AC/DC Matches Michael Jackson And Metallica With Their Biggest Album
AC/DC’s Back in Black has ranked among the longest-charting albums in U.S. history for many years. The set is one of the bestselling and top-performing full-lengths of all time, and Americans continue to stream and buy the project in large numbers every week. The band’s legion of fans keep the title on the charts, and now, it’s reached a special milestone—one which only a very small number of albums have managed to even approach.
Back in Black has now lived on the Billboard 200 for a total of 624 weeks, as of this current frame. That’s exactly 12 years, which is an incredible length of time to spend on any tally.
AC/DC’s hard rock classic is one of 11 titles that have also racked up at least 624 frames on the Billboard 200, the list of the top-consumed albums in the U.S. The group joins Pink Floyd, Bob Marley and the Wailers, Journey, Metallica, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Eminem, Bruno Mars, Guns N’ Roses, Nirvana, and Michael Jackson. All of those artists have seen one release reach the same momentous landmark.
Currently, the record for the most weeks earned on the Billboard 200 belongs to Pink Floyd’s The Dark Side of the Moon. That blockbuster is 10 frames away from becoming the first title to reach 1,000 weeks on the list.
Before Back in Black, the most recent addition to this 12-year club was Michael Jackson’s Thriller. That hits-packed set is just 20 weeks ahead of AC/DC, and it regularly adds to its historic sum.
This week, Back in Black falls one rung on the Billboard 200, as it settles at No. 168. The title moved another 9,000 equivalent units, according to Luminate. That sum includes 1,300 actual purchases, while streams of the project made up most of the rest of the equivalent copies.
As it dips on the Billboard 200, Back in Black also slips one space on the Top Rock & Alternative Albums chart. AC/DC’s studio effort is a non-mover on the Top Hard Rock Albums roster, as it keeps at No. 10.
