Top 100 Best Selling Albums of The 90s

[gezza76]

7. ROBSON & JEROME- Robson & Jerome (2,640,000)



RELEASED: 13th November 1995

PEAK POSITION: 1

WKS IN TOP 75: 31

SINGLES RELEASED:

UNCHAINED MELODY/ WHITE CLIFFS OF DOVER (1)
UP ON THE ROOF/ I BELIEVE (1)

From an album spending over 140 weeks on the charts to an album that spent just 31 weeks on it. In many ways the success of Robson & Jerome is the surprise story of the decade and the size of it was amazing. They released just 2 singles from the album (admittedly both double A Sides”) which were out before the album (which in part accounts for it’s low weeks on chart tally) but both singles were No 1’s and both sold over a million copies! The album debuted at No 1 on sales of 270k but it recorded sales in excess of 200k for each of it’s first 7 weeks (which co-incided with the last 7 weeks of the year 1995) becoming not only the biggest selling album of 1995 outstripping “(What’s The Story) Morning Glory” but also the first album to shift more than 2 million copies in one calendar year and shifting 483k in it’s sixth week on the chart (xmas 95 week).

[Eric Generic]

Must admit I thought The Immaculate Collection would be higher than #8! But then I'm probably thinking of its total sales right through the 90s and 00s.

[bichard]

The track listing of The Immaculate Collection still pisses me off.

[phoenix123]

The only thing that annoyed me about "The Immaculate Collection" was the omission of "Who's That Girl" and "True Blue" (especially from the video collection) I'm not sure whether it was due to time constraints? At least we have "The Holiday Collection" which was a nice companion and included one of my faves "Causing A Commotion"

[MollieSwift21]

The Immaculate Collection is the only Madonna album I would ever own and I could still do without half the songs on there.

Yes I know that is unpopular haha.

[Fire]

I'm pretty much the same. Like A Prayer, Holiday, Like A Virgin, Express Yourself, Vogue. I think that's everything I like by her covered (besides Give Me All Your Luvin' and Girl Gone Wild...).

[Eric Generic]

The track listing of The Immaculate Collection still pisses me off.

Ha yes, 22 years on and it's STILL the first thing I ever think of whenever the damn thing's mentioned! That, and the pointless remixing and tweaking of some tracks - the echo-ey Holiday, the ugly Like A Prayer, the inferior Express Yourself...

She's had three goes at a Greatest Hits, and none of them got it right!

[Mvnl]

Poor Robson and Jerome...

[bichard]

Ha yes, 22 years on and it's STILL the first thing I ever think of whenever the damn thing's mentioned! That, and the pointless remixing and tweaking of some tracks - the echo-ey Holiday, the ugly Like A Prayer, the inferior Express Yourself...

She's had three goes at a Greatest Hits, and none of them got it right!

Honestly, so many of my favourite Madge singles are the lesser hits and as such would never have made it on there, but to just have 15 songs? They could have squeezed a few more on surely?!

Angel, Dear Jessie, Hanky Panky, Causing A Commotion, Who's That Girl....these are some of my favourites. I suppose only one of them ever stood a chance of being on there, but to omit a US and UK number 1 is just insane. Who's That Girl should have replaced La Isla Bonita if only for that reason.

[gezza76]

6. TALK ON CORNERS- The Corrs (2,680,000)



RELEASED: 20th October 1997

PEAK POSITION: 1

WKS IN TOP 75: 97

SINGLES RELEASED:

RUNAWAY (2)
WHAT CAN I DO (3 on re-release)
DREAMS (6)
SO YOUNG (6)
I NEVER LOVED YOU ANYWAY (43)
ONLY WHEN I SLEEP (53)

Here’s the biggest selling album of 1998 and the highest placed of any irish act throughout the decade, wiping the floor with U2. “Talk On Corners” was released in 1997 to not much interest at all debuting at No 7 and leaving the chart before the end of that year. Initial singles “What Can I Do” “Only When I Sleep” and “I Never Loved You Anyway”all under-performed peaking at between No’s. 48 & 58. what turned everything around was their cover of Fleetwood Mac’s “Dreams” in May 98 which became the bands first top 10 hit. Further top 10’s followed and the album finally made No 1 in June 98 before returning during the spring of 1999 when it was unfortunate indeed to be at No 1 for the Corrs who also placed their debut album at No 2 with “Forgiven Not Forgotten” which contained the original version of "Runaway" which during Feb 99 was remixed and placed on the special version of TOC.

It spent 74 consecutive weeks in the top 20 including 6 seperate spells at No 1, and set the band up nicely for world domination going into the new decade but it never quite happened. Follow up album “In Blue” repeated the No 1 status of it’s predecessor but the sales were nothing like “Talk On Corners” and the band spent most of the noughties just plodding along with the occasional top 10 hit...

[gezza76]

4 & 5 tomorrow- the top 3 on Sunday!

[bichard]

In Blue, although containing some decent songs, was a total mis-step. Had Borrowed Heaven followed Talk On Corners, I reckon they would haver had another huge album on their hands.

[Booers]

I was trying to figure out what would be in the top 6 and The Corrs was not one of them! Ok, so I think I know what's in the top 5. I wonder if I'll be right ...

By the way Gezza, a 00s version of this would be good. I know you're going to do the top 200 90s solo women next but if youhave the time I'd love a 00s one!

[marie_05]

I always forget how big The Corrs were. Talk On Corners, their debut and Borrowed Heaven were amazing, but yes, In Blue was a tad bland. Slightly annoying how Breathless was their only number one, I've always thought it was one of their weakest singles.

My favourite single from Talk On Corners was also the one with the lowest chart position (Only When I Sleep).

By the way Gezza, a 00s version of this would be good. I know you're going to do the top 200 90s solo women next but if youhave the time I'd love a 00s one!

Seconded! That would be amazing.

[Eric Generic]

I think the special edition of ToC made the difference between a 1.5-million selling album and a 2.5million one. Plus an extra year on the chart. Well deserved, of course. It's one the best albums of the 90s, and I actually prefer the original version.

[gezza76]

I was trying to figure out what would be in the top 6 and The Corrs was not one of them! Ok, so I think I know what's in the top 5. I wonder if I'll be right ...

By the way Gezza, a 00s version of this would be good. I know you're going to do the top 200 90s solo women next but if youhave the time I'd love a 00s one!

Well you never know your luck in these things!

[Mvnl]

Oh yay, was not expecting that.. outselling the Immaculate Collection!!
But yeah, it's a very very solid beautiful album.

[Booers]

Are we allowed to guess at what we think is in the top 5, or is this considered a spoiler?!

[gezza76]

Should be OK I think seeing as we're all done in 48 hours!

[Booers]

Cool - well I think still to come, cryptically, some piquant ladies, precious metal from Sweden, a serrated aspirin, Mancunian daybreak splendour AND night-time twinklings. This may not make any sense!

EDIT: Not necessarily in that order, by the way!

[tylerc904]

The only two I can think of are the "piquant ladies" and "precious metal from Sweden", which I have been waiting to appear all along.

Hope you're right!

[Mvnl]

I have no idea what the precious metal from Sweden would be... unless Roxette's considered metal?

[marie_05]

I have no idea what the precious metal from Sweden would be... unless Roxette's considered metal?

I'm pretty sure the precious metal part refers to the album title, not the act!

[gezza76]

5. JAGGED LITTLE PILL- Alanis Morissette (2,750,000)



RELEASED: 14th August 1995

PEAK POSITION: 1

WKS IN TOP 75: 133

SINGLES RELEASED:

HEAD OVER FEET (7)
IRONIC (11)
YOU OUGHTA KNOW (22)
YOU LEARN (24)
HAND IN MY POCKET (26)
ALL I REALLY WANT (59)

This was certainly another slow burner that seemed to quietly but persistently build it’s sales. Released in August 95 it didn’t hit the top 10 until January the following year by which time 3 singles had charted but all of them outside the top 20. However Morissette had garnered significant amounts of airplay which was translating into album sales rather than Singles positions! Once the album hit the top 10 though it never left for 10 whole months and finally spent 11 weeks at number one (8 of them consecutively) on it’s way to becoming the biggest selling album of 1996 and of the decade by a female solo artist.

In total 6 singles were lifted from the album only one hit the top 10 but it was the release of “Ironic” which catapulted the album to finally hit No 1. Subsequent albums from Morissette have fared less well, indeed all six of them combine to give a weeks total of just 40 weeks in comparison to “Jagged Little Pill”’s 145 weeks, still it was a mightily impressive debut...

[gezza76]

4. GOLD- GREATEST HITS- Abba (2,860,000)



RELEASED: 21st September 1992

PEAK POSITION: 1

WKS IN TOP 75: 256

SINGLES RELEASED:

DANCING QUEEN (16)

OK let’s start with the facts. No album spent longer in the charts throughout the decade than “Gold”, it topped the charts in both 1992 and 1999, it’s the best selling greatest hits of the decade, and it also managed to shift almost a further 2 million in the noughties. Yet it wasn’t the first ABBA greatest hits package so why was it the most successful?

The reason in part is that old excuse of “timing” and “re-appraisal”. The group though never officially split, had ceased to record anything new since 1982 but come the early 90’s people were starting to place new value on ABBA tracks which to be honest had been dismissed as very uncool and tacky pop for much of the 70’s and 80’s. Erasure’s “Abba-Esque E.P” had recently debuted at No 1 (the only song to do that in 1992) and proved that there was still a market hungry for ABBA products.

With proper TV promotion and glossy packaging and a re-released “Dancing Queen” making the top 20 all over again the album debuted at No 1 becoming their first chart topped in 10 years. It continued to sell well year after year as the decade progressed and was given a second lease of life when the west end production of “Mamma Mia” hit the theatre’s in 1999 in conjunction with a BRITS medley of their hits sung by the younger pop stars of the day at the 1999 ceremony. Furthermore the popularity of such acts as A*Teens, Steps, Scooch etc (who clearly borrowed much of their harmonies, and style of singing in addition to some straight out covers) made ABBA’s influence over pop very clear by the end of the decade...