The Highest Selling Music Albums of All-Time

michael jackson

In today’s world, albums aren’t that popular. Most don’t take the time to go to a store, buy a CD and pop it in the car. In fact, some of us don’t even realize our vehicles still have a CD player; it’s becoming as obsolete as the tape. Digital music is all the rage. The majority of the current generation simply downloads full albums or individual songs on iTunes, loads them onto iPads, iPods and iPhones and plugs them into the USB port to listen to music. That’s why some might be shocked to find out that some music albums sold many, many copies.

Dirty Dancing Soundtrack

Dirty Dancing is one of the most well-known, most quoted, and most-loved movies of all time. “Nobody puts Baby in the corner,” is one of the most famous lines of all time, which is why it only makes sense that the movie everyone knows has one of the highest selling albums of all time. The Dirty Dancing soundtrack sold more than 42 million copies to date.

Eagles Greatest Hits

The Eagles are one of the most famous bands of all time. Their music is the stuff your parents listened to growing up, and most of my own generation knows many of their songs because we grew up listening to this particular album thanks to our parents. The Eagle’s Greatest Hits album has sold more than 43 million copies to date.

Meat Loaf, Bat Out of Hell

Again, Meatloaf is one of those bands that people loved back in the late 20th century. Their music is iconic. If you don’t know their music off the top of your head, I encourage you to think again because you do. This particular album is their best selling as well as the one of the best selling albums of all time. It’s sold more than 45 million copies so far, and continues to sell well even though it’s decades old.

AC/DC, Back in Black

Having sold more than 46 million albums to date, the Back in Black album is the second highest selling album of all time. AC/DC is known for their hardcore rock sound and their catchy lyrics. Even if you aren’t a rocker and you prefer something a little more mellow, you are still familiar with a few of their songs because they’re played on the radio and all over the internet on a regular basis.

Michael Jackson, Thriller

Michael Jackson is one of the most famous singers of all time. He’s the King of Pop music, and even though his life ended entirely too soon, his Thriller album is still the highest selling album of all time. With more than 100 million copies purchased by his fans, Thriller is unsurpassed by any other album in the world. It makes sense, though, considering it’s the most emulated dance and it’s a song everyone knows, whether you’re 80 or 8.

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Written by Tiffany Raiford

Tiffany Raiford is a lifelong Floridian, wife to my high school sweetheart and mother of four littles (two girls and boy/girl twins...no, they are not identical and yes, I'm sure). My kids love to whine, so I love to wine. My loves include nap time, bed time, date night, travel and evenings and weekends when my husband is home because he handles all diaper changes.