The year was 1992 and Australian music was at a creative peak. The Aussie scene wasn't simply one genre or another - country mixed with dance and rock at the top of the charts and our homegrown records competed heavily with international artists as the Australian public embraced their homegrown talent. We thought we'd take a snapshot of some of the great records celebrating their 30th this year, taking a walk through the records that should hold a bigger place in our national psyche than the year delivered. 

FRENTE 

Marvin The Album

Exploding onto the scene with Ordinary Angels and following up with the platinum smash Accidently Kelly Street (spelling intended), Frente delivered one of the great Australian debut albums. A year later America would get a version of the album with Bizarre Love Triangle and the record was full of great album tracks creating a listening journey that holds up today.

RICK PRICE 

Heaven Knows

An album that gets nowhere near the historical love it deserves, Rick Price delivered a fantastic debut with Heaven Knows. Doing Ed Sheeran-style ballads for middle Australia, Price delivered an album full of singles, with five of the ten tracks on the record making it as charting singles. Two of them hit the top ten, including the touching piano ballad title track and the first single Not A Day Goes By, and a cover of Walk Away Renee kept the album charting well into 1993. Curious how tracks from this album aren't bigger today on classic hits radio. Holds up today as a great record. 

WEDDINGS PARTIES ANYTHING

Difficult Loves

Arguably the band's creative peak, Difficult Loves was definitely the band's commercial one. Featuring their greatest and most enduring song Father's Day, this was a great record from start to finish. True to the band's folk roots, it's a record that you don't expect to see wedged between Lionel Richie and Red Hot Chili Peppers albums on the ARIA chart or spinning on the radio, but that's where we were in 1992. 

ROCKMELONS

Form One Planet

Ray Medhurst, Bryon and Jonathan Jones formed a formidable trio creating Australian pop and dance records with a revolving door of vocalists. It was Deni Hines who took them from successful dance act to household names with a trio of singles from their sophomore record Form One Planet. Kicking off with Bill Withers cover Ain't No Sunshine and following up with That Word (L-O-V-E) and It's Not Over, the Rockies could do no wrong in 1992. What made the album great though was the strength of the whole record. Whether it was the rap vibes of the title track or the killer soul of Stronger Together, the album was a diverse melting pot of genres that just worked.

DIESEL

Hepfidelity

This one is nothing short of an Aussie classic. Every track is a cracker and the album is as good today as it was in 1992. The public reacted accordingly, sending the record triple platinum and becoming one of the biggest albums of the year. Combining rock roots with just the right mix of soul and pop, this was an album aimed squarely at the mainstream and it hit its mark.

THE CHURCH

Priest = Aura

Coming off the back of two big albums, this record was a bit of a commercial lull for The Church, but singer Steve Kilbey lists it as their magnum opus and it has only grown in stature among fans as time has progressed. 

JAMES BLUNDELL

This Road

The biggest Australian country album of the year, James Blundell exploded into the mainstream by duetting with James Reyne on Way Out West, smashing country music into the mainstream. A great record in its own right, history has probably not given this one the reverence it deserves given the walls it helped tumble.

GIRLFRIEND

Make It Come True

A good four or five years before the Spice Girls, Australia pioneered the girl group. Espousing girl power and creating a role model for teenage girls and marketing executives, the girls were a power to be reckoned with... at least for the two years of Girlfriend-mania. Two gold and platinum albums, six ARIA charting singles and their own department store clothing line all happened and disappeared within just a couple of years, showing how fickle the public is when they want to move on. While it wasn't everyone's cup of tea at the time and certainly won't be now, this was a brilliant pop record for the time and holds up today with tracks like Bad Attitude and Take It From Me reflecting perfect pop and the power ballad Without You standing up to any Diane Warren hit musically (if not lyrically). 

COMPANY OF STRANGERS

Company Of Strangers

Largely forgotten by history, Company Of Strangers were a supergroup headed up by James Reyne and Daryl Braithwaite. Expected to be a monster smash, the record was instead a slow burn, eventually limping over gold status sales but with none of its four singles managing to crack the top 20. Perhaps leading with a track a little heavy for what Braithwaite/Reyne fans were expecting, Motor City was a monster rock jam. Second single Sweet Love is one of the best ballads Australia has produced. In fact, every track on the album was a winner and the production has not dated as badly as some of the other pop/rock albums of the time. This one is definitely ripe for rediscovery. 

SCREAMING JETS

Tear Of Thought

Raucous rock bands aren't supposed to last more than one big album and with a song like Better under their belt and grunge supposedly clearing the decks of pub rock, you could be forgiven for letting the Jets take their place on the shelf after their great album All For One. Tear Of Thought showed a band intent on progressing and proving that they had far more to give. There's still balls out rock like Tunnel and Living In England, but it was their cover of Shivers that first turned heads of those outside their core audience and then when Helping Hand landed complete with horn section and trademark whistles almost a year later at the end of 1993 the album had already set itself up as more than just your average rock record. 

WENDY MATTHEWS

Lily

Not much more to say about this album but... stunning. The Day You Went Away is one of the best Australian songs ever. Period. One of the most iconic voices in Australian music, Matthews delivers with songs like Friday's Child and If Only I Could and it's a testament to the record that it doesn't get completely overshadowed by the lead single. 

INDECENT OBSESSION

Indio

Typecast as the boy band in the swimsuits after an ill-advised album cover on their debut, the Brisbane pop rock band grew up and produced their second album with US producer Peter Wolf. Produced as an album with interludes, this is one of the finest pop albums Australia has produced. A #1 smash in South Africa and in various European countries (where they hadn't seen the swimsuit pics), this was a modern adult pop album with the lead single Kiss Me an instant classic. It's the depth of this album that's most impressive though with a killer vocal from singer David Dixon on Whispers In The Dark going to #1 in France and not even released as a single at home and ballads like Gentleman Style weaving effortlessly between stomping rock like Rebel With A Cause and Hunger. #shouldabeenhigher

TUMBLEWEED

Tumbleweed

Australia was loving Nirvana at the time and luckily we had our own version of grunge ready to go. Tumbleweed were able to jump on the bandwagon, but with a unique Australian twist and were immediate triple j faves. More than a hint of Jebediah in there, Tumbleweed were among the acts that set the scene for Aussie indie rock in the '90s. 

EUPHORIA

Total Euphoria

Andrew Klippel went on to do a great record as AK Soul and today is manager and collaborator with Genesis Owusu, but in 1992, he was the shirtless vocalist/producer behind Euphoria. Broken off the E-Street TV show where it was spun regularly, the band's breakout hit Love You Right is one of the finest moments in Australian dance music. It was a #1 hit, as was the follow-up One In A Million. Do For You was top ten but by the time their album dropped, the world was moving on and it didn't become the hit it deserved. An incredible set of tracks in a genre that doesn't usually produce albums as strong as this, there were collaborations with Young MC plus some other bangers like I Will Never Leave You waiting to be rediscovered.

THE BLACK SORROWS

Better Times

Not an album with their biggest hits, this is nonetheless a super solid offering from Joe Camilleri. Vika and Linda are back on board with BVs and this is a fantastic record from start to finish. Ain't Love The Strangest Thing is one of the finest tracks the band ever created and the record is one of their best.

MARGARET URLICH

Chameleon Dreams

Margaret Urlich had a massive record with Safety In Numbers with a number of big radio hits including Number One (Remember When We Danced All Night) and Escaping. It took a couple of years to follow it up and when she did, Chameleon Dreams impressed. The singles didn't hit as hard, but as an album this was Urlich at her creative peak. The first single Boy In The Moon is a joyous pop tune and the second Burnt Sienna is the perfect vehicle for her voice. A platinum album, but one that hasn't been remembered as fondly as it probably deserves to have been, this is a great legacy for Urlich who sadly passed away earlier this year.

LEE KERNAGHAN

The Outback Club

Outsold by James Blundell in 1992, this one has nonetheless stood the test of time, continuing to sell year in and year out as one of THE classic Australian country albums. Featuring the massive single Boys From The Bush, Kernaghan is an Australian institution, undoubtedly based on the success and legacy of this record. It surprisingly never entered the ARIA top 50, but defined country music in the '90s. 1992 was the year of Billy Ray Cyrus across the world and The Outback Club became our local version.