Five of a kind

BEFORE the advent of streaming services, music lovers had little choice but to shell out cash for physical copies of albums and LPs if they wanted to hear their favourite artistes. This explains why there ever were albums that became commercial successes. Therefore, the most popular music artistes make the most popular albums.

Even though today music streaming services have made it possible for listeners to pick and choose whatever tunes they want to pay for, when we talk about the best-selling albums of all time, we still have to look back at the classics. Let’s explore the five albums that have sold the most copies around the world.

Thriller by Michael Jackson

-> 67.0 million copies sold

-> Year released: 1982

-> Main genre: Pop

-> Record labels: Epic Records

The album Thriller by Michael Jackson is the best-selling record in music history. Jackson, the second best-selling solo artiste of all time, has sold around 67 million copies of the album. Thriller was Michael Jackson’s sixth studio album, released in November 1982 by Epic Records.

Quincy Jones, who had previously worked with Jackson on his 1979 record Off the Wall, produced the album. Jackson desired to produce an album in which “every song was a killer.” In response to the ongoing backlash against disco music at the time, he shifted musically, resulting in a blend of pop, post-disco, rock, funk and R&B elements.

Black in Black by ACDC

-> 51.2 million copies sold

-> Year released: 1980

-> Main genre: Hard rock

-> Record labels: Albert Productions & Atlantic Records

The album Back in Black is the second most successful of all time. It was an album of hard rock music by AC/DC. The album, which was released globally in July 1980, has sold over 51 million copies. The album was the first following the death of the band’s lead vocalist Ronald Scott (commonly known as “Bon Scott”), who died of alcohol poisoning at the age of 33 in February 1980. Scott was replaced as the primary vocalist by Brian Johnson, who joined the band in April of the same year. As a tribute to Scott, Black was recorded in just two months.

The album was created by Johnson, Angus, and Malcolm Young, and it was recorded in the Bahamas from April to May 1980 over the course of seven weeks with producer Robert John ‘Mutt’ Lange, who had worked on their previous album, Highway to Hell. After its completion, the trio mixed Back in Black in New York City at Electric Lady Studios.

Dark Side of the Moon by Pink Floyd

-> 46.1 million copies sold

-> Year released: 1973

-> Main genre: Rock

-> Record labels: Harvest Records

Pink Floyd’s 1973 album of progressive rock, Dark Side of the Moon was their eighth studio album, and its debut was long overdue. This concept album made great use of experimental techniques to create sounds that had never yet been heard.

With global sales of approximately 46 million copies, the album is also well-known for both its music and its famous album cover. The relatively intriguing artwork cover remains one of the world’s most recognisable album covers.

The album contributed to Pink Floyd’s international success, bringing wealth and acclaim to all four band members. It propelled record sales throughout the entire 1970s music industry as a blockbuster release from the album era.

Their Greatest Hits (1971-1975) by Eagles

-> 41.2 million copies sold

-> Year released: 1976

-> Main genre: Soft rock

-> Record labels: Asylum Records

Eagles’ Greatest Hits include every Country Rock, Folk Rock, and Soft Rock single released between 1971 and 1975. It was released in February 1976 (released the same year as their fifth album, the legendary Hotel California) and has continued to gain sales as it evolved into an oldies compilation. At that time, the album reached number one on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart, where it remained for five weeks.

The record label claimed to have discovered ancient sales records, adding millions to their total. This compilation of singles is comprised of tracks from the Eagle’s first four albums. The record cover was created by artist Boyd Elder using a plastic replica of a real eagle skull. Boyd only received US$5,000 (RM22,000) for his efforts.

Led Zeppelin IV by Led Zeppelin

-> 37 million copies sold

-> Year released: 1971

-> Main genre: Hard rock & metal

-> Record labels: Atlantic Record

Led Zeppelin’s best achievement was 1971’s Led Zeppelin IV, which focused on Hard Rock, Folk Rock, and Heavy Metal precursors. The untitled fourth studio album by the English rock band Led Zeppelin, popularly known as Led Zeppelin IV, was released by Atlantic Records on Nov 8, 1971.

It was produced by guitarist Jimmy Page and recorded primarily at Headley Grange between December 1970 and February 1971.

The album is renowned for including Stairway to Heaven, which has been labelled as the band’s hallmark song, and has become such a mystery social media trend that at one time it was forbidden from being played in almost every guitar store.

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