![michael jackson greatest hits album song order michael jackson greatest hits album song order](https://www.liveabout.com/thmb/KKZM87kUh67cRr_QrEeoaqASbvQ=/1280x960/smart/filters:no_upscale()/jackson-5-gold-album-cover-58b8b65c3df78c353c01403f.jpg)
Garth Brooks, "Double Live", released 1998. Led Zeppelin, "Led Zeppelin IV", released 1971. Billy Joel, "Greatest Hits Volume I & Volume II", released 1985. Eagles, "Hotel California", released 1976. Michael Jackson, "Thriller", released 1982. Here are the 10 best-selling albums ever in the US, based on certified album sales, according to RIAA:ฤก. And, mega-stars like Taylor Swift (whose "Reputation" led all album sales last year, with 1.9 million sold) tend to be the only musicians who sell a significant number of albums anymore, whether that be in physical or digital sales. In 2017, US album sales dipped nearly 18 percent, to roughly 169 million copies sold, according to Nielsen.
![michael jackson greatest hits album song order michael jackson greatest hits album song order](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Epb9bB7uM5s/hqdefault.jpg)
In the United States, it was overtaken by The Eagles Their Greatest Hits 1971-1975, but reclaimed the title after Jacksons death. Thriller is by far the best selling album in the world. With the ongoing rise of music streaming resulting in fewer album sales in today's music industry, "Thriller" and other classic albums are likely safe, for now, in their spots atop the all-time rankings for album sales. The show was hosted by Dan Aykroyd and Bette Midler. While a classic album like "Thriller" obviously was, and continues to be, a major earner for Jackson and his estate, the singer also made money by staying busy through a variety of ventures, from a clothing label to endorsements for brands like Pepsi.
![michael jackson greatest hits album song order michael jackson greatest hits album song order](https://images.genius.com/aaa697fdd1c747bc763ef88e6acbf469.597x597x1.jpg)
In total, Jackson earned over $1.1 billion during his lifetime, according to Forbes, which also noted that the singer's estate continues to collect massive amounts of posthumous cash ($700 million in the first five years after Jackson's 2009 death, the publication reported in 2014). What is clear is that the release of "Thriller" kicked off a period of massive earnings for Jackson, with Forbes reporting that the "King of Pop" pulled in $134 million (from album sales, touring and other sources) in just the two years following the album's release. While estimates vary, "Thriller" is said to have sold at least 66 million copies globally, according to the Guinness World Records, while others have claimed the album has sold over 100 million copies worldwide. On June 25th, 2009, Michael Jackson passed away at the age of 50.While the Eagles album "Their Greatest Hits 1971-1975" recently passed "Thriller" in terms of all-time American sales (with 38 million, according to RIAA), Jackson's classic album is still recognized as the best-selling album ever in terms of global sales. Prosecutors and paparazzi have been playing catch-up, too, with some of Jackson's questionable life choices, and since the late 1990s, he has seemingly spent more time in the tabloids than on the pop charts. Singers and producers from Madonna to Timbaland are still trying to catch up. Off the Wall, Thriller and Bad blended soul, funk and rock influences into a taut dance-pop that transformed the sound of radio for the rest of the century.
![michael jackson greatest hits album song order michael jackson greatest hits album song order](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/512NnyucstL.jpg)
He came of age in the Jackson 5, then moonwalked out of the family's clutches and into his own universe with three groundbreaking albums made with producer Quincy Jones. Whether singing "I Want You Back" as the 11-year-old frontman of the Jackson 5, breaking the MTV color line with the explosive "Billie Jean" or defending the world's downtrodden and misunderstood (himself, that is), Jackson set the standard for pop singing, songwriting, dancing and, let's face it, weirdness for the better part of a quarter century. It doesn't really matter if Michael Jackson bullied the world's media into calling him the King of Pop in the early 1990s or if they just started using that sobriquet on their own.