Posted on 01/23/2026 12:38:45 PM PST by nickcarraway
For years, the Eagles have had the bestselling U.S. album of all time. Now, the classic rock legends have made history once more, as Their Greatest Hits 1971–1975 becomes the first album to receive a quadruple diamond certification from the RIAA for U.S. sales exceeding 40 million.
With this new certification, Eagles now lead the second-highest-certified RIAA album, Michael Jackson's 34x platinum Thriller, by 6 million units. The band also claims the third-bestselling album in RIAA history with Hotel California, which has been updated to 28 million certified units.
Eagles' 'Their Greatest Hits 1971-1975' Has Been Making History for Decades
Released in February 1976, Eagles' Their Greatest Hits 1971-1975 became the first album to receive an RIAA platinum certification, which was introduced the same year. The album spent five weeks atop the Billboard 200 and was inducted into the Library of Congress' National Recording Registry in 2017 for being "culturally, historically or aesthetically significant." A sequel, Eagles Greatest Hits Vol. 2, arrived in 1982 and earned the band another diamond certification, despite their displeasure with the release.
For all the geography enthusiasts reading this: If you laid 40 million vinyl records side by side, they would stretch 7,575 miles — approximately the distance from Eagles' hometown of Los Angeles to Cairo, Egypt.
Interesting but one slight flaw in the theory is that Felder was not in the Eagles during the period Ian describes. However, Felder could have just liked the Tull record. It does sound close. Both phenomenal songs.
That is on volume 2.
Glad to see they are ahead of Maxell Jackson and PedoThriller.
I. Don’t. Care.
I have an office. Gold records on the wall.
Victim of Love, the song that broke up the band. Amazing lyrics btw, like most of their songs...
https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/song-broke-up-the-eagles/
“I hate the effin’ Eagles”!
Dude Lebowski
It did not seem so for the Eagles, but the Pink Floyd concert, and especially the Led Zeppelin concert at the same venue were a different story.
A complimentary return for “They stabbed it with their Steely knives...”
IIRC, they shared the same manager, Irving Azoff.
IIRC Hotel California came out after The Royal Scam, so it was the Eagles who did the “return”.
Memories & details get foggy after a certain age...😊
I was never a big fan of the eagles.
Initially, a country-rock band but POCO was much, MUCH better.
Eagles albums had 2-3 hits, the rest was filler and why their Greatest Hits is their best selling album.
I do have a CDR copy of “Hotel California” burned direct from the studio master tape.
Fun fact: “HC” was recorded on a new type of tape for better sound quality; however, later when it was remaster that “new” tape had its metallic particles separating from the tape substrate.
To “repair” the master tape, it had to be literally baked in an oven to glue the pieces back into the original form.
Don’t post any Eagles songs or Don Henley will sue you.
The Dude does NOT abide.😀
“Felder co wrote Hotel CA.”
“With an assist from Ian Anderson.”
Please unwrap that statement about Ian Anderson. I never heard that before.
See #34
turn up The Eagles…
Don Henley is a Class A a-hole now. Not one nickel of my $ goes to his royalties. Everything is ripped free via YouTube. Eff him and the attorney he rode in on.
I saw them live three times. My big problem with them live was every time I saw them they played each song note for note exactly like the album. No extended solos or jamming.
Ian Anderson, frontman of Jethro Tull, noted similarities between the Eagles’ “Hotel California” (1976) and his own 1969 song “We Used to Know”. He suggested the Eagles may have subconsciously adopted the chord progression, as they opened for Jethro Tull in the early ‘70s. Anderson was flattered, considering “Hotel California” a better song, and never pursued plagiarism claims.
I’m judgement proof.
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