Boyd Elder made the album cover from a plastic cast of a real eagle skull. A lot of data was impossible for me to find here. It was promoted alongside the film Moonwalker, which starred Michael Jackson. The album still scores around 10,000 sales a week due to covers of the entire album still coming out by various artists. Only 22 albums in history have sold 1 million copies in a single week here they all are. Country star Morgan Wallen released his third studio album One Thing at a Time this Friday and as expected, it is projected to do a big number in the first week. The best-selling boy band of all time are the first group since Led Zeppelin to have their first ten albums reach the top 10 on the Billboard 200. To recall, BTS' "Proof" ranked first on Oricon's Daily Chart on June 23 with 463,718 copies-their own highest first-day sales figure in Japan to date, surpassing "MAP OF THE SOUL: 7," which only sold 227,204 copies. Damn Jay-z had a rough time with DMX and Eminem. 3. Michael Jackson's 1982 . Her godmother was Darlene Love and her honorary aunt was Aretha Franklin. 29. DONDA bests the 295,000 equivalent album unit start for Olivia Rodrigo's SOUR, which until now boasted 2021's biggest release week.Kanye is now one of just seven artists with at least 10 No. Nirvana Nevermind (1991) 30m Come Around Sundown was. I for one would be interested to see who would be able to beat Michael Jacksons astounding 7 million unit achievement. It has since sold more than 12 million copiesin the US and remains the best-selling soundtrack of all time. The last time an album sold more. The final studio album by Simon & Garfunkel topped the charts in over ten countries and received two Grammy Awards. RELATED: Every No. On average, each Spotify user streamed slightly over 3 songs from the album during its first week. Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin IV (1971) 37m Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are as essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. The Marshall Mathers LP has sold over 35 million copies worldwide, making it the best-selling album of the 21st century. The Spice Girls have sold 85 million records worldwide and became the biggest British pop success since The Beatles. The third studio album by Canadian country music singer Shania Twain became the best-selling country music album, the best-selling studio album by a female act, and the best selling album by a Canadian. Yep, 710,000 in 3 days. s.parentNode.insertBefore(gcse, s); In 1994, their major label debut Dookie, became a breakout success and eventually shipped over 10 million copies in the US. Three singles were released from the album, each reaching high in the Billboard Hot 100: New Kid in Town (number one), Hotel California (number one), and Life in the Fast Lane (number 11). In Spring 2017, the album broke the record for the longest-charting album by a female artist on the Billboard 200, surpassing Tapestry by Carole King. Apart from that, "Proof" is now the group's tenth album to top Oricon's Weekly Album Chart. The record label had low expectations, yet it topped the charts in over 30 countries, was the best-selling album for 2 years straight, and is the top seller of the 21st century. im sure roddy is gonna drop something and he should put up really good numbers too. 41. The album was named after the age of Adele during its production, this her second album is the best-selling album of the past decade. This is the best kind of album: it only had 8 tracks and they were all great. When we go deeper on numbers, we notice these records are often stronger thanks to high streams from the entire tracklist. Crazy. With 33m units sold in the US since 1982, Jacksons sixth studio album won a record-breaking eight Grammy Awards in 1984, including Album of the Year. Faith won the Grammy Award for Album of the Year in 1989. Lets add this information to the table. The eighth studio album by Michael Jackson dominated worldwide charts reaching number-one in over 10 countries, helped along by his worldwide number-one hit single Black or White. Its ten tracks of high-energy thats still loved today. If I had to guess, N.W.A. gcse.type = 'text/javascript'; 57 million of these came from Old Town Roads two versions, The biggest EP debut belongs to The Weeknd though with My Dear Melancholy which contains just 6 original tracks. Recorded under the working titles of Vodka and Tonics and Silent Movies, Talking Pictures, Goodbye Yellow Brick Road has come to be regarded as Johns best and most popular album. Trivia Facts: This album hit #1 on the Billboard 200 and stayed on the charts for 950 total weeks. Rick Ross' "Port of Miami" debuted with 187K. The first time we updated this list there were no Latin albums to be seen on the list at all. 23. Official Albums Sales Chart Top 100. 's record and had the most successful first week in hip hop by far. Their self-titled fifth album (the Black Album) marked a change in the bands sound from the thrash metal style of the previous four albums to a slower and heavier one rooted in heavy metal. The follow up to Thriller reached number-one in 25 countries, sold at least two million copies in its first week in the US and remained in the top five on the Billboard 200 album chart for 38 weeks, setting a record for the longest run in the top five by an album from a male solo artist. Written by James Horner and Will Jennings, and serving as the love theme for James Camerons blockbuster film Titanic. Sour was available to way more people thanPurpose, for example. Celine Dion The Colour of My Love (1993) 20m Guns N Roses Appetite for Destruction (1987) 30m In 1977, Fleetwood Mac released Rumours to the Soft Rock crowd, but obviously it had great mass appeal. Which artists do you expect to have the five best first weeks this year and who do you expect will make the top 100? Basically, longer albums have their raw streams inflated while shorter albums have their average streams inflate. Required fields are marked *. Its not one of the best musicals of all time, actually canceled in the U.S. in its early performances. U.S. chart. No Elvis? A track equivalent album is equal to 10 tracks, or 10 songs. Learn how your comment data is processed. Michael Jackson Bad (1987) 35m Trivia Facts: The album Rumours was originally called Yesterdays Gone. As you can expect, the likes Drake and Ariana Grande recorded several of the top album debuts on Spotify, but many more are performing incredibly well. Pepper become the first rock LP to receive a Grammy Award for Album of the Year and was lauded by critics for its innovations in production, song writing and graphic design. It would look very different Im sure. Spice Girls Spice (1996) 23m This albums music videos are said to have transformed videos into an art form. So we took a look back in history at the 50 biggest first week album sales of all time - featuring multiple albums from Eminem, 50 Cent, Jay-Z, Drake, Lil Wayne, Kanye, Snoop Dogg and more. On the US Scale at least, Apple Music is completely paid, and Rap DOMINATES, compared to US Spotify where Pop fares way better. Also despite female rappers being really dominant recently and Doja, cardi b and nicki all either being confirmed or likely to drop albums this upcoming year idk if any of them will make the top 5 for the year, just wondering, are you not counting post malone as hip hop? Eric Robert/Sygma/Kevin Mazur/TAS18 via Getty Images. (Remember Me)| 1997| 549K 37| Jay-Z| The Blueprint 2: The Gift & The Curse| 2002| 545K 38| D12| D12 World| 2004| 544K 39| Drake| If You're Reading This It's Too Late| 2015| 535K 40| Outkast| Stankonia| 2000| 530K 41| Jay-Z| Magna Carta Holy Grail| 2013| 527K 42| T.I.| King| 2006| 522K 43| Snoop Dogg| Da Game Is to Be Sold, Not to Be Told| 1998| 520K 44| Dr. Dre| 2001| 1999| 516K 45| J. Cole| 4 Your Eyez Only| 2016| 511K 46| Outkast| Speakerboxxx/The Love Below| 2003| 510K 47| Drake| More Life| 2017| 505K 48| Juice WRLD| Legends Never Die|2020|497K 49| Kanye West| My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy| 2010| 496K 50| Master P| MP Da Last Don| 1998| 495K 51| The Notorious B.I.G.| Born Again| 1999| 485K 52| Lil Wayne | Tha Carter V | 2018 | 480K 53| Snoop Dogg| Tha Doggfather| 1996| 479K 54| Jay-Z| The Blueprint 3| 2009| 476K 55| Nas| I Am| 1999| 470K 56| T.I.| T.I. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); document.getElementById( "ak_js_2" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Somehow Pac was still having huuge debuts even 6 years after his death. Trivia Facts: This album was issued on the 30th anniversary of the bands break-up. In the 30+ years since, only 22 albums have sold at least 1 million copies in one week. I find it super interesting to look at this and see how current artists stack up against artists of the past so I broke it down into a few charts. Bat Out of Hell was released in 1977 in the Hard Rock and Glam Rock sub-genres. He secured his spot once again as the king of streaming with Certified Lover Boy hitting nearly 500 million streams as well. 3 Life and Times of S. Carter| 1999| 462K 59| Kanye West| 808's & Heartbreak | 2008| 450K 60| Drake| Thank Me Later| 2010| 447K 61| Kanye West| The College Dropout| 2004| 441K 62| DMX| The Great Depression| 2001| 439K 63| Jay-Z & Kanye West| Watch The Throne| 2011| 436K 64| Eminem| Kamikaze| 2018| 434K 65| Lloyd Banks| The Hunger for More| 2004| 433K 66| 2Pac| Tupac: Resurrection| 2003| 430K 67| Ludacris| Chicken-n-Beer| 2003| 429K 68| 2Pac| Until The End of Time| 2001| 427K 69| Jay-Z| American Gangster| 2007| 426K 70| Lauryn Hill| The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill| 1998| 423K 71| Jay-Z| The Blueprint| 2001| 420K 72| Method Man| Tical 2000: Judgement Day| 1998| 411K 73| 2Pac & Outlawz| Still I Rise| 1999| 408K 74| J. Cole | KOD| 2018| 398K 75| Snoop Dogg| Tha Last Meal| 2000| 397K 76| Nelly| Suit| 2004| 396K 77| Nicki Minaj| Pink Friday| 2010| 395K 78| Bone Thugs-N-Harmony| The Art Of War| 1997| 394K 79| Mystikal| Ghetto Fabulous| 1998| 385K 79| The Game| Doctor's Advocate| 2006| 385K 81| G-Unit| Beg for Mercy| 2003| 377K 82| J. Cole| 2014 Forest Hills Drive| 2014| 375K 82| Drake & Future| What A Time to Be Alive| 2015| 375K 84| D12| Devil's Night| 2001| 372K 85| 2Pac| Better Dayz| 2002| 366K 86| Kendrick Lamar| To Pimp a Butterfly| 2015| 363K 87| Ja Rule| Pain Is Love| 2001| 361K 87| Young Buck| Straight Outta Cashville| 2004| 361K 89| Beastie Boys| To the 5 Boroughs| 2004| 360K 90| Nas| Hip Hop Is Dead| 2006| 356K 91| Young Jeezy| The Inspiration| 2006| 352K 92| Jay-Z| Vol. Saturday Night Fever is one of the best movie soundtracks of all time. Top Album Sales Week of March 4, 2023 This Week Award i Last Week Peak Pos. debut was Top 3 in every ranking, so its little surprise to see that The band and studio had an open budget, which meant they did a lot of goofing off, which delayed the release of the album. Each of its five singles, with three of them being international chart toppers. Nothing Was The Same, If Youre Reading This Its Too Late, Views, and More Life all broke the US record for first week streams, showing that the Canadian rapper has been a monster force for many years. Also, on the 20th, BTS' anthology album "Proof" took the No. The biggest is that more and more markets are getting into Spotify making it harder to be big everywhere. With 32 million copies sold, it the best-selling debut album since Guns N Roses Appetite for Destruction (1987) and the best-selling rock album of the 21st century. After having observed the charts for many years, I have noticed a few trends regarding the way in which people buy albums. By 1991, Bad was the second-best-selling album of all time at the time, behind Thriller, having sold 25 million copies worldwide. Live. Divide by British superstar Ed Sheeran is a close runner up with almost 3 streams per user. As a result, whether the song will enter the chart in the following weeks remains to be seen. Around the time of this release the Gallagher brothers were featured regularly in tabloid newspapers for their sibling disputes and wild lifestyles. MTV dominated the pop culture market at the time & Eminem was riding that wave. Theres some newcomers that show that this list can change at any time. Its a tough juggling act. The numbers mark the biggest first week for an album since . 6 on Genie, and No. I update it frequently. It was actually untitled, with some fans calling it Zoso in response to the four symbols each band member chose, which were included in the LPs sleeve. Produced by rock super-producer Robert John Mutt Lange who demanded perfection, it has sold an estimated 50 million copies worldwide. The album went 23x Platinum in the USA. Michael Jackson, *Nsync, Eminem, Ayumi Hamasaki and Bz have all placed two albums each on the list. Post Malone makes a rather impressive feat as well with 2 albums inside the top 5. Some of the profits from the album were invested in the film Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Lets take a look at the next ten that performed really well and may make it in the next decade. once we account for everything it happens to be the top performer out of K-pop have upped its game as well with 4 albums by BTS and Blackpink inside the top 75. The album got a massive 34-million average per song. When released it became the fastest-selling album in British history and features the hit singles With or Without You, I Still Havent Found What Im Looking For, and Where the Streets Have No Name, the first two of which became the groups only number-one singles in the US. Only two albums from the sixties made it and British artists make up only 15 places on the list. Just topples everyone, he would have 3 top, first week sales if encore was counted right. Trivia Facts: Thriller marked the first time Michael Jackson reached the top of the Billboard 200, back when it was called the Billboard Top LPs & Tapes chart. "Millennium," the third album by Backstreet Boys, sold 1,134,000 copies in the first week after its release. "Chocolate Starfish and the Hot Dog Flavored Water," Limp Bizkit's third album, sold 1,055,000 copies in the first week after its release. 2 and 4 spots, and now the No. They take up a ton of slots further down the list, but their compilation of #1 singles is what makes up the album entitled 1. The album sold a whopping 1.7 million copies. Over time the eleventh and final album studio album by The Beatles became viewed as among the Beatles best and many critics have ranked it as one of the greatest albums of all time. Trivia Facts: In 2013, this album has been preserved by the Library of Congress in the National Recording Registry for being culturally significant. 50. You know what Id love to see is a spotify chart of all the streams by paying members and then the non paying. The eleventh studio album by Pink Floyd was a rock opera; its story explores Pink, a jaded rock star whose eventual self-imposed isolation from society is symbolised by a wall. Literally everybody knew about Eminem whether they listened to his music or not. The albums singles, most notably More Than a Feeling and Long Time, were both AM and FM hits, and nearly the entire album receives constant rotation on classic rock radio. We're only talking about projects that sold massively out the gate. Its hard to explain to people who werent there just how fucking big a star Eminem was. In 1996, Oasis performed two nights at Knebworth, England for an audience of 125,000 each night, which were at the time the largest outdoor concerts in UK history. 28. Up to that point, no album had ever amassed 100 million streams on Spotify in its first week. Its a concept album that used a lot of experimental techniques, creating new sounds people had never heard. A truly impressive feat. It would be easy to jump on the conclusion that this genre is bigger in streaming. Lets Talk About Love includes Celine Dions biggest hit, My Heart Will Go On. It was recorded at Abbey Road Studios. we are getting results which are closer and closer to something truly This is partly due to a big growth in users across Asian markets like India, Japan and Indonesia. That stunt helped create the mystique around the album. The. Jagged Little Pill is unbelievably good. Born Geethali Norah Jones Shankar to American concert producer Sue Jones and Indian musician Ravi Shankar, Jones was a lounge singer before finding success. In 2007 the album was certified 22x Multi-Platinum in the USA alone. Bon Jovi Slippery When Wet (1986) 28m "25," the third album by Adele, sold 3,378,000 copies in the first week after its release handily breaking a single-week record that was previously set by *NSYNC in 2000. It is widely agreed that the duo is among the most significant and influential hip-hop acts of all time. You may wonder if this list looks somewhat biased towards older releases since the highest 2020s release barely reach the top 20. Without further ado, here are the Top34 biggest opening weeks, for an album, in music history (the focus of this article): So these are the 35 biggest first weeks in the rock era. After singer Bon Scott went on a drinking binge and died of acute alcohol poisoning, the remaining members almost called it quits. On the list of top 5 . Carole King Tapestry (1971) 25m If we go by certified sales only, Michael Jacksons Thriller remains the indisputed champion by far. GRaceland (Paul Simon).Whats Goin On (Marvin Gaye)? It was the first album to reach 14 million and 15 million sales in the USA since 1991. BLACK PANTHER - WAKANDA FOREVER. It was played for the press live at the Rainbow Theatre a year before its release and they loved it. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Your email address will not be published. umm, you missed Prince and The Revolutions Purple Rain with 25 million copies sold. This is why Billboard is honestly a joke and it's silly to compare artists with different demographics to each other. Boston Boston (1976) 20m 19. Oasis (Whats the Story) Morning Glory? Music industry One step closer to being accurate. Its one of the best arena rock albums ever and a high watermark for heavy metal music. Slippery When Wet transformed the New Jersey band into global superstars. The fourth studio album by Def Leppard released in 1987 has sold over 25 million copies worldwide, including 12 million in the US, and spawned seven hit singles. I understand, you milk it while the getting is good, but with The Beatles its always good, though this almost feels like cheating. The band supported the album with a yearlong world tour, leading to its ultimate 25x Platinum certification. In 2014 Billboard began to take streaming into account for first week sales and total album sales. 24. Our editorial content is not influenced by any commissions we receive. In the USA, Adele seemed to come out of nowhere, but 21 was her second album released in 2011 in the Pop and Soul genres. Well only be listing certified sales numbers. "Red," Swift's fourth album, sold 1,208,000 copies in the first week after its release. 2Pac - Greatest Hits Released: November 24, 1998 Label: Death Row/Interscope Records Units sold: 10 million 5. The album only reached #2 on the Billboard 200. MC Hammer - Please Hammer, Don't Hurt 'Em Released: February 12, 1990 Label: Capitol Records Units sold: 10 million 4. 14. Seven solo male artists occupy placements and the remaining 14 positions are occupied by bands. Norah Jones Come Away with Me (2002) 27m 5 position-meaning the septet now has the three best-selling albums in the first week in Japan of all time. 2. AC/DC Back In Black (1980) 50m This Top 50 is for studio albums only and doesnt include any Greatest Hits, Soundtracks or compilation albums. 49. 2002 - Eminem continues to dominate, the rise of Nelly. Sales of the album now stand at over 32 million copies. 20. This leads us to wonder how does the list look like if we factor in the number of songs into the picture? BTS' 'Yet to Come' Wins on 'Music Bank' - But Other Nominee Draws Attention, THIS Male Idol Draws Attention as HYBE's 'Hidden Card' Amid BTS Temporary Break, BTS Confirmed as 2030 Busan World Expo Official Ambassadors. Elton John Goodbye Yellow Brick Road (1973) 30m A few artists were still able to get a huge album debut on the back of mostly a massive hit or two. "25" went on to sell 1,160,000 copies in its second week and 1,190,000 in its fifth week. Less hip hop and trap style beats dominating the charts. And the biggest benefit goes to compilations and greatest hits records that are full of hit singles. It won Album of the Year from the Grammys, British Album of the Year from the Brit Award, and many more accolades. Your email address will not be published. All Rights Reserved. Since we can, why not quickly list off a bunch more that are very close to making it. Everyone should become familiar with it, in my opinion. In the Netherlands, the album used to hold the record for longest run ever on the Dutch Album chart with 269 weeks (non-consecutive) but lost it to Adeles 21 in 2016. "Double Live," the first live album from country star Garth Brooks, sold 1,085,000 copies in the first week after its release. MLD Entertainment To Debut New Boy Group HORI7ON: Concept, Date, More Details! These includes DJ Khaled and Camila Cabello. 7, while "For Youth" was at no. The album produced seven singles The Girl Is Mine, Billie Jean, Beat It, Wanna Be Startin Somethin', Human Nature, P.Y.T. Spears and her management were presented a track titled Hit Me Baby (One More Time) which had been rejected by girl group TLC. Adele 25 (2015) 22m It was her first international release and first not in the New Jack Swing and Dance-Pop genres. *ARe multiplied by (100 + 4 times the number of songs) divided by 100 and brought to a base 100. 44. 34. Outkast was an American hip-hop duo formed in 1992 consisting of rappers Andre 3000 and Big Boi. kendrick and cole as well if they drop. The album became one of the best-selling albums in history. Michael Jackson merged all of them, plus his typical Funk sound, to great success. :), Holy shit thats absurd. Of course, its easier to repeat a 7-songs album than a 25-songs album, but its still a worthy element to factor in. no one comes close now. A massive commercial success, debuting at number one in 32 countries and breaking first-week sales records. So many great albums that resonated different chapters of my life. that's really cool seeing tribe on the top 5 for 2016.also wonder how much more drake would've sold if he did bundles for scorpion, feel like he easily could've done >1 mil. It later came to be considered one of the greatest albums of all time, as well as being one of the most well-known concept albums. (Pretty Young Thing), and Thriller all of which reached the top 10 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. As many as 3 pop albums feature inside the Top 10 with Ed Sheeran , Ariana Grande and recently released Sour by Olivia Rodrigo. Some of these will surprise you, and others youll have forgotten existed but will make you think of course.. I must admit though that the only album on which I have actually loved every single song / the only one that I would listen to from A to Z without skipping a single one was Jagged Little Pill! 1 Song on the Billboard Hot 100 Since 2000 "1989," Swift's fifth album, sold 1,287,000 copies in the first week after its release. I'm going to guess that Dr. Dre's "The Chronic", Beastie Boys' "Check Your Head", Too $hort's "Shorty the Pimp", MC Ren's "Kizz My Black Azz", and Ice Cube's "The Predator" (193K) round out the top 5. It came out in 1976 and has continued to gain sales as it ultimately became a collection of oldies tracks. Pepper album was released. The Beatles Abbey Road (1969) 31m It says something that DSOTM is stuck between Bat Out of Hell and Back in Black. In addition to recording the highest first-week sales this 2022, "Proof" also achieved the fifth-highest first-week sales by a foreign artist's album in Oricon history. I Want It That Way, one of four singles from this album reached the number-one spot in more than 25 countries. Thank U, Next confirms that no matter how you look at it, it did very well. Divide takes a marginal lead here ahead of Purpose with 18.2% of Spotifys active users streaming it in full one time during its debut week. 13. Michael Jackson 's Thriller, estimated to have sold 70 million copies worldwide, is the best-selling album ever. It went 33x Platinum and won a record-breaking 8 Grammy Awards at the 1984 Grammy Awards. (1995) 22m and i wouldnt be surprised if someone like lil baby dropped again, i know that drip harder 2 has been teased and with how both of those artists have grown in status, that could be a monster release, also i know this sub hates him but the kid laroi is gearing up to have a huge year and i wouldnt be surprised if he snuck in with one of the biggest albums of 2021 as well. The bands first number-one album since Santana III 28 years earlier, for his eighteenth studio album Carlos Santana wanted to focus his musical direction towards pop and radio friendly material and proceeded to do so by collaborating with various contemporary guest artists, including Eric Clapton, Rob Thomas, Eagle-Eye Cherry, Lauryn Hill, Dave Matthews and Cee-Lo Green. Reddit and its partners use cookies and similar technologies to provide you with a better experience. RELATED:Green Label - The Top 10 Best Selling Albums of 2013, Every No. Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. Shania Twain also features in very high position in our Top 10 Richest Country Singers list. 24 February 2023 - 02 March 2023. Michael took advantage of all four genres to create the best-selling album of all time. The tour earned them three Guinness World Records. Famous Idol Trainee's Status After Leaving YG Entertainment, Where Is Guinn Myah Now? 47. The sales definitely reflect part of the impact an artist had. March 5, 2023. Eagles Hotel California (1976) 42m For example Bad Bunny and Jack Harlow were added today! Led Zeppelins best-selling album in the US never topped the charts peaking at number-two. Eminem - The Eminem Show Released: May 28, 2002 Label: Aftermath Entertainment/Interscope Records Swift broke her tie with Adele as the artist with the most million-selling weeks overall (four). With album sales dropping, fewer artists are achieving these targets. None would have troubled the very top end of the ranking yet. The success of the album led to an 18 month worldwide tour and a VHS and DVD release of the tour. DMX's "It's Dark and Hell Is Hot" also sold 251K making 1998 a dominant year for X. Eminem debuted with 283K first week for his "The Slim Shady LP". Just like older albums are higher on this list, the recent ones are lower. The record continues to be so strong on weekly charts today that we tend to miss the fact that Spotify had almost 200 million less users when it came out than now. 37. It was a good choice, being one of the best performing singles ever. Trivia Facts: This was the first album to ever sell more than a million units in one week according to SoundScan. 21. Her label certainly wants to push pure sales with her history in that segment, but I wouldnt count out a really big streaming debut.