Nirvana’s 1991 album Nevermind has overtaken AC/DC’s 1980 album Back in Black as the sixth best-selling album of all time. The data company Chartmasters released the ranking this week.
As of earlier this week, Nevermind has 66,852,000 Equivalent Album Sales, known as EAS. Back in Black sits at 66,840,000. Pink Floyd’s The Dark Side of the Moon holds eighth place with 63,633,000.
Chartmasters adds up physical album sales, downloads, streams, and single sales into one total. It also counts songs from each album that appear on compilations and greatest-hits releases.
AC/DC still wins in physical sales, with about 37 million copies against about 30 million for Nirvana. Track sales, singles, and streams pushed Nevermind past Back in Black in the combined count.
Only two rock albums rank higher than Nevermind: the Eagles’ Hotel California and Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours.
The top 10 by Chartmasters’ EAS totals is:
1. Michael Jackson, Thriller, 131,253,000.
2. Eagles, Hotel California, 74,695,000.
3. Bee Gees and Various Artists, Saturday Night Fever, 73,267,000.
4. Fleetwood Mac, Rumours, 73,108,000.
5. Michael Jackson, Bad, 70,196,000.
6. Nirvana, Nevermind, 66,832,000.
7. AC/DC, Back in Black, 66,831,000.
8. Pink Floyd, The Dark Side of the Moon, 63,623,000.
9. The Beatles, Abbey Road, 61,075,000.
10. Led Zeppelin, Led Zeppelin IV, 60,696,000.
Nevermind produced four hit singles: “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” “Come As You Are,” “Lithium,” and “In Bloom.” The band released it in 1991. Back in Black arrived much earlier, in 1980.
