Metallica's Black Album becomes 4th release in history to hit massive chart milestone

They follow in the footsteps of Pink Floyd, Journey and Bob Marley

Metallica in 1991
Author: Scott ColothanPublished 16th Jul 2024

Metallica’s blockbuster self-titled album ‘Metallica’ – aka ‘The Black Album’ – has become the fourth release in American chart history to spend 750 weeks on the Billboard chart.

Released in August 1991, ‘Metallica’ is the heavy metal titans’ most commercially successful album selling over 30 million copies worldwide, including 16 million in Metallica’s native US.

The album, which features songs including ‘Enter Sandman’, ‘Nothing Else Matters’, ‘The Unforgiven', 'Wherever I May Roam', and 'Sad But True', hit the 750-week landmark on the Billboard 200 on Monday (15th July).

Metallica’s 750-week tally is equivalent to 14 years and five months on the Billboard 200.

‘The Black Album’ follows in the footsteps of Pink Floyd's seminal 1973 record 'The Dark Side Of The Moon', which has amassed an astonishing 990 weeks on the Billboard 200 chart.

The only other two albums to surpass the 750-week milestone are Bob Marley’s posthumous 1984 greatest hits collection ‘Legend’ (843 weeks), and Journey’s 1988 best of record ‘Greatest Hits’ (813).

All three of those records were released before Metallica’s ‘The Black Album’, however.

Metallica celebrated the 30th anniversary of ‘The Black Album’ in 2021 with an expanded reissue and a covers record called ‘The Metallica Blacklist.’

James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich, Kirk Hammett and Robert Trujillo wrapped up the European leg of the M72 World Tour in Madrid on Sunday night.

The greatest rock albums of all time, including Metallica:

50: Marillion - ‘Misplaced Childhood’ (1985)

The 50 Greatest Rock Albums of All Time

49: Thunder - ‘Backstreet Symphony’ (1990)

The 50 Greatest Rock Albums of All Time

48: Hawkwind - ‘Space Ritual’ (1973)

The 50 Greatest Rock Albums of All Time

47: Black Sabbath - ‘Sabbath Bloody Sabbath’ (1973)

The 50 Greatest Rock Albums of All Time

46: Thin Lizzy - ‘Jailbreak’ (1976)

The 50 Greatest Rock Albums of All Time

45: The Rolling Stones - ‘Exile on Main St.’ (1972)

The 50 Greatest Rock Albums of All Time

44: Pearl Jam - ‘Ten’ (1991)

The 50 Greatest Rock Albums of All Time

43: AC/DC - ‘If You Want Blood You've Got It’ (1978)

The 50 Greatest Rock Albums of All Time

42: Queen - ‘Queen II’ (1974)

The 50 Greatest Rock Albums of All Time

41: AC/DC - ‘Let There Be Rock’ (1977)

The 50 Greatest Rock Albums of All Time

40: Eagles - ‘Hotel California’ (1976)

The 50 Greatest Rock Albums of All Time

39: Bruce Springsteen - ‘Born to Run’ (1975)

The 50 Greatest Rock Albums of All Time

38: Bon Jovi - ‘Slippery When Wet’ (1986)

The 50 Greatest Rock Albums of All Time

37: Iron Maiden - ‘Seventh Son of a Seventh Son’ (1988)

The 50 Greatest Rock Albums of All Time

36: The Who – ‘Quadrophenia’ (1973)

The 50 Greatest Rock Albums of All Time

35: David Bowie – ‘The Rise & Fall of Ziggy Stardust & the Spiders from Mars’ (1972)

The 50 Greatest Rock Albums of All Time

34: Van Halen – ‘Van Halen’ (1978)

The 50 Greatest Rock Albums of All Time

33: The Who – ‘Who’s Next’ (1971)

The 50 Greatest Rock Albums of All Time

32: Led Zeppelin – ‘Led Zeppelin’ (1969)

The 50 Greatest Rock Albums of All Time

31: Black Sabbath – ‘Paranoid’ (1970)

The 50 Greatest Rock Albums of All Time

30: Queensrÿche - 'Operation: Mindcrime' (1988)

The 50 Greatest Rock Albums of All Time

29: Wishbone Ash – ‘Argus’ (1972)

The 50 Greatest Rock Albums of All Time

28: Rush – ‘2112’ (1976)

The 50 Greatest Rock Albums of All Time

27: Black Sabbath – ‘Black Sabbath’ (1970)

The 50 Greatest Rock Albums of All Time

26: AC/DC – ‘Highway to Hell’ (1979)

The 50 Greatest Rock Albums of All Time

25: AC/DC – ‘Powerage’ (1978)

The 50 Greatest Rock Albums of All Time

24: Black Sabbath – ‘Heaven & Hell’ (1980)

The 50 Greatest Rock Albums of All Time

23: Pink Floyd – ‘Wish You Were Here’ (1975)

The 50 Greatest Rock Albums of All Time

22: Pink Floyd – ‘The Wall’ (1979)

The 50 Greatest Rock Albums of All Time

21: Metallica – ‘Metallica’ (aka The Black Album) (1991)

The 50 Greatest Rock Albums of All Time

20: Metallica – ‘Master of Puppets’ (1986)

The 50 Greatest Rock Albums of All Time

19: UFO – ‘Strangers in the Night’ (1979)

The 50 Greatest Rock Albums of All Time

18: Deep Purple – ‘Machine Head’ (1972)

The 50 Greatest Rock Albums of All Time

17: Rush – ‘Moving Pictures’ (1981)

The 50 Greatest Rock Albums of All Time

16: Led Zeppelin – ‘Led Zeppelin II’ (1969)

The 50 Greatest Rock Albums of All Time

15: Iron Maiden – ‘The Number of the Beast’ (1982)

The 50 Greatest Rock Albums of All Time

14: Deep Purple – ‘Made in Japan’ (1972)

The 50 Greatest Rock Albums of All Time

13: Deep Purple – ‘Deep Purple in Rock’ (1970)

The 50 Greatest Rock Albums of All Time

12: Def Leppard – ‘Hysteria’ (1987)

The 50 Greatest Rock Albums of All Time

11: Nirvana – ‘Nevermind’ (1991)

The 50 Greatest Rock Albums of All Time

10: Fleetwood Mac – ‘Rumours’ (1977)

The 50 Greatest Rock Albums of All Time

9: Thin Lizzy – ‘Live and Dangerous’ (1978)

The 50 Greatest Rock Albums of All Time

8: Queen – ‘A Night at the Opera’ (1975)

The 50 Greatest Rock Albums of All Time

7: Led Zeppelin – ‘Physical Graffiti’ (1975)

The 50 Greatest Rock Albums of All Time

6: Rainbow – ‘Rising’ (1976)

The 50 Greatest Rock Albums of All Time

5: Meat Loaf – ‘Bat Out of Hell’ (1977)

The 50 Greatest Rock Albums of All Time

4: Led Zeppelin – ‘Led Zeppelin IV’ (1971)

The 50 Greatest Rock Albums of All Time

3: Gun N' Roses – ‘Appetite for Destruction’ (1987)

The 50 Greatest Rock Albums of All Time

2: AC/DC – ‘Back in Black’ (1980)

The 50 Greatest Rock Albums of All Time

1: Pink Floyd – ‘The Dark Side of the Moon’ (1973)

The 50 Greatest Rock Albums of All Time

Listen to Absolute Radio across the UK on your digital radio, the free Rayo app, by hitting that play button on the bottom of your screen or by asking your smart speaker to "play Absolute Radio".