this was able to make the list proper on this side of my site due to how much the kiwis loved this second album from Joe Satriani back in the day. This was such a success over there that his debut from two years prior recharted and eventually became a success this year.
#2063
Evidently the lead singer of Bread had a solo career even though it didn't appeal to anyone (at least from what I can gather) that didn't prevent him from finding success with this greatest hits album with his former band members even after the success of the band's greatest hits album two years prior over in NZ.
#2062
This was the second greatest hits package that Dave Dobbyn released throughout the 90's in his homeland, this one includes the material from his two albums he released since his previous entry from six years prior which I'm guessing was enough for his fellow kiwis to check out and make a success.
#2061
There were no signs of Westlife slowing down over in NZ as their third album managed to be a massive success for them over there like their first two albums were, granted it spent most of its time in the lower half of their charts which is why this doesn't appear higher on this list, however there was no doubt that the kiwis didn't care that the boy band wars were over at this point in time.
#2060
Although this was a decent success for Elton John in NZ like it was here in Australia, I'm willing to bet that many audiences wished it wasn't due to it containing one of the more divisive songs in his catalogue as its lead single.
#2059
This was a mere modest success in NZ for the Clash upon its initial release, heck if I based its success only upon its initial release over there, it would still be more successful than it was over here as this was a massive flop for them down under. Naturally this rebounded over there when "Rock the casbah" became a success due to how popular it was over here and in America.
#2058
This was more popular in NZ than it was here in Australia for 50 Cent, presumably due to it benefitting from digital sales even though it came out before we Aussies even began tracking digital sales so I'm not entirely sure if that's the reason why for its success over there. Like I said on that side of my site, this was clearly meant to be the "Lose yourself" to his own biopic Get rich or die trying.
#2057
This was also a massive success in NZ for JoJo which is to be expected given that she arguably saw more success from her first album over there than she did over here, indeed it appears the kiwis were also disappointed that this would be the last they would hear from her due to that awful contract she was in which prevented her from releasing any new music in her career for over a decade.
#2056
It feels weird that the one hit that Christina Milian has in NZ and her native America would be one that wasn't as such here in Australia, although at least it was a hit for her in the UK like the rest of her discography this decade. Here we have a sex jam from the RNB singer similar to Beyonce's "Naughty girl" which was far less popular over there than it was over here (we'll still be looking at it in a bit.)
#2055
This is the only song from Dr Hook from this decade that was a hit here in Australia to reappear on this side of my site, even then it was more of a sleeper hit in NZ which suggested that the kiwis were very sceptical of these guys reinventing themselves as a soft rock band from their comedic roots from earlier in the decade.
#2054
There was little doubt that this would be a massive success over in NZ this year given how their cover of a Bill Withers classic was a huge hit for them the previous year over there, I guess this all comes down to the band incorporating reggae elements to their sound with their album with Deni Hines as their vocalist as that's the only explanation I can think of for their success around this time.
#2053
This was a massive hit for the American hip hop trio Something for the pain in NZ and their native America, mainly for the chorus which features fellow American RNB duo Trina and Tamara which connects the verses together about how awesome the love of the rappers is for their respective partners. Even though this was a big success for them, they called it quits not long after it fell off the charts.
#2052
This was the third hit to come from Nelly Furtado's debut album in NZ, it was a huge hit for her over there and virtually nowhere else in the world due to it feeling out of place with her other two hits from the previous year. Lyrically this feels more like it belongs on her third album Loose which perhaps explains why the kiwis had an easier time gravitating towards that album upon its initial release.
#2051
It's a bit surprising that Janet Jackson didn't have much success with the Velvet rope over in NZ given how this single in particular managed to become one of the biggest hits of the decade everywhere else in the world, I guess the kiwis were already fed up with her spiritual vibes in her music by this point given how much bigger "Runaway" was over there earlier in the decade than in most parts of the world.
#2050
Well at least Natalie Cole was able to achieve a genuine hit in NZ this decade with this number, although I would've thought the kiwis would've gone with "This will be" given how that seems to be the song from this era that's survived the test of time for her over the years.
#2049
This failed to appear on the Australian side of my site mostly because it was only a minor success here in Australia, I guess if Countdown hadn't of taken off when it did it would've at least been as successful here as it was in NZ for Wings.
#2048
I'm not sure why the deluxe edition of Ronan Keating's debut album was a flop over in NZ considering how it's one and only bonus track managed to be a massive success over there, I guess this song's success was the tradeoff to the album's failure considering how the inverse was the case for both the song and the album here in Australia despite me hearing this quite a bit on the radio back in the day.
#2047
Although this saw less success in NZ than it did here in Australia, at least this was an improvement over his previous album over there given how you can blame a stiff competition from the Christmas season as to why it underperformed over there even though it came out on top of our Christmas season over here.
#2046
I'm not sure why the kiwis didn't gravitate towards the Eurythmics final album We too are one, but at least they came back for Annie Lennox once she embarked on her solo career given how successful this album was over there for her. You'd think it would've done better though given how it was her foray towards sophistopop and how much the kiwis loved that genre throughout the 80's.
#2045
Although her previous album Heart of stone wasn't as big a success in NZ as it was here in Australia, this third and final album from Cher's arena rock period was certainly bigger over there than it was over here likely due to the success of the lead single which also came from her (then) latest film Mermaids. She would lose popularity throughout the decade both as a singer and actress until her comeback album Believe.
#2044
Given how A: Norah Jones was experiencing way more success in NZ than she was in Australia and B: the NZ idol phenomenon didn't come at the experience of what else was happening in the mainstream this year, it only seems natural that Katie Melua would find more success over there than she did over here with her breakthrough album.
#2043
This was slightly more successful in NZ than it was here in Australia, I'm guessing because the kiwis were bigger fans of the Foo fighters given how this had Dave Grohl as one of its members. Admittedly this likely would've been their introduction to Josh Homme given how little success his band Queens of the stone age had over there up until this point.
#2042
You know the drill by this point, this was an album released from the previous year (albeit late) which means that this albums presence on this list is more a prediction on my part as to how big it was prior to the release of the first RIANZ charts.
#2041
This is the only hit that Maurice White was able to achieve outside of his work with Earth wind and fire, it's a cover of the Ben E King classic which coincidentally was released a full year prior to the original version being featured in a ton of commercials which resulted in its popularity two decades after its initial release throughout the world. This was also the final hit that anyone from the band had both solo and with the group.
#2040
It's a bit odd that this wasn't as popular in NZ as it was throughout the rest of the world given how it was the song that finally brought Phil Collins and to a lesser extent Genesis into the mainstream worldwide, at least it was a hit over there likely due to the kiwis also connecting with the lyrics that many have misinterpreted over the years to be about him calling out someone who prevented someone from drowning.
#2039
This is the other big hit that Zed had over in NZ from their debut album, it turns out it was included on the American pie soundtrack which perhaps explain how this got the band off the ground in their homeland given how popular that film was back in the day. These were the only hits that the band had in their homeland, however they did achieve minor success later in the decade with their second album.
#2038
I think this is the first love song to use chart positions as a metaphor for finding the love of the narrator's life, it's certainly the only song I can think of that became a massive success by using this metaphor at any point in time (although I'm sure this will be a common phenomenon going forward in music.) As for the artist who made it, from what I can gather, Pete Wingfield was a British producer to got lucky with this ballad.
#2037
Well, this was a lot less successful in NZ than it was internationally for Bryan Adams, admittedly it was still a huge hit for him over there due to it being attached to a (then) popular film, but it was obvious that the kiwis love for the former heartland rocker was beginning to fade as the decade went on.
#2036
For whatever reason, "You oughta know" underperformed in NZ the previous year for Alanis Morissette despite being one of the biggest hits of that year here in Australia. Fortunately, the second single from Jagged little pill was a big hit over there despite it underperforming here in Australia, I'm guessing because we Aussies wanted to make her a one hit wonder but changed our minds as the album cycle rolled out.
#2035
While this wasn't as bit a hit for MJ in NZ as it was here in Australia, it was still a massive hit for the king of pop likely due to the horror influences of the track standing out from the surprising number of horror pop that was coming out throughout the decade. In fact, he really should've released this around the Halloween period as then it would've been an easy worldwide chart topper for him.
#2034
This was the first big hit that Bone Thugs n Harmony managed to have in NZ as well as their native America, it's strange to think that the band who's best known for "Tha crossroads" from the following year would have a string of other hits that are much more in line with the gangster rap of the day. Indeed, the quartet would go on to have massive success moving forward in the decade with different topics to rap about.
#2033
Well at least the kiwis were likely more familiar with how problematic this ballad is as it wasn't nearly as successful over there as it was throughout the rest of the world, I guess if you ignored the lyrics, it's a sweet enough ballad that easily fits in with the other adult contemporary from around this time.
#2032
This is another entry that should be higher on the list as it was a bigger success over in NZ than some of the entries that outrank it, but its success was in the lower half of the charts for the most part. It was the second album from the Mutton birds which kept rebounding on the charts whenever a new song was released from the album.
#2031
This was also the final success album that Abba had in NZ as was the case here in Australia, I guess the world wasn't willing to have these guys permeate in the 80's like they did in this 70's which was likely the reason for them calling it quits with their final album a year after this was released.
#2030
This was the greatest hits package from Stevie Wonder that he released following the success of his (then) most recent album Hotter than July, it was a massive hit in NZ likely due to that album as well as his collaboration with Paul McCartney on "Ebony and ivory" (which curiously doesn't appear on this album.)
#2029
Even though this was released much sooner in NZ than it was here in Australia for Plain white t's, it appears that we Aussies were more into this ballad about a girl named Delilah than the kiwis were as this has a much lower placement on this side of my site. Still, this was a notable success for the band, although they remain a one hit wonder over there like they do everywhere else in the world.
#2028
This proved to be equally as successful in NZ as it was here in Australia for Nickelback, it was the first song of theirs to achieve this feat given how their previous material had clearly been more popular here than anywhere else in the world. I guess the memes helped this take off worldwide given how even at the time, this was a widely mocked track from what many people considered to be an overrated band.
#2027
One of the most prominent groups of the decade in America were the Ying Yang twins, this was primarily because they were the leader of a sub-genre known as crunk which was widely criticised back in the day for a wide variety of reasons that I won't get into here (mainly because I don't have the time to do so.) Their one and only hit in NZ sees them collaborating with Wyclef Jean which wasn't a hit in their homeland.
#2026
I was surprised when I realised this song wasn't a hit here in Australia back in the day, not even on our digital charts which would've been the perfect explanation for why this underperformed on our charts if it were a hit through that medium. Fortunately, the kiwis were able to recognise this as a hit upon its initial release over there, likely because of how they can relate to Lily's sadism in the lyrics.
#2025
Billy was on such a roll in NZ that he was able to release a track that he originally recorded with his old band Gen X as a solo single around this time which allowed him to score a massive hit with it over there. I'm surprised this was a flop here in Australia as I do often hear this on oldies stations from time to time, I'm guessing he had issues with his former band's label that he was able to get around over there.
#2024
This was another winner for Hot Chocolate in NZ throughout the 70's, in fact their popularity throughout the decade over there was more or less the same as it was here in Australia as the British RNB band racked up the hits regardless of where in the world you're from thanks to their upbeat instrumentation and Errol's soulful delivery.
#2023
This proved to be equally as successful in NZ for Culture club as it was here in Australia, after all, I think we can all agree that war is stupid, and people are stupid and..... yeah, this song is arguably one of the catchiest to become a hit throughout the decade so regardless of how people felt about the band, it was bound to be a worldwide hit regardless.
#2022
This was equally as successful for Rage against the machine in NZ as it was here in Australia, although this was the only thing they released in their career where it proved to be as popular with us Aussies as the kiwis as the rest of their catalogue saw much more success over there throughout the 90's than it did here. I feel that these guys were more popular in NZ than anywhere else in the world which was the case for Faith no more down under.
#2021
It's worth noting that though he died before it came out, the first album that 2pac released as Makaveli was completed and scheduled for release shortly after his death, meaning this wasn't his label milking his work for profit (for the most part at least) and instead a work of artistic merit. This seemed to be the incentive the kiwis needed in making this lead single to Makaveli's debut album a success over there.
#2020
Well, this was certainly a surprise hit, we have this cover of the Bee gees classic from Ardijah a decade after their initial breakthrough with the likes of "Watching u" over in NZ. I mentioned on that list that they tried to crossover to Australia by touring the country throughout the 90's, although they gave up around this time and came back home where they picked up where they left off a decade prior.
*Apologies for the lack of album art for this entry, there doesn't seem to be one in existence. The song is "Love so right" from Ardijah if you couldn't tell from my commentary*
#2019
Well at least we get to look at a new David Bowie track on this side of my site one last time, this time it's the lead single to his album Low which is considered one of his best albums by afficionados. If I were to look over the Listener charts, Bowie would have a ton of other entries on this site as he was quite popular in NZ during the first half of the decade.
#2018
You'd think with everything going into this song that it would be a massive success in NZ like it was here in Australia, admittedly it was quite popular this year because it's a reggae track with a children's choir singing a love song, but it wasn't a number one hit for weeks on end over there or even a number one hit at all like you would otherwise expect based on what tends to get popular over there.
#2017
This was the one big hit from 10cc that didn't appear on the Australian side of my site, I'm guessing because we Aussies were that into How dare you like the kiwis were as that album was one of the most successful of the decade over there. If you couldn't tell from the name of the song, this is an art rock track which the kiwis ate up in lieu of their more conventional song "The things we do for love" the following year.
#2016
This was also a success for Frankie Millier in NZ like it was here in Australia and his native UK, I guess there was still plenty of room for singer/songwriters in the mainstream in NZ even with all the additional disco and RNB that was making it big over there that failed to do so over here.
#2015
So, we all know that song "An Englishman in New York" from Sting, right? Well, what if we did that again but instead, we have a musician of colour from Jamaica (or in this case a British musician of colour claiming to be from Jamaica.) That was the premise of this pseudo cover of the 1987 track from Nothing like the sun which only the kiwis seemed to appreciate as it was only a hit in NZ this year.
#2014
This was released slightly sooner in NZ than it was here in Australia, I'm guessing because the kiwis were more open to the idea of making Celine Dion a household name over there initially even if none of her singles never reached the dizzying heights they achieved down under throughout the 90's. Indeed, this ballad's success over there was half of what it achieved here even with it being released sooner over there.
#2013
Given how the song this track remixes didn't even chart in NZ back in the day, I can only assume this was a success over there purely based on how much the loved the dance beats on here rather than them reminding them of "Life in a northern town" like it did for us Aussies back in the day. You'll also notice this was a success over there much sooner than it was over here despite being an EDM track.
#2012
This was the first hit that these two had anywhere in the world without any assistance from anyone else, true they had hits with Jodeci and even 2pac earlier in the decade (at least in their native America with Jodeci) but this was their first hit they had where they were the only performers on the record. It was a big hit in NZ this year for the duo, and it even briefly charted the following year in Australia when "All my life" became a worldwide success.
#2011
Even ignoring the fact that this was a hit twice in NZ back in the day, this was still the biggest hit that Simple minds had over there likely due to it being the lead single to their breakthrough album in America following the success of their theme to the Breakfast club earlier in the year (which is still to come on this list.) That said, this was the last hit they had over there as their popularity dwindled after this became a hit again the following year.
#2010
This is a bit odd as Rebel MC did score a massive hit in his native UK the previous year with "Street tuff" but not in NZ, yet this was his big hit over there even though if flopped in his homeland. I guess both the Brits and the kiwis would only allow one of his house tracks to make it big in each country, although he did score a second hit in NZ with his group Double Trouble with "Love don't live here anymore."
#2009
This is where it all began for the Alan Parsons Project, I guess the kiwis were on top of this group from the start if this managed to be a modest success for them this year given how it was a huge flop for them here in Australia.
#2008
This has the same circuitous route to its success in NZ as it did here in Australia in that it required the success of its second single a year after its initial release to make it big over there, the difference of course is that said single managed to become a much bigger hit over there than it was over here likely due to how much radio airplay it received back in the day and that factoring into the NZ charts.
#2007
I forgot to mention on the Australian side of this site that this was a live album for George Benson, meaning that it was a live album that allowed his earlier entry on this list to become a massive success in NZ this decade.
#2006
Well, this album being a success in NZ was to be expected given how the lead single was arguably the biggest hit of the decade over there, although it did rebound on the charts once it was released in the UK likely because the Brits had a different album cycle for him over there which resulted in him having different hits throughout Europe that saw minor crossover success in NZ.
#2005
This was one of those soundtrack/album hybrids that was very popular throughout the 90's in the music industry, after all this was named after her biopic of the same name which became a box office success this year as well as a critical darling due to strong performances from Angela Bassett as Tina and Laurence Fishburne as Ike.
#2004
You better believe that Tim Finn was able to score massive success with his first solo album in NZ, although the success was largely limited to its initial release over there given how it lingered for quite a bit here in Australia due to the album spawning multiple charting singles here which kept its life on our charts going for over a year. He would see varying degrees of success throughout his solo career over there.
#2003
This was initially a flop for Goodshirt upon its initial release the previous year, mainly because they were an indie band who didn't have much buzz to them as opposed to many of their fellow kiwis from the start of the decade. Their fortunes changed when one of the songs from the album became a huge success this year which prompted the locals to check out the rest of the album and thus, make it a hit for them.
#2002
While it failed to spawn a charting single in NZ like it did here in Australia (likely because the kiwis didn't know who Underworld were) this soundtrack to Trainspotting was nonetheless a success over there likely due to the success of the film which was one of the surprising number of non-Hollywood films to make it big worldwide throughout the 90's.
#2001
This was a minor success for Oasis in NZ when it came out two years prior, it was given a second chance this year following the success of their earlier entry which resulted in the album finally rising up to the ranks of some of the band's contemporaries at the time of its release. This is essentially what happened here in Australia; however, the kiwis were much kinder to the album hence its higher placement on this list.
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