Best Selling Albums of the 1980s

The 1980s was a decade of great music and the decade that saw Michael Jackson soar up the music charts, the start of amazing music videos that aired on MTV and the decade that discovered Madonna. However, she does not appear on this list of the Best Selling Albums of the 1980s.

The Best Selling Album in 1980was byPink Floyd, titled The Wall

In the United States "The Wall" was one of the best selling double albums of all time and in addition is one of the top five best selling albums of all time. The Wall was released on November 30^th 1979 and has sold 30 million copies. There was also a movie based off the album. The movie The Wall was released in 1982.

The Best Selling Album in 1981 was by REO Speedwagon, titled Hi Infidelity

Hi Infidelity released in 1980, had four Top 40 hit singles. #1 "Keep on Loving You", #5 "Take it on the Run", #20 "In Your Letter" and #24 "Let Him Go". The album has sold over 10 million copies.

The Best Selling Album in 1982 was by Asia, titled Asia

Asia reached #1 on the Billboard charts. It was certified platinum 4x by the RIAA on February 10, 1995 selling over 4 million copies in the U.S. and over 10 million worldwide. Their four singles which made the American Top 40 are "Heat of the Moment" #4, "Don't Cry" #10, "Only Time Will Tell" #17 and "The Smile has Left Your Eyes" # 34.

The Best Selling Album in 1983 and 1984 was by Michael Jackson, titled Thriller

Thriller became the most successful album of all time with nearly no promotion. It remained on the Top 10 of the Billboard 200 for 80 straight weeks with 37 of those at the top position. Thriller was the first album to have 7 Billboard Hot 100 and Top singles. The singles included "Beat it", "Wanna Be Startin Something" and "Billie Jean". Thriller got Double Diamond Status in the U.S by shipping 29 million copies. It currently still remains the best selling album of all time with 110 million copies sold worldwide. Novelties such as dolls modeled after Michael Jackson appeared in stores in May of 1984. A biographer Randy Taraborrelli wrote that Thriller stopped selling like a leisure item such as a magazine and sold more like a staple household item.

The Best Selling Album in 1985 was by Bruce Springsteen, titled Born in the USA

"Born in the USA" had seven Top 10 singles, tied with Michael Jackson's "Thriller" and Janet Jackson's "Rhythm Nation". The album spent 84 weeks on the Top 10.

One month after the release of Born in the USA, the album received platinum certification by the RIAA. The album has sold a total of 30 million worldwide, 10 million in the U.S.

The Best Selling Album in 1986 was by Whitney Houston, titled Whitney Houston.

The album was released February 14, 1985. The album has three #1 singles on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The album has sold over 25 million copies worldwide and is one of the best selling albums of all time in the U.S. Rolling Stones named the album the best album of 1986.

The Best Selling Album of 1987 was by Bon Jovi, titled Slippery When Wet

The album was released in August 1986. The first single "You Give Love a Bad Name" and the next "Livin on a Prayer" both hit #1 on the U.S Billboard charts. "Slippery When Wet" holds the record for being #1 for the most weeks of any hard rock album. It was #1 on Billboard 200 for 8 weeks. It has had total worldwide sales of 28 million and is one the best selling albums of all time.

The Best Selling Album of 1988 was by George Michael, titled Faith

Not only did George Michael play a lot of instruments on the album, he also wrote and produced every song on the album besides one which he co-wrote. The first single "I Want Your Sex" was released the summer of 1987. It reached #2 on the US Billboard Hot 100 the week of August 8^th 1987 and remained in the Top 10 for six weeks and the Top 40 for 14 weeks. All this happened despite the fact that many radio stations banned the song due to its sexual lyrics. The second single "Faith" became one of the albums most popular songs. It reached #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the US and #2 on the UK singles chart. On December 12^th it reached #1 and stayed there for 4 weeks straight. The album spent 51 total weeks (not consecutive) on Billboard 200 top 10 scores. Four singles off the album reached #1, "Monkey, Faith", "Father Figure" and "I Want Your Sex". Ultimately "Faith" got Diamond certification by the RIAA by selling 10 million copies in the U.S. Faith as sold thus far 20 million copies.

The Best Selling album in 1989 was by Bobby Brown, titled Don't Be Cruel

"Don't Be Cruel" was released in 1988. The hit singles on the album were "My Prerogative" and "Don't be Cruel". "My Prerogative" was the only single off the album to be #1 on the Billboard Hot 100. The album eventually went 8x platinum.