Top 250 Best Selling Rock Albums (1967 - 1981) (2 Viewers)

[Uruk-Hai]

I can't recall if Stewart was still getting AOR play when this album came out. AOR was a rotting carcass by this time and had resorted to playing stuff like "Allentown", so maybe "Young Turks" got a spin or two.

When I was listening to the radio back then, it was mainly Top 40, so don't recall if Rod got a lot of AOR airplay at that point - he seemed to be more known for the likes of "Passion" and "Do Ya Think I'm Sexy" . MTV definitely gave him a renewed boost with the videos for "Young Turks" and, to a lesser extent, the title track.

My recollection is that his AOR plays (other than flashback shows that played his older stuff) dried up except for the occasional spin after "Tonight's The Night", but I may be retconning it. I forgot about "Passion" - maybe that got some play, as it's kinda rock-y.

Anyway, my main point was to get a dig into another artist. His new song stinks, by the way.

 

[zamboni]

I can't recall if Stewart was still getting AOR play when this album came out. AOR was a rotting carcass by this time and had resorted to playing stuff like "Allentown", so maybe "Young Turks" got a spin or two.

When I was listening to the radio back then, it was mainly Top 40, so don't recall if Rod got a lot of AOR airplay at that point - he seemed to be more known for the likes of "Passion" and "Do Ya Think I'm Sexy" . MTV definitely gave him a renewed boost with the videos for "Young Turks" and, to a lesser extent, the title track.

My recollection is that his AOR plays (other than flashback shows that played his older stuff) dried up except for the occasional spin after "Tonight's The Night", but I may be retconning it. I forgot about "Passion" - maybe that got some play, as it's kinda rock-y.

Anyway, my main point was to get a dig into another artist. His new song stinks, by the way.

Was never a big Rod fan other than his work with the Jeff Beck Group and Every Picture Tells A Story. I do have a soft spot for "Passion", though due more to Phil Chen's killer bass work than Rod himself.

 

[Anarchy99]

#209 - JOURNEY - Departure (1980) (3.81 million albums)
Notable songs: Any Way You Want It (#23), Walks Like A Lady (#32), Good Morning Girl - Stay Awhile (#55), Where Were You

I can't hear Any Way You Want It and not think Caddyshack. I liked the band before and with Steve Perry. Not so much with Jeff Scott Soto, Steve Augeri, or Arnel Pineda. Pineda has now been the front man for 17 years. Perry was only around for 13 years. Yet it seems like Pineda is the new guy and Perry was around forever.

#208 - ELVIS PRESLEY - Moody Blue (1977) (3.82 million albums)
Notable songs: Way Down (#18), Title Track (#31), Unchained Melody, If You Love Me (Let Me Know)

Released shortly before Elvis died, I am guessing that sparked a big boost in sales. My mom was big into him, and she and I were set to go see him but that show never happened.

#207 - WINGS - London Town (1978) (3.86 million albums)
Notable songs: With A Little Luck (#1), I've Had Enough (#25), Title Track (#39), Mull Of Kintyre (#33 - Reissue)

Paul remained popular as a solo artist . . . he had 21 Top 10 albums in the U.S. IMO, not much was of similar quality as the material produced when he was with The Beatles. I still enough his solo catalog, but I would take his Beatles output to listen to way more frequently.

#205T - SUPERTRAMP - Crisis? What Crisis? (1975) (3.87 million albums)
Notable songs: Lady, Ain't Nobody But Me, Two Of Us

I'm familiar with Supertramp's other 70s album. This one, not so much. I may have heard Lady once or twice, but don't remember any of the other tracks.

#205T - ROD STEWART - Never A Dull Moment (1972) (3.87 million albums)
Notable songs: You Wear It Well (#13), Angel (#40), Twistin' The Night Away (#59)

More from Rod he Mod, although this time more in his rock / quality output era. I had forgotten he recorded a version of Jimi's Angel. Stewart with guitarist Ronnie Wood typically put together some strong tracks over the years.

#204 - AEROSMITH - Get Your Wings (1974) (3.88 million albums)
Notable tracks: Same Old Song And Dance, Train Kept A Rollin, S.O.S. (Too Bad), Seasons Of Wither, Lord Of The Thighs, Woman Of The World

The second offering from Aerosmith did not produce any singles that hit the charts, but still a decent rock album. Set the groundwork for their monster followup effort.

#203 - WINGS - Wings At The Speed Of Sound (1976) (3.89 million albums)
Notable songs: Silly Love Songs (#1), Let 'Em In (#3), Beware My Love

Another one from Sir Paul. Hard to imagine that the same guy sang Helter Skelter and Silly Love Songs, but here we are. I do enjoy Let 'Em In, as to me it's Beatleseque.

#202 - CREAM - Wheels Of Fire (1968) (3.94 million albums)
Notable songs: White Room (#5), Crossroads (#17), Sitting On Top Of The World, Politician, Born Under A Bad Sign

I could listen to Cream all day (and have in the past). IMO, the most enjoyable and listenable material taken as a whole of EC's catalog. To be clear, I do like a lot of his work (especially Derek & The Dominos), but I find his other stuff sort of spotty or hit or miss.

#201 - BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN - Greeting From Ashbury Park, N.J. (1973) (3.95 million)
Notable songs: Blinded By The Light, Spirit In The Night, It's hard To Be A Saint In The City

The album that started everything off for Springsteen (and another entry from Rollin Stones' Top 500 Albums of All-Time. I'm guessing I may be in the minority, but I never got that into Bruce. I like some of his songs, but I know some folks that worship the ground he stands on and have seen him 25 times. Good on them, but not really my bag.

We finish up the first panel on the listing up top . . . 20% of the list down, 80% to go.

 

[zamboni]

#205T - SUPERTRAMP - Crisis? What Crisis? (1975) (3.87 million albums)
Notable songs: Lady, Ain't Nobody But Me, Two Of Us

I'm familiar with Supertramp's other 70s album. This one, not so much. I may have heard Lady once or twice, but don't remember any of the other tracks.

This surprised me that it sold this much. I would have thought that, at most, three of their albums would have sold this much, but this isn't one of them.

 

[Anarchy99]

#205T - SUPERTRAMP - Crisis? What Crisis? (1975) (3.87 million albums)
Notable songs: Lady, Ain't Nobody But Me, Two Of Us

I'm familiar with Supertramp's other 70s album. This one, not so much. I may have heard Lady once or twice, but don't remember any of the other tracks.

This surprised me that it sold this much. I would have thought that, at most, three of their albums would have sold this much, but this isn't one of them.

SPOLIER ALERT: You aren't wrong on the other albums.

 

[Doug B]

#205T - SUPERTRAMP - Crisis? What Crisis? (1975) (3.87 million albums)
Notable songs: Lady, Ain't Nobody But Me, Two Of Us

I'm familiar with Supertramp's other 70s album. This one, not so much. I may have heard Lady once or twice, but don't remember any of the other tracks.

This surprised me that it sold this much. I would have thought that, at most, three of their albums would have sold this much, but this isn't one of them.

One thing we have to remember is that these are worldwide sales figures.

When I was looking earlier at the 1970s Gabriel-era Genesis albums for sales certifications ... while, yes, they were "just Gold" in the UK and Gold or single Platinum in the US ... they were gold and platinum every flippin' where else, too. In every sizeable European country. In Australia and Canada. Etc. I wouldn't surprised to see something similar for Supertramp's work.

EDIT: Crisis? was also reissued in 2002. The early Genesis albums were reissued a few times each, as well. I'm not sure how big a bump a reissue gives, but I'm sure it's not nothing.

 

[Pip's Invitation]

#219 - GEORGE HARRISON - All Things Must Pass (1970) (3.66 million albums)
Notable tracks: My Sweet Lord (#1), What Is Life (#10), Isn't It A Pity, If Not For You, Beware Of Darkness, Title Track, Wah-Wah

Included in the most recent Rolling Stone Top 500 Albums. Tim had it at #33. It makes you wonder how things could have panned out if The Beatles evolved into a songwriting trio (and actually looked at George as an equal). I don't think it will be considered much of a hot take, but for my money the best of the Beatles solo albums.

#217T - U2 - Boy (1980) (3.7 million albums)
Notable tracks: I Will Follow, Out Of Control, The Electric Co., An Cat Dubh, Into The Heart

It says a lot when I am describing an album from 44 years ago, while in the U2 thread, people are describing the shows they just saw in Las Vegas. The band has yet to play anything from this album in their LV residency (31 shows as of last night). They were all 18-20 years old when they recorded the Boy album.

#217T - ROLLING STONES - It's Only Rock 'N Roll (1974) (3.7 million albums)
Notable songs: Title Track (#16), Ain't Too Proud To Beg (#17), Dance Little Sister, If You Can't Rock Me, Time Waits For No One

The first of many from The Stones and the last of the 6 albums Mick Taylor played on as a regular band member. I like a lot of the songs by The Stones, but I can't say I was ever someone to listen to entire albums by them very often. I think this album is a solid effort, but coming off a slew of insanely great albums, IMO, this one is only very good.

#216 - LINDA RONSTADT - Simple Dreams (1977) (3.72 million albums)
Notable songs: Blue Bayou (#3), It's So Easy (#5), Poor Poor Pitiful Me (#31), Tumbling Dice

Ronstadt had 21 Top 40 hits including a number of rock-oriented efforts in the 70s and early 80s before she went down the adult contemporary path. I was a fan back in the day and heard her a lot on AM radio (remember that?) Sheryl Crow reminds me of her. Due to health issues, Linda has had to retire and hasn't performed in almost 6 years.

#215 - ROD STEWART - Tonight I'm Yours (3.74 million albums)
Notable songs: Young Turks (#5), Title Track (#20), How Long (#49), Just Like A Woman, How Long

There was a lot of heated discussion about whether Rod was considered a classic rock artist or not. At various stages in his career, Stweart has wondered through rock, pop, disco, adult contemporary, even big band genres. As a young teen, I liked Young Turks a lot.

George laps the field in this grouping. The rest are all fine and have their moments.

I can't recall if Stewart was still getting AOR play when this album came out. AOR was a rotting carcass by this time and had resorted to playing stuff like "Allentown", so maybe "Young Turks" got a spin or two.

I think Young Turks and the title track got played on my FM stations. Young Turks was more ubiquitous on MTV, though.

 

[zamboni]

#205T - SUPERTRAMP - Crisis? What Crisis? (1975) (3.87 million albums)
Notable songs: Lady, Ain't Nobody But Me, Two Of Us

I'm familiar with Supertramp's other 70s album. This one, not so much. I may have heard Lady once or twice, but don't remember any of the other tracks.

This surprised me that it sold this much. I would have thought that, at most, three of their albums would have sold this much, but this isn't one of them.

One thing we have to remember is that these are worldwide sales figures.

When I was looking earlier at the 1970s Gabriel-era Genesis albums for sales certifications ... while, yes, they were "just Gold" in the UK and Gold or single Platinum in the US ... they were gold and platinum every flippin' where else, too. In every sizeable European country. In Australia and Canada. Etc. I wouldn't surprised to see something similar for Supertramp's work.

That's a fair point - I am admittedly being U.S.-centric when I see these results.

 

[Pip's Invitation]

I think "Skyline" is my favorite Dylan album. I like most of the songs and he does the best singing of his career on it (I think he had quit smoking before cutting it).

He did. Or at least that was the explanation he gave as to why his voice sounded different. You can't really take anything he says to the media at face value. He was a troll long before the internet existed.

Not crazy about the Gabriel version of Genesis.

You are DEAD to me!

The title track here probably gets the most airplay nowadays of all of the Gabriel era.

Yep. This was true in the '80s as well. I was surprised to learn it was not released as single (from this album, those were Carpet Crawlers and Counting Out Time).

 

[Pip's Invitation]

#217T - U2 - Boy (1980) (3.7 million albums)
Notable tracks: I Will Follow, Out Of Control, The Electric Co., An Cat Dubh, Into The Heart

It says a lot when I am describing an album from 44 years ago, while in the U2 thread, people are describing the shows they just saw in Las Vegas. The band has yet to play anything from this album in their LV residency (31 shows as of last night). They were all 18-20 years old when they recorded the Boy album.

As mentioned upthread, give me the first three U2 albums all day when their sound was so much rawer. An Cat Dubh is one of their very best tunes IMO.

An Cat Dubh -> Into the Heart is an amazing sequence. As I said in JML's U2 countdown, if we were allowed to rank them as one piece, that would have been VERY high on my list.

 

[Pip's Invitation]

I can't recall if Stewart was still getting AOR play when this album came out. AOR was a rotting carcass by this time and had resorted to playing stuff like "Allentown", so maybe "Young Turks" got a spin or two.

When I was listening to the radio back then, it was mainly Top 40, so don't recall if Rod got a lot of AOR airplay at that point - he seemed to be more known for the likes of "Passion" and "Do Ya Think I'm Sexy" . MTV definitely gave him a renewed boost with the videos for "Young Turks" and, to a lesser extent, the title track.

My recollection is that his AOR plays (other than flashback shows that played his older stuff) dried up except for the occasional spin after "Tonight's The Night", but I may be retconning it. I forgot about "Passion" - maybe that got some play, as it's kinda rock-y.

Anyway, my main point was to get a dig into another artist. His new song stinks, by the way.

I definitely remember my FM stations in the '80s playing Passion.

I need passion
You need passion
Even the president needs
Passion

By the late '80s he was doing straight pop and I don't remember hearing his new material on rock stations.

 

[Pip's Invitation]

#205T - SUPERTRAMP - Crisis? What Crisis? (1975) (3.87 million albums)
Notable songs: Lady, Ain't Nobody But Me, Two Of Us

I'm familiar with Supertramp's other 70s album. This one, not so much. I may have heard Lady once or twice, but don't remember any of the other tracks.

This surprised me that it sold this much. I would have thought that, at most, three of their albums would have sold this much, but this isn't one of them.

This came right after their breakout album Crime of the Century, so there were probably some "rebound" sales from that. And then a few years later, Breakfast in America expanded their audience further, which probably led to new fans buying older albums such as this one. I don't think I've ever heard any track from this on the radio.

 

[Grace Under Pressure]

#217T - U2 - Boy (1980) (3.7 million albums)
Notable tracks: I Will Follow, Out Of Control, The Electric Co., An Cat Dubh, Into The Heart

It says a lot when I am describing an album from 44 years ago, while in the U2 thread, people are describing the shows they just saw in Las Vegas. The band has yet to play anything from this album in their LV residency (31 shows as of last night). They were all 18-20 years old when they recorded the Boy album.

Boy is a great album, pound for pound I'd probably put it slightly ahead of October for the quality and quantity of songs. Both are terrific.

 

[zamboni]

I can't recall if Stewart was still getting AOR play when this album came out. AOR was a rotting carcass by this time and had resorted to playing stuff like "Allentown", so maybe "Young Turks" got a spin or two.

When I was listening to the radio back then, it was mainly Top 40, so don't recall if Rod got a lot of AOR airplay at that point - he seemed to be more known for the likes of "Passion" and "Do Ya Think I'm Sexy" . MTV definitely gave him a renewed boost with the videos for "Young Turks" and, to a lesser extent, the title track.

My recollection is that his AOR plays (other than flashback shows that played his older stuff) dried up except for the occasional spin after "Tonight's The Night", but I may be retconning it. I forgot about "Passion" - maybe that got some play, as it's kinda rock-y.

Anyway, my main point was to get a dig into another artist. His new song stinks, by the way.

I definitely remember my FM stations in the '80s playing Passion.

I need passion
You need passion
Even the president needs
Passion

The truly poetic rhyme :

Paris and Bangkok, passion
A lotta people ain't got, passion

Oof...

 

[Grace Under Pressure]

Journey starting to pop on the lists. Seeing the songs listed for each album so far, to me reinforces what you all already know. Journey with Steve Perry. C'mon.

If you have under 3 minutes, check this out and try to deny Steve Perry.

- YouTube

Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.

www.youtube.com

 

[Pip's Invitation]

#217T - U2 - Boy (1980) (3.7 million albums)
Notable tracks: I Will Follow, Out Of Control, The Electric Co., An Cat Dubh, Into The Heart

It says a lot when I am describing an album from 44 years ago, while in the U2 thread, people are describing the shows they just saw in Las Vegas. The band has yet to play anything from this album in their LV residency (31 shows as of last night). They were all 18-20 years old when they recorded the Boy album.

Boy is a great album, pound for pound I'd probably put it slightly ahead of October for the quality and quantity of songs. Both are terrific.

Agreed. I rank both behind War, but that's because War has higher peaks. Boy is probably the most consistent of the first three.

 

[Anarchy99]

Boy is a great album, pound for pound I'd probably put it slightly ahead of October for the quality and quantity of songs. Both are terrific.

As discussed in the U2 thread, I could have lived without most of what U2 put out since Achtung Baby. I would choose to listen to their first two albums over their last 8 releases. Maybe that's a hot take, but IMO, it really shouldn't be. To me, they "grew up" too fast and moved on to more adult themes, slicker production, and lost some of the energy and rebellious attitude they had in their youth. Give me their first 8 releases, and I'm good without their other 8 albums.

 

[Doug B]

#219 - GEORGE HARRISON - All Things Must Pass (1970) (3.66 million albums)
Notable tracks: My Sweet Lord (#1), What Is Life (#10), Isn't It A Pity, If Not For You, Beware Of Darkness, Title Track, Wah-Wah

Included in the most recent Rolling Stone Top 500 Albums. Tim had it at #33. It makes you wonder how things could have panned out if The Beatles evolved into a songwriting trio (and actually looked at George as an equal). I don't think it will be considered much of a hot take, but for my money the best of the Beatles solo albums.

#217T - U2 - Boy (1980) (3.7 million albums)
Notable tracks: I Will Follow, Out Of Control, The Electric Co., An Cat Dubh, Into The Heart

It says a lot when I am describing an album from 44 years ago, while in the U2 thread, people are describing the shows they just saw in Las Vegas. The band has yet to play anything from this album in their LV residency (31 shows as of last night). They were all 18-20 years old when they recorded the Boy album.

#217T - ROLLING STONES - It's Only Rock 'N Roll (1974) (3.7 million albums)
Notable songs: Title Track (#16), Ain't Too Proud To Beg (#17), Dance Little Sister, If You Can't Rock Me, Time Waits For No One

The first of many from The Stones and the last of the 6 albums Mick Taylor played on as a regular band member. I like a lot of the songs by The Stones, but I can't say I was ever someone to listen to entire albums by them very often. I think this album is a solid effort, but coming off a slew of insanely great albums, IMO, this one is only very good.

#216 - LINDA RONSTADT - Simple Dreams (1977) (3.72 million albums)
Notable songs: Blue Bayou (#3), It's So Easy (#5), Poor Poor Pitiful Me (#31), Tumbling Dice

Ronstadt had 21 Top 40 hits including a number of rock-oriented efforts in the 70s and early 80s before she went down the adult contemporary path. I was a fan back in the day and heard her a lot on AM radio (remember that?) Sheryl Crow reminds me of her. Due to health issues, Linda has had to retire and hasn't performed in almost 6 years.

#215 - ROD STEWART - Tonight I'm Yours (3.74 million albums)
Notable songs: Young Turks (#5), Title Track (#20), How Long (#49), Just Like A Woman, How Long

There was a lot of heated discussion about whether Rod was considered a classic rock artist or not. At various stages in his career, Stweart has wondered through rock, pop, disco, adult contemporary, even big band genres. As a young teen, I liked Young Turks a lot.

George laps the field in this grouping. The rest are all fine and have their moments.

I can't recall if Stewart was still getting AOR play when this album came out. AOR was a rotting carcass by this time and had resorted to playing stuff like "Allentown", so maybe "Young Turks" got a spin or two.

I think Young Turks and the title track got played on my FM stations. Young Turks was more ubiquitous on MTV, though.

"Do Ya Think I'm Sexy?" was probably the watershed between Rod's "credible rock act" and "pop act" phases of his career. For about 5-6 years after "Do Ya ...?", he had punctuated appearances in the Top 10s of both the US Hot 100 and the UK Singles Chart. Call it roughly between 1980's "Passion" through 1984's "Some Guys Have All The Luck". During those years, two things were true of Rod's material: 1) They weren't played on what AOR stations remained and they didn't make it to classic rock radio, either -- and 2) those songs also didn't show up on the US Adult Contemporary chart. Kind of in a "neither fish nor fowl" situation in the early 80s.

1986's "Love Touch" , however, would cement Stewart's place as a stalwart AC artist. From 1986 to present, that was the first of Stewart's 22 AC Top 10s in the US, including 15 consecutive starting with "Love Touch".

 

[zamboni]

Journey starting to pop on the lists. Seeing the songs listed for each album so far, to me reinforces what you all already know. Journey with Steve Perry. C'mon.

If you have under 3 minutes, check this out and try to deny Steve Perry.

- YouTube

Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.

www.youtube.com

I've seen several clips over the years from that Houston concert. They were truly on top of their game then.

 

[Pip's Invitation]

My god, Love Touch is horrendous. Thank you for reminding me of its existence.

 

[Pip's Invitation]

Journey starting to pop on the lists. Seeing the songs listed for each album so far, to me reinforces what you all already know. Journey with Steve Perry. C'mon.

If you have under 3 minutes, check this out and try to deny Steve Perry.

- YouTube

Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.

www.youtube.com

I've seen several clips over the years from that Houston concert. They were truly on top of their game then.

I watched the whole thing when it was rebroadcast on AXS TV last year. Great stuff. I had also seen a truncated version broadcast on MTV in the early '80s.

 

[zamboni]

Journey starting to pop on the lists. Seeing the songs listed for each album so far, to me reinforces what you all already know. Journey with Steve Perry. C'mon.

If you have under 3 minutes, check this out and try to deny Steve Perry.

- YouTube

Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.

www.youtube.com

I've seen several clips over the years from that Houston concert. They were truly on top of their game then.

I watched the whole thing when it was rebroadcast on AXS TV last year. Great stuff. I had also seen a truncated version broadcast on MTV in the early '80s.

Good call - I DVR'd that but it's been sitting in my library and haven't gotten around to watching it in its entirety.

 

[Doug B]

#205T - SUPERTRAMP - Crisis? What Crisis? (1975) (3.87 million albums)
Notable songs: Lady, Ain't Nobody But Me, Two Of Us

I'm familiar with Supertramp's other 70s album. This one, not so much. I may have heard Lady once or twice, but don't remember any of the other tracks.

This surprised me that it sold this much. I would have thought that, at most, three of their albums would have sold this much, but this isn't one of them.

This came right after their breakout album Crime of the Century, so there were probably some "rebound" sales from that. And then a few years later, Breakfast in America expanded their audience further, which probably led new fans buying older albums such as this one. I don't think I've ever heard any track from this on the radio.

Interesting to me:

Both Gabriel-era Genesis and 70s Supertramp sold WAY more units per head in Canada than the US. Here's Supertramp's studio album certifications -- check out the rightmost column. MC = Canada, RIAA = US.

 

[Anarchy99]

Journey starting to pop on the lists. Seeing the songs listed for each album so far, to me reinforces what you all already know. Journey with Steve Perry. C'mon.

If you have under 3 minutes, check this out and try to deny Steve Perry.

- YouTube

Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.

www.youtube.com

I remember when Steve Perry had gone AWOL for years and was pretty inactive in the music trade . . . somewhere after Raised On Radio (1986) and before For The Love Of Strange Medicine (1994), Steve decided to compete unannounced in a Steph Perry Karaoke contest after an extended break from singing and performing. He came in third. Not sure how that's possible, and not sure how people wouldn't have recognized him.

 

[Anarchy99]

#205T - SUPERTRAMP - Crisis? What Crisis? (1975) (3.87 million albums)
Notable songs: Lady, Ain't Nobody But Me, Two Of Us

I'm familiar with Supertramp's other 70s album. This one, not so much. I may have heard Lady once or twice, but don't remember any of the other tracks.

This surprised me that it sold this much. I would have thought that, at most, three of their albums would have sold this much, but this isn't one of them.

This came right after their breakout album Crime of the Century, so there were probably some "rebound" sales from that. And then a few years later, Breakfast in America expanded their audience further, which probably led new fans buying older albums such as this one. I don't think I've ever heard any track from this on the radio.

Interesting to me:

Both Gabriel-era Genesis and 70s Supertramp sold WAY more units per head in Canada than the US. Here's Supertramp's studio album certifications -- check out the rightmost column. MC = Canada, RIAA = US.

I don't know exactly what the designations are, but the certification status (gold, platinum, etc.) in other countries isn't anywhere near the same as in the U.S. Platinum in the U.S. = 1 million units. Platinum in Canada = 80,000 units (used to be 100,000).

 

[Doug B]

I don't know exactly what the designations are, but the certification status (gold, platinum, etc.) in other countries isn't anywhere near the same as in the U.S. Platinum in the U.S. = 1 million units. Platinum in Canada = 80,000 units (used to be 100,000).

True, but the US has typically been 9 to 10 times the population of Canada in recent decades. Per capita, my statement holds up.

 

[Uruk-Hai]

I think "Skyline" is my favorite Dylan album. I like most of the songs and he does the best singing of his career on it (I think he had quit smoking before cutting it).

He did. Or at least that was the explanation he gave as to why his voice sounded different. You can't really take anything he says to the media at face value. He was a troll long before the internet existed.

Not crazy about the Gabriel version of Genesis.

You are DEAD to me!

The title track here probably gets the most airplay nowadays of all of the Gabriel era.

Yep. This was true in the '80s as well. I was surprised to learn it was not released as single (from this album, those were Carpet Crawlers and Counting Out Time).

Oh, I trust anything Dylan says as much as I do Paul McCartney or Little Richard (who changed his birthdate so many times
even his mama was rolling her eyes). I'm a smoker, though, who knows how a voice can change when you quit. I'm excellent at quitting that damned habit - done it a million times. Relapsed a million +1 times, too, but let's not talk about that.

I just can't with Genesis or any of the other '70s Art Rockers anymore. It's pretentious dreck to my broken ears these days. Same with some of P Funk's more baroque stuff. The radio hits from these artists are fine, but I will never listen to a full LP by ELP or Yes again. I didn't like early Genesis even when I WAS a prog snob, so they get no play from me.

 

[Anarchy99]

I think "Skyline" is my favorite Dylan album. I like most of the songs and he does the best singing of his career on it (I think he had quit smoking before cutting it).

He did. Or at least that was the explanation he gave as to why his voice sounded different. You can't really take anything he says to the media at face value. He was a troll long before the internet existed.

Not crazy about the Gabriel version of Genesis.

You are DEAD to me!

The title track here probably gets the most airplay nowadays of all of the Gabriel era.

Yep. This was true in the '80s as well. I was surprised to learn it was not released as single (from this album, those were Carpet Crawlers and Counting Out Time).

Oh, I trust anything Dylan says as much as I do Paul McCartney or Little Richard (who changed his birthdate so many times
even his mama was rolling her eyes). I'm a smoker, though, who knows how a voice can change when you quit. I'm excellent at quitting that damned habit - done it a million times. Relapsed a million +1 times, too, but let's not talk about that.

I just can't with Genesis or any of the other '70s Art Rockers anymore. It's pretentious dreck to my broken ears these days. Same with some of P Funk's more baroque stuff. The radio hits from these artists are fine, but I will never listen to a full LP by ELP or Yes again. I didn't like early Genesis even when I WAS a prog snob, so they get no play from me.

Just curious how many people in this day and age still play albums straight through. I haven't really used a CD player in decades, so all that I listen to are digital files where I have chosen the tracks I want to listen to while dumping the rest of the album. I will still listen to bands like Yes . . . but only the songs I like in a folder (or on a playlist). I'm not exactly the most tech savvy person, so I am guessing that there have to be plenty of other people that organize and listen to music in a similar fashion (if not even more parsed out).

 

[Uruk-Hai]

I think "Skyline" is my favorite Dylan album. I like most of the songs and he does the best singing of his career on it (I think he had quit smoking before cutting it).

He did. Or at least that was the explanation he gave as to why his voice sounded different. You can't really take anything he says to the media at face value. He was a troll long before the internet existed.

Not crazy about the Gabriel version of Genesis.

You are DEAD to me!

The title track here probably gets the most airplay nowadays of all of the Gabriel era.

Yep. This was true in the '80s as well. I was surprised to learn it was not released as single (from this album, those were Carpet Crawlers and Counting Out Time).

Oh, I trust anything Dylan says as much as I do Paul McCartney or Little Richard (who changed his birthdate so many times
even his mama was rolling her eyes). I'm a smoker, though, who knows how a voice can change when you quit. I'm excellent at quitting that damned habit - done it a million times. Relapsed a million +1 times, too, but let's not talk about that.

I just can't with Genesis or any of the other '70s Art Rockers anymore. It's pretentious dreck to my broken ears these days. Same with some of P Funk's more baroque stuff. The radio hits from these artists are fine, but I will never listen to a full LP by ELP or Yes again. I didn't like early Genesis even when I WAS a prog snob, so they get no play from me.

Just curious how many people in this day and age still play albums straight through. I haven't really used a CD player in decades, so all that I listen to are digital files where I have chosen the tracks I want to listen to while dumping the rest of the album. I will still listen to bands like Yes . . . but only the songs I like in a folder (or on a playlist). I'm not exactly the most tech savvy person, so I am guessing that there have to be plenty of other people that organize and listen to music in a similar fashion (if not even more parsed out).

My opinion is that more people like the idea of an album these days than actually want to listen to one end-to-end.

 

[Pip's Invitation]

I think "Skyline" is my favorite Dylan album. I like most of the songs and he does the best singing of his career on it (I think he had quit smoking before cutting it).

He did. Or at least that was the explanation he gave as to why his voice sounded different. You can't really take anything he says to the media at face value. He was a troll long before the internet existed.

Not crazy about the Gabriel version of Genesis.

You are DEAD to me!

The title track here probably gets the most airplay nowadays of all of the Gabriel era.

Yep. This was true in the '80s as well. I was surprised to learn it was not released as single (from this album, those were Carpet Crawlers and Counting Out Time).

Oh, I trust anything Dylan says as much as I do Paul McCartney or Little Richard (who changed his birthdate so many times
even his mama was rolling her eyes). I'm a smoker, though, who knows how a voice can change when you quit. I'm excellent at quitting that damned habit - done it a million times. Relapsed a million +1 times, too, but let's not talk about that.

I just can't with Genesis or any of the other '70s Art Rockers anymore. It's pretentious dreck to my broken ears these days. Same with some of P Funk's more baroque stuff. The radio hits from these artists are fine, but I will never listen to a full LP by ELP or Yes again. I didn't like early Genesis even when I WAS a prog snob, so they get no play from me.

The transformation from "prog snob" to "I can't listen to a '70s art rock album in full anymore" is pretty radical. How did that happen?

 

[Pip's Invitation]

I think "Skyline" is my favorite Dylan album. I like most of the songs and he does the best singing of his career on it (I think he had quit smoking before cutting it).

He did. Or at least that was the explanation he gave as to why his voice sounded different. You can't really take anything he says to the media at face value. He was a troll long before the internet existed.

Not crazy about the Gabriel version of Genesis.

You are DEAD to me!

The title track here probably gets the most airplay nowadays of all of the Gabriel era.

Yep. This was true in the '80s as well. I was surprised to learn it was not released as single (from this album, those were Carpet Crawlers and Counting Out Time).

Oh, I trust anything Dylan says as much as I do Paul McCartney or Little Richard (who changed his birthdate so many times
even his mama was rolling her eyes). I'm a smoker, though, who knows how a voice can change when you quit. I'm excellent at quitting that damned habit - done it a million times. Relapsed a million +1 times, too, but let's not talk about that.

I just can't with Genesis or any of the other '70s Art Rockers anymore. It's pretentious dreck to my broken ears these days. Same with some of P Funk's more baroque stuff. The radio hits from these artists are fine, but I will never listen to a full LP by ELP or Yes again. I didn't like early Genesis even when I WAS a prog snob, so they get no play from me.

Just curious how many people in this day and age still play albums straight through. I haven't really used a CD player in decades, so all that I listen to are digital files where I have chosen the tracks I want to listen to while dumping the rest of the album. I will still listen to bands like Yes . . . but only the songs I like in a folder (or on a playlist). I'm not exactly the most tech savvy person, so I am guessing that there have to be plenty of other people that organize and listen to music in a similar fashion (if not even more parsed out).

I do on occasion, if I'm in the mood for it. More often I am listening to playlists from this board's music threads or letting the Youtube or Spotify algorithm decide what song to play next.

 

[Hastur]

 

[DocHolliday]

I think "Skyline" is my favorite Dylan album. I like most of the songs and he does the best singing of his career on it (I think he had quit smoking before cutting it).

He did. Or at least that was the explanation he gave as to why his voice sounded different. You can't really take anything he says to the media at face value. He was a troll long before the internet existed.

Not crazy about the Gabriel version of Genesis.

You are DEAD to me!

The title track here probably gets the most airplay nowadays of all of the Gabriel era.

Yep. This was true in the '80s as well. I was surprised to learn it was not released as single (from this album, those were Carpet Crawlers and Counting Out Time).

Oh, I trust anything Dylan says as much as I do Paul McCartney or Little Richard (who changed his birthdate so many times
even his mama was rolling her eyes). I'm a smoker, though, who knows how a voice can change when you quit. I'm excellent at quitting that damned habit - done it a million times. Relapsed a million +1 times, too, but let's not talk about that.

I just can't with Genesis or any of the other '70s Art Rockers anymore. It's pretentious dreck to my broken ears these days. Same with some of P Funk's more baroque stuff. The radio hits from these artists are fine, but I will never listen to a full LP by ELP or Yes again. I didn't like early Genesis even when I WAS a prog snob, so they get no play from me.

Just curious how many people in this day and age still play albums straight through. I haven't really used a CD player in decades, so all that I listen to are digital files where I have chosen the tracks I want to listen to while dumping the rest of the album. I will still listen to bands like Yes . . . but only the songs I like in a folder (or on a playlist). I'm not exactly the most tech savvy person, so I am guessing that there have to be plenty of other people that organize and listen to music in a similar fashion (if not even more parsed out).

I do on occasion, if I'm in the mood for it. More often I am listening to playlists from this board's music threads or letting the Youtube or Spotify algorithm decide what song to play next.

Many years ago I dumped my 500 cds on an iPad. It sits next to my receiver in my finished basement which includes my workout room. I throw albums on all the time through BT on the receiver. I love listening to albums to catch those hidden gems. I just listened to High N Dry by D Leppard last night. I’m not catching most of those killer tunes from my youth any other way.

 

[Uruk-Hai]

I think "Skyline" is my favorite Dylan album. I like most of the songs and he does the best singing of his career on it (I think he had quit smoking before cutting it).

He did. Or at least that was the explanation he gave as to why his voice sounded different. You can't really take anything he says to the media at face value. He was a troll long before the internet existed.

Not crazy about the Gabriel version of Genesis.

You are DEAD to me!

The title track here probably gets the most airplay nowadays of all of the Gabriel era.

Yep. This was true in the '80s as well. I was surprised to learn it was not released as single (from this album, those were Carpet Crawlers and Counting Out Time).

Oh, I trust anything Dylan says as much as I do Paul McCartney or Little Richard (who changed his birthdate so many times
even his mama was rolling her eyes). I'm a smoker, though, who knows how a voice can change when you quit. I'm excellent at quitting that damned habit - done it a million times. Relapsed a million +1 times, too, but let's not talk about that.

I just can't with Genesis or any of the other '70s Art Rockers anymore. It's pretentious dreck to my broken ears these days. Same with some of P Funk's more baroque stuff. The radio hits from these artists are fine, but I will never listen to a full LP by ELP or Yes again. I didn't like early Genesis even when I WAS a prog snob, so they get no play from me.

The transformation from "prog snob" to "I can't listen to a '70s art rock album in full anymore" is pretty radical. How did that happen?

Different drugs, Pip

 

[Anarchy99]

#200 - PAUL & LINDA MCCARTNEY - Ram (1971) (3.96 million albums)
Notable songs: Uncle Albert / Admiral Halsey (#1), The Back Seat Of My Car, Eat At Home, Just Another Day (re-release)

The second post-Beatles album from Paul. When I was a little squirt, I thought Uncle Albert / Admiral Halsey was actually a Beatles song. That's probably because George Martin worked on the arrangement. McCartney has never performed the song live. Rehearsal

#199 - BLUES BROTHERS - Original Soundtrack Recording (1980) (3.97 million albums)
Notable songs: Gimme Some Lovin' (#18), Theme From Rawhide, Everybody Needs Somebody To Love, Sweet Home Chicago, Jailhouse Rock, Peter Gunn Theme, Shake A Tail Feather

We're on a mission from God. Would never have guessed this one to be on the list. Loved the movie and have watched it a ton. The soundtrack also features songs from the famous musicians that appeared in the movie.

#195T - WINGS - Venus And Mars (1975) (4 million albums)
Notable songs: Listen To What The Man Said (#1), Title Track / Rock Show (#12), Letting Go (#39), Junior's Farm (#3 - Bonus Track), Sally G (#17 - Bonus Track)

I live my wings spicy with blue cheese (leaving when I am done to get me some). But not burn your tongue off spicy. The third Mac entry out of the last 6 selections. This album has grown on me over the years.

#195T - ROLLING STONES - Beggars Banquet (4 million albums)
Notable songs: Street Fighting Man (#48), Sympathy For The Devil, Prodigal Son, Stray Cat Blues, Salt Of The Earth

Our second appearance from the Stones. Sympathy was not released as a single in the States initially. The 2003 re-released saw it chart at #97 on the US singles chart. Tim had this one at #18.

#195T - LOVERBOY - Loverboy (1980) (4 million albums)
Notable songs: Turn Me Loose (#35), The Kid Is Hot Tonite (#55), Lady Of The 80s, D.O.A.

Another debut album. I was big into Loverboy for a few years when they came out. Can't really defend that. Hey, we all have issues. I loved, loved, loved me some Turn Me Loose. Something about the opening guitar chords hit me just the right way. I remember riding around with them on the radio (I was too young to drive back then).

 

[DocHolliday]

#195T - LOVERBOY - Loverboy (1980) (4 million albums)
Notable songs: Turn Me Loose (#35), The Kid Is Hot Tonite (#55), Lady Of The 80s, D.O.A.

Another debut album. I was big into Loverboy for a few years when they came out. Can't really defend that. Hey, we all have issues. I loved, loved, loved me some Turn Me Loose. Something about the opening guitar chords hit me just the right way. I remember riding around with them on the radio (I was too young to drive back then).

Nothing to defend. You like what you like. I’m still a big fan of some Loverboy tunes. It is just fun.

 

[UncleZen]

#222 - CHEAP TRICK - At Budokan (1979) (3.636 million albums)
Notable songs: I Want You To Want Me (#7), Ain't That A Shame (#35), Surrender, I Need Your Love

Cheap Trick was one of the earliest concerts I ever went to (at an amusement park when I was a kid). Saw them many times afterwards. Also the only band on the countdown I can stake a claim to having performed with. Back when I was in college, we held some concerts at our school, and I was on the set up and breakdown crew. I was there getting everything ready to go and on the drum kit getting levels / the mix right at the time when the band wanted to do a soundcheck. Except I didn't know it. I started playing the drum into to Ain't That A Shame, and suddenly Rick Nielsen started playing the chords at the beginning of the song and Robin Zander started singing the words. Drummer Bun E. Carlos was right next to me and told me to keep going. Finished the song and handed him the sticks. He joked maybe he could take the night off. I countered that I didn't smoke. Wished they had cell phones back then.

Now that's a cool story!

 

[zamboni]

#195T - LOVERBOY - Loverboy (1980) (4 million albums)
Notable songs: Turn Me Loose (#35), The Kid Is Hot Tonite (#55), Lady Of The 80s, D.O.A.

Another debut album. I was big into Loverboy for a few years when they came out. Can't really defend that. Hey, we all have issues. I loved, loved, loved me some Turn Me Loose. Something about the opening guitar chords hit me just the right way. I remember riding around with them on the radio (I was too young to drive back then).

Nothing to defend. You like what you like. I’m still a big fan of some Loverboy tunes. It is just fun.

I think the first two albums are solid. I’m sure the other one will be considerably higher, as part of that aforementioned 1981 arena rock concentration.

 

[Uruk-Hai]

#200 - PAUL & LINDA MCCARTNEY - Ram (1971) (3.96 million albums)
Notable songs: Uncle Albert / Admiral Halsey (#1), The Back Seat Of My Car, Eat At Home, Just Another Day (re-release)

The second post-Beatles album from Paul. When I was a little squirt, I thought Uncle Albert / Admiral Halsey was actually a Beatles song. That's probably because George Martin worked on the arrangement. McCartney has never performed the song live. Rehearsal

#199 - BLUES BROTHERS - Original Soundtrack Recording (1980) (3.97 million albums)
Notable songs: Gimme Some Lovin' (#18), Theme From Rawhide, Everybody Needs Somebody To Love, Sweet Home Chicago, Jailhouse Rock, Peter Gunn Theme, Shake A Tail Feather

We're on a mission from God. Would never have guessed this one to be on the list. Loved the movie and have watched it a ton. The soundtrack also features songs from the famous musicians that appeared in the movie.

#195T - WINGS - Venus And Mars (1975) (4 million albums)
Notable songs: Listen To What The Man Said (#1), Title Track / Rock Show (#12), Letting Go (#39), Junior's Farm (#3 - Bonus Track), Sally G (#17 - Bonus Track)

I live my wings spicy with blue cheese (leaving when I am done to get me some). But not burn your tongue off spicy. The third Mac entry out of the last 6 selections. This album has grown on me over the years.

#195T - ROLLING STONES - Beggars Banquet (4 million albums)
Notable songs: Street Fighting Man (#48), Sympathy For The Devil, Prodigal Son, Stray Cat Blues, Salt Of The Earth

Our second appearance from the Stones. Sympathy was not released as a single in the States initially. The 2003 re-released saw it chart at #97 on the US singles chart. Tim had this one at #18.

#195T - LOVERBOY - Loverboy (1980) (4 million albums)
Notable songs: Turn Me Loose (#35), The Kid Is Hot Tonite (#55), Lady Of The 80s, D.O.A.

Another debut album. I was big into Loverboy for a few years when they came out. Can't really defend that. Hey, we all have issues. I loved, loved, loved me some Turn Me Loose. Something about the opening guitar chords hit me just the right way. I remember riding around with them on the radio (I was too young to drive back then).

This might be the oddest rack yet. I guess I'll go.......

Jake & Elwood
Stones
Ram
Loverboy
Wings

 

[Anarchy99]

This might be the oddest rack yet. I guess I'll go.......

The next one is on the odd side as well.

 

[Pip's Invitation]

#195T - WINGS - Venus And Mars (1975) (4 million albums)
Notable songs: Listen To What The Man Said (#1), Title Track / Rock Show (#12), Letting Go (#39), Junior's Farm (#3 - Bonus Track)

These songs are all amazing. But krista hates Listen to What the Man said due to the saxophone.

 

[Pip's Invitation]

#195T - LOVERBOY - Loverboy (1980) (4 million albums)
Notable songs: Turn Me Loose (#35), The Kid Is Hot Tonite (#55), Lady Of The 80s, D.O.A.

Another debut album. I was big into Loverboy for a few years when they came out. Can't really defend that. Hey, we all have issues. I loved, loved, loved me some Turn Me Loose. Something about the opening guitar chords hit me just the right way. I remember riding around with them on the radio (I was too young to drive back then).

Paul Dean was an excellent guitarist and Turn Me Loose has incredible riffage. No shame in that. I am surprised to see this sold 4 million (which likely means Get Lucky sold even more), but I bet the Canadians helped out a lot with that.

 

[Anarchy99]

#195T - WINGS - Venus And Mars (1975) (4 million albums)
Notable songs: Listen To What The Man Said (#1), Title Track / Rock Show (#12), Letting Go (#39), Junior's Farm (#3 - Bonus Track)

These songs are all amazing. But krista hates Listen to What the Man said due to the saxophone.

krista? Like she knows anything about The Beatles.

 

[Anarchy99]

Oh the irony. While eating my cheap wings at happy hour tonight, Venus and Mars / Rock Show came on. Can’t remember if krista approves of that combo or not.

 

[Uruk-Hai]

We're on a mission from God.

Don't you BLASPHEME in here!

 

[Uruk-Hai]

#195T - LOVERBOY - Loverboy (1980) (4 million albums)
Notable songs: Turn Me Loose (#35), The Kid Is Hot Tonite (#55), Lady Of The 80s, D.O.A.

Another debut album. I was big into Loverboy for a few years when they came out. Can't really defend that. Hey, we all have issues. I loved, loved, loved me some Turn Me Loose. Something about the opening guitar chords hit me just the right way. I remember riding around with them on the radio (I was too young to drive back then).

Paul Dean was an excellent guitarist and Turn Me Loose has incredible riffage. No shame in that. I am surprised to see this sold 4 million (which likely means Get Lucky sold even more), but I bet the Canadians helped out a lot with that.

They were a good band. Kinda Journey-lite, eh?

 

[Pip's Invitation]

#195T - LOVERBOY - Loverboy (1980) (4 million albums)
Notable songs: Turn Me Loose (#35), The Kid Is Hot Tonite (#55), Lady Of The 80s, D.O.A.

Another debut album. I was big into Loverboy for a few years when they came out. Can't really defend that. Hey, we all have issues. I loved, loved, loved me some Turn Me Loose. Something about the opening guitar chords hit me just the right way. I remember riding around with them on the radio (I was too young to drive back then).

Paul Dean was an excellent guitarist and Turn Me Loose has incredible riffage. No shame in that. I am surprised to see this sold 4 million (which likely means Get Lucky sold even more), but I bet the Canadians helped out a lot with that.

They were a good band. Kinda Journey-lite, eh?

Kind of. But they had their Steve Perry from the start.

 

[Anarchy99]

#195T - KISS - Love Gun (1977) (4 million albums)
Notable songs: Christine Sixteen (#25), Title Track (#61), Then She Kissed Me, Shock Me

Kiss' album from the 70's that peaked at the highest chart position on the album charts (#4). Somehow, they had three albums released from 1998 to 2012 that landed in the Top 3. Kiss was never my thing, and I can't remember there being many Kiss fans on the boards.

#194 - THE CARS - Candy-o (1979) (4.007 million albums)
Notable songs: Let's Go (#14), It's All I Can Do (#41), Double Life, Title Track, Dangerous Type

I always enjoyed The Cars. They weren't the deepest band in terms of content, lyrics, or song structure. But I got into their poppy sound.

#193 - GENESIS - A Trick Of The Tail (4.01 million albums)
Notable songs: Title Track, Ripples, Entangled, Squonk, Los Endos

The fourth Genesis album on the list so far. I would never of thought they would have so many alums here. We will get through them all eventually.

#192 - THE WHO - Who's Next (1971) (4.02 million albums)
Notable songs: Won't Get Fooled Again (#15), Behind Blue Eyes (#34), Baba O'Riley, Bargain, Love Ain't For Keeping, The Song Is Over, My Wife, Going Mobile

I can't believe this one ranks so low and didn't sell better. My favorite Who album. Pretty much the entire record got air play. #4 on Tim's countdown and in the Top 30 of Rolling Stones' Top 500 albums. The masses were wrong on this one. The Super Deluxe edition contains 110 tracks.

#190T - VAN HALEN - Fair Warning (4.03 million albums)
Notable songs: So This Is Love? (#110), Mean Street, Unchained, Push Comes To Shove),

The only studio VH album not to produce a single that cracked the Hot 100. Still rocks today. Could listen to Mean Street on repeat at least 50 times. RIP EVH.

 

[rockaction]

Four monster albums and Genesis. Hoo boy.

 

[zamboni]

Kiss was never my thing, and I can't remember there being many Kiss fans on the boards.

As mentioned in several threads, I was a big fan back in the late ‘70s, but that was as a kid when they were everything to us. Much less into them as I got older and developed a more sophisticated musical palate.