PDA

View Full Version : 100 Best-selling albums of the 80s


Villavic
08-02-2026, 12:01 PM
I just found at my friend’s home this coffee table book “100 Best Selling Albums Of The 80s”, based on US+UK numbers, including soundtracks but excluding GH compilations. Tango is at #67 with 5’450,000. I don’t know how reliable is the info, specially after reading the description at the book (plus Mick wrote ;) that it was 8 million).

Tango in the Night was the last Fleetwood Mac studio album to feature the classic Buckingham/Nicks/Fleetwood/McVie/Mcvie lineup, and proved their most popular post Rumours release.

The first single, Lindsey Buckingham’s “Big Love”, provided the band with a US number five (number nine in UK). Even more successful was Christine McVie’s “Little Lies”, which reached number four in the US and number five in the UK. Stevie Nicks’s “Seven Wonders” and McVie’s “Everywhere” became two other US Top 20 hits. Although Tango in the Night peaked at number seven on the US charts in May 1987, it wasn’t until October that it topped the UK chart, repeating the feat the following May.

Shortly after the album’s release, guitarist Buckingham left Fleetwood Mac and was replaced by Billy Burnette and Rick Vito. He returned to tour with the band in 1996, although Christine Mc Vie left the band two years later. Not until 2014 did the Rumours/Tango in the Night lineup perform together again.

As of 2017, no new studio album from this classic lineup has been released, although 2017’s Buckingham/McVie came close: it featured songs written by Lindsey Buckingham and Christine McVie and performed by all members of Fleetwood Mac apart from Stevie Nicks.

Well, Everywhere was #4 in UK. And the Reunion tour was in 1997, not 1996, though perhaps it refers to conversations at the end of 1996. But hey, the author may have liked BuckVie, but that’s no reason to ignore SYW, an album by FLEETWOOD MAC, with the Rumours lineup minus one, like BuckVie.

I also noticed that Bella Donna is not included in the book. But with 4 million sales (RIAA certif mentioned in Wikipedia), it couldn't make the list, since the #100 was Asia debut album with 4’150,00. Again, I don’t know how reliable were those numbers. Though of course it is easy to guess, and no one can doubt, which one was number 1. No mere mortal could resist it.

Macfan4life
08-02-2026, 01:22 PM
I just found at my friend’s home this coffee table book “100 Best Selling Albums Of The 80s”, based on US+UK numbers, including soundtracks but excluding GH compilations. Tango is at #67 with 5’450,000. I don’t know how reliable is the info, specially after reading the description at the book (plus Mick wrote ;) that it was 8 million).

Tango in the Night was the last Fleetwood Mac studio album to feature the classic Buckingham/Nicks/Fleetwood/McVie/Mcvie lineup, and proved their most popular post Rumours release.

The first single, Lindsey Buckingham’s “Big Love”, provided the band with a US number five (number nine in UK). Even more successful was Christine McVie’s “Little Lies”, which reached number four in the US and number five in the UK. Stevie Nicks’s “Seven Wonders” and McVie’s “Everywhere” became two other US Top 20 hits. Although Tango in the Night peaked at number seven on the US charts in May 1987, it wasn’t until October that it topped the UK chart, repeating the feat the following May.

Shortly after the album’s release, guitarist Buckingham left Fleetwood Mac and was replaced by Billy Burnette and Rick Vito. He returned to tour with the band in 1996, although Christine Mc Vie left the band two years later. Not until 2014 did the Rumours/Tango in the Night lineup perform together again.

As of 2017, no new studio album from this classic lineup has been released, although 2017’s Buckingham/McVie came close: it featured songs written by Lindsey Buckingham and Christine McVie and performed by all members of Fleetwood Mac apart from Stevie Nicks.

Well, Everywhere was #4 in UK. And the Reunion tour was in 1997, not 1996, though perhaps it refers to conversations at the end of 1996. But hey, the author may have liked BuckVie, but that’s no reason to ignore SYW, an album by FLEETWOOD MAC, with the Rumours lineup minus one, like BuckVie.

I also noticed that Bella Donna is not included in the book. But with 4 million sales (RIAA certif mentioned in Wikipedia), it couldn't make the list, since the #100 was Asia debut album with 4’150,00. Again, I don’t know how reliable were those numbers. Though of course it is easy to guess, and no one can doubt, which one was number 1. No mere mortal could resist it.
You answered your question in your first statement. You wrote the tabulation was for US and UK sales combined. I think Mick may have been saying Tango was a world wide success all throughout Europe and Australia and used those figures.
On the flip side didn't Mick write in the book that Bella Donna sold 8 million copies?
Mick can inflate numbers depending how many lines were on the mirror.

Villavic
08-02-2026, 01:26 PM
On the flip side didn't Mick write in the book that Bella Donna sold 8 million copies?
Mick can inflate numbers depending how many lines were on the mirror.

:laugh: Well it seems the lines formed a chessboard.

Stevie's songs including the utterly majestic "Gypsy" were what she had saved for us after recording her first album, Bella Donna, which was about to sell ten million copies and make Miss Nicks the Queen of Rock.

Macfan4life
08-02-2026, 02:43 PM
:laugh: Well it seems the lines formed a chessboard.

Stevie's songs including the utterly majestic "Gypsy" were what she had saved for us after recording her first album, Bella Donna, which was about to sell ten million copies and make Miss Nicks the Queen of Rock.
That was that Peruvian good stuff