LONDON – JULY 02: (L to R) David Gilmour, Roger Waters, Nick Mason and Rick Wright from the band … [+] Pink Floyd on stage at “Live 8 London” in Hyde Park on July 2, 2005 in London, England. The free concert is one of ten simultaneous international gigs including Philadelphia, Berlin, Rome, Paris, Barrie, Tokyo, Cornwall, Moscow and Johannesburg. The concerts precede the G8 summit (July 6-8) to raising awareness for MAKEpovertyHISTORY. (Photo by MJ Kim/Getty Images)
Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon has been regarded as one of the most important, most critically applauded, and most commercially successful rock albums of all time for many years. More than half a century since it was first released, the collection is going strong. Actually, it’s on the rise once again, as Americans are still buying and streaming the set, decades into its time on the charts.
This week, Dark Side of the Moon climbs on two Billboard rankings. The band doesn’t need to push it or promote it any longer–they haven’t in a long time–to get fans to continue to consume the set in every way possible. Somehow, the title is still selling incredibly well, and it’s the nonstop purchasing that has the pioneering studio effort improving again.
Dark Side of the Moon climbs on this week’s Top Album Sales chart. On Billboard’s ranking of the bestselling titles in the U.S., Pink Floyd’s LP lifts from No. 31 to No. 23. That’s not a huge jump, but when looking at how much it improved in terms of actual units sold, it’s clear that the rock album is still very popular.
In the past tracking week, Dark Side of the Moon sold another 3,341 copies in the United States. That’s a huge sum for a release that’s been selling hundreds, if not thousands, of copies each week for decades. It also marks a growth of more than 22% from the last tracking period.
At the same time, Dark Side of the Moon is also up on the Vinyl Albums chart. The title has become a collector’s item, and it’s seen as a must-have for any real lover of the format. This week, Pink Floyd’s masterpiece steps up to No. 15 on the tally after sitting at No. 25 last time around.
Dark Side of the Moon is currently the album that holds the record for the most weeks spent on the Billboard 200, the all-encompassing ranking of the most-consumed titles in the country. It has thus far racked up 988 frames somewhere on the 200-rung list. No other release has made it to 900 weeks, at least not yet. While Dark Side of the Moon may be growing in terms of sales and rising on some lists, it somehow doesn’t move enough units to appear on the Billboard 200 this week.
MORE FROM FORBESPink Floyd’s ‘Dark Side Of The Moon’ Returns To The Billboard ChartsBy Hugh McIntyre
