Eagles Now Have The #1 Album Of All Time
At least in America, the Eagles now have the most popular album of all time. In February of 1976, the Californian country-rockers released Their Greatest Hits (1971-1975), and a week later, the Recording Industry Association Of America certified the album platinum. It was the first album ever to be awarded that plaque. And now it’s earned it 38 times over. As the Associated Press reports, Greatest Hits has now surpassed Michael Jackson’s Thriller as the best-selling album of all time in the US. (Worldwide, Thriller is still #1, with 47 million copies sold.)
The last time the album’s sales numbers were tabulated was in 2006. At that point, it had gone platinum 29 times. At this point, though, with streaming numbers now being counted, the RIAA puts sales of Greatest Hits at 38 million copies. Thriller, meanwhile, sits at a mere 33 million copies. Thriller surpassed Greatest Hits shortly after the 2009 death of Michael Jackson, but with a gap of five million copies, it seems unlikely that Thriller will regain the lead anytime soon. And it also seems worth mentioning that Hotel California, Eagles’ 1976 album, is the #3 best-seller of all time, with sales of 26 million.
In a statement, Eagles frontman Don Henley says, “We are grateful for our families, our management, our crew, the people at radio, and, most of all, the loyal fans who have stuck with us through the ups and downs of 46 years. It’s been quite a ride.”
Nobody tell the Dude.