A look back at the 10 highest-selling albums in Australia for 1995 offers up two obvious musical trends – female solo artists who knew their way around a big ballad and rock bands. Between them, those acts were responsible for 80% of the top 10 and, therefore, a huge amount of albums sales throughout the year.
10. Dookie by Green Day
Peak: number 1 (Three weeks)
Biggest hit: “When I Come Around” (number 7)
It took a while for the breakthrough album by Billie Joe Armstrong, Mike Dirnt and Tré Cool to hit its stride in Australia. After first venturing into the ARIA top 50 in July 1994 but getting no higher than number 26 in its initial run, Dookie returned to the chart in January 1995 and, as “When I Come Around” became their first big hit, it charged all the way to number 1, remaining on the top 50 for most of the year.
9. Daydream by Mariah Carey
Peak: number 1 (One week)
Biggest hit: “Fantasy” (number 1)
Her previous non-festive album, Music Box, had been the highest seller for 1994, but Mariah Carey had to settle for ninth place with follow-up Daydream. On the upside, she achieved her first chart-topper in Australia with lead single “Fantasy”. The album also included “One Sweet Day”, her vocal sparring match with Boyz II Men, and a cover of Journey’s “Open Arms”.
8. Throwing Copper by Live
Peak: number 1 (Seven weeks)
Biggest hit: “Lightning Crashes” (number 13)
Although it didn’t boast a top 10 single, Live’s third album racked up 119 weeks on the ARIA top 50. Like Dookie, Throwing Copper had first ventured onto the chart in 1994 before really taking off following the band’s visit to our shores as part of the ill-fated Alternative Nation festival at Easter 1995. As “Lightning Crashes” became a hit in the middle of that year, the album spent its first stint at number 1 (it would return to the top spot in early 1996). It would exit the top 50 once and for all in September 1997.
7. Frogstomp by Silverchair
Peak: number 1 (Three weeks)
Biggest hit: “Tomorrow” (number 1)
The teenage trio from Newcastle unearthed by Triple J had dominated the number 1 spot on the singles chart in late 1994 – keeping Bon Jovi’s “Always” in second place for the entirety of its chart-topping run – and followed that up with number 2 hit “Pure Massacre”. And so it was little surprise when their debut long-player rushed straight into the number 1 spot in April 1995, staying on the chart well in 1996.
6. Design Of A Decade 1986-1996 by Janet Jackson
Peak: number 2
Biggest hit: “Runaway” (number 8)
The first Jackson sibling on this list celebrated a decade of success as a solo artist with her first greatest hits collection. Ignoring her first two flop albums, Designwas comprised mostly of the many singles lifted from Control and Rhythm Nation 1814, with two tracks from 1993’s janet (which had been released by a different record label), “The Best Things In Life Are Free” and a couple of new songs also included. Released in time for Christmas 1995, the compilation sold enough to register among the year’s top 10.
5. Forrest Gump Soundtrack by Various Artists
Peak: number 1 (Three weeks)
The double album soundtrack for the Oscar-winning Tom Hanks film spent its first two weeks at number 1 in December 1994 and returned to the top in January 1995, going on to be a steady seller throughout the year. The album featured hits from the 1960s and ’70s by a who’s who of recording artists including Elvis Presley, Bob Dylan, The Beach Boys, The Mamas & The Papas, Simon & Garfunkel, Aretha Franklin and Willie Nelson.
4. HIStory – Past, Present & Future, Book 1 by Michael Jackson
Peak: number 1 (Three weeks)
Biggest hit: “Scream” (with Janet Jackson) (number 2)
The King of Pop kept things simple with this retrospective covering his years with Epic Records – nothing says understated like a massive statue of the singer floating down the Thames River in London. Similarly, Michael went all out on the music, with one disc in the double album featuring hits from Off The Wall, Thriller, Bad and Dangerous, and the other featuring a full album’s worth of (mostly) new songs. HIStory returned to number 1 in late 1996 around the time his accompanying world tour found its way to Australia.
3. No Need To Argue by The Cranberries
Peak: number 1 (One week)
Biggest hit: “Zombie” (number 1)
They had the hit of summer 1994-’95 with the politically charged “Zombie” and the Irish band’s second album built on its 1994 success by spending the entire first half of 1995 lodged firmly inside the top 10, aided by another top 5 hit, “Ode To My Family” and an Australian tour.
2. The Colour Of My Love by Celine Dion
Peak: number 1 (Eight weeks)
Biggest hit: “The Power Of Love” (number 1)
The year’s second biggest seller was yet another album that had its first chart run in 1994, reaching number 9 in the wake of her successful remake of Jennifer Rush’s “The Power Of Love”. The Colour Of My Love returned to the top 50 around Valentine’s Day 1995, when another power ballad from the album, “Think Twice”, was making its own slow climb up the chart. Although there was only one more hit from the album, “Only One Road”, The Colour Of My Love was a consistent seller, spending 31 consecutive weeks in the top 10 during its run.
1. Don’t Ask by Tina Arena
Peak: number 1 (One week)
Biggest hit: “Chains” (number 4)
It only enjoyed a single week at number 1 – compared to the 18 weeks spent there in 1994 by Mariah’s Music Box – but Tina Arena’s second post-Young Talent Time album spent almost half the year inside the top 6. After taking home Album Of The Year, among other awards, at that year’s ARIAs in October, Don’t Askfinally ascended to the top, by which point it had yielded four top 30 hits: “Chains”, “Sorrento Moon (I Remember)”, “Heaven Help My Heart” and “Wasn’t It Good…”.
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