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Top 250 Best Selling Rock Albums (1967 - 1981) (1 Viewer)

I went backwards on Meat Loaf. My first exposure was the "Bat Out Of Hell guy" that did a song on the masterpiece soundtrack to Thrashin'. Bought BOOH2 my freshman year in college, loved it, and went backwards. Soon bought BOOH, Dead Ringer, Bad Attitude. But that phase soon faded. Big fan of Jim Steinman and theatrical rock, but only in small doses.

RIP Robert Paulsen.
 
Musically, Paradise is a pretty interesting song. One of my bands covered it and it took a while to get it down. Every verse is different musically. The choruses are different. Then the bridge and the never ending ending. Love the song. The rest of the album, not so much.
 
Anarchy99 said:
Meat Loaf is said to have died of complications from COVID in early 2022.
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That was in fact the case, and he was vocal about refusing to get vaccinated.

He was also an avid fantasy baseball player.

And he hated Gary Busey, if we are to believe the edit of The Celebrity Apprentice.

He was a theater guy, performing in The Rocky Horror Picture Show and Hair, and the Bat Out of Hell album very much reflects that. It's so very ... dramatic.
 
zamboni said:
UncleZen said:
Musically, Paradise is a pretty interesting song. One of my bands covered it and it took a while to get it down. Every verse is different musically. The choruses are different. Then the bridge and the never ending ending. Love the song. The rest of the album, not so much.
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I think the title track is even better. Serious shredding by Rundgren.
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Easily the best thing on the album -- and I love Paradise.
 
Paradise is still a great song even though the whole wedding sing along with your partner craze has soured me on it but it still has one of my favorite lyrics:

I started swearing to my god and on my mother's grave
That I would love you to the end of time
I swore that I would love you to the end of time!
So now I'm praying for the end of time
To hurry up and arrive
'Cause if I gotta spend another minute with you
I don't think that I can really survive
I'll never break my promise or forget my vow
But God only knows what I can do right now
I'm praying for the end of time
It's all that I can do
Praying for the end of time,
So I can end my time with you!

(of course my current partner isn't as impressed with them as I am ;) )

That said, Bat Out of Hell rocks and also my favorite by a large margin. I had it #24 in my list of favorite songs by American artist list we did previously. Great tune.

I also think All Revved up is underrated but can see why others would not like it (i.e. anyone who dislikes a saxophone). The last 40 seconds, in particular, stand out
 
zamboni said:
UncleZen said:
Musically, Paradise is a pretty interesting song. One of my bands covered it and it took a while to get it down. Every verse is different musically. The choruses are different. Then the bridge and the never ending ending. Love the song. The rest of the album, not so much.
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I think the title track is even better. Serious shredding by Rundgren.
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There are a few artists where I think the first song off their first album is their best, this would be one.
 
#01T - PINK FLOYD - Dark Side Of The Moon (1973) (50 million albums)
Notable songs: Money (#13), Us And Them, Time, Breathe, Brain Damage, Eclipse, The Great Gig In The Sky, On The Run, Any Colour You Like, Speak To Me

The third PF album in the Top 17. Tim had it at #8, Rolling Stone had it at #35. I don't listen to the radio anywhere as much as I used to, and I still hear many of the songs on this album all the time. It's timeless. That being said, IMO, it's a bit overplayed / overrated . . . but albums that saturate the airwaves have to be good enough to be played incessantly. Fifty million copies sold might be a reach, as I have seen other sites list it at 43-45 million copies sold . . . but that was as of 2013. The album was re-released and remastered last year, so add this to the list of "who knows what the actual number really is." And in the "make it make sense!" category, despite all of those accolades and insane sales figures, the album never topped the UK album charts. #mindblown

The album was released in March 1973, but the band had been performing it in their live performances since January 1972. They continued to update, refine, and redefine the songs in their 70 live performances of the album before it was released. The DSOTM tour finally concluded in December 1974. Up until The Wall, PF often performed early versions of songs from future albums well before those albums were released. The last 6 months of the 1974 tour featured songs that would appear on Wish You Were Here and Animals. Some shows started with both halves of Shine On You Crazy Diamond, followed by Sheep and Dogs to get to intermission. Audiences had to sit through nearly an hour of music that would have been completely unknown to them. The second set featured DSOTM in its entirety (but expanded from 43 minutes to 55+ minutes) with Echoes as the encore. The live performance of DSOTM from London in 1974 is included on the Immersion Edition of the album (and was released on a standalone live album last year). HERE is the entire Wembley concert (with pristine sound quality). If you've never heard it before, it's a must listen if you can carve out 130 minutes to listen to it.

DSOTM had spent a staggering 988 weeks on the Billboard Top 200 albums chart. However, Billboard changed the formula for how they determine album sales in 1991 and again in 2014 when they created and redefined the Top Album Sales chart separate from the Top 200 . . . and DSOTM has appeared on that chart for an additional 482 weeks. As we learned in the NBA thread, my math skills are suspect at times, but I believe that adds up to a total of 1,470 weeks , , , over 28 years . . . on the best-selling album charts in the U.S. And we must tip our collective caps to Alan Parsons for his production and sound engineering on this one.

Back in high school, if you didn't own this album, you were almost considered an alien. It was standard issue, seemingly handed out with your textbooks for school (at least for guys). Girls that owned a copy were automatically considered part of the cool kid's clique. And of course, it was a stoner's paradise (with or without The Wizard of Oz).

As brilliant as Roger Waters was (setting aside his less than stellar and frosty demeanor), his remake of DSOTM released last year was criminal, and he should be sitting in a jail cell somewhere because of it. Not sure why he woke up one day and thought that would be a good idea.

Last but not least, we finish things off and discover that rock and roll ain't noise pollution and rock and roll ain't gonna die.
 
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Anarchy99 said:
Back in high school, if you didn't own this album, you were almost considered an alien. It was standard issue, seemingly handed out with your textbooks for school (at least for guys). Girls that owned a copy were automatically considered part of the cool kid's clique. And of course, it was a stoner's paradise (with or without The Wizard of Oz).
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Hey, anyone know when the Wizard of Oz thing first became a thing?

Years after release? Right away?
 
massraider said:
Anarchy99 said:
Back in high school, if you didn't own this album, you were almost considered an alien. It was standard issue, seemingly handed out with your textbooks for school (at least for guys). Girls that owned a copy were automatically considered part of the cool kid's clique. And of course, it was a stoner's paradise (with or without The Wizard of Oz).
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Hey, anyone know when the Wizard of Oz thing first became a thing?

Years after release? Right away?
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Surprised there's a Wikipedia post on the subject.
 
#01T - AC/DC - Back In Black (1980) (50 million albums)
Notable songs: You Shook Me All Night Long (#35), Title Track (#37), Hells Bells, Rock And Roll Ain't Noise Pollution, Shoot To Thrill, Let Me Put My Love Into You, What Do You Do For Money Honey, Shake A Leg, Givin The Dog A Bone, Have Drink On Me

The 50 million total may be more urban legend than fact, and some places list this one at 35-40 million. But several places guesstimate it at 50. Tim had it at #37, while Rolling Stone had it at #73 on their All-Time Top 500 Albums listing. After the tragic death of Bon Scott, AC/DC wasted very little time moving on. Scott's funeral took place on 3/1, and by 3/29 they had a new singer. They started working on a new album just weeks after Scott passed away. Brian Johnson took over as the third lead singer for the band. (Dave Evans was their initial singer, but he was replaced before they ever went into a recording studio).

The album was essentially written and recorded in a month. It topped the charts in 5 countries, but only could hit #4 in the U.S. (and charted for 597 weeks). In 2020, 2021, and 2022, the album ended up in the Top 100 on the year-end Billboard Top 200 album chart. Producer Mutt Lange went on to work with some musical heavyweights including Foreigner, Def Leppard, The Cars, Bryan Adams, Nickelback, Maroon 5, Muse, Michael Bolton, and future wife Shania Twain.

I remember back in high school that Back In Black was a party staple . . . you couldn't go to party and not hear it. Ditto for college (nearly 10 years later). And I've heard it cranked up at college parties even now (nearly 45 years later). The album just plain rocks, and IMO, it's AC/DC's best album. To me, their other albums with Johnson were all good (and sold well), but they weren't the same. Back In Black is solid throughout. I still enjoy it, but I am past my age of just throwing on crankers played at max volume. Maybe once in a while, but nowhere like in my crazier days of youth.

And that concludes another musical journey. Thanks to those who followed along. A lot of these albums have been commented to death in other threads, so kudos to those that posted things for probably the 8th or 9th time.
 
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BnB is a great album but I would have never guessed it was #1 or even 1a or b. I knew DSOTM was there. I thought ZOSO would have been higher.
 
Anarchy99 said:
The album was essentially written and recorded in a month.
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There's been much debate over the extent to which the album had lyrics written by Scott before he died. Given that this album is closer in quality to those with Scott than to the subsequent ones with Johnson, I'm inclined to believe that Scott's imprint is on it to a greater extent than the band acknowledges.
 
Anarchy99 said:
#01T - AC/DC - Back In Black (1980) (50 million albums)
Notable songs: You Shook Me All Night Long (#35), Title Track (#37), Hells Bells, Rock And Roll Ain't Noise Pollution, Shoot To Thrill, Let Me Put My Love Into You, What Do You Do For Money Honey, Shake A Leg, Givin The Dog A Bone, Have Drink On Me

The 50 million total may be more urban legend than fact, and some places list this one at 35-40 million. But several places guesstimate it at 50. Tim had it at #37, while Rolling Stone had it at #73 on their All-Time Top 500 Albums listing. After the tragic death of Bon Scott, AC/DC wasted very little time moving on. Scott's funeral took place on 3/1, and by 3/29 they had a new singer. They started working on a new album just weeks after Scott passed away. Brian Johnson took over as the third lead singer for the band. (Dave Evans was their initial singer, but he was replaced before they ever went into a recording studio).

The album was essentially written and recorded in a month. It topped the charts in 5 countries, but only could hit #4 in the U.S. (and charted for 597 weeks). In 2020, 2021, and 2022, the album ended up in the Top 100 on the year-end Billboard Top 200 album chart. Producer Mutt Lange went on to work with some musical heavyweights including Foreigner, Def Leppard, The Cars, Bryan Adams, Nickelback, Maroon 5, Muse, Michael Bolton, and future wife Shania Twain.

I remember back in high school that Back In Black was a party staple . . . you couldn't go to party and not hear it. Ditto for college (nearly 10 years later). And I've heard it cranked up at college parties even now (nearly 45 years later). The album just plain rocks, and IMO, it's AC/DC's best album. To me, their other albums with Johnson were all good (and sold well), but they weren't the same. Back In Black is solid throughout. I still enjoy it, but I am past my age of just throwing on crankers played at max volume. Maybe once in a while, but nowhere like in my crazier days of youth.

And that concludes another musical journey. Thanks to those who followed along. A lot of these albums have been commented to death in other threads, so kudos to those that posted things for probably the 8th or 9th time.
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"and future wife Shania Twain." Probably his greatest accomplishment :wub:
 
Here are the 20 albums that were on Tim's Top 100 list but not this one . . .

#100 - BACHMAN-TURNER OVERDRIVE - Bachman Turner Overdrive II (1973)
#92 - STYX - Pieces Of Eight (1978)
#91 - FREE - Fire And Water (1980)
#88 - TOM PETTY & THE HEARTBREAKERS - Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers (1976)
#86 - ALLMAN BROTHERS - Brothers And Sisters (1973)
#83 - LYNYRD SKYNYRD - Second Helping (1974)
#76 - LYNYRD SKYNYRD - Pronounced Leh-Nerd Skin-Nerd (1973)
#72 - STEELY DAN - Can't Buy A Thrill (1972)
#69 - HEART - Dreamboat Annie (1975)
#67 - STYX - The Grand Illusion (1977)
#64 - TOM PETTY - Hard Promises (1981)
#62 - ZZ TOP - Tres Hombres (1973)
#61 - YES - Fragile (1971)
#56 - GRATEFUL DEAD - Workingman's Dead (1970)
#53 - CHICAGO TRANSIT AUTHORITY - Chicago Transit Authority (1969)
#52 - ALLMAN BROTHERS - Eat A Peach (1972)
#44 - THE WHO - Quadrophenia (1973)
#43 - GRATEFUL DEAD - American Beauty (1970)
#30 - THE BAND - The Band (1969)
#21 - STEELY DAN - Aja (1977)
 
Anarchy99 said:
Here are the 20 albums that were on Tim's Top 100 list but not this one . . .

#100 - BACHMAN-TURNER OVERDRIVE - Bachman Turner Overdrive II (1973)
#92 - STYX - Pieces Of Eight (1978)
#91 - FREE - Fire And Water (1980)
#88 - TOM PETTY & THE HEARTBREAKERS - Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers (1976)
#86 - ALLMAN BROTHERS - Brothers And Sisters (1973)
#83 - LYNYRD SKYNYRD - Second Helping (1974)
#76 - LYNYRD SKYNYRD - Pronounced Leh-Nerd Skin-Nerd (1973)
#72 - STEELY DAN - Can't Buy A Thrill (1972)
#69 - HEART - Dreamboat Annie (1975)
#67 - STYX - The Grand Illusion (1977)
#64 - TOM PETTY - Hard Promises (1981)
#62 - ZZ TOP - Tres Hombres (1973)
#61 - YES - Fragile (1971)
#56 - GRATEFUL DEAD - Workingman's Dead (1970)
#53 - CHICAGO TRANSIT AUTHORITY - Chicago Transit Authority (1969)
#52 - ALLMAN BROTHERS - Eat A Peach (1972)
#44 - THE WHO - Quadrophenia (1973)
#43 - GRATEFUL DEAD - American Beauty (1970)
#30 - THE BAND - The Band (1969)
#21 - STEELY DAN - Aja (1977)
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Great job on this whole thing. I’m a little surprised about Hard Promises, Quadrophenia, and Aja not making the list.
Oh and Second Helping. That really surprises me given how big “Sweet Home Alabama” has been over the years.
 
Anarchy99 said:
#01T - AC/DC - Back In Black (1980) (50 million albums)
Notable songs: You Shook Me All Night Long (#35), Title Track (#37), Hells Bells, Rock And Roll Ain't Noise Pollution, Shoot To Thrill, Let Me Put My Love Into You, What Do You Do For Money Honey, Shake A Leg, Givin The Dog A Bone, Have Drink On Me
Click to expand...
Have to admit I didn't see this one coming. I've seen AC/DC probably 6 or 7 times, and agree this is their best, deepest album certainly. I didn't realize it was such a big seller.

Most people I went to high school with didn't necessarily love AC/DC, although almost everyone liked them. The "metalheads" were more into Maiden and Priest, the rockers more into Van Halen, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd or even The Who. Stoners were more into Bob Marley, Jimi, heck even a band like UB40. New Wave from Europe had its share of devotees. I can't remember one person ever claiming AC/DC as their favorite band, or even in their top 4-5. But everyone was down with a little Back in Black (the song) or Hells Bells at a keg party. Who wouldn't be?
 
Agreed - liked this a lot. Would be great to do a top 250 "non-classic rock" countdown (as was defined here), but understand that it's a lot of work.
 
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