A question I am finding rather difficult to answer

[freakytigger.livejournal.com]

What was the best-selling album of all time at the time Thriller was released? (November 1982).

So not neccessarily the best selling pre-82 album now, as the CD era has given a lot of things a steadier shelf-life.

Credible candidates mentioned repeatedly by TWITTER include:

- Saturday Night Fever OST
- Back In Black (tho may have been a slow burner)
- Rumours
- Dark Side Of The Moon (picked up a LOT of CD-era sales tho)

And of course you have to throw the Eagles Greatest Hits in there too.

Sound Of Music OST and Bat Out Of Hell also possibles.

I'm interested in "worldwide", though I'm also interested in the possibility that Thriller was the record that made "worldwide sales" the big metric to chase (rather than a "non-US sales are a nice bonus" mentality)

Comments

[sm-woods.livejournal.com]

"The soundtrack album [Sat Night Fever] went on to sell more than 25 million copies, making it not just the most successful soundtrack ever released, but the best-selling album of all time, a record that would stand until 1984 [see 571 - 'Beat It']."

From the "Stayin' Alive" entry in the 3rd edition of The Billboard Book of Number One Hits (ed. Fred Bronson).