43 Years Ago, The Best-Selling Album of All Time First Topped U.S. Charts
Michael Jackson's record-breaking pop album Thriller first made its debut on U.S. music charts on this day in 1983.
Produced by Quincy Jones, Thriller became a worldwide sensation that catapulted Jackson to an entirely new level of fame while making him one of the wealthiest music acts in the world. Today, it remains the best-selling album ever recorded.
'Thriller' Had A Historic Billboard Chart Performance
On February 26, 1983, Thriller made its first impact on the Billboard Album charts, and it remained there for the rest of the year. It quickly became the best-selling album of the year domestically and internationally, rapidly breaking into the all-time charts. Thriller is now estimated to have sold roughly 70 million copies since its release.
Thriller was a major step forward for Jackson's career, pushing him into a more upbeat, commercial 'pop' sound that he's previously stayed away from. Where albums like Off The Wall and Ben had been popular in disco and R&B circles, Thriller felt like Jackson fulfilling his entire potential as an artist.
Jackson's groundbreaking album featured hits such as "Beat It", "Baby Be Mine", "Wanna Be Starting Something", and "Billie Jean". At just 42 minutes in length, the album is a non-stop collection of '80s hits that all remain hugely popular today.
The album spent a record-breaking 37 weeks at #1 on the Billboard Top 100, with seven of the album's songs taking up spots in the Top 10. It was an unprecedented level of success not just for Jackson, but for pop music in general.
Thriller would go on to receive eight Grammy awards, including Album of the Year—while "Beat It" was awarded Record of the Year. Jackson's historic star power also made this the most-watched Grammys ceremony in history.
Thriller was recently voted the second-best album of all time by Apple Music, just behind Lauryn Hill's formative hip-hop R&B record The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill. It was ranked #12 on Rolling Stone's list, sitting neatly behind Revolver by The Beatles. They ranked What's Going On by Marvin Gaye in the top spot.