When it comes to good pop/R&B albums, there’s probably no better example than Michael Jackson‘s Thriller. In fact, the eight-time Grammy award winning album may very well be one of the best releases of all time. While they haven’t been able to accurately track the sales since the album came out before the Nielsen SoundScan was put into place, estimates place sales around 65 million copies worldwide.
The album, which was produced by Quincy Jones, gave us some of Jackson’s most iconic singles, including “Billie Jean”, “Beat It”, and “Thriller”, which produced one of the greatest and most amazing music videos ever. Directed by John Landis and keeping the voiceover work of Vincent Price, the 14-minute video eventually made it into the National Film Registry at the Library of Congress, the first music video ever to receive that accolade.
For those of you who haven’t heard the album, Google Play is offering it for free this week, ending on Friday. It’s dubbed the “Google Play Exclusive Version”, which simply looks like they added a 1981 home demo “Billie Jean”.
At the low, low price of free, there’s absolutely no reason to not grab this album. It’s a landmark release, one that shaped music and has endured the test of time.