Most streamed 80s albums (according to the BBC)

[sadchild]

TITLE ARTIST PEAK
1 THE STONE ROSES STONE ROSES 5
2 BAD MICHAEL JACKSON 1
3 THRILLER MICHAEL JACKSON 1
4 BACK IN BLACK AC/DC 1
5 APPETITE FOR DESTRUCTION GUNS N' ROSES 5
6 THE JOSHUA TREE U2 1
7 BROTHERS IN ARMS DIRE STRAITS 1
8 BORN IN THE USA BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN 2
9 TANGO IN THE NIGHT FLEETWOOD MAC 1
10 SUPER TROUPER ABBA 1
11 THE QUEEN IS DEAD SMITHS 2
12 TRACY CHAPMAN TRACY CHAPMAN 1
13 RECKLESS BRYAN ADAMS 7
14 GRACELAND PAUL SIMON 1
15 SLIPPERY WHEN WET BON JOVI 6
16 HYSTERIA DEF LEPPARD 1
17 STRAIGHT OUTTA COMPTON NWA 35
18 THE WORKS QUEEN 2
19 SONGS FROM THE BIG CHAIR TEARS FOR FEARS 2
20 KICK INXS 9
21 UPRISING BOB MARLEY & THE WAILERS 6
22 THE SMITHS SMITHS 2
23 DOOLITTLE PIXIES 8
24 CAN'T SLOW DOWN LIONEL RICHIE 1
25 WHITNEY HOUSTON WHITNEY HOUSTON 2
26 THE GIFT JAM 1
27 ABSOLUTELY MADNESS 2
28 ONCE UPON A TIME SIMPLE MINDS 1
29 LABOUR OF LOVE II UB40 3
30 A KIND OF MAGIC QUEEN 1
31 THE VISITORS ABBA 1
32 LABOUR OF LOVE UB40 1
33 PRIVATE DANCER TINA TURNER 2
34 LIKE A VIRGIN MADONNA 1
35 TRUE BLUE MADONNA 1
36 FAITH GEORGE MICHAEL 1
37 FOREIGN AFFAIR TINA TURNER 1
38 WHITNEY WHITNEY HOUSTON 1
39 DISINTEGRATION CURE 3
40 MAKE IT BIG WHAM 1

 

[sadchild]

1 THE STONE ROSES STONE ROSES 5

HUH?????????? I mean, I vaguely remember "Fool's Gold" from back in the day. But WHA??????

2 BAD MICHAEL JACKSON 1
3 THRILLER MICHAEL JACKSON 1

Makes sense. And most of the albums on here aren't surprises (even though I hate the Smiths)

39 DISINTEGRATION CURE 3

Niiiiiiiiice

 

[Channel98]

Worldwide, more than 70,000,000 copies of the Thriller album have been sold. In the United States, more than 34,000,000 copies. So who is streaming Thriller in the 2020s? Michael Jackson fans who do not own the original vinyl album?

And now let's enjoy the 2025 New York City Hallowe'en parade:

 

[HecticArt]

HUH?????????? I mean, I vaguely remember "Fool's Gold" from back in the day. But WHA??????

I love that Stone Roses takes #1.
It was a great album.
I didn't discover it till the 90's though.

 

[IdRatherBeSkiing]

I love that Stone Roses takes #1.
It was a great album.
I didn't discover it till the 90's though.

I'm sure not too many people streamed it in 1989.

 

[Channel98]

Streaming began in 1995 with RealPlayer. Here are Spotify's most-streamed albums as of July 2026:

1. Un Verano Sin Ti – Bad Bunny (2022)
2. Starboy –The Weeknd (2016)
3. ÷ – Ed Sheeran (2017)
4. Sour – Olivia Rodrigo (2021)
5. After Hours – The Weeknd (2020)
6. SOS – SZA (2022)
7. Hollywood's Bleeding – Post Malone (2019)
8. Lover – Taylor Swift (2019)
9. AM – Arctic Monkeys (2013)
10. When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? – Billie Eilish (2019)

My conclusion: Nobody over the age of 20 uses Spotify for streaming.

 

[scotchandcigar]

I'm sure not too many people streamed it in 1989.

My daughter was over this weekend, and we were talking about the garage band I was in during middle school/high school (79-82 or so). She asked if there was any video of us performing together.

 

[IdRatherBeSkiing]

My daughter was over this weekend, and we were talking about the garage band I was in during middle school/high school (79-82 or so). She asked if there was any video of us performing together.

Video existed them. There were VHS or BetaMax cameras. They were big but they did exist.

 

[scotchandcigar]

HUH?????????? I mean, I vaguely remember "Fool's Gold" from back in the day. But WHA??????

This is a BBC list. I think the first "B" stands for British.

 

[sadchild]

My daughter was over this weekend, and we were talking about the garage band I was in during middle school/high school (79-82 or so). She asked if there was any video of us performing together.

A friend of mine who was in two bands with me in the 90s passed away and his baby sister (now in her 30s) asked for one of the songs she remembers us playing in their basement when she was a little kid.

Video existed them. There were VHS or BetaMax cameras. They were big but they did exist.

I have 3 or 4 hours worth of video of my high school friends and I from the mid-80s. Inviting them up in the fall to watch them for the first time in years.

This is a BBC list. I think the first "B" stands for British.

I would still think that the most popular album in Britain would be somewhat popular around here. I think I've heard Fools Gold twice in the last 30 years?

 

[HecticArt]

I think I've heard Fools Gold twice in the last 30 years?

I probably hear it once every 4 or 5 weeks.

 

[Wolf]

Since this thread is about the 80's and British. You know what Hectic hears 4 or 5 times a month.

Never gonna give you up
Never gonna let you down

 

[HecticArt]

I probably hear it once every 4 or 5 weeks.

It was on the Sirius U2 channel this afternoon.

 

[sadchild]

Somehow I never hear it. But yet have to hear "Never Gonna Give You Up" 3x/week. Life's not fair.