Top Ten List – 12/14/2010 – Best Selling Albums

TOP TEN BEST SELLING ALBUMS:

10. Fleetwood Mac – Rumours

Genre: Rock

Rumours is the eleventh studio album released in 1977 by British-American band Fleetwood Mac.  Since Rumours‘s release, the album has sold approximately 40 million copies, making Rumours Fleetwood Mac’s most commercially successful album ever released.  Some notable songs that are included on the album are “Go Your Own Way”, “Dreams”, and “You Make Loving Fun”.

9. Bee Gees / Various Artists – Saturday Night Fever

Genre: Disco

Saturday Night Fever: The Official Soundtrack was released alongside the film Saturday Night Fever, starring John Travolta, in 1977.  Saturday Night Fever was well known for reviving the disco phenomenon and starting an American obsession of disco.  Saturday Night Fever: The Official Soundtrack was certified 15x platinum for over 15 million sales, with a current tally of about 40 million copies. The Bee Gees recorded five original songs for the soundtrack, including “Stayin’ Alive”, “How Deep Is Your Love”,  “More Than A Woman”. The soundtrack also won a Grammy award for Album of the year.

8. Backstreet Boys – Millennium

Genre: Pop

The Backstreet Boys rose to fame during the boy band craze during the 1990’s. The Backstreet Boys second album, Millennium, sold about 40 million copies, making them the most successful boy band during the 1990s. In the United States, it holds the record for most shipments in one year, with 11 million in 1999. It was nominated for five Grammy Awards and spawned four Top 40 singles, including the single “I Want It That Way.” Three of the singles, “I Want It That Way“, “Larger Than Life” and “Show Me The Meaning Of Being Lonely“, became some of their most successful and remembered hits of all time, with “I Want It That Way” becoming their biggest hit to date.

7. Various Artists – Dirty Dancing

Genre: Dance / Pop

Dirty Dancing is the original soundtrack of the 1987 film Dirty Dancing. The album became a huge commercial success in the USA. It spent 18 weeks at #1 on the Billboard 200 album sales charts and went multi-platinum. The album sold 42 million copies worldwide. As of 2007, it is still re-entering the Irish charts on occasion, having spent more than 230 weeks in the top 30.

6. Eagles – Their Greatest Hits (1971 – 1975)

Genre: Rock

Their Greatest Hits (1971–1975) is the fifth album by the American rock band the Eagles, a compilation of the Eagles major hits. As of November 2009, 29 million copies have been shipped in the domestic market, making it tied with Michael Jackson’s Thriller as the best-selling album in the United States.^[1] With an additional 13 million internationally, for a total of 42 million, it is one of the top-selling albums in music history.

5.  Meat Loaf – Bat Out Of Hell

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Genre: Rock

Bat Out Of Hell is the second album by American rock artist Meat Loaf, released in October 1977. Selling approximately 200,000 copies per year as of 2010, it is the fifth best selling album worldwide, having sold 43 million copies worldwide. Rolling Stone magazine ranked it at number 343 on its list of the 500 greatest albums of all time in 2003.  Some of the hits off of the album include: “Bat Out Of Hell”, “Paradise By The Dashboard Light”, and “Two Out of Three Ain’t Bad”.

4. Whitney Houston / Various Artists – The Body Guard Official Soundtrack

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Genre: Soundtrack

The Bodyguard is the soundtrack  from the film The Bodyguard, released on November 17, 1992.  The soundtrack features songs by Whitney Houston, as well as songs from various other artists. With this album, Houston became the first act (solo or group, male or female) to sell more than a million copies of an album within a single week period. The soundtrack later went on to win a Grammy Award for Album of the Year and was certified 17× platinum. To date, it has sold over 44 million copies worldwide, becoming the best-selling soundtrack album of all time and overall the best-selling album by a female artist soundtrack or studio.

3. Pink Floyd – Dark Side of the Moon

Genre: Progressive Rock

The Dark Side of the Moon is the eighth studio album by English progressive rock group Pink Floyd, released in March 1973. The concept album built on ideas explored by the band in their live shows and earlier recordings, but it lacks the extended instrumental excursions that characterized their work following the departure in 1968 of founding member, principal composer and lyricist Syd Barret. The Dark Side of the Moon‘s themes include conflict, greed, the passage of time and mental illness, the latter partly inspired by Barrett’s deteriorating mental state. The Dark Side of the Moon was an immediate success, topping the Billboard top 20 for one week. It subsequently remained in the charts for 741 weeks from 1973 to 1988, longer than any other album in history. With an estimated 45 million copies sold, it is Pink Floyd’s most commercially successful album.

2. AC/DC – Back In Black

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Genre: Hard Rock / Heavy Metal

Back in Black is a hard rock album by Australian band AC/DC. It is the seventh Australian and sixth internationally released studio album by the band. Released on 25 July 1980, Back in Black was the first AC/DC album recorded without former lead singer Bon Scott  who died on 19 February 1980 at the age of 33, and was dedicated to him. The band considered disbanding following Scott’s death, but they ultimately decided to continue and shortly thereafter hired Brian Johnson as their new lead singer and lyricist. The album has sold an estimated 49 million copies to date, making it the best selling hard rock or heavy metal album, as well as the best selling album ever released by a band. On 13 December 2007, Back in Black was certified it 22× Multi-Platinum,for the sales of 22 million in the United States. Many AC/DC hits were recorded on this album, including “Hells Bells”, “Shoot To Thrill”, “What You Do for Money Honey”, “Back In Black”, “You Shook Me All Night Long”, and “Rock and Roll Ain’t Noise Pollution”.

1. Michael Jackson – Thriller

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Genre: Pop / R&B

Michael Jackson’s Thriller was released in 1982 and has sold about 120 million copies worldwide.  Thriller is the only album to have sold over 50 million records and is still selling millions of copies in today’s market.  Many of Michael Jackson’s famous singles are included such as “Thriller”, “Billie Jean“, and “Beat it“.