American singer-songwriter Michael Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) released ten studio albums, five soundtrack albums, fifty-five compilation albums, ten video albums, and seven remix albums. Following his death in June 2009, two albums, with unreleased tracks, have been posthumously released. Jackson made his debut at the age of six as the lead singer of The Jackson 5 (later known as The Jacksons) in 1964, who were prominent performers during the 1970s. Jackson is one of the best-selling music artists in history with over 500 million records sold worldwide.Estimates for Michael Jackson's sales vary from 750 million up to 1 billion records. However these figures do not specify whether they are his solo sales or include his group sales with the Jackson 5, who have sold 150 million records. According to the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), Jackson has sold 90 million certified albums in the United States.
In 1972, Jackson released his debut studio album, Got to Be There, in which was released through Motown, while he was still part of The Jackson 5. It peaked at number 14 on the US Billboard Top LPs & Tape chart and was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). The same year, he released another album, Ben, which peaked at number 5 on the Billboard Top LPs & Tape chart and was certified silver by the British Phonographic Industry. The album's title track was a commercial success on the music charts, topping both the US and the Australian ARIA charts, giving Jackson his first number 1 single on the Billboard Hot 100 as a solo artist. Jackson's next two studio albums were Music & Me (1973) and Forever, Michael (1975). In 1975, Jackson signed to Epic Records, and released his fifth studio album, Off the Wall, in 1979. It peaked at number 3 on the Billboard Top LPs & Tape chart and spawned two number 1 singles on the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States. Off the Wall made Jackson the first solo artist to have four singles from the same album peak in the top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100. The album was certified Diamond by the RIAA and has sold over 20 million copies worldwide, making it one of the best-selling albums of all time. At the 1980 Grammy Awards, it was nominated for two awards, with Jackson winning Best R&B Vocal Performance, Male.
Jackson's sixth studio album, Thriller (1982), became his first number 1 album on the Billboard Top LPs & Tape chart. Thriller spent a record thirty-seven non-consecutive weeks at number 1, from February 26, 1983, to April 14, 1984. Seven singles were released and all reached the top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. This feat set the record for the most top 10 singles from an album, with "Beat It" and "Billie Jean" reaching number 1. It was the best-selling album worldwide in 1983 and was also the first to become the best-selling album in the United States for two years between 1983 and 1984. The album broke racial barriers in popular music, enabling Jackson's appearances on MTV and meeting with US President Ronald Reagan at the White House. The album set the standard for the music industry with its music videos, and promotion strategies. It influenced artists, record labels, producers, marketers, and choreographers. Thriller was certified 34× Platinum by the RIAA and remains the best-selling album of all time, with sales of 70 million copies worldwide. It won a record-breaking eight awards at the 1984's Grammy Awards (where it won Album of the Year) and the 1984's American Music Awards. In 1987, Jackson released his seventh studio album, Bad. It debuted at number 1 on the Billboard Top Pop Albums chart in the United States. The album also reached number 1 in twenty-five other countries. Seven singles charted highly on the Billboard Hot 100, including a record-breaking five number 1 singles. With a certification of 11× Platinum by the RIAA and sales of over 35 million copies worldwide, Bad is one of the best-selling albums of all time.
Jackson entered the 1990s with the release of his eighth studio album, Dangerous, in 1991. The album was Jackson's first since Forever, Michael to not be produced by longtime collaborator Quincy Jones. Dangerous debuted at number 1 on the US Billboard Top Pop Albums chart and in thirteen other countries. The album sold five million copies worldwide in its first week and was the best-selling album worldwide of 1992. Dangerous was certified 8× Platinum by the RIAA and is one of the best-selling albums of all time having sold over 32 million copies worldwide. Jackson's ninth studio album HIStory (1995) debuted at number 1 on the US Billboard 200, along with nineteen other countries. The album was certified 8× Platinum by the RIAA and has sold over 20 million copies worldwide, making it one of the best-selling albums of all time. Jackson released his remix album Blood on the Dance Floor: HIStory in the Mix in 1997. It has sold over six million copies worldwide, making it the best-selling remix album of all time. Jackson's tenth and final studio album, Invincible, was released in 2001, and topped international charts, with sales over 8 million copies worldwide. Following Jackson's death in 2009, sales of his previous work soared, with his compilation albums Number Ones (2003) and The Essential Michael Jackson (2005) becoming the first catalog albums to outsell any new album and becoming international best-sellers. These two were later certified 5× times Platinum by the RIAA. Following the surge in sales in March 2010, Sony Music signed a $250 million deal with the Jackson estate to extend their distribution rights to Jackson's back catalog until at least 2017. As part of this deal, two posthumous albums of previously unreleased tracks were released: Michael (2010) and Xscape (2014). In 2017, Sony renewed their deal for $250 million that went into effect in January 2018.
Studio albums +List of studio albums, with selected chart positions, sales figures and certifications Title Album details Peak chart positions Sales Certifications(sales threshold) USPeak chart positions for albums charting on the United States chart:
Michael (Songs from the Motion Picture): AUSPeak chart positions for albums charting on the Australian chart: CANPeak chart positions for albums charting on the Canadian chart:
Michael (Songs from the Motion Picture): FRAPeak chart positions for albums charting on the French chart: GERPeak chart positions for albums charting on the German chart: NL NZ SPNPeak chart positions for albums charting on the Spanish chart: SWI UKPeak chart positions for albums charting on the United Kingdom chart: Got to Be There Released: January 24, 1972 Label: Motown Formats: LP, cassette, 8-track 14 — — 121 — — — — — 37 US: Gold Ben Released: August 4, 1972 Label: Motown Formats: LP, cassette, 8-track 5 65 12 162 — — — — — 17 UK: Silver Music & Me Released: April 13, 1973 Label: Motown Formats: LP, cassette, 8-track 92 27 — 108 — — — — — — Forever, Michael Released: January 16, 1975 Label: Motown Formats: LP, cassette, 8-track 101 — — — — — — — — — Off the Wall Released: August 10, 1979 Label: Epic Records, CBS Records Formats: Reel-to-reel, LP, cassette, 8-track 3 1 4 27 25 8 2 11 27 3 CAN: 300,000 FRA: 1,000,000 US: Diamond AUS: 5× Platinum CAN: Platinum FRA: Platinum GER: Platinum NL: Platinum NZ: 6× Platinum SWI: Platinum UK: 6× Platinum Thriller Released: November 29, 1982 Label: Epic Records Formats: Reel-to-reel, LP, cassette, 8-track, CD 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 AUS: 1,150,000 CAN: 2,400,000 NL: 1,400,000 UK: 4,470,000 US: 3× Diamond (34× Platinum) AUS: 17× Platinum CAN: 3× Diamond FRA: Diamond GER: 3× Platinum NL: 8× Multi-Platinum NZ: 12× Platinum SWI: 6× Platinum UK: 15× Platinum Bad Released: August 31, 1987 Label: Epic Records Formats: LP, cassette, 8-track, CD 1 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 US: 10,000,000 NL: 500,000 UK: 4,140,000 US: Diamond (11× Platinum) AUS: 6× Platinum CAN: Diamond FRA: Diamond GER: 4× Platinum NL: Platinum NZ: 9× Platinum SWI: 5× Platinum UK: 14× Platinum Dangerous Released: November 26, 1991 Label: Epic Records Formats: LP, cassette, CD 1 1 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 AUS: 740,000 UK: 2,010,069 US: 8× Platinum AUS: 10× Platinum CAN: 6× Platinum FRA: Diamond GER: 4× Platinum NL: 3× Multi-Platinum NZ: 6× Platinum SWI: 5× Platinum UK: 6× Platinum HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I Released: June 20, 1995 Label: Epic Records Formats: LP, cassette, CD, MD 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 US: 4,000,000 UK: 1,500,000 US: 8× Platinum AUS: 8× Platinum CAN: 5× Platinum FRA: Diamond GER: 3× Platinum NL: 3× Multi-Platinum NZ: 10× Platinum SWI: 3× Platinum UK: 4× Platinum Invincible Released: October 30, 2001 Label: Epic Records Formats: LP, cassette, CD, MD 1 1 1 1 1 1 4 2 1 1 US: 2,400,000 CAN: 100,000 US: 2× Platinum AUS: 2× Platinum FRA: Platinum GER: Platinum NL: Platinum NZ: Platinum SWI: Platinum UK: Platinum "—" denotes releases that did not chart
Soundtrack albums +List of soundtrack albums, with selected chart positions and certifications Title Album details Peak chart positions Certifications(sales threshold) US AUS CAN FRA GER NL NZ SPN SWI UK The Wiz Type: Soundtrack Release date: September 18, 1978 Label: MCA Records Formats: LP, cassette 40 — — — — — — — — — US: Gold E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial Type: Audiobook / SoundtrackE.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) (20th Anniversary Edition) – John Williams – Awards . AllMusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved August 17, 2013. Release date: November 15, 1982 Label: MCA Records Formats: LP, cassette 37 — — — — — — — — 82 Michael Jackson's This Is It Type: Soundtrack Release date: October 26, 2009 Label: Epic Records Formats: LP, CD 1 2 1 1 3 1 1 3 2 3 US: 2× Platinum AUS: Platinum CAN: 2× Platinum FRA: 3× Platinum GER: 3× Gold NL: Platinum NZ: 2× Platinum UK: 2× Platinum Selections from Michael Jackson's This Is It Type: EP Release date: October 26, 2009 Label: Epic Records 91 — — — — — — — — — Immortal Type: Soundtrack / Remix album Release date: November 21, 2011 Label: Epic Records Formats: CD 24 43 28 42 23 17 35 16 17 65 Michael: Songs from the Motion Picture Type: Soundtrack Released: April 24, 2026 Label: Epic Records Formats: LP, cassette, CD 37 17 4 1 6 31 1 13 7 4 NZ: Gold "—" denotes releases that did not chart
Compilation albums
As a solo artist +List of compilation albums, with selected chart positions, sales figures and certifications Title Album details Peak chart positions Sales Certifications(sales threshold) US AUS CAN FRA GER NL NZ SPN SWI UK The Best of Michael Jackson Released: August 28, 1975 Label: Motown Formats: LP, cassette 156 76 — 16 — 3 — — — 11 UK: Silver Motown Superstar Series, Vol. 7 Released: 1980 Label: Motown Formats: LP, cassette—————————— One Day in Your Life Released: March 25, 1981 Label: Motown Formats: LP, cassette 144 — — — — — — — — 29 Farewell My Summer Love Released: May 8, 1984 Label: Motown Formats: Reel-to-reel, LP, cassette, 8-track 46 90 94 — 40 47 50 — — 9 UK: Gold Ain't No Sunshine Released: 1984 Label: Motown Formats: Vinyl, LP — — — — — — — — — — The Great Love Songs of Michael Jackson Released: 1984 Label: Motown Formats: Vinyl, LP — — — — — — — — — — Motown Classics Released: 1993 Label: Motown Formats: CD — — — — — — — — — — Music and Me – CD rerelease Release date: November 10, 1993 Label: Motown Formats: CD—————————— 12 Inch Mixes Released: June 30, 1998 Label: Epic Records Formats: CD — — — — — — — — — — AUS: Platinum Thriller – Special Edition Release date: October 16, 2001Craig Halstead and Chris Cadman, Michael Jackson the Solo Years (2003), p. 243, . Label: Epic Records Formats: CD a a 6 33 60 77 a a 38 a Bad – Special Edition Release date: October 16, 2001 Label: Epic Records Formats: CD a a 8 43 a 96 a 91 63 a Dangerous – Special Edition