Bogart
Footballguy
More Tough Guy that "Full disclosure: No sleeve. Yet. Just a single arm band with my MC's name..." guy?
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Top 250 Best Selling Rock Albums (1967 - 1981) (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter Anarchy99
- Start date
More Tough Guy that "Full disclosure: No sleeve. Yet. Just a single arm band with my MC's name..." guy?
Anarchy99
Footballguy
#08 - PINK FLOYD - The Wall (1979) (33 million albums)
Notable songs: Another Brick In The Wall (Part II) (#1), Run Like Hell (#53), Comfortably Numb, Hey You, Young Lust, Mother, In The Flesh, Nobody Home, One Of My Turns
We did a song ranking thread for Floyd last year, and Comfortably Numb came out on top. Plenty of discussion of all things Floyd in that thread. Tim had this one at #15. Rolling Stone had it at #129. Another double album that, IMO, would probably have made for a killer single album. As it stands, there are some high highs on the album and a lot of low lows / filler. I get that RW was trying to tell a story, but let's be real, we mostly just care about the music. As I mentioned in the Floyd thread, back in high school, this was an album I listened to a lot, but it's not exactly uplifting. For a while, I had to stop listening to it, as it was making me more depressed.
I do remember the day I bought the album, though. It was 12/15/79, a couple of weeks after my 13th birthday and just after the album had come out. I literally remember the entire day, nearly 45 years later. We took the train into NYC, and I went MSG to see the Celtics and Knicks in a matinee game on a Saturday in Larry Bird's rookie season. IIRC, Larry Legend hit a desperation fadeaway three-pointer at the buzzer for the win for Boston.
I don't think the place is still there, but there used to be a killer NY style deli in Grand Central Station, and before the game, I got a massive pastrami sandwich that was to die for. Before our train back out of the city, I stopped at the record store inside Grand Central and picked up the album. We went to visit my grandmother on the way back, she made her patented Swedish meatballs, and I was dying to listen to the whole album once I got home. ABITW2 was the radio fave at the time. The single shot up to #1 in 14 countries and sold 4 million copies, staying at #1 in the U.S. for 4 weeks. But the rest of the album hadn't really gotten much airplay yet.
My history with Floyd started after Animals and before The Wall. One of my friends made me a mix tape of the songs from Animals, WYWH, and DSOTM. I hadn't dipped into anything prior to that at that point. The Wall was my first ever PF purchase. When I finally got home and played it with headphones on in the dark, it was a musical eargasm. I will always remember that night. I don't think I've had a first listen album experience quite like that one. For me, The Wall was pretty much the end of Floyd as I knew it, as The Final Cut was mostly mediocre leftovers, the band fell apart, and DG's Floyd while still strong musically, just wasn't the same.
My other memory of The Wall was my older friends had bought me a ticket to go see The Wall show on Long Island in 1980 (the full story is in the PF thread), but my mother refused to allow me to go because it was on a school night. Mama's gonna keep you right here under her wing, she won't let you fly but she might let you sing. Mama's gonna keep baby cozy and warm.
Next up, there's a lady who's sure that another titan falls with our next album on the list.
Notable songs: Another Brick In The Wall (Part II) (#1), Run Like Hell (#53), Comfortably Numb, Hey You, Young Lust, Mother, In The Flesh, Nobody Home, One Of My Turns
We did a song ranking thread for Floyd last year, and Comfortably Numb came out on top. Plenty of discussion of all things Floyd in that thread. Tim had this one at #15. Rolling Stone had it at #129. Another double album that, IMO, would probably have made for a killer single album. As it stands, there are some high highs on the album and a lot of low lows / filler. I get that RW was trying to tell a story, but let's be real, we mostly just care about the music. As I mentioned in the Floyd thread, back in high school, this was an album I listened to a lot, but it's not exactly uplifting. For a while, I had to stop listening to it, as it was making me more depressed.
I do remember the day I bought the album, though. It was 12/15/79, a couple of weeks after my 13th birthday and just after the album had come out. I literally remember the entire day, nearly 45 years later. We took the train into NYC, and I went MSG to see the Celtics and Knicks in a matinee game on a Saturday in Larry Bird's rookie season. IIRC, Larry Legend hit a desperation fadeaway three-pointer at the buzzer for the win for Boston.
I don't think the place is still there, but there used to be a killer NY style deli in Grand Central Station, and before the game, I got a massive pastrami sandwich that was to die for. Before our train back out of the city, I stopped at the record store inside Grand Central and picked up the album. We went to visit my grandmother on the way back, she made her patented Swedish meatballs, and I was dying to listen to the whole album once I got home. ABITW2 was the radio fave at the time. The single shot up to #1 in 14 countries and sold 4 million copies, staying at #1 in the U.S. for 4 weeks. But the rest of the album hadn't really gotten much airplay yet.
My history with Floyd started after Animals and before The Wall. One of my friends made me a mix tape of the songs from Animals, WYWH, and DSOTM. I hadn't dipped into anything prior to that at that point. The Wall was my first ever PF purchase. When I finally got home and played it with headphones on in the dark, it was a musical eargasm. I will always remember that night. I don't think I've had a first listen album experience quite like that one. For me, The Wall was pretty much the end of Floyd as I knew it, as The Final Cut was mostly mediocre leftovers, the band fell apart, and DG's Floyd while still strong musically, just wasn't the same.
My other memory of The Wall was my older friends had bought me a ticket to go see The Wall show on Long Island in 1980 (the full story is in the PF thread), but my mother refused to allow me to go because it was on a school night. Mama's gonna keep you right here under her wing, she won't let you fly but she might let you sing. Mama's gonna keep baby cozy and warm.
Next up, there's a lady who's sure that another titan falls with our next album on the list.
Grace Under Pressure
Footballguy
My parents were big into The Beatles. This album was probably the one I remember them playing most frequently.
The segue from the title track to "With a Little Help From My Friends" is terrific. Lots of good songs on this one.
The segue from the title track to "With a Little Help From My Friends" is terrific. Lots of good songs on this one.
Uruk-Hai
Footballguy
This x 1,000,000. The first 5 songs you listed would be a hell of a start. I can't remember the others by title, since.....
I never bought this album. I wasn't much of a Floyd fan then (and I'm not now), so I wasn't shelling out hard-earned money (I was a SR in HS and working two jobs) for an artist I wasn't all that into. But every other kid I knew (at least, the white kids I knew) did and I heard this thing an awful lot. "Brick II" got old really quick - not just on the radio, but from knuckleheads walking through the school halls singing it.
Grace Under Pressure
Footballguy
While I didn't consume LSD and watch/listen to The Wall as often as I did with Dark Side Of The Moon, it probably happened frequently enough.
I listed Comfortably Numb as the #1 Pink Floyd song in the ranking thread. Had to go back to look, listed Run Like Hell as #5, Another Brick #6, and Mother at #7. Mother is the Floyd song I tend to put on most often from their catalog.
It's hard to think of a more cohesive concept that's as tied together as The Wall. If someone told me this was the best album of all time, I probably wouldn't argue against that.
Pip's Invitation
Footballguy
I made my thoughts clear on this during your countdown. The Final Cut is more a Roger Waters therapy session than a Pink Floyd album, but The Wall began the shift to that. I hate most of Disc 2.
Anarchy99
Footballguy
#07 - LED ZEPPELIN - Led Zeppelin IV (1971) (37 million albums)
Notable songs: Black Dog (#15), Rock And Roll (#47), Stairway To Heaven, When The Levee Breaks, Going To California, Misty Mountain Hop, Battle Of Evermore, Four Sticks
We also had a 67-page song ranking thread for Led Zeppelin two years ago. When The Levee Breaks took home the title. Stairway was #2, Black Dog was #7, and California and RNRoll were in the Top 14. The mothership as far as Zeppelin goes. Oddly enough, it's not in my Top 3 Zep albums (I'd go II, I, PG). But that's probably because I've heard the material on this one so much that it's got an overplayed factor that I can't shake. I know people were concerned I would never be able to listen to LZ again after the amount of times I listened to them for that thread, but I am happy to say that oversaturation period has subsided, and I can tolerate them in small doses these days. I don't have a ton to add since then, but . . .
Tim had this one at #3. Rolling Stone had it at #58 (which off the top seems low to me). Black Dog was named after a dog that hung around the studio (the title does not appear in the lyrics). Misty Mountain Hop was one of several songs where Robert Plant referenced the world of author J.R. Tolkien. Four Sticks got its title because Bonham played the song with four drum sticks at a time. It was so difficult to play that it was only performed by the band twice including once in Copenhagen.
The band also recorded versions of No Quarter, Down By The Seaside, Night Flight, and Boogie With Stu for the fourth album. All would appear on either of the next two albums. Fans that attended their 1971 or 1972 tours would get Stairway, Black Dog, and California in the set. Rock And Roll and Misty were played some but not every night. And you wouldn't have heard Evermore, Levee, or Four Sticks.
From what I can remember, Zeppelin was played on FM radio so much in the late 80's / early 90's that a station in Clearwater, FL had a 24/7 Zeppelin format. It only lasted a few weeks before they pivoted to a general classic rock format.
Up next, an album that few people would have thought about for a list like this. But I decided to include it (I'll risk the tar and feathering).
Notable songs: Black Dog (#15), Rock And Roll (#47), Stairway To Heaven, When The Levee Breaks, Going To California, Misty Mountain Hop, Battle Of Evermore, Four Sticks
We also had a 67-page song ranking thread for Led Zeppelin two years ago. When The Levee Breaks took home the title. Stairway was #2, Black Dog was #7, and California and RNRoll were in the Top 14. The mothership as far as Zeppelin goes. Oddly enough, it's not in my Top 3 Zep albums (I'd go II, I, PG). But that's probably because I've heard the material on this one so much that it's got an overplayed factor that I can't shake. I know people were concerned I would never be able to listen to LZ again after the amount of times I listened to them for that thread, but I am happy to say that oversaturation period has subsided, and I can tolerate them in small doses these days. I don't have a ton to add since then, but . . .
Tim had this one at #3. Rolling Stone had it at #58 (which off the top seems low to me). Black Dog was named after a dog that hung around the studio (the title does not appear in the lyrics). Misty Mountain Hop was one of several songs where Robert Plant referenced the world of author J.R. Tolkien. Four Sticks got its title because Bonham played the song with four drum sticks at a time. It was so difficult to play that it was only performed by the band twice including once in Copenhagen.
The band also recorded versions of No Quarter, Down By The Seaside, Night Flight, and Boogie With Stu for the fourth album. All would appear on either of the next two albums. Fans that attended their 1971 or 1972 tours would get Stairway, Black Dog, and California in the set. Rock And Roll and Misty were played some but not every night. And you wouldn't have heard Evermore, Levee, or Four Sticks.
From what I can remember, Zeppelin was played on FM radio so much in the late 80's / early 90's that a station in Clearwater, FL had a 24/7 Zeppelin format. It only lasted a few weeks before they pivoted to a general classic rock format.
Up next, an album that few people would have thought about for a list like this. But I decided to include it (I'll risk the tar and feathering).
New Binky the Doormat
Footballguy
Pip's Invitation
Footballguy
Defies the whole concept of genre.
Uruk-Hai
Footballguy
This is their best. I love III, but it's not even a close competition, IMO.
Anarchy99
Footballguy
#06 - VARIOUS ARTISTS - Grease: The Original Soundtrack From The Motion Picture (1978) (38.1 million albums)
Notable songs: Title Track (#1), You're The One That I Want (#1), Hopelessly Devoted To You (#3), Summer Nights (#5), Greased Lightning (#47), Sandy (#2 in the UK), We Go Together, Beauty School Drop Out
The last of the double albums. It's not rock in the 70's form, but most of it is rock in the 50's / 60's style. The movie and the soundtrack were huge sellers. The movie was the highest grossing musical film of all-time (at the time). The soundtrack topped the U.S. album charts for 12 weeks. It's said to have sold 8 million albums in the States in the first 6 years, 2.5 million from 1985 - 1990, and another 6 million copies since 1991 for a total of 16.5 million. Due to the label having financial issues, the soundtrack is one of the few albums on the list thought to have been under reported.
I can't begin to calculate how many times I have seen the movie. I went several times with my mom when it came out, but my sister, 2 wives, and 2 daughters all liked it. I would save at least 50 times, but probably not 100. Maybe 75 times. My wife and I just went to a stage version of it with all British performers. Our commentary was pretty much aligned . . . John / Olivia did that parts way better. I will confess to having sung Summer Nights and You're The One That I Want as duets multiple times on karaoke night over the years. Sadly, without needing the teleprompter. Fear not, as I have retired from karaoke. And the world is a better place because of it.
There were some notable rock musicians that appeared on the album. Dave Hungate and Mike Porcaro from Toto played on most of the tracks. Peter Frampton played guitar on the title track (sung by Frankie Valli of The Four Seasons). Guitarist Lee Ritenour played throughout. Sha Na Na added several songs in the dance competition segment.
The film set a then record for largest gross after 19 days of release with $40.2 million (popular new films eclipse that on the first day now). It broke the $100 million mark in 66 days and was Paramount's second highest grossing film after The Godfather. It ended the year as the top grossing movie in the U.S. Travolta had quite the year, as he appeared in Saturday Night Fever . . . with a soundtrack album that outsold Grease. After a couple of re-releases, the total global box office for Grease is a shade under $400 million. Adjusted for inflation, that total would be the equivalent of $1.6+ billion today.
This was the main album in the Top 10 that I didn't think many people following along would have in their collection.
Up next, the most streamed album of the 70's, which recently passed over 5 billion streams. (Thus why I mentioned earlier that artists have bigger battles than fighting over how many physical albums they sold.)
Notable songs: Title Track (#1), You're The One That I Want (#1), Hopelessly Devoted To You (#3), Summer Nights (#5), Greased Lightning (#47), Sandy (#2 in the UK), We Go Together, Beauty School Drop Out
The last of the double albums. It's not rock in the 70's form, but most of it is rock in the 50's / 60's style. The movie and the soundtrack were huge sellers. The movie was the highest grossing musical film of all-time (at the time). The soundtrack topped the U.S. album charts for 12 weeks. It's said to have sold 8 million albums in the States in the first 6 years, 2.5 million from 1985 - 1990, and another 6 million copies since 1991 for a total of 16.5 million. Due to the label having financial issues, the soundtrack is one of the few albums on the list thought to have been under reported.
I can't begin to calculate how many times I have seen the movie. I went several times with my mom when it came out, but my sister, 2 wives, and 2 daughters all liked it. I would save at least 50 times, but probably not 100. Maybe 75 times. My wife and I just went to a stage version of it with all British performers. Our commentary was pretty much aligned . . . John / Olivia did that parts way better. I will confess to having sung Summer Nights and You're The One That I Want as duets multiple times on karaoke night over the years. Sadly, without needing the teleprompter. Fear not, as I have retired from karaoke. And the world is a better place because of it.
There were some notable rock musicians that appeared on the album. Dave Hungate and Mike Porcaro from Toto played on most of the tracks. Peter Frampton played guitar on the title track (sung by Frankie Valli of The Four Seasons). Guitarist Lee Ritenour played throughout. Sha Na Na added several songs in the dance competition segment.
The film set a then record for largest gross after 19 days of release with $40.2 million (popular new films eclipse that on the first day now). It broke the $100 million mark in 66 days and was Paramount's second highest grossing film after The Godfather. It ended the year as the top grossing movie in the U.S. Travolta had quite the year, as he appeared in Saturday Night Fever . . . with a soundtrack album that outsold Grease. After a couple of re-releases, the total global box office for Grease is a shade under $400 million. Adjusted for inflation, that total would be the equivalent of $1.6+ billion today.
This was the main album in the Top 10 that I didn't think many people following along would have in their collection.
Up next, the most streamed album of the 70's, which recently passed over 5 billion streams. (Thus why I mentioned earlier that artists have bigger battles than fighting over how many physical albums they sold.)
New Binky the Doormat
Footballguy
Pip's Invitation
Footballguy
We had the cassette when I was growing up and my sister played it constantly. So I am quite familiar with the soundtrack,
The common thread between Grease and Saturday Night Fever aside from Travolta is Barry Gibb. He wrote the title track (and the Bee Gees sometimes performed it in concert).
rockaction
Footballguy
I picked Grease as my album of the year for 1978 in Tim's '70s draft. Tim was appalled, as were a few other commenters. I simply stuck with my guns and gave it my best write-up with my best explanation. In retrospect, if Saturday Night Fever came out the same year, then I probably should have picked that record. otb_lifer would have my *** either way because 1978-9 were great years for post-punk and I skipped the genre entirely, IIRC. I think I took The Clash for '79.
I just re-read my write-up of Grease and there are so many comma splices and unnecessary commas. I'd like to think I've gotten a lot better with usage these days, but I'm still suspect when it comes to commas. At least it's better than in 2016 when I was still on the sauce.
I just re-read my write-up of Grease and there are so many comma splices and unnecessary commas. I'd like to think I've gotten a lot better with usage these days, but I'm still suspect when it comes to commas. At least it's better than in 2016 when I was still on the sauce.
Pip's Invitation
Footballguy
I am always happy to proofread if you need.
rockaction
Footballguy
Love it, Pip. Thanks. I often think about asking you, but I've wondered if that would be off-putting or muck up threads that we're in. I'll definitely keep your offer in mind.
zamboni
Footballguy
Anyway, Grease is a terrific soundtrack.
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Anarchy99
Footballguy
#05 - FLEETWOOD MAC - Rumours (1977) (40 million albums)
Notable songs: Dreams (#1), Don't Stop (#3), You Make Loving Fun (#9), Go Your Own Way (#10), The Chain, Second Hand News, Never Going Back Again, Gold Dust Woman, I Don't Want To Know, Songbird, Silver Springs (some versions)
As mentioned above, Rumours is the most streamed album of the 70's, which passed over 5 billion streams earlier this year. Tim had it at #6. Rolling Stone had it at #7. Some have cited record sales of 45 million . . . and with the influx of digital sales, it could end up at #1 someday. The band had gone through multiple internal relationship breakups, but between the animosity and hostility, they put out their best album. Add in some excessive partying and use of illicit substances, and things got pretty wild. Four singles reached the Top 10 on the Billboard singles chart. It's another album with a vinyl copy sitting in my house (if only I owned a turntable).
Initially slated to be called Yesterday's Gone, a lot of the material had already been written and performed before. Go Your Own Way and Oh Daddy made appearances in live shows in 1975, while The Chain, Gold Dust Woman, You Make Loving Fun, Never Going Back Again, and Silver Springs were performed in 1976. The remaining tracks (Dreams, Don't Stop, Second Hand News, Songbird) were put together for the new album. The band has played nearly 2,000 live shows and has never played I Don't Want To Know.
The band took breaks in the middle of recording the album by trying out some of the new material across a handful of short mini tours, working for a month or two and then touring for a few weeks. Upon its release, Rumours was an immediate success, topping the Billboard album chart for 31 weeks. It ended 1977 as the #1 album for the year in the States . . . and ended 1978 as the #3 best-selling album in the U.S. But it never really went away. It ranked #3 on the U.S. Top Rock albums chart in 2020, 2021, and 2023. It topped that chart in 2022 . . . 45 years after the album was released.
A lot of the tracks are still radio airplay fixtures. I hear Gold Dust Woman way more now than when it came out. The fanbase for this one spans across multiple generations. I find the recent resurgence in the digital universe somewhat surprising. The album has always been great, but somehow it's gotten even greater and more popular in recent times. It's still #7 on the current Top Rock albums chart.
Up next, an album that was partly recorded and mixed in the same studio as Rumours in California (at least from what I can tell).
Notable songs: Dreams (#1), Don't Stop (#3), You Make Loving Fun (#9), Go Your Own Way (#10), The Chain, Second Hand News, Never Going Back Again, Gold Dust Woman, I Don't Want To Know, Songbird, Silver Springs (some versions)
As mentioned above, Rumours is the most streamed album of the 70's, which passed over 5 billion streams earlier this year. Tim had it at #6. Rolling Stone had it at #7. Some have cited record sales of 45 million . . . and with the influx of digital sales, it could end up at #1 someday. The band had gone through multiple internal relationship breakups, but between the animosity and hostility, they put out their best album. Add in some excessive partying and use of illicit substances, and things got pretty wild. Four singles reached the Top 10 on the Billboard singles chart. It's another album with a vinyl copy sitting in my house (if only I owned a turntable).
Initially slated to be called Yesterday's Gone, a lot of the material had already been written and performed before. Go Your Own Way and Oh Daddy made appearances in live shows in 1975, while The Chain, Gold Dust Woman, You Make Loving Fun, Never Going Back Again, and Silver Springs were performed in 1976. The remaining tracks (Dreams, Don't Stop, Second Hand News, Songbird) were put together for the new album. The band has played nearly 2,000 live shows and has never played I Don't Want To Know.
The band took breaks in the middle of recording the album by trying out some of the new material across a handful of short mini tours, working for a month or two and then touring for a few weeks. Upon its release, Rumours was an immediate success, topping the Billboard album chart for 31 weeks. It ended 1977 as the #1 album for the year in the States . . . and ended 1978 as the #3 best-selling album in the U.S. But it never really went away. It ranked #3 on the U.S. Top Rock albums chart in 2020, 2021, and 2023. It topped that chart in 2022 . . . 45 years after the album was released.
A lot of the tracks are still radio airplay fixtures. I hear Gold Dust Woman way more now than when it came out. The fanbase for this one spans across multiple generations. I find the recent resurgence in the digital universe somewhat surprising. The album has always been great, but somehow it's gotten even greater and more popular in recent times. It's still #7 on the current Top Rock albums chart.
Up next, an album that was partly recorded and mixed in the same studio as Rumours in California (at least from what I can tell).
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Coindendentially, I bought my lady friend a turntable for xmas and Rumors was the album I picked up as the companion gift. Made for a great night!
rockaction
Footballguy
They had a video set to their music go absolutely viral on TikTok about four years ago and Gen Z pounced on Fleetwood and adopted the group as their parents' band that they could actually stand. They dug it, by most accounts.
Fleetwood Mac’s TikTok-fueled Renaissance, by the Numbers
How Gen Z’s favorite app sent a Gen X song rocketing up the charts
marker.medium.com
Pip's Invitation
Footballguy
Landslide isn't on this album, it's on the previous self-titled one.
The album took off on streaming in part due to a viral video of someone skateboarding to "Dreams".
Anarchy99
Footballguy
I remember that, but Rumours has been a fixture in the Top 25 of the Top Rock albums chart since 2018. I can see it getting a bump from the TikTok video with Dreams in it, but that was in 2020. The song reentered the Top 100 and peaked again at #12. That's almost 4 years ago, The album seems to have taken on a new life with streaming becoming more popular than ever.
zamboni
Footballguy
An absolute beast of an album, and that's even without the great Silver Springs on the original version.
Bogart
Footballguy
When I was a kid, we were pretty poor on my Mom's side, my aunt and uncle were even poorer, but my cousin's had this album and it was always playing on an old record player in a giant cabinet. The lasting image burned into my brain was my older cousin using the album cover (which looked like a yearbook) as a cutting board to cut As and Bs out of an old report card to tape over Ds and Fs of her current report card before making a copy at the store down the street. All of the adults smoked a lot of weed, so it probably even worked.
Grace Under Pressure
Footballguy
Great, great album. Give my parents a lot of credit for introducing me to this one as well. They played it all the time. I would run around dancing to Don't Stop (I was 6).
Nowadays, I'll throw on You Make Loving Fun, The Chain, Second Hand News and Never Going Back Again pretty regularly. I agree that it holds up well.
Anarchy99
Footballguy
#04 - EAGLES - Hotel California (1976) (42 million albums)
Notable songs: Title Track (#1), New Kid In Town (#1), Life In The Fast Lane (#11), Victim Of Love, Wasted Time, The Last Resort, Pretty Maids All In A Row, Try And Love Again
This one barely nudges out their Greatest Hits 71-75 (41.2 million albums) as their best-selling album. (Some places have the Greatest Hits outselling Hotel California.) IMO, the best Eagles album. The addition of Joe Walsh seemed to kick things up a notch. The album won several Grammys but lost Album of the Year to Rumours.
Tim had it at #41. Rolling Stone had it at #37. Victim Of Love is my favorite Eagles song by a lot. It just rocks. Don Felder was the one that was supposed to sing lead on it, but the band didn't think his vocals fir the song and / or weren't strong enough. Here's Felder performing the song last year. My favorite Eagles offshoot song is Dirty Laundry.
I can't say I've gone a week without hearing the title track . . . and that's just in the course of my usual day-to-day life (on the radio, in a store, at the gym, at a bar/restaurant, etc.). I've seen Don Henley a number of times, and he usually plays Hotel California a little differently than the way the Eagles play it. For example, 1:36:00 into this video.
I have a lot of childhood memories over this one. I had a 5th grade teacher that played albums in class all the time. Not sure how he got away with it, but when he wasn't lecturing, he played rock music the rest of the time (test taking time included). This was the most played album that year. Magical Mystery tour was runner up. From what I remember, Rumours, Boston, and Physical Graffiti rounded out the Top 5. I must say, taking a test with the outro to Hotel California with the wall of guitars was challenging. The guy was crazy (in a fun way). He would let people bring albums in from home. Yes, I brought in the Bay City Rollers once and Goodbye Yellow Brick Road another time. IIRC, word of this practice got out the following year, and I believe enough parents complained that he had to limit the music playing to special occasions only. Boo, hiss, catcalls! Talk about taking the fun out of class.
The band wanted to record the album at the Record Plant in LA, but producer Bill Szymczyk was so petrified about earthquakes that he got the band to record a lot of the album in Miami instead. Black Sabbath was recording there at the same time, and they were said to be so loud that it disrupted what the Eagles were doing. The Last Resort had to be re-recorded multiple times because Black Sabbath could be heard in the background on the master tapes.
As Genesis said . . . and then there were three. Up next, the last new performer to the countdown.
Notable songs: Title Track (#1), New Kid In Town (#1), Life In The Fast Lane (#11), Victim Of Love, Wasted Time, The Last Resort, Pretty Maids All In A Row, Try And Love Again
This one barely nudges out their Greatest Hits 71-75 (41.2 million albums) as their best-selling album. (Some places have the Greatest Hits outselling Hotel California.) IMO, the best Eagles album. The addition of Joe Walsh seemed to kick things up a notch. The album won several Grammys but lost Album of the Year to Rumours.
Tim had it at #41. Rolling Stone had it at #37. Victim Of Love is my favorite Eagles song by a lot. It just rocks. Don Felder was the one that was supposed to sing lead on it, but the band didn't think his vocals fir the song and / or weren't strong enough. Here's Felder performing the song last year. My favorite Eagles offshoot song is Dirty Laundry.
I can't say I've gone a week without hearing the title track . . . and that's just in the course of my usual day-to-day life (on the radio, in a store, at the gym, at a bar/restaurant, etc.). I've seen Don Henley a number of times, and he usually plays Hotel California a little differently than the way the Eagles play it. For example, 1:36:00 into this video.
I have a lot of childhood memories over this one. I had a 5th grade teacher that played albums in class all the time. Not sure how he got away with it, but when he wasn't lecturing, he played rock music the rest of the time (test taking time included). This was the most played album that year. Magical Mystery tour was runner up. From what I remember, Rumours, Boston, and Physical Graffiti rounded out the Top 5. I must say, taking a test with the outro to Hotel California with the wall of guitars was challenging. The guy was crazy (in a fun way). He would let people bring albums in from home. Yes, I brought in the Bay City Rollers once and Goodbye Yellow Brick Road another time. IIRC, word of this practice got out the following year, and I believe enough parents complained that he had to limit the music playing to special occasions only. Boo, hiss, catcalls! Talk about taking the fun out of class.
The band wanted to record the album at the Record Plant in LA, but producer Bill Szymczyk was so petrified about earthquakes that he got the band to record a lot of the album in Miami instead. Black Sabbath was recording there at the same time, and they were said to be so loud that it disrupted what the Eagles were doing. The Last Resort had to be re-recorded multiple times because Black Sabbath could be heard in the background on the master tapes.
As Genesis said . . . and then there were three. Up next, the last new performer to the countdown.
DocHolliday
Footballguy
It will probably always hold up well. It is a fantastic album.
Gr00vus
Footballguy
We've heard and talked about these artists/albums/songs so many times now, it's hard to come up with something interesting to say.
Which is also why I don't listen to many of these artists/albums/songs anymore. E.g. if I never heard the Eagles again, I'd be fine with that. They were played out for me by about 1982. Similarly with a lot of the others here.
Pip's Invitation
Footballguy
My take on The Eagles and this album is the opposite of yours. I think it's much worse than the albums that preceded it. My father and stepmother played the cassette regularly, but unlike other albums they wore out, I don't have fond memories of it. I still enjoy the title track because it's so different from their usual sound, is always fun to sing along to, and has the Walsh-Felder guitar blowout at the end. But I think everything else is boring. Life in the Fast Lane and Victim of Love have the sound of hard rock but not the feel or spirit of it. Wasted Time, Try and Love Again and The Last Resort are crushingly dull ballads. And New Kid in Town is a particularly twee example of yacht rock. Pretty Maids All in a Row is OK, but only because it's a Walsh tune and he rarely sucks outright. He has other songs I'd rather revisit. To sum up the album as a whole, cocaine's a hell of a drug.
A listless Eagles ballad being drowned out by Black Sabbath is a HILARIOUS image. And pretty much sums up how I feel about this album.
The evidence that Walsh improved the Eagles isn't found on this album (except at the end of the title track.) It's found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NA4wXzd7ySM
Anarchy99
Footballguy
Shrug. I like their rock-flavored songs more than their earlier folk-rock roots. We are likely polar opposites on this. I prefer Hotel California and The Long Run to their work recorded pre-Walsh.
Yes, Turn To Stone was a great Barnstorm song (which Walsh later recorded on his own). Both his solo and Eagles live versions are quite entertaining. Felder's contributions helped put it over the top.
Uruk-Hai
Footballguy
I don't know about anyone else, but I was staring at posters of Rhiannon Giddens the last few days. In my dotage, I like that better than commenting for the millionth time on Rumours or ZoSo or Hotel California. It's not your fault - you set the parameters from the jump.
zamboni
Footballguy
Agreed - we've discussed all these behemoth albums many a time. The earlier ones spawned a bit more interest because we hadn't discussed them nearly as much over the years.
Bogart
Footballguy
I will say this: when I listen to The Eagles, it starts with Hotel California or The Long Run, but then I end up going down a Don Henley rabbit hole, which always starts with "New York Minute" and eventually gets to "Leather and Lace:, which then sends me down a Stevie Nicks rabbit hole which eventually just has me putting on Rumours.
The fact that these two albums competed for the same Grammy (along with Aja and Star Wars, geez) and are top five all time in sales works just right for me.
The fact that these two albums competed for the same Grammy (along with Aja and Star Wars, geez) and are top five all time in sales works just right for me.
rockaction
Footballguy
The audience for Hotel California has up and left the building.
What else to say, really? I listened to that album in seventh grade and have fully outgrown it and shed it in almost every way. I remember identifying the title track by that one note harmonic that begins the song. A guitar player had played it and paused, so I blurted out the song to a buddy of mine. My friends were really impressed by that for some reason. It was a beautiful summer night in Philadelphia, which is where my old friends and I would go every year to hang out and catch up. I was in my late thirties, I think. I remember that night because there was this beautiful blonde woman there—probably more attractive than anyone that I'd seen in a long, long time. She was not a girl, either, but a woman. I think I realized I was getting older then. Damn, I missed out on at least attempting to talk to her.
Just a memory. That's all The Eagles mean to me now.
What else to say, really? I listened to that album in seventh grade and have fully outgrown it and shed it in almost every way. I remember identifying the title track by that one note harmonic that begins the song. A guitar player had played it and paused, so I blurted out the song to a buddy of mine. My friends were really impressed by that for some reason. It was a beautiful summer night in Philadelphia, which is where my old friends and I would go every year to hang out and catch up. I was in my late thirties, I think. I remember that night because there was this beautiful blonde woman there—probably more attractive than anyone that I'd seen in a long, long time. She was not a girl, either, but a woman. I think I realized I was getting older then. Damn, I missed out on at least attempting to talk to her.
Just a memory. That's all The Eagles mean to me now.
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John Maddens Lunchbox
Socialism for Dummies
Whats the verdict on the Satanic worship allegations on Hotel California?
Uruk-Hai
Footballguy
I don't think they were smart (or sober) enough to insert Satanic references into their music.
Leroy Hoard
Footballguy
Yes, that was probably more in the wheelhouse of a band like Blue Öyster Cult.
Anarchy99
Footballguy
03 - MEAT LOAF - Bat Out Of Hell (1977) (43 million albums)
Notable songs: Two Out Of Three Ain't Bad (#11), You Took The Words Right Out Of My Mouth (#39), Paradise By The Dashboard Light (#39), Title Track, Al Revved Up With No Place To Go
We say hello and goodbye to Meatloaf. Tim had it at #50. Rolling Stone had it at #343. The album spawned two sequel albums . . . BOOH2 in 1993 (15 million albums) and BOOH3 in 2006 (1.18 million albums). If we call Meat Loaf a solo artist and not a band, he would be the highest ranked solo performer on the list. Similarly, if we call BOOH Meat Loaf's debut album, he would have the highest ranking first album on the list (however, he recorded an album in 1971 billed as Stoney & Meatloaf . . . so there's a lot of gray and it's not black and white on how to categorize it).
The album did feature some well-known musicians including Todd Rundgren, Max Weinberg and Roy Bittan (Springsteen), Edgar Winter, and Kasim Sulton (Utopia). I'm surprised the singles didn't sell better. I remember the big three being played constantly.
It is the best-selling album in Australia. It also spent 522 weeks on the UK albums chart (the second longest chart run for a studio album) and for years ranked in the Top 5 best-selling albums in the UK. A musical version for the stage debuted in 2017. The original concept for the album was based on the musical Neverland, a futuristic rock version of Peter Pan that composer Jim Steiman had written a few years earlier. Despite his name, Meat Love spent more than 10 years as a vegetarian.
BOOH2 featured Meat Loaf's biggest hit: I'd Do Anything For Love (But I Won't Do That), which hit #1 in 17 countries and finished the decade as one of the Top 40 songs of the 90's..
This is a first for me, as I don't have the album, nor have I ever even downloaded a song from it. For a such a huge selling album, that's pretty unusual for me. I never really got into Meat Loaf (the musician or the food). I tend to remember him more for some of his acting roles (Fight Club, Rocky Horror, Wayne's World) than his music catalog. Unlike the other top sellers on the list, I have not heard a Meat Loaf song on the radio in at least 10 years . . . likely even longer than that. It doesn't really fit a modern radio airplay format, and it doesn't appear that stations get many requests to play any of the material. Meat Loaf is said to have died of complications from COVID in early 2022.
We are down to two albums, and it there won't be any surprises which albums are left (although how they ended up surprised me).
Notable songs: Two Out Of Three Ain't Bad (#11), You Took The Words Right Out Of My Mouth (#39), Paradise By The Dashboard Light (#39), Title Track, Al Revved Up With No Place To Go
We say hello and goodbye to Meatloaf. Tim had it at #50. Rolling Stone had it at #343. The album spawned two sequel albums . . . BOOH2 in 1993 (15 million albums) and BOOH3 in 2006 (1.18 million albums). If we call Meat Loaf a solo artist and not a band, he would be the highest ranked solo performer on the list. Similarly, if we call BOOH Meat Loaf's debut album, he would have the highest ranking first album on the list (however, he recorded an album in 1971 billed as Stoney & Meatloaf . . . so there's a lot of gray and it's not black and white on how to categorize it).
The album did feature some well-known musicians including Todd Rundgren, Max Weinberg and Roy Bittan (Springsteen), Edgar Winter, and Kasim Sulton (Utopia). I'm surprised the singles didn't sell better. I remember the big three being played constantly.
It is the best-selling album in Australia. It also spent 522 weeks on the UK albums chart (the second longest chart run for a studio album) and for years ranked in the Top 5 best-selling albums in the UK. A musical version for the stage debuted in 2017. The original concept for the album was based on the musical Neverland, a futuristic rock version of Peter Pan that composer Jim Steiman had written a few years earlier. Despite his name, Meat Love spent more than 10 years as a vegetarian.
BOOH2 featured Meat Loaf's biggest hit: I'd Do Anything For Love (But I Won't Do That), which hit #1 in 17 countries and finished the decade as one of the Top 40 songs of the 90's..
This is a first for me, as I don't have the album, nor have I ever even downloaded a song from it. For a such a huge selling album, that's pretty unusual for me. I never really got into Meat Loaf (the musician or the food). I tend to remember him more for some of his acting roles (Fight Club, Rocky Horror, Wayne's World) than his music catalog. Unlike the other top sellers on the list, I have not heard a Meat Loaf song on the radio in at least 10 years . . . likely even longer than that. It doesn't really fit a modern radio airplay format, and it doesn't appear that stations get many requests to play any of the material. Meat Loaf is said to have died of complications from COVID in early 2022.
We are down to two albums, and it there won't be any surprises which albums are left (although how they ended up surprised me).
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Grace Under Pressure
Footballguy
Meat Loaf, wait...
Kind of underwhelming after some of the recent powerhouses.
Paradise By The Dashboard Light has its moments. Phil Rizzuto going on for what seems like 5 minutes about being out or safe, IDK. Not trying to yuck anyone's yum, but I never really considered Meat Loaf to be serious music.
Kind of underwhelming after some of the recent powerhouses.
Paradise By The Dashboard Light has its moments. Phil Rizzuto going on for what seems like 5 minutes about being out or safe, IDK. Not trying to yuck anyone's yum, but I never really considered Meat Loaf to be serious music.
I love Bat Out of Hell , can sing every song word for word. I still listen to it in it's entirety once or twice a year. Also bought some of the follow-up Meat Loaf Album and while none were as consistent as BOOH they still had a couple of tracks that work. Yes, he/it are bombastic, loud, and over produced but man is that part of the charm for me. It just works. And Mr. Loaf can really belt!
zamboni
Footballguy
Stop right there.
rockaction
Footballguy
Meat Loaf. Yeah, "Paradise By The Dashboard Light" and all of that. I guess albums that sell gobs and gobs of copies will tend towards the inoffensive and mediocre. That's all I have to say about that.
BrutalPenguin
Footballguy
I offered the owner of the bar where I regularly threw darts $100 to take BOOH out of the jukebox. I loved, and then couldn't stand that album.
Bottomfeeder Sports
Footballguy
I'd really like to see the legendary, but [for me at least] unseen performance at the 1978 CBS Convention in New Orleans that, as legend tells us triggered the record company to go all in on promoting this record which resulted in it being here. I've read a few times about the other artist in attendence being blown away, but as I said I have never seen it.
