A Numbers Game

The other day, while preparing my #RockHistory feature for Twitter (and of course, I invite you to check it out and follow me!), I happened to notice that Michael Jackson's Thriller from 1982, still sits atop the world's top 10 selling album list.

That's in the whole world, folks! Pretty impressive! For 30 years now, there sits Thriller.

Thriller by Michael Jackson

The world's top 10 album sales list should be pretty clear cut and seldom changeable, right? Well most of the time, yes. But these days maybe not so much. Could that be true? Could Michael Jackson's Thriller be unseated from its lofty height? Yes music lovers, I think it could possibly happen.

As of this writing, most sources for the Top 10 albums of all time show no recent changes. But according to at least one source, namely the Rock Telegraph, Adele's album, 21, has moved into the No. 7 position.

Rumor Has It by Adele

Quite the dramatic themes happening in both of these videos, don't you think?

21 is still selling strong and shows no sign of moving into the slow lane anytime soon. To crack the top 3, it would need to surpass Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon, now at No. 3 and AC/DC's Back in Black, currently the runner up.

Formidable competition to say the least. Still, in my mind, 21 stands a real chance of rising to the top. It has already surpassed Dark Side of the Moon in UK album sales. Without a doubt it could become the top seller of this century.

'Til next time, that's another classic track look back at rock history, not to mention a look ahead at the album that seems poised to reshape rock history a bit.