Best Selling Music Albums For All Time
1: Thriller
Thriller is the sixth studio album by the American singer Michael Jackson. It was released on November 30, 1982, by Epic Records, as the follow-up to Jackson's critically and commercially successful 1979 album Off the Wall. Thriller explores similar genres to those of Off the Wall, including pop, R&B, rock, post-disco, funk, and adult contemporary music.[1][2][3] Recording sessions took place on April to November 1982 at Westlake Recording Studios in Los Angeles with a production budget of $750,000, assisted by producer Quincy Jones.
Of the album's nine tracks, four were written by Jackson. Seven singles were released from the album, all of which reached the top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100. Three of the singles had music videos released. "Baby Be Mine" and "The Lady in My Life" were the only tracks that were not released as singles. In just over a year, Thriller became—and currently remains—the best-selling album of all time, with estimate sales of up to 100 million copies worldwide according to various sources.[4][5][6][7]T In the United States, it is the best-selling album and has become the first album ever to be certified 30 times multi-platinum for U.S. sales, marking more than 30 million sales shipped.[8] The album won a record-breaking eight Grammy Awards in 1984, including for Album of the Year.
Thriller enabled Jackson to break down racial barriers in pop music via his appearances on MTV and meeting with President of the United States Ronald Reagan at the White House. The album was one of the first to use music videos as successful promotional tools—the videos for "Thriller", "Billie Jean", and "Beat It" all received regular rotation on MTV. In 2001, a special edition issue of the album was released, which contains additional audio interviews, demo recordings and the song "Someone in the Dark", which was a Grammy-winning track from the E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial storybook.[9] In 2008, the album was reissued again as Thriller 25, containing re-mixes that feature contemporary artists, a previously unreleased song, and a DVD, which features the short films from the album and the Motown 25 performance of "Billie Jean". That same year the album was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame along with Jackson's Off The Wall LP.
Thriller was ranked number 20 on Rolling Stone magazine's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time list in 2003,[10] and was listed by the National Association of Recording Merchandisers at number three in its "Definitive 200" albums of all time. The Thriller album was included in the Library of Congress' National Recording Registry of culturally significant recordings, and the Thriller video was included in the National Film Preservation Board's National Film Registry of "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant films". In 2012, Slant Magazine listed the album at number one on its list of "Best Albums of the 1980s".[11]
2: Back in Black :
AC/DC are an Australian hard rock band, formed in November 1973 by brothers Malcolm and Angus Young, who continued as members until Malcolm's illness and departure in 2014.[1] Commonly referred to as a hard rock or blues rock[2] band, they are also considered pioneers of heavy metal and are sometimes classified as such,[3] though they have always dubbed their music as simply "rock and roll".[4]
AC/DC underwent several line-up changes before releasing their first album, High Voltage, on 17 February 1975; Malcolm and Angus were the only original members left in the band. Membership subsequently stabilised until bassist Mark Evans was replaced by Cliff Williams in 1977 for the album Powerage. Within months of recording the album Highway to Hell, lead singer and co-songwriter Bon Scott died on 19 February 1980 after a night of heavy alcohol consumption. The group considered disbanding, but buoyed by support from Scott's parents, decided to continue and set about finding a new vocalist.[5] Ex-Geordie singer Brian Johnson was auditioned and selected to replace Scott. Later that year, the band released the new album, Back in Black, which was made as a tribute to Bon Scott. The album launched them to new heights of success and became their all-time best-seller.
3: The Dark Side of the Moon :
Pink Floyd were an English rock band formed in London. They achieved international acclaim with their progressive andpsychedelic music. Distinguished by their use of philosophical lyrics, sonic experimentation, extended compositions and elaboratelive shows, they are one of the most commercially successful and musically influential groups in the history of popular music.
Pink Floyd were founded in 1965 by students Syd Barrett, Nick Mason, Roger Waters, and Richard Wright. They gained popularity performing in London's underground music scene during the late 1960s, and under Barrett's leadership released two charting singles and a successful debut album, The Piper at the Gates of Dawn (1967). David Gilmour joined as a fifth member in December 1967; Barrett left the band in April 1968 due to deteriorating mental health. Waters became the band's primary lyricist and, by the mid-1970s, their dominant songwriter, devising the concepts behind their critically and commercially successful albums The Dark Side of the Moon (1973), Wish You Were Here (1975), Animals (1977), The Wall (1979) and The Final Cut (1983). The Dark Side of the Moon and The Wall became two of the best-selling albums of all time.
4: The Bodyguard :
The Bodyguard: Original Soundtrack Album is the soundtrack from the film of the same name, released on November 17, 1992, by Arista Records. The album's first side (in its original LP configuration) features songs by Whitney Houston, while side 2 features the work of numerous other artists. The album was co-executive produced by Whitney Houston and Clive Davis and has become one of the best selling albums of all time. The soundtrack was the first album verified by the Nielsen SoundScan computerized sales monitoring system to have sold more than a million units within a one-week period. The soundtrack later went on to win the Grammy Award for Album of the Year and was certified 17× Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America on November 1, 1999.[10] It is the 15th best-selling album in the United States
5: Bat Out of Hell :
Bat Out of Hell is the second album and major-label debut by American rock singer Meat Loaf, as well as being his first collaboration with composer Jim Steinman, released in October 1977 on Cleveland International/Epic Records. It is one of the best-selling albums in the history of recorded music, having sold over 43 million copies worldwide.[2] Rolling Stone magazine ranked it at number 343 on its list of the 500 greatest albums of all time in 2003.
Its musical style is influenced by Steinman's appreciation of Richard Wagner, Phil Spector, Bruce Springsteen and The Who. Bat Out of Hell has been certified by the Recording Industry Association of America as a platinum album, fourteen times over.[3] As of May 2015, it has spent 485 weeks in the UK Charts.[4] The album went on to become one of the most influential and iconic albums of all time and its songs have remained classic rock staples
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