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.
#4400
Well, these guys really did Cut the crap when they released their final album three years prior, as such their career imploded that year worldwide which led to their breakup in 1986 which means that two years had passed before their label issued a greatest hits package that became a moderate success in NZ.
#4399
Although he never had a charting single in NZ (at least on the RIANZ charts he didn't) Neil Young did have a few bestselling albums in the 70's which means it does make sense that this greatest hits package was a success for him over there this year.
#4398
This proved to be more successful in NZ than it was here in Australia, this is odd as of the three ladies on here that had found prior success to this album, both Dolly and Linda were far more popular down under than they were over there both with their singles and albums. This was certainly the case after the fact as Linda's next album was bigger here and of course, Dolly and Emmylou's subsequent material bombed worldwide.
#4397
Well, this is a bit of a surprise, apparently the kiwis were so impressed with the Motels debut album from earlier on this list that their second album was also a huge hit over there this year. No doubt this led to them acquiring a budget for their third album later in the decade which allowed them to finally score success in their native America.
#4396
This was also a success in NZ just like it was throughout the rest of the world for U2, it wasn't inescapable like their other entries on this site, however at least it serves as a last hurrah before they were sidelined in the mainstream in favour of the club boom just like every other rock artist in existence.
#4395
I guess the kiwis were more impressed with the novelty of members of the clergy singing opera classics than we Aussies were given how this was far more of a success over there than it was over here, although it could be more due to the lack of competition the classical music scene had over there as there were fewer successful albums from the genre to make it big.
#4394
This was more of a success in NZ than it was here in Australia for Elvis Presley, again I'm not sure why this was a success given how the nostalgia bug had already kicked in for his back catalogue due to the success of Disney's Lilo and Stich from earlier in the decade.
#4393
This was released following the news that Creed was calling it quits, I guess the kiwis were a bit upset with this news given how big this was over there despite it being a massive flop here in Australia for the band. They would eventually reunite as the decade came to an end to very little fanfare.
#4392
This was the second volume of the Don't walk boogie series to make it big in NZ, who'd thought a disco compilation series would be among the more popular sets of albums over there throughout the decade?
#4391
This is the only other hit that Dei Hamo achieved in his homeland, it was a huge hit for the rapper due to NZ hip hop being at the height of its popularity around this time given all the entries from the likes of Scribe and Savage from these last few lists alone. He would release one more single which was a complete flop over there which led to him fading into obscurity.
#4390
This was the only other hit that Natasha Bedingfield managed to achieve in NZ, mainly for the presence of Sean Kingston who was on a roll over there around this time given how he was coming off a highly successful debut album. This was also a hit over in America of all places, again likely due to Sean's popularity but also because Natasha found considerable success over there with her debut album.
#4389
I guess the kiwis really weren't interested in having Rihanna be a massive success this year with her second album, at least this was the case when it came to the singles from the album given how far less successful this was over there compared to here in Australia likely due to the controversial nature of the lyrics and what this ballad is about.
#4388
Given how this song has Akon on the chorus as well as Krayzie Bone having a huge hit the previous year on Chamillionaire's "Riding," it only makes sense that this track from Bone Thugs n Harmony would achieve massive success in NZ this year despite the group not having a hit over there since "Home" from four years prior.
#4387
Well, I suppose this was bound to be a success for Midge Ure in NZ given how Ultravox had plenty of success over there throughout the decade so far as well as his involvement with Visage and Band Aid. Like in Australia, this was also his only hit in NZ and his native UK, making him a one hit wonder four times in all three countries with each of his acts I mentioned even if Ultravox were more of an albums band.
#4386
This was the last hit that Cypress Hill had in NZ, I'm guessing because the west coast rap was becoming quite crowded in NZ given how the likes of 2pac and Coolio were scoring massive hits over there around this time. Still at least they had a hit over there with this jam, it underperformed on Billboard who were less biased when it comes to the east coast/west coast rivalry.
#4385
These guys had several charting singles from earlier in the decade in their homeland, some of which were even minor hits for the throwback band likely due to 60's nostalgia kicking in over there. It was the success of this E.P which allowed them to score a massive hit for the first time in their career, although the best was yet to come as their 1990 album went on to be a huge hit for them.
#4384
Given how the kiwis had embraced hip hop by this point in time, it makes sense that this would be an even bigger hit in NZ than it was here in Australia for Del tha funkee homosapien (I can't even with that name BTW.) It was his only hit over there like it was over here, although at least he had an audience in both countries which is more than I can say for his success anywhere else in the world.
#4383
This was the second single to be released from Nevermind worldwide, it managed to be a success in NZ likely because A: they had a stronger alternative scene at the time compared to us Aussies and B: the album was already a massive success here by the time this was released as a single. It remains one of their more iconic songs in their catalogue due to how surprisingly simplistic it is as a grunge track.
#4382
This was the third and final hit that K-CI and Jo Jo managed to have in NZ on their own, this was impressive considering how little success they had as members of Jodeci from earlier in the decade. This is one of the first songs to use autotune to become a hit over there, although given how the duo had two hits earlier in the decade without the studio effect, I don't think the kiwis minded its usage here.
#4381
He may have had two failed bands by this point, however Jimmy Somerville still wasn't going to give up in being a successful pop star as he released his first solo single which was a reggae cover of the Bee gees classic from the late 60's. Naturally the kiwis ate this song up given how it was a song from the queer performer and was a reggae cover of an older track, two trends that they were into at the time.
#4380
This was another sophistopop track to make it big in NZ around this time, this time it's from the Scottish band Deacon blue who achieved a minor hit with this song in their native UK the previous year which goes to show how much the kiwis had fallen in love with the genre if this was bigger over there than it was in their homeland. This was also a minor hit here in Australia, but too minor to appear on that side of my site.
#4379
Well, this really wasn't as big in NZ than it was in Australia or especially their native UK, heck this was more popular in America months after its release which should tell you how bizarre the kiwis found this ballad from Shakespear's sister. That said, it was still a huge hit for the duo likely thanks to the strong vocals from both women involved, although Marcella Detroit didn't have a solo hit after this like she did down under.
#4378
I don't think I've elaborated on what the Baggy sub-genre was despite already mentioning it on this site, it's basically a combination of EDM and psychedelia which was popular in the UK by bands and artists such as the Stone roses and Happy Mondays. They didn't have any success outside of their homeland, but these guys did as they scored a bit hit in NZ with this track about hippy culture.
#4377
This was the first of only two big hits that Boh Runga and company managed to achieve in their homeland, although considering this is a song about embracing being a lesbian (despite Boh being straight) it's impressive that it did as well as it did back in the day and understandable how it wasn't chosen as the lead single to their debut album given how different LGBT rights were back then.
#4376
I guess that episode of South part was so successful in NZ that this EDM track from Mouse T and Hot n Juicy managed to be an even bigger hit over there than it was over here, that or the kiwis likely didn't realise this became big through the show and just enjoyed this EDM track for what it was this year.
#4375
It appears the kiwis were also feeling nostalgic for the Jim Henson preschool show which premiered twenty years prior and is still running to this day, that's the best explanation I have for how this remix of the show's theme song managed to become such a huge worldwide success back in the day except for in America as British artists didn't have as much luck in the 90's on Billboard as they had previously done.
#4374
Given how this was now the second single from Crowded house's debut album internationally, it was able to be a huge success in NZ and America meaning that they had a second hit in both countries before they did here in Australia back in the day. Admittedly this was a minor success here likely because of its international popularity, however it wasn't bigger due to being the fourth single from the album down under.
#4373
Mista were a short lived American RNB and hip-hop group who achieved no success on the Billboard charts and yet were able to score a massive hit in NZ with this number, it was their only crossover success over there but considering how much of a failure they were in their homeland, it's still an impressive feat for them.
#4372
I'm not sure why this wasn't released the previous year in NZ like it was here in Australia, I'm guessing it's because of this tardy release that costed the song its success over there given how it was twice as big here for Hall and Oates. You can't even say it's to improve the popularity of their album as it was equally as successful in both countries as well.
#4371
Before Janet Jackson became the most successful female member of the Jackson dynasty, Rebbie Jackson was a fairly decent singer herself which makes sense given how she's the oldest of the Jackson siblings. This was her one and only hit she had in NZ which was written by her younger brother Michael at the height of his fame and popularity.
#4370
This was the slightly bigger hit for the Eurythmics in NZ, likely because it was their biggest hit in their native UK due to how opulent the song is in their catalogue. We'll be revisiting their big hit in Australia this year in a bit, but it's worth noting that their popularity overall in NZ was quickly dwindling with their singles despite it growing exponentially with their albums.
#4369
This was a success for Stacey Q much sooner in NZ than it was here in Australia, I'm not sure why some of the biggest hits in Australia were songs that had their release and/or success delayed but that was certainly the case for Stacey as this wasn't as successful over there as it was over here. She's also a one hit wonder over there and her native America as "We connect" failed to become a hit in both countries.
#4368
This was the third hit that Warren G scored off his second album in NZ, it's a song that features one of the Isley brothers on the chorus to help connect his verses together which was essentially the formula of all of his big hits throughout the 90's. It appears even the kiwis grew tired of this formula as he didn't have any more hits after this.
#4367
Here's that other big hit that Diesel managed to score in NZ just like he did here in Australia, naturally the success of both songs was reversed over there to what they achieved here given how this was the second single from his album and thus, the song that would've had some of its success taken away from audiences who checked out the album because of its popularity.
#4366
I guess the kiwis really didn't want to allow the Beach boys to make it big again in the mainstream, it certainly wasn't because they didn't like the Tom Cruise flick this song was written for as the soundtrack was a massive success over there because of the movie. That said, it appears the kiwis were being contrarians to what was popular here in Australia in general in the last stretch of the 80's.
#4365
So, we all remember Alf, right? If you don't, it was an 80's sitcom about an alien who came to earth and was taken in by a suburban family with hilarity ensuing from that premise. Like most popular TV shows of the day, a song was commissioned from it which features the titular alien rapping about his time on earth with footage of the show spliced in which became a huge hit for him over in NZ this year.
#4364
This was another easy hit that Five managed to achieve in NZ this year, although it wasn't as big as their other hits I've already featured on this side of my site considering that it fell off the charts rather quickly despite debuting high over there. Admittedly this was a very common phenomenon for a lot of these repeat entries on this list as they would made a huge splash over there and quickly drop down the charts.
#4363
Now this is a surprise hit for my site, Mick Jagger already had plenty of success in NZ with his album from the previous year, however the album rebounded this year due to this nearly topping their charts over there early in the year. I guess this is what hyped up the kiwis for his band's earlier entry on this list.
#4362
This was the second hit that Lutricia McNeal was able to score not just in NZ but throughout Europe, I'm not sure why she failed in her native America when she was doing so well throughout the rest of the world given how RNB was still a popular genre on Billboard this far into the 90's.
#4361
I guess the kiwis weren't as into this cover of the Rod Stewart track from earlier in the decade than we Aussies were, I guess there's another possibility for this song not doing as well over there that I'd rather not share with my readers as I'd like to keep this site as fun as possible (it involves why this cover exists is all I'm saying.) At least it was more of an immediate success over there than it was over here.
#4360
At least this song managed to be a hit on time in NZ, although like many songs that were hits earlier in one country in the southern hemisphere than the other, it wound up being a bigger hit here in Australia the following year likely due to the show being a juggernaut by the time season three premiered as opposed to it only being a moderate success when season two came around.
#4359
Although this charted higher in NZ than it did here in Australia, it wound up being equally as successful in both countries thanks to how quirky the song is from the unconventional singer Matthew Wilder. Also, something both countries have in common is that the cover version from the 90's wound up being more successful, possibly due to nostalgia we Aussies and kiwis had of this track over a decade after its release.
#4358
I guess the kiwis were more ashamed by this being a success this year than we Aussies were given how it was pulled from their shelves over there likely due to the sexist lyrics rubbing them the wrong way, admittedly this was also eventually pulled from shelves here in Australia, suggesting that even back then, there was a limit to how far you can go about objectifying women in pop culture.
#4357
Well, this feels even more out of place on this list than it did on the Australian side of my site, although it's worth noting that the kiwis had already made this a hit two months prior to it ever touching our charts back in the day. I guess this being an instant success in the band's native UK compelled the kiwis to make this an instant success over there which led to us Aussies following suit later in the year.
#4356
This original track from Air supply was a fairly big hit for them in NZ back in the day, certainly more so than it was here in Australia which was an early sign of their international appeal despite them being far from the biggest Australian band of the 70's. NZ EDM duo Deep obsession decided to turn the ballad into a dance track which resulted in it being equally as successful nearly two decades later.
#4355
Although this charted much higher in NZ than it did in Australia, it wound up only being equally as successful for Cameo over there as it was here likely due to it being even more delayed over there despite it being a funk track and the kiwis being into funk throughout the decade. I guess they felt this was a rip-off of Midnight Star's "Freak a zoid" from a few years prior.
#4354
This charted higher in NZ than it did in Australia, although that doesn't mean it was more successful given it has roughly the same placement on this list as it does on the Australian side of my site. This was originally a hit in the UK for the American duo before it crossed over to America, I'm guessing because the kiwis recognised the sample from Spandau ballet before their fellow Americans did.
#4353
OK I'm not even going to mention ANY of the controversies that R Kelly has been involved with on this site as this is meant to be a safe space for that type of thing, instead I'll be focusing on his music which includes this theme song to the Looney tunes film Space jam which also stars Michael Jordan in the leading role. This is by far the song that is best affiliated with the film and so was a natural choice for the soundtrack's lead single.
#4352
While they haven't had any further appearances on this side of my site apart from this greatest hits package and Rage in Eden, Ultravox did see more success over in NZ during the first half of the decade than they did here in Australia which explains why this album was more successful over there than it was here.
#4351
Well at least Van Morrison had a massive success with his 1983 album Inarticulate speech of the heart in NZ, even so this greatest hits album wasn't as big over there as it was over here at least upon its initial release as it became a hit again later in the decade when Van Morrison was back in the mainstream over there.
#4350
I would've thought this would've had more success in NZ than it did here in Australia given how the lead single was a genuine hit for the Rolling stones over there where it was a flop over here, it turns out it was only equally as popular in both countries which suggests the winning streak of the band was coming to an end at this point.
#4349
Well as if one album from this pan flute player wasn't enough for the kiwis, they gave him a second bestselling album at the start of the decade which proves just how much they loved classical music back then.
#4348
From what I can gather, Waves were an NZ prog band who found moderate success with their one and only album this year before forever fading into obscurity. I guess their fellow kiwis were disappointed in their inability to translate their success over to Australia despite them being one of the earliest international artists to appear on Countdown.
#4347
Here we have another opera album to make it big from a NZ artist this decade, this time it was from Will Martin who managed to wow his fellow kiwis with his killer pipes in a way that many of the other popular crooners of the decade were able to do so.
#4346
I'm not sure why this was far less popular in NZ than it was here in Australia, heck it managed to spawn a couple of minor hits for the band over there which it failed to do over here, suggesting the kiwis were still on board with these guys following the success of their debut album. This wouldn't be the last time they troubled the charts as they would return in the 90's like they did over here.
#4345
This was volume three of the Piano by Candlelight series from Carl Doy, it was a huge success for the NZ pianist this year proving the kiwis still wanted to hear classical music well into the decade.
*Apologies for reusing the image of the second volume, I couldn't find a correct image of the album even one that's in poor condition. *
#4344
I'm not even sure why this managed to become a success for Joe Cocker in NZ when it did as this was released a full year prior to when he won an academy award for best original song at the Oscars which is why the Australian exclusive version of this album from the following year was a massive success for him down under.
#4343
This is the only new entry from Jordin Sparks that will be appearing on this site of my site, although rest assured that all of Jordin's entries from the Australian side of my site will be reappearing on this side of my site as even "Tattoo" racked up enough points to reappear on this list despite it being much less successful over there compared to what it was over here.
#4342
Given how Akon saw inescapable success from his second album two years prior in NZ, I would've been dumbstruck if he didn't achieve at least some success over there with his third album which was the case with its lead single even though it was a massive flop for him over here in Australia. Sadly, this would be his final hit as a lead artist over there as "Beautiful" failed to catch on like it did over here.
#4341
I bet you were wondering if Deniece Williams managed to score a hit of her own with a song that didn't come from a soundtrack, it turns out she did as she scored a hit in NZ and her native America with this cover of a girl group's track from the 60's. It's not as catchy as either of her songs that appeared on the Australian side of my site, hence why it probably wasn't a success down under or in the UK.
#4340
Much like in Australia, this was the only hit that U2 managed to score from Zooropa in NZ, I'm guessing to allow the album itself to be a massive success there due to it being their foray towards industrial rock which was slowly starting to take over the music industry at the time of its release.
#4339
This was another easy hit from New order in NZ, it came right before their remix from earlier on this list which means that at this point, the kiwis were willing to make anything from the band a hit in their catalogue (except for "Bizarre love triangle" it seems.) This was a minor hit here in Australia, although I don't think we Aussies wanted to hear religious songs on the charts until Madonna released her next album.
#4338
This proved to be a slightly bigger hit in NZ than it was here in Australia, I'd say because the kiwis confused this for an Alanis Morrissette track except that didn't seem to do Meredith Brooks many favours two years prior. I'm guessing it was because they were surprised that Jennifer Love Hewitt managed to have a song that wasn't just a novelty hit for her like other Hollywood stars such as Eddie Murphy or Patrick Swayze.
#4337
Like in Australia, Natalie Imbruglia is a two-hit wonder in NZ with this being her first big hit over there. Unlike here in Australia, her second hit didn't come until the new millennium when "Wrong impression" got her out of the one hit wonder bin over there. Neither of these songs came close to the success this and "Big mistake" achieved in Australia this year, suggesting that she wasn't as popular over there overall.
#4336
Well, this was so much less successful in NZ for Martika than it was here in Australia, admittedly it's more surprising it was so successful here than anything considering it wasn't that big of a hit in her native America or the UK either. In fact, it's failure internationally led to her retiring from music after she was done promoting her second album the following year.
#4335
Well, I guess it had been thirty years since the original from Brian Hyland became a huge hit for him worldwide, so why not have this short-lived novelty group named after a character from Andrew Lloyd Webber's Cats make it their own this year? As big of a hit as it was in NZ, at least it wasn't a massive chart topper over there like it was in the group's native UK.
#4334
Well, this is a song I wasn't expecting to feature this low on this list, I honestly would've thought the kiwis would be more on board with Diana Ross collaborating with the Brothers Gibb more than they were back in the day considering A: their support for their collaboration with Dionne Warwick earlier in the decade and B: the staggering success Diana had over there with her hits.
#4333
This proved to be equally as successful in NZ as it was here in Australia, I guess the kiwis also wanted to atone for "Edge of seventeen" being a flop over there back in the day given how this was also the closet that song came to ever being a hit (or indeed any of Stevie Nick's solo material.) The girls would achieve less success over there than they did over here as a unit from here on out.
#4332
This was the first of two hits that Mareko had in his homeland, it's a bit of a cocky debut single given how the title implies that he would be the hottest new name for NZ hip hop throughout the decade when Scribe clearly took that title with his entry from the start of the list. At least this didn't trap him in the one hit wonder bin over there given how his earlier entry on this list was also a success for him.
#4331
This was an obvious success for Mariah Carey given the high concept music video as well as her still being one of the most popular artists of the moment even as the decade was coming to an end. I guess one thing I haven't mentioned yet about this track is the Jay z feature which was the east coast rappers first hit he had in the southern hemisphere despite him not even being credited on this track.
#4330
You'd think with how much less successful this duet was between Jennifer Warnes and Bill Medley that the kiwis would've hated Dirty dancing at the time, it turns out that they loved it given how the soundtrack was one of the most successful of the decade over there. I'm guessing they just weren't that impressed with this Oscar winning ballad, certainly not to the same degree we Aussies were where it was one of the biggest hits of the 80's here.
#4329
You'd think this song would've performed much better on this list given how the kiwis didn't allow record labels to tamper with an artists released schedule like we Aussies did, it appears that the song was less popular over there than it was over here, meaning that I won't be able to put this song on a respectable placement on this list based on its chart run to reflect how popular it was back in the day.
#4328
The original version of this track which appeared on the Australian side of my site flopped hard in NZ for the Scottish band Texas, I guess it was too adult contemporary for the kiwis who were all about hip hop and EDM by this point in time. That seemed to be the mindset when they got members of the Wu Tang Clan of all groups to collaborate with them on this remix which finally gave them a hit over there.
#4327
As I said earlier on this list, all songs with this title were a success in NZ as they were hit in Australia this year even if their respective levels of success couldn't be further apart in both countries. I guess the kiwis weren't too impressed with this theme to Back to the future given how much less successful it was over there than it was over here, perhaps they felt this could've been improved with Ray Parker Jr.
#4326
This was technically the biggest hit that Simple minds had in NZ, I say technically as it was indeed their highest charting single even though they would have bigger hits as the decade went on over there. This was a sleeper hit here in Australia, meaning it could've made the cut on this list on the Australian side of my site if I didn't prioritise songs that charted longer in the upper echelons of the charts here.
#4325
This was originally recorded back in 1978 and likely meant to appear on Bob Marley's Kaya album, it does sound similar to the big hit from that album "Is this love" musically even if lyrically it's a song about American soldiers of colour forced to fight for a country that had little to know respect for them. It was a minor to huge success for the Jamaican icon posthumously everywhere in the world except of course America where it didn't even chart.
#4324
This appears higher on the NZ side of my site mainly because it charted higher over there than it did over here, otherwise this instrumental track from the Canadian pianist Frank Mills was equally successful in both countries back in the day.
#4323
It's hard to say how much airplay was a factor to this song's success for Shania Twain in NZ, after all her previous two singles underperformed over there despite them being massively popular here in Australia the previous year. In any case, the kiwis seemed to gravitate towards this pop rendition of her country track on Come on over where she shoots down guys who don't impress her, it's far less catty than I'm making it out to be.
#4322
This was all set to top the Billboard charts this year as it did in NZ, however due to the change of format with how they were calculated, it didn't end up becoming a number one hit in America. I thought I'd shared that here as I have nothing new to add to this song on this site and instead want to highlight just how unreliable the Billboard charts had becoming beginning with this year.
#4321
This was the actual debut single from Sade Adu and company given how it came out before "Smooth operator" which remains their signature track to this day in most parts of the world. For the most part, the band didn't have any success with their singles in NZ as they were more of an albums band just like here in Australia, the exception was this song about how much Sade approves of her partners love.
#4320
Here's a fact that may shock everyone reading this who isn't from NZ, Popstars was actually a reality series that originated over there this year before it became popular here in Australia and eventually the UK. The first winners of the series anywhere in the world was this all-girl group who were formed as such because Popstars had you competing in the show in groups rather than as solo artists.
#4319
Well at least this was a much bigger hit in NZ than it was here in Australia, in fact it was slightly bigger over there than Blue's (in my opinion) inferior cover from 2001 even though both versions topped the NZ charts back in the day. Naturally this was another chart topper this year that likely would've been higher on this list if there weren't so many minor hits that pushed it aside once it fell off from the top spot over there.
#4318
You know this song was inescapable in NZ throughout the 80's when you consider the fact that even with the original being the longest running song of the decade, this still managed to go to number one five years after its initial release over there. Unfortunately for the band, this is where their popularity over there began to dwindle likely due to how overexposed they felt at the time.
#4317
Although this charted higher in NZ than it did here in Australia for the Spice girls, it didn't last as long on their charts which was the case for many of the returning entries on this list given how the NZ charts functioned differently to the Australian charts in the late 90's. Other than that, there's nothing new I can say about this song that I didn't already cover on the Australian side of this site.
#4316
This was only a minor success here in Australia for Paul Hardcastle, I guess we Aussies were already becoming fed up with songs about the Vietnam war and so didn't need a spoken word rendition of "I was only 19" from Redgum but with original lyrics from the British musician. It was a much bigger hit in NZ given how the kiwis were likely unfamiliar with the Australian classic from two years prior.
#4315
This is a song that should be much higher on this list, it isn't because it was pulled from shelves in NZ to encourage album sales for the soundtrack which as far as I can tell, didn't work over there. Another interesting fact I forgot to mention on the Australian side of my site is that the beat comes from "Forget me nots" from Patrice Rushen which was a massive hit in NZ fifteen years prior.
#4314
Rob Guest was one of the most popular entertainers from NZ who managed to score a minor hit in 1978 with "Hanging on," he tragically passed away this year which led to his fellow kiwis paying their respects to his work by making this greatest hits package a huge success for him posthumously.
#4313
This is the only other album that Kamahl had success within NZ following his self-titled breakthrough from the previous year, I have no idea why this was so big over there given how he was originally from Australia.
#4312
Following the success of their rock themed greatest hits package from 1976, the kiwis decided to make this love themed album from the fab four a success a year later which makes it the first of two love themed greatest hits albums to make it big over there.
#4311
This was the final hit that AC/DC had anywhere in the world, mainly because it was the theme to the Arnold Schwarzenegger flick Last action hero where he stars in a film that involves him traveling from film universe to film universe with hilarity ensuing. I haven't seen the film (shocking I know) but it looks pretty terrible from the videos I've seen on YouTube.
#4310
It may surprise you to learn that Destiny's Child didn't have as much success in NZ as they did here in Australia, this title track from their third album being one of the rare exceptions of them finding more success over there than they did over here likely due to the kiwis being bigger fans of the show that it was named after. Indeed, the girls didn't have any more success over there as solo artists than they did here either.
#4309
This was the first of two big hits that Jimmy Cliff had in NZ, the other was his cover of the Johnny Nash track "I can see clearly now" from the Cool running's soundtrack exactly a decade after this was a hit for him. Given how reggae music was massively popular in NZ (especially songs from Jamaican artists) it seems fitting that this hit from Jimmy Cliff would be as such over there.
#4308
This was the last time Bryan Adams troubled the NZ album charts given how his popularity had dwindled over there to the point where this feels more like a last hurrah for him than anything else. As least he had some better success with his singles right till the end of the decade, although those were pitiful compared to what he achieved down under.
#4307
This proved to be equally as successful in NZ as it was here in Australia, although this was at the expense of the singles bombing over there given how only the lead single was barely a success whilst the album failed to spawn a second hit like it did internationally. This would also be the last the kiwis would hear from these guys as their 1994 comeback wouldn't happen over there like it did internationally.
#4306
I'm a bit surprised this was less popular in NZ than it was here in Australia for P!nk given how her second album managed to be a huge mainstream success over there as opposed to a sleeper hit over here. This also goes for the singles as apart from the third single, they too weren't as inescapable over there as they were over here back in the day.
#4305
This was the first of only two albums that Haircut 100 released in their short time together, it did produce a hit here in Australia with the second single, however that was the full extent of its popularity down under as the rest of the singles and album flopped here. It fared much better in NZ despite the singles all flopping over there, however its biggest success was in the band's native UK.
#4304
I don't know what surprises me more, the fact this needed an entire year to find its audience, or the fact that this is merely Chamillionaire's solo debut rather than his actual debut album. I guess the former is due to how long it took for the lead single to find an audience in his homeland, however the fact he was part of a duo with white rapper Paul Wall is a complete shock to me for some reason.
#4303
It only makes sense that this was a moderate success in NZ given how the title track was a massive success over there, it may not have stuck around for very long compared to the other entries on this list, but at least I feel confident in saying it was a genuine success unlike many other albums that charted in the bottom ten of the charts for most of the decade.
#4302
I'm technically cheating with this album's ranking as by all accounts it didn't last as long on the RIANZ charts as its placement here with otherwise suggest, however much like some of the other entries on this list, this came out the previous year for John Denver which suggests that it was more of a success in NZ in 1974 than it was this year.
#4301
Although this wasn't a top ten hit for Delta Goodrem in NZ (let alone a number one hit list all the entries we've looked at so far on this side of my site) this was a decent hit for her over there to the point where this will be appearing on more than one of these lists on this side of my site. This will be her final entry on this side of my site as everything she released going forward bombed over there.
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