Can someone explain how?
Hootie and the Blowfish sold 21 million albums? I mean they’re OK , but still…
Greatest Hits Albums shouldn’t count.
Did Yoko Ono’s Greatest Hits make the list?
‘Simon and Garfunkel’s Greatest Hits,’ Simon and Garfunkel (1972), 14 million million certified units
‘Bat Out of Hell,’ Meat Loaf (1977), 14 million
‘Tapestry,’ Carole King (1971), 14 million
‘The Beatles 1962-1966,’ The Beatles (1973), 15 million
‘Greatest Hits 1974-1978,’ Steve Miller Band (1978), 15 million
‘The Dark Side of the Moon,’ Pink Floyd (1973), 15 million
‘Greatest Hits,’ Journey (1998), 15 million
‘Metallica,’ Metallica (1991), 16 million
‘Physical Graffiti,’ Led Zeppelin (1975), 16 million
‘Jagged Little Pill,’ Alanis Morissette (1992), 16 million
‘The Beatles 1967-1970,’ The Beatles (1973), 17 million
‘Greatest Hits,’ Elton John (1974), 17 million
‘Born in the U.S.A.,’ Bruce Springsteen (1984), 17 million
‘Boston,’ Boston (1976), 17 million
‘Appetite for Destruction,’ Guns N’ Roses (1987), 18 million
‘Rumours,’ Fleetwood Mac (1977), 20 million
‘Cracked Rear View,’ Hootie & the Blowfish (1994), 21 million
‘The Wall,’ Pink Floyd (1979), 23 million
‘Greatest Hits Volume I & Volume II,’ Billy Joel, (1985), 23 million
‘The Beatles,’ Beatles (1968), 24 million
‘Led Zeppelin IV,’ Led Zeppelin (1971), 24 million
‘Back in Black,’ AC/DC (1980), 25 million
‘Hotel California,’ Eagles (1975), 26 million
‘Thriller,’ Michael Jackson (1982), 34 million
‘Their Greatest Hits,’ Eagles (1976), 38 million
IMHO, I don’t think greatest hits albums should be counted in a list about greatest “Albums” of all time. Why? Because an Album is a work created by an Artist at a specific period of time as a reflection of their art.
Elvis should be on the list!!!!
MEAT LOAF...Jim Steinman masterpiece! I love that album. Listened to it last weekend while working on the car, and played it again after it finished. Genius. Todd Rundgren never played better, and he did it all with single-takes, including the “motocycle” solo.
How about what constitutes an "Album"? Is it a piece of work created by an artist as a reflection of work at a certain period of time or is it any combination of singles and album tracks grouped together by record companies trying to make money?
I guess rap is much better music based on sales. /s
The Eminem show debuted at No. 1 on the billboard 200 and stayed put for six non-consecutive weeks. With almost 1.3 million albums sold in its second week, the album surpassed all others to become 2002’s best-selling album in the United States and around the world.
In 2022, the project was certified 12x platinum by the RIAA with global sales of 27 million copies.
Wikipedia says Meat Loaf BOH is #12 with 22-34 million sold
BEST ALBUM EVER: Aja (album)
Aja
Aja album cover.jpg
Studio album by Steely Dan
Released September 23, 1977
Recorded Late 1976–July 1977
Studio
Producers’ Workshop and Sound Labs (Hollywood)
Village Recorder (West Los Angeles)
Warner Bros. (Burbank)
ABC and A&R (New York City)
Genre
Jazz rockyacht rockpop rockjazz
Length 39:51
Label ABC
Producer Gary Katz
Steely Dan chronology
(1976) Aja
Singles from Aja
“Peg”
Released: November 1977
“Deacon Blues”
Released: March 1978
“Josie”
Released: August 1978
Aja (pronounced like Asia) is the sixth studio album by the American jazz rock band Steely Dan. It was released on September 23, 1977, by ABC Records. Recording alongside nearly 40 musicians, band leaders Donald Fagen and Walter Becker pushed Steely Dan further into experimenting with different combinations of session players while pursuing longer, more sophisticated compositions and arrangements for the album.
The album peaked at number three on the US charts and number five in the UK, ultimately becoming Steely Dan’s most commercially successful LP. It spawned a number of hit singles, including “Peg”, “Deacon Blues”, and “Josie”.
In July 1978, Aja won the Grammy Award for Best Engineered Recording – Non-Classical and received Grammy nominations for Album of the Year and Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals. It has since appeared frequently on professional rankings of the greatest albums, with critics and audiophiles applauding the album’s high production standards. In 2010, the Library of Congress selected the album for preservation in the National Recording Registry for being “culturally, historically, or artistically significant.”
Waiting for the people here who hate Stevie Nicks comment on “Rumors” making this list, lol.
Always liked “Physical Graffiti” and thought it was one of Led Zeppelin’s better efforts.
Hootie and the Blowfish makes the list? :-)
Hah...I had to buy some of those albums a couple of times. (Dark Side Of The Moon, Led Zep IV). Parties tend to eat albums. Then I have to replace them. But I think I had fun though...
I don’t think “Greatest Hits” albums should be included. Just cheesy.
Yeah, some fair stuff in there, but I prefer :
Jethro Tull - Thick As A Brick
Iron Maiden - Fear Of The Dark
Frank Zappa - Joe’s Garage
Paul Simon - Graceland
Public Enemy - Mess Age In Our Muse Sick
Black Sabbath - Sabotage
Pink Floyd - Meddle
As some I feel in the mood to remember at the moment, not discounting thousands of others I also love, also included among fans of some items on this list.
Really shouldn’t include compilations and “greatest hits” albums along regular releases.
Well I own 10 out of the 25 on vinyl;-)
Some in mastersound versions from when I worked for CBS back in the day;-)