Michael Jackson Joins A Club Including Metallica, Pink Floyd, And Eminem

Ever since it was released more than 40 years ago, Thriller has been the album that artists everywhere are trying to copy — not necessarily in terms of sound or message, but artistic vision and success. The blockbuster helped catapult Michael Jackson to new heights and became one of the most successful projects of the decade before asserting itself as the top-selling studio album in American history.

Thriller rarely departs the Billboard charts, but October is when the full-length really shines. Thanks to the ongoing popularity of its title track — which may forever be associated with Halloween and which surges in streams and sales every fall — Thriller rebounds across every roster on which it appears. The bestseller and Grammy-winning triumph even hits an incredible and historic milestone in the process, just before the spookiest day of the year arrives.

Thriller Hits 700 Weeks on the Billboard 200

As of this frame, Thriller has now spent 700 weeks on the Billboard 200. That ranking measures the 200 most consumed albums and EPs in the United States, and it employs a methodology that blends both pure purchases and streaming activity to show what Americans are listening to.

Michael Jackson Joins Metallica, Bruno Mars and Nirvana

Only 10 albums have made it to 700 weeks on the Billboard 200, with Thriller becoming the milestone tenth set to do so. The full-length joins all of the following in this historic grouping:

• The Dark Side of the Moon by Pink Floyd
• Legend by Bob Marley and the Wailers
• Greatest Hits by Journey
• Metallica by Metallica
• Chronicle: The 20 Greatest Hits by Creedence Clearwater Revival
• Curtain Call: The Hits by Eminem
• Doo-Wops & Hooligans by Bruno Mars
• Greatest Hits by Guns N’ Roses
• Nevermind by Nirvana

What Are the Next Albums to Reach 700 Weeks on the Billboard 200?

It’s been months since any album reached 700 frames, as the most recent to do so — Nirvana’s Nevermind — is now up to 744 stays on the tally. It will be several more months before an eleventh effort follows Thriller. Kendrick Lamar’s Good Kid, M.A.A.D City seems next in line to do so, but with 677 weeks on the roster to its credit, the rapper will have to wait until at least 2026 to manage the feat as well.

Michael Jackson’s Blockbuster Hits the Top 10

On this week’s Billboard 200, Thriller lifts more than 10 spaces. The former champion pushes north from No. 67 to No. 53, nearing the upper quarter of the competitive roster. Luminate reports that the bestseller shifted more than 14,300 equivalent units across the U.S. That sum is up more than 7% — and 1,000 units — from the frame prior, with almost 3,700 CDs, cassettes, and vinyl records sold included in that figure.

Thriller Rises Again Ahead of Halloween

Thriller is on the rise on every Billboard tally, not just the company’s flagship albums list. The set only appears inside the top 10 on the Top R&B Albums chart, pushing from No. 7 to No. 4, and it almost breaks back into that tier on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums ranking, where it settles at No. 11. Thriller can also be found at No. 13 on the Vinyl Albums chart and No. 35 on the Top Album Sales roster, and these positions are likely to improve in the next week or two.

“Thriller” Slips from No. 1 as D’Angelo Posthumously Takes Over

Thriller is buoyed this frame as Americans continue to consume the set — and largely its title track — in anticipation of Halloween. “Thriller,” the single, appears on both the R&B/Hip-Hop Digital Song Sales and R&B Digital Song Sales charts this week, and as recently as a few days ago, it was leading the charge on both of them. The time around, the cut declines from No. 1 to No. 4. The fall is due to an influx of tracks by R&B powerhouse D’Angelo, who sees his career-defining smashes “Untitled (How Does It Feel),” “Lady,” and “Brown Sugar” kick off their time inside the three highest spaces following his death last week.

“Thriller” currently sits just beneath the 25-space Digital Song Sales chart, the non-genre-specific ranking of the bestselling tunes in the country. Luminate reports that Jackson’s classic sold almost 2,000 copies in the most recent finished tracking period.