Eagles Overtake Thriller as Best Selling Album of all Time

[jobeterob]

https://www.cbc.ca/radio/q/blog/the-eagles-overtake-michael-jackson-s-thriller-for-best-selling-album-of-all-time-1.4791913

[thommg]

For goodness sake, don't tell Stephanie Mills!

[marv2]

Well it took someone long enough. I think the Eagles was a great band, but this is a greatest hits collection. It is not an even match for solo artist such as Michael and a singular release, "Thiller".

[marv2]

HA! I also noticed they said "The top-selling record of all time in the U.S". Show me the total Worldwide sales and then I can celebrate with the Eagles. LOL!

[marv2]

Here's what I was able to find out:

The Eagles' compilation album Their Greatest Hits [[1971–1975) sold more than 26 million copies domestically from its release until the end of 1999

Michael Jackson's "Thriller" sold 66 million Worldwide.

Now the missing piece is the number of the Eagles Greatest Hits sold Worldwide.

Found it! The Eagles :"The Greatest Hits [[1971-1975" sold 40,875,000 Worldwide.

Thriller......................... 66,000,000
Eagles Greatest Hits....... 40,875,000

Thriller is the Top Seller..25,125,000!
Worldwide by

[marv2]

Also, I noticed that they did not included any numbers for units sold in the article, oh well LOL!!!!

[marv2]

For further reference. Here is the certified list of the best selling albums:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_best-selling_albums

[sansradio]

For goodness sake, don't tell Stephanie Mills!

Now THAT’S funny!

[marv2]

Now THAT’S funny!

She'll know it's fake news! LOL!!!

[Doug-Morgan]

I'm vaguely suprised that Pink Floyd's "Dark Side Of The Moon" is only in 4th place on that list. It was on the Billboard charts for 937 weeks. #2 is Bob Marley's "Legend" at 534.

[marv2]

I'm vaguely suprised that Pink Floyd's "Dark Side Of The Moon" is only in 4th place on that list. It was on the Billboard charts for 937 weeks. #2 is Bob Marley's "Legend" at 534.

I Pink Floyd was on there forever.

[jobeterob]

I'm vaguely suprised that Pink Floyd's "Dark Side Of The Moon" is only in 4th place on that list. It was on the Billboard charts for 937 weeks. #2 is Bob Marley's "Legend" at 534.

I think RIAA is one measure and it doesn’t conform with chart position necessarily nor to Soundscan or actual sales

[jobeterob]

https://m.huffingtonpost.ca/entry/eagles-greatest-hits-best-selling_us_5b7ada4ce4b018b93e962df8

[milven]

And then there's this:
In 2013, the RIAA began incorporating streams on YouTube, Spotify and other digital services in its tabulations.

Is it really fair to make this comparison when streaming is now counted as sales? To me, Michael remains number one in SALES.

In the new structure, 150 streams of a song equals one paid download, and ten paid downloads equates to an album download. So, an artist’s music will have to be streamed on any of the approved, included services 1,500 times for an album “sale” to be counted.

And I think you only have to listen to a song for ten or so seconds to count as listened to

https://www.forbes.com/sites/hughmcintyre/2016/02/13/now-that-streaming-can-make-a-song-platinum-what-counts-and-what-doesnt/#69d5671617ef

[milven]

Ha I am watching THE TODAY SHOW, and their tease for the upcoming segment was "What did the Eagles just do to upstage Michael Jackson?"

[marv2]

Its says here in Money Magazine that Michael's "Thriller" has sold more than 100 million according to the RIAA:

http://time.com/money/4151215/michael-jacksons-thriller-album-sales-record/

[milven]

I think RIAA is one measure and it doesn’t conform with chart position necessarily nor to Soundscan or actual sales

RIAA does not use chart positions. It counts sales. But now, streams are counted as sales. The whole setup is different than when there were only physical sales and we had to take money out of our wallet and actually make a purchase.

[marv2]

And then there's this:
In 2013, the RIAA began incorporating streams on YouTube, Spotify and other digital services in its tabulations.

Is it really fair to make this comparison when streaming is now counted as sales? To me, Michael remains number one in SALES.

In the new structure, 150 streams of a song equals one paid download, and ten paid downloads equates to an album download. So, an artist’s music will have to be streamed on any of the approved, included services 1,500 times for an album “sale” to be counted.

And I think you only have to listen to a song for ten or so seconds to count as listened to

https://www.forbes.com/sites/hughmcintyre/2016/02/13/now-that-streaming-can-make-a-song-platinum-what-counts-and-what-doesnt/#69d5671617ef

Well just looking at Youtube alone. The full album "Thriller" has over 2.3 million views [[for one video ,the one with the highest view count) and the full album "The Eagles Greatest Hits 1971-75 has 103,312 the highest view count. I cannot believe those counts switch dramatically on other streaming sites.

[marv2]

https://m.huffingtonpost.ca/entry/eagles-greatest-hits-best-selling_us_5b7ada4ce4b018b93e962df8

They mean only in the U.S. We are NOT the World [[pun intended!).

[marv2]

RIAA says Jackson has sold a total of over one billion records worldwide.

http://time.com/money/4151215/michael-jacksons-thriller-album-sales-record/

[Doug-Morgan]

Milven......

Are you saying that the streaming of a song 150 times equals one LP [[CD, cassette, etc.) sale? That would imply that if the song "Thriller" were downloaded 150 times, it would equal a sale of an LP that has 9 tracks on it. Somehow that doesn't sound right.

I could see it where 150 streams would equal 1 "single [[45) sale, but not a whole album worth.

[PeaceNHarmony]

For goodness sake, don't tell Stephanie Mills!

TOO funny! I was just going to post the same thing! ;)

[jobeterob]

The RIAA actually measures shipments not sales and has been discredited to some extent

Soundscan measures sales

Billboard charts used to incorporate an AirPlay factor for singles

[RanRan79]

Yawn. Thriller's record will never be beaten.

[PeaceNHarmony]

When I saw this report in Billboard a few days ago my first thought was 'WOW! Some of the SD fake-news members are gonna s!it bricks'.

[jobeterob]

I thought this was just a news item, not even a story, let alone anything you’d get hard over

[marv2]

Here is something else I just learned. Double albums are counted as 2 units whereas single albums are counted as 1 unit, therefore The Eagles’ Greatest Hits only sold 19 million copies and hence not number one.

[PeaceNHarmony]

I thought this was just a news item, not even a story, let alone anything you’d get hard over
Well ... you know ... some of us don't have anything else much to get ... what you said. I for one am sure the figures are correct. There's no logical reason for the announcement to be made otherwise.

[marv2]

Michael Jackson has the top selling album in the history of the Universe.

[sansradio]

Here is something else I just learned. Double albums are counted as 2 units whereas single albums are counted as 1 unit, therefore The Eagles’ Greatest Hits only sold 19 million copies and hence not number one.

Greatest Hits 1971-1975 is a single disc album with 10 tracks.

[RanRan79]

I thought this was just a news item, not even a story, let alone anything you’d get hard over

News item, news story...same difference. The headline is misleading. It makes it sound like the Eagles album has sold more copies than Thriller, and that's not true. Of course the article does mention that it's sold more copies in the US than Thriller, but the headline makes it seem like something more. When I saw it, the first thing I thought was how in the world did an Eagles album sale more copies than Thriller in the world? It still boggles my mind that the album has sold more than Thriller even in the US [[seems like nearly everyone I know has had or currently has a copy of Thriller...I don't know anyone who has a copy of the Eagles greatest hits) but that makes more sense than the entire world. So I don't know who's "hard" about it, but it is good to put this in some context. Thriller's worldwide record isn't likely to be broken. And my criticism of the headline isn't of you Rob, but of the original author.

[marv2]

Greatest Hits 1971-1975 is a single disc album with 10 tracks.

Really? Thanks Sansradio. I read where someone claimed it was a two disc collection. I have one of the Eagles albums in my collection somewhere. I bought "Thriller" the week it came out around early December of 1982. This was before I had heard most of the cuts on it. I still have my original album.

[Jerry Oz]

Really? Thanks Sansradio. I read where someone claimed it was a two disc collection. I have one of the Eagles albums in my collection somewhere. I bought "Thriller" the week it came out around early December of 1982. This was before I had heard most of the cuts on it. I still have my original album.I bought "Thriller" the day it arrived. I was mostly listening to "Billie Jean" in the car when I took my cousin over his high school girlfriend's house and she and her sister were blasting "P-Y-T", "Beat It" and "Wanna Be Startin' Something". What a record! Easy to see why it sold more than any other album.

[marv2]

I bought "Thriller" the day it arrived. I was mostly listening to "Billie Jean" in the car when I took my cousin over his high school girlfriend's house and she and her sister were blasting "P-Y-T", "Beat It" and "Wanna Be Startin' Something". What a record! Easy to see why it sold more than any other album.

I am sure a lot of people bought "Thriller" in the first and second year it was out on the market. The Eagles Greatest Hits, however was released in February of 1976 and did a very slow crawl over 42 years. Still, it has not come anywhere never the sales volume of of Michael's "Thriller" Worldwide.

[soulster]

It's trump's fault! :)

[Boogiedown]

--- Hee hee

[soulster]

I bought "Thriller" the day it arrived. I was mostly listening to "Billie Jean" in the car when I took my cousin over his high school girlfriend's house and she and her sister were blasting "P-Y-T", "Beat It" and "Wanna Be Startin' Something". What a record! Easy to see why it sold more than any other album.

The "Off The Wall" album is still better.

[RanRan79]

I bought "Thriller" the day it arrived. I was mostly listening to "Billie Jean" in the car when I took my cousin over his high school girlfriend's house and she and her sister were blasting "P-Y-T", "Beat It" and "Wanna Be Startin' Something". What a record! Easy to see why it sold more than any other album.

Everybody I know seemed to have a copy of this album and it was still be played like new years after it's release. While I'm not crazy about every song on the lp, I can listen to it all the way through without skipping. It's an extremely well done and well preserved album.

[RanRan79]

The "Off The Wall" album is still better.

Personally I find OTW to have the better song for song collection. The only song that drags OTW down is "She's Out of My Life"...a song I hate with a passion. I love every other song on that album. On the flip, there isn't any song on Thriller that I hate, but I don't particularly care for "Human Nature" and "Beat It". I have to skip "She's Out of My Life" on OTW or somebody will end up dead. OMG how I hate that song.

[LoveSupreme]

Why split hairs?

The soundtrack to West Side Story spent 54 weeks at #1 on the Billboard's album charts giving it the longest run at #1 of any album in history. Some lists instead credit Michael Jackson's "Thriller" on the grounds that West Side Story was listed on a chart for stereo albums only at a time when many albums were also recorded in mono.

It all comes down to the criteria used when compiling the data.

At the end of the day both albums are very popular and sold massive amounts of copies and continue to entertain generations.

[marv2]

Why split hairs?

The soundtrack to West Side Story spent 54 weeks at #1 on the Billboard's album charts giving it the longest run at #1 of any album in history. Some lists instead credit Michael Jackson's "Thriller" on the grounds that West Side Story was listed on a chart for stereo albums only at a time when many albums were also recorded in mono.

It all comes down to the criteria used when compiling the data.

At the end of the day both albums are very popular and sold massive amounts of copies and continue to entertain generations.

Very diplomatic, but the fact remains that "Thriller" is still the best selling album in the history of the World. Any thoughts on why the American mainstream media would mislead the public with stories of how the Eagles Greatest Hits is the best selling in their headlines and stories? Many do not even mention the fact that "Thriller" has outsold the Eagles Greatest Hits by tens of millions!

[RanRan79]

Why split hairs?

The soundtrack to West Side Story spent 54 weeks at #1 on the Billboard's album charts giving it the longest run at #1 of any album in history. Some lists instead credit Michael Jackson's "Thriller" on the grounds that West Side Story was listed on a chart for stereo albums only at a time when many albums were also recorded in mono.

It all comes down to the criteria used when compiling the data.

At the end of the day both albums are very popular and sold massive amounts of copies and continue to entertain generations.

Because facts matter. But at the end of the day your bottom line is spot on. Two copies or 200 million copies, Thriller is always going to be one of my favorite albums, I don't give a damn how many people bought it or didn't buy it.

[midnightman]

It's not even much of a story. Apparently they had to agree to not recertify the Eagles' first four albums for them to get that ridiculous, imho, certification.

Sales-wise, though, Thriller and Their Greatest Hits are still neck in neck [[Thriller was around 30.4 million and the Eagles roughly the same amount).

If streams and track downloads were the reason why the Eagles got it over MJ, then why does MJ outstream the Eagles??? LOL

But still, the Eagles are a local legend here. MJ got all the sales [[66 million) so it's STILL the best-selling album of all time. Many American-centric news stations are gonna be American-centric lmao