Editor’s Note: This story was originally published in August 2018 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.
For years, Michael Jackson’s iconic album Thriller was recognized as the top-selling album of all time, the album, which was released in 1982, was certified by the RIAA as 34x platinum, selling 34 million copies in the United States.
Thriller was released on Nov. 29, 1982 and has received nonstop critical praise in the decades since. Topping the national charts for two years straight, it was the first album to be the best-selling for two years.
Recently, the RIAA did some recalculations, and there is a new number one.
According to the Associated Press, the Eagles’ Their Greatest Hits (1971–1975) is the best-selling album of all time in the United States. The compilation album, which was released in 1976, has been certified 38x platinum, knocking Thriller from the number one spot. That’s equivalent to 38 million sales of the album.
RIAA hadn’t tallied the sales for the Eagles’ greatest hits album since 2006, when it was (only) at 29x platinum. Since then the industry has flipped, with streaming being the way people consume music.
Don Henley, the founding member of the Eagles, released a statement saying:
“We are grateful for our families, our management, our crew, the people at radio and, most of all, the loyal fans who have stuck with us through the ups and downs of 46 years. It’s been quite a ride.”
Funny enough, Eagles’ Hotel California, released in 1977, is the third best-selling album of all-time. That album has been certified 29x platinum.
On the global charts however, Michael Jackson still reigns. Globally, Thriller has sold more than 70 million copies. Their Greatest Hits lags further behind on those global charts, coming in at only the sixth highest selling album of all time. It gets beat out on the global charts by AC/DC’s Back in Black, Pink Floyd’s The Dark Side of the Moon, Whitney Houston’s The Bodyguard (Soundtrack), and Meat Loaf’s Bat Out of Hell.
From Your Site Articles
Related Articles Around the Web
