AC/DC’s ‘Back in Black’ is still making waves nearly 45 years after its release.
The band’s 1980 album is now officially the third-highest selling album of all time in US history!
As Consequence points out, the Recording Industry Association of America recently shared new certifications that show ‘Back in Black’ has sold the equivalent of 27 million copies, surpassing The Eagles’ ‘Hotel California’.
Before AC/DC jumped them, the Eagles held two spots in the top three — their best-of compilation ‘Their Greatest Hits (1971–1975)’ is No. 1 on the list with 38 million units sold. Michael Jackson’s ‘Thriller’ is No. 2 with 34 million copies.
Globally, ‘Back in Black’ is the second-highest selling album, with a reported 50 million copies sold worldwide, and ‘Thriller’ is No. 1 with an estimated 70 million units sold.
Last month, AC/DC’s Thunderstruck became their first single to be certified diamond by the RIAA. During that round of certification, eight of their songs also went platinum, including T.N.T., Hell’s Bells, and You Shook Me All Night Long.
In Australia, ‘Back in Black’ sits as the 26th best-selling album of all time, as certified by ARIA. At 840,000 copies sold, it has gone platinum 12 times.
According to ARIA, ‘Bat Out of Hell’ by Meat Loaf is the best-selling album of all time in Australia (1,820,000 copies, 25 x platinum), followed by Shania Twain’s ‘Come On Over’ (1,750,000 copies, 25 x platinum). In third place, ‘Whispering Jack’ by John Farnham (1,680,000, 24x platinum).
