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As of yesterday, LPs (long-playing records) have been around for 61 years. It was June 21, 1948 that Columbia Records first unveiled a record that would hold at least 20 minutes per side. The first 10″ LP ever released was a reissue of The Voice of Frank Sinatra. Since then, of course, millions of records have been released – but only a select few can be considered the best-selling records of all time. Here they are, with a disclaimer: they might be slightly out of order, as different reports have sales varying by a couple of million here and there.
1. Thriller, Michael Jackson, 100-109 million copies. Knowing that Michael Jackson has the best-selling album ever by more than 50 million copies makes his current state of affairs even sadder (creepier… weirder… Whatever). Released in 1982, seven of its nine tracks made the Billboard 200 top 10.
2. Back in Black, AC/DC, 45 million copies. And nearly half of those came from the United States alone, however, although it’s the second-best selling album in the world, it’s only the fifth best-selling album in the U.S. This was the band’s first album without Bon Scott; he had died of alcohol poisoning (although the actual cause of death is debated) just five months before the record was released.
3. Bat out of Hell, Meat Loaf, 43 million copies. The third-best selling album in the world was almost never made because Meat and songwriter Jim Steinman couldn’t find a record company to sign them. Their manager later joked that people were forming record companies just so they could reject the Meat Loaf project. Clive Davis was particularly mean to the duo, asking if they had ever even heard pop music before. Todd Rundgren finally got behind the album, but even so, the album wasn’t an immediate smash hit. It has only been through steady sales over time that Bat out of Hell has reached the #3 spot.
4. Their Greatest Hits, Eagles, 42 million copies. It’s #4 in the world but #1 in the U.S., edging out even Thriller. Nine of the 10 songs on the album made the Top 40, the exception being “Tequila Sunrise.”
5. The Bodyguard, Whitney Houston and various artists, 42 million copies. I had this one, too, and I’m in good company since this is the best-selling soundtrack of all time. Two of the songs – “Run to You” and “I Have Nothing” were nominated for the Best Original Song Academy Award but lost out to “A Whole New World” from Aladdin.
6. Dirty Dancing, various artists, 42 million copies. After the movie’s 1987 release, the soundtrack took off. I, for one, am guilty of loving this soundtrack. The album, which included “(I’ve Had) The Time of My Life” and song sung by Patrick Swayze (”She’s Like the Wind”), is so popular overseas that it still re-enters the Irish pop charts from time to time.
7. The Phantom of the Opera, Andrew Lloyd Webber, 40 million copies. That this album is the only soundtrack to a musical on the list is a testament to its popularity. It was the first album to ever enter the UK Albums chart at #1.
8. Millennium, Backstreet Boys, 40 million copies. If you were in junior high or high school when this album was released, no doubt you’re familiar with its hits: “I Want It That Way” and “Larger Than Life.” When it was first released, it set the record for the most albums sold worldwide in one week – 2.2. million copies.
9. Saturday Night Fever, the BeeGees and various artists, 40 million copies. Although artists like Kool & the Gang and KC and the Sunshine Band played on this album, no doubt most people associate this album with the falsetto-singing band. It’s credited with reviving disco, which had been on its way out before Travolta and Co. made it cool again.
10. Rumours,, Fleetwood Mac, 40 million copies. The band members have acknowledged that the album was almost entirely about their struggles and affairs with one another, because at the time, Mick Fleetwood split from his wife, Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks had just ended their relationship, and John and Christine McVie had separated as well. To deal with the stress of having to hang out with one another to finish this album, they all wrote songs about one another. The personalization panned out pretty well for the group, who won Album of the Year at the 1978 Grammies and spent 31 weeks at the top of the Billboard charts.
11. The Dark Side of the Moon, Pink Floyd, 40 million copies. I’ve talked about Dark Side before, but I didn’t want to leave it off the list since it’s tied with the others at 40 million copies.
Any surprises? I’m surprised the Beatles don’t chart higher – they come in at 32 million for Sgt. Pepper, right behind Shania Twain’s Come on Over,, Led Zeppelin’s Led Zeppelin IV, and Alanis Morissette’s Jagged Little Pill (I literally wore that CD out). Share your shockers in the comments.
Comments (34)
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Surprised that Elton John’s “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” or his “Greatest Hits” wasn’t on here. But if The Beatles didn’t, then poor Elton never had a chance.
posted by Brian on 6-22-2009 at 3:34 pm
i love meatloaf (the band) spent my childhood listening to them. ironically i didn’t know what meatloaf was at the time
posted by allison on 6-22-2009 at 3:40 pm
Allison–and apparently, you still do not know Meat Loaf.
Meat Loaf is a man, born Marvin Lee Aday. The name “meat loaf” seems to have been a nickname he had as a child and eventually changed his name to Meat Loaf.
Meat Loaf is a singer and an actor (and having seen “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” and “Black Dog,” I find Meat Loaf a much better singer than actor).
And while he does have a band, they do not fall under the name “Meat Loaf”–just like Whitney Houston’s band is not known as “Whitney Houston”.
posted by Tim on 6-22-2009 at 3:52 pm
It needs to be said, along with the other Meat Loaf comments, that the reason why the songs are so good, on that first album, is because the recording musicians were members of the E Street Band, and all the members of Rundgren’s super-talented and multi-instrumentalist band Utopia;Jim Steinman’s superior songwriting skills (of the time) notwithstanding.
posted by Bubba on 6-22-2009 at 3:58 pm
Maybe she doesn’t know what meatloaf actually is… Like the food??
Maybe…? Right?… No..
Sorry hun I have to side with the music snobs on this one. He’s a person.
posted by Chrystani on 6-22-2009 at 4:04 pm
Can’t believe the Backstreet Boys are included on a list with the Eagles and AC/DC…
Also,
Allison – you apparently don’t know Tim, either. He’s the dbag that posted below you, bashing you for your post re: meatloaf (the band). “Tim” is apparently a synonym for asshole.
Tim – how about commenting on the article rather than degrading someone else for their comment?
posted by Lus on 6-22-2009 at 4:08 pm
Yeah…that’s so out of place that the backstreet boys are on there.
I call mulligan on them and encourage everyone to go out and buy any album on the list that isn’t the backstreet boys to get them off of there.
posted by holly on 6-22-2009 at 5:03 pm
I still think thriller is a good album.
posted by D.Christian on 6-22-2009 at 5:09 pm
Out of curiosity, where did you do the research for this article? I’d be interested in seeing more precise numbers as well as seeing if any albums released recently have a chance of breaking into the top 10…
posted by Nathan Miller on 6-22-2009 at 5:28 pm
I don’t own any of these albums. But I do own Sgt Pepper, on vinyl and CD.
posted by Karen on 6-22-2009 at 5:30 pm
How could “Tequila Sunrise” not make the Top 40 while “Witchy Woman” did? I skip “Witchy Woman” almost every time I listen to that album.
posted by Jim on 6-22-2009 at 5:30 pm
To Nathan’s comment, I doubt very seriously that you will see any recent albums achieve the status of selling anywhere near 40 million copies. Record sales have dropped significantly in the past 10 yearsm and anything over 2 million copies is considered a great success in today’s market. The days of the 40-million seller, or even the 10-million seller, are history (sad, but true.)
posted by Ron on 6-22-2009 at 5:42 pm
I had the pleasure of interviewing Todd Rundgren last year, and just HAD to ask him about “Bat Out of Hell”, one of my favorite albums of all time. He told me that when they were pitching it to him, they brought him into a room with Steinman on piano, two back-up singers, and Meat Loaf. He performed the ENTIRE ALBUM, in order for Todd. Rundgren said he thought it was a parody of Bruce Springsteen! It was over-wrought, had great guitar, sax and piano, and he thought it was a great comedy album, so he produced it that way…over the top. That’s what makes the album so good!
BTW-Meat Loaf also did the vocals on side 1 of Ted Nugent’s “Free For All” album.
posted by Richard Dixon on 6-22-2009 at 5:44 pm
[...] Original post by Stacy Conradt [...]
posted by Led Zeppelin News » Blog Archive » mental_floss Blog ยป The Quick 10: The 10 Best-Selling LPs of All Time on 6-22-2009 at 6:10 pm
Do these stats account for LPs, 8-tracks, and cassettes? And how far back do their stats go?
posted by Stacia on 6-22-2009 at 6:34 pm
Meat Loaf’s Bat Out of Hell is absolutely one of the best albums ever, and I never can get any of my friends to even listen to it. The title track is probably the best driving song ever (sorry TG), and everything about it just makes you want more. Steinman wrote (many) other hit songs, but it was the combo that really brought it all together.
posted by Dave on 6-22-2009 at 7:51 pm
I think the Beatles aren’t there for the same reason Elvis isn’t: because they had so many albums and they were mostly on or near the same level of quality. The fans’ money was more evenly split between several albums instead of one huge hit recording.
I have owned 1, 2, 3, 4, 9, 10, and 11.
posted by Miss Cellania on 6-22-2009 at 8:45 pm
I can think of at least 5 Beatles albums that are better than any of those on that list. Sgt. Pepper, Abbey Road, The White Album, Revolver, and Rubber Soul.
posted by Grace on 6-22-2009 at 8:46 pm
@ holly
I’m with you :) I was in high school when they came out and I hated them.
posted by Brandy on 6-22-2009 at 9:03 pm
I hate that The backstreet boys have made this list, I can’t tell you anybody that I know that thinks that is considered music. Come to think of it, I haven’t really heard “good music” come out of these lables in a long time.
posted by Brandan on 6-22-2009 at 10:39 pm
A few weeks back, in our police logs, someone called the cops because a group of people were singing Backstreet Boys songs. True story. :D
posted by cmk on 6-22-2009 at 10:44 pm
I loved Meatloaf in the 70’s! I recently saw him on cable performing a concert and man, oh man had he lost a step. You could recognize the songs, but the background singers were turned way up so as to drown out his vocals…
posted by ISDLT on 6-23-2009 at 12:22 am
Speaking of Todd, 6/22 is his birthday. So a happy happy to the wizard, the true star.
posted by ian on 6-23-2009 at 1:39 am
This is a good list, I suppose. It has to do with sales so I have to say I understand the Backstreet Boys being on the list. If you have to go by sales figures only, then it makes sense. I never understood why all those teenage girls spend so much money buying records and now it’s CD sales going through the roof.
I’d like to ask what albums make people’s personal list of faves, not based on sales or radio play, just personal taste.
For me (not in order) the best are:
E John: “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road”
B Joel: “The Stranger/Glass Houses”
F. Mac: “Rumours”
Eagles: “Greatest Hits”
Kansas: “LeftOverture”
Meat Loaf: “Bat Out of Hell”
The Beatles: “Sgt Pepper…”
Pink Floyd:”The Wall/Dk Sd of the Moon”
Queen: “Night at the Opera”
I’m sure I don’t have them all and I like lots of music from 80s to today as well. What list can we come up with of all the greatest albums from 60s to today?
posted by Robert on 6-23-2009 at 2:28 am
I’m getting the feeling that these numbers are including more than just LPs. I really can’t see a group as modern as the backstreet boys selling enough vinyle to make this list.
I also don’t own any of these albums.
posted by roneyii on 6-23-2009 at 7:24 am
Just piping up to say that, sadly, the only album on this list I own outright (not just a few songs from) is the Backstreet Boys. I was in high school when it came out and it does not surprise me any way that it makes the list. My friends and I were willing to spend any amount of money on BSB and so were a hell of a lot of other teen girls. We had money and we let our voices be known.
posted by Lindsey on 6-23-2009 at 10:16 am
Personally, I don’t think Greatest Hits and Soundtracks should count on this type of list. Granted, they still sold albums, but in my personal opinion, if an album contains music that was previously released or is a soundtrack with various artists, it should be invalid on best selling lists.
posted by Ian on 6-23-2009 at 10:24 am
@Robert: Ok, I’ll play…
Nirvana: Unplugged
Jimi Hendrix: Smash Hits
Sublime: Sublime
Eagles: Hotel California
Pearl Jam: Ten
Damian Marley: Welcome to Jamrock
Alice in Chains: Unplugged
The Crow Soundtrack
Steve Miller Band: Greatest Hits 1974-1978
Beastie Boys: License to Ill
I only own 5 of the top ten though.
posted by JHendo on 6-23-2009 at 11:45 am
If people want really good music from recent times, Guster is awesome. Another one is Ted Leo and the Pharmacists, he’s on the indie circuit.
I can see why Backstreet Boys are up there–they WERE the boy band craze (lets face is, nsync and the like didn’t even come close to good ol’ bsb). I was one of the 12 year olds running out to buy their album.
I’m slightly shocked that Pink Floyd didn’t rank higher, but then again, I’m not a huge Eagles or Fleetwood Mac fan.
posted by Megan on 6-23-2009 at 11:54 am
Interesting list. I guess top selling albums do put you in the record books, but long lasting fame and historical significance are also weighed by other factors.
posted by Dan the Music Master on 6-23-2009 at 11:58 am
I’m not surprised that there are so many soundtracks on the list because it allows the album to appeal to a wider audience. You get both fans of the movie and the music. Plis in some cases you get multiple artists on the album.
posted by Dan on 6-23-2009 at 12:46 pm
and IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII will alwaysssssss loviuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu =D
posted by van on 6-23-2009 at 3:14 pm
None are greater than Tapestry, which has sold 22 million, and was the top-selling album from 1971 until Thriller came out 11 years later.
posted by Tapestry fan on 6-23-2009 at 6:46 pm
stop bashing bsb..they sold millions of albums, so, y be surprised? u people r just jealous cuz ur fave artists dont make it on the list.
they can sing admit it or not.
posted by cathy on 10-18-2009 at 2:55 am