With Spotify and other streaming platforms, people no longer have to buy music albums. This is why you rarely see some new record sold in millions of units. But back in the day, this was the norm since you would actually have to buy an album from your music artist in order to listen to it in full. Let’s take a look back at the times when buying music albums was actually a thing and see which are the best-selling music albums of all time.
Eagles – Their Greatest Hits (1971–1975)
Claimed Sales: 44 Million
This might be surprising, but the Eagles made it to the list with a compilation album. It was released in 1976 and consisted of the group’s best songs from their first four studio records.
Pink Floyd – The Dark Side of the Moon
Claimed Sales: 45 Million
Influential British rockers Pink Floyd released The Dark Side of the Moon, their eighth studio release, in 1973. The record brought them international fame and is now considered one of the best albums of all time by audiences and critics.
Whitney Houston – The Bodyguard: Original Soundtrack Album
Claimed Sales: 45 Million
The album served as a soundtrack for the movie The Bodyguard, which was released in 1992 and starred Whitney Houston and Kevin Costner. Houston sang all the songs on the Side A of the record, while Side B featured various other artists. The album was the first to sell one million copies within a single week at the time and ended up winning Grammy Award for Album of the Year.
AC/DC – Back in Black
Claimed Sales: 50 Million
Back in Black was the seventh studio album from Australian rockers AC/DC but the first to feature new lead singer Brian Johnson. It holds the distinction of being the best-selling album of all time that never managed to top the U.S. charts.
Michael Jackson – Thriller
Claimed Sales: 70 Million
Released in 1982, Thriller still remains the best-selling album of all time, and it appears it will stay that for long. The record spent 37 weeks at No. 1, had seven singles in the Top 10, and won Jackson eight Grammy Awards. It needed just over a year to sell 32 million units.