Pink Floyd Sees Two Masterpieces Return To The Charts

Two of Pink Floyd’s most successful albums, The Dark Side of the Moon and Wish You Were Here, both bound back onto different Billboard charts in America this week. LOS ANGELES – AUGUST 1968: Psychedelic rock group Pink Floyd pose for a portrait shrouded in pink in August of 1968 in Los Angeles. (L-R) Nick Mason, Dave Gilmour, Rick Wright (center front), Roger Waters. (Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)

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Pink Floyd is one of the bestselling musical acts in American history, and has been for decades. Many of the English rock band’s albums have earned gold, platinum, or multi-platinum certifications from the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America), and the music industry organization reports that across all projects, the troupe has moved 76 million equivalent album units in the United States alone. That roundup includes a pair of diamond-certified titles, as both The Dark Side of the Moon and The Wall have shifted at least 15 million copies.

This week, Pink Floyd appears on just two Billboard charts, both of which are focused entirely on purchases. What makes the group’s performance this time around notable is that a pair of projects by the rockers return, and they bounce back onto different lists simultaneously, becoming bestsellers once more.

The Dark Side of the Moon Returns to the Vinyl Chart

Between Pink Floyd’s two comebacks, The Dark Side of the Moon is the higher-ranking winner this frame. The project, one of the top-performing albums of all time, reenters the Vinyl Albums chart at No. 20.

Wish You Were Here Reenters the Top Album Sales Chart

Another beloved set, Wish You Were Here, finds its way back to the Top Album Sales chart, which focuses entirely on purchases of full-lengths and EPs of any genre and via any format, be they CD, vinyl, or digital download. This time around, Wish You Were Here finds its way back to the Top Album Sales list at No. 45.

The Dark Side of the Moon Climbs on the Album Sales List

Pink Floyd fills two spaces on the Top Album Sales chart, the only tally where the band appears more than once. As Wish You Were Here breaks back in at one of the lower spaces on the 50-spot tally, The Dark Side of the Moon jumps 14 pegs, lifting from No. 38 to No. 24.

The Dark Side of the Moon Has Spent More Than 500 Weeks as a Bestseller

As of this frame, The Dark Side of the Moon has appeared on the Top Album Sales chart in 546 different chart weeks. Currently, it is the third-longest-running title on the tally, coming in behind only Metallica’s self-titled release (758 weeks) and Bob Marley and the Wailers’ Legend (741). Several other classics, like Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours (493) and Michael Jackson’s Thriller (498) – which coincidentally sits one rung behind the late King of Pop’s Number Ones compilation – are also very close to reaching the incredible 500-period milestone.

The Dark Side of the Moon is far and away Pink Floyd’s longest-charting success on the Top Album Sales chart and the band’s only project to rack up triple-digit weeks on the rundown.

The Dark Side of the Moon Never Reached No. 1

While The Dark Side of the Moon may be one of the bestselling full-lengths in American history and one of the only projects to manage at least a decade as a top seller on this ranking, it does not count as one of Pink Floyd’s highest-ranking hits. The group has scored just a pair of No. 1s, first in 1994 with The Division Bell, and then the following year the rockers doubled their sum when Pulse launched in first place.

The Dark Side of the Moon topped out at No. 7. A live recording titled The Dark Side of the Moon: Live at Wembley, London, 1974 made it to No. 8, nearly matching the original.

Wish You Were Here is one of two projects by Pink Floyd to miss ruling the Top Album Sales chart by one spot. Both Wish You Were Here and Echoes: The Best of Pink Floyd peaked at No. 2, and all of them are counted among the outfit’s 11 top 10s.

The Dark Side of the Moon Remains a Major Vinyl Winner

Over on the Vinyl Albums chart, The Dark Side of the Moon has racked up 384 stays, more than all of the band’s other 21 appearances combined. Amazingly, though, neither The Dark Side of the Moon nor Wish You Were Here has ruled. Instead, they both stalled at No. 2, alongside several other favorites, like Animals, Pulse, and Pink Floyd at Pompeii: MCMLXXII. The Endless River and The Wall both took turns running the show less than two years apart a little more than a decade ago.

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