Albums that have been considered the greatest ever
From Freepedia
While it is impossible to name the greatest album ever made, it is possible to discuss albums that have been named as candidates. The criteria usually consist of critical and commercial reception, sales, and awards.
Albums acclaimed by critics
- The Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band has been named by many critics as the greatest album ever made. Released in the Summer of Love in 1967, it was a culmination of psychedlic, folk, progressive, and classic rock. Possibly the first concept album ever, it was hailed by critics with its elaborate structure, complex sound textures and lyrics, inventive intros and fade-outs and other experimental devices that went much further than anything previously heard.
- The Beatles' Revolver has also been named as one of the greatest albums ever made. Released in 1966, it marked a change in The Beatles' sound. They began pulling away from the love songs of the early-1960s and instead moved to structurally complex political anthems, satirical songs, modern poetry and psychedelic rock. They started to rely more heavily on unusual instruments, especially the sitar that had been introduced in the earlier song Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown). The musical re-invention was helped by the fact that The Beatles had began taking LSD around this time.
- The Beach Boys' Pet Sounds was named the greatest by MOJO magazine. Released in 1966, it showed a maturer, more artistic Beach Boys that had moved away from the surf rock of their early days. The songs on Pet Sounds are contextually linked and show the troubles and feelings of teenagers in almost symphonic complexity and harmony. It was also somewhat of an answer album to The Beatles' 1965 record Rubber Soul and was a major influence on The Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.
Best selling albums
- Michael Jackson's Thriller has sold over 45 million copies worldwide and also included extremely popular singles in "Billie Jean," "Beat It," "Thriller," "Wanna Be Startin Somethin," "P.Y.T.," "Human Nature" and "The Girl Is Mine." It also spent 37 unconsecutive weeks at #1 and won seven Grammy Awards.
- The Eagles' Their Greatest Hits (1971-1975) is the best selling album in the United States, with over 28,000,000 copies sold. Its greatest album status is critisized though, simply because it is a greatest hits album and not a regular album.
- Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon was released in 1973, and is the second best selling album of all time, with over 35 million copies sold. It has also spent large amounts of time on the Billboard magazine music charts, having stayed on for 591 consecutive weeks, and a total of 741 weeks. In 2003 alone it sold 250,000 copies, and in 2004 8,000 copies a week were being sold.
- Shania Twain's Come On Over
- Mariah Carey's ...Daydream
