More than forty years after its release, Michael Jackson’s legendary album Thriller continues to make history. The record-breaking masterpiece has now spent 700 weeks on the Billboard 200, cementing its place as one of the longest-charting albums ever. The LP joins an elite group of projects to achieve this remarkable feat. Among solo artists, only two other icons boast albums with over 700 weeks on the chart: Eminem’s Curtain Call: The Hits, which has spent 758 weeks and counting, and Bruno Mars’ Doo-Wops & Hooligans, which has now logged 750 weeks since its release.
Originally released on November 29, 1982, through Epic Records, Thriller reshaped global pop culture. Produced by Quincy Jones, the project blended pop, rock, R&B, funk, and post-disco to create a timeless sound that continues to influence artists across generations.
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Thriller quickly became Jackson’s first No. 1 on the Billboard Top LPs & Tapes chart, where it spent 37 non-consecutive weeks at the top — a record at the time. The album spawned countless hits: seven singles reached the Top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 — “Billie Jean,” “Beat It,” “Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’,” “Human Nature,” “P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing),” “The Girl Is Mine” (with Paul McCartney), and the title track, “Thriller.” Two of them, “Billie Jean” and “Beat It,” reached No. 1.
The album’s cultural explosion was unstoppable. After Jackson’s electrifying Motown 25 performance in 1983 — where he debuted the moonwalk — Thriller began selling more than one million copies per week. By the end of 1984, Thriller had sold over 32 million copies worldwide and became the first album to be the year’s top seller twice — in both 1983 and 1984. Today, it remains the best-selling album of all time, with more than 70 million copies sold globally.
Its success extended far beyond commercial performance. The album earned eight Grammy Awards in 1984, including Album of the Year and Record of the Year for “Beat It.” It was later inducted into both the Grammy Hall of Fame and the Library of Congress’ National Recording Registry, marking it as a work of lasting cultural importance.
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