Billboard’s list of the top 200 “Greatest of All Time” albums was released recently, and there are some unexpected choices on it. Ranked by a point system, weeks spent at number one on Billboard gave the most value to an album and weeks spent at a lower spot on the charts less value. Here are the biggest surprises of Billboard’s “Greatest of All Time” list.
4 surprises from the Billboard ‘Greatest of All Time’ albums list
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1. Michael Jackson isn’t Number one
Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” comes in at number three behind “21” by Adele and the soundtrack to “The Sound of Music.” Even being the highest-selling record of all time wasn’t enough to get MJ to the top, at least for Billboard.
2. Soundtracks are more popular than you thought
“The Sound of Music” claimed the second spot on the list, and while it’s the highest ranked movie soundtrack, it’s not the only one. “Doctor Zhivago” and 2013 phenomenon “Frozen” are in the top 20, and “High School Musical” is on the list at number 51 — before the Beatles highest ranked album.
3. “Fearless” bested “1989”
Four out of Taylor Swift’s five albums are on the all-time list, but the highest ranked one is not what you would think — “Fearless” took the fourth spot and Swift’s self-titled debut came in at 18. Even though the 64th ranked “1989” took the end of 2014 and beginning of 2015 by storm, Swift’s country music still won out.
4. Beyonce is nowhere to be found
Beyonce doesn’t even make an appearance with Destiny’s Child, but even more surprising is that her iconic late 2013 album, “Beyonce,” didn’t make the cut either. It was iTunes’ fastest selling album ever, and has sold five million copies worldwide. It was also her fifth straight number one album, but still did not make the “Greatest of All Time” list.
