Nirvana’s Masterpiece Joins A Very Exclusive Club

The Billboard 200 is typically populated largely by albums that have been around for years, if not decades, as well as exciting new releases, of course. The titles that Americans can’t stop buying—and as of several years ago, streaming—maintain their hold on the list of the most-consumed EPs and full-lengths in the country, and some of them manage to live on the tally for a decade or more.

Nirvana’s Nevermind, released in 1991, is one of the most successful albums in U.S. history, and every once in a while, a reminder surfaces of just how beloved it remains to this day. The set, which is known as a masterpiece in its own way, reaches a major milestone, becoming one of a very, very small number of releases to do so.

Nevermind has now lived on the Billboard 200 for 700 weeks, as of this frame. The title is one of fewer than 10 albums to hit that number, and it joins a club that already includes a number of the top-selling rock and hip-hop collections of all time.

Nirvana joins all of the following acts, and so far, each of them has only managed a single 700-week charter on the Billboard 200. The club includes Pink Floyd (The Dark Side of the Moon, 990 weeks), Bob Marley and the Wailers (Legend, 865 weeks), Journey (Journey’s Greatest Hits, 835 weeks), Metallica (their self-titled, 767 weeks), Creedence Clearwater Revival (Chronicle: The 20 Greatest Hits, 724 weeks), Eminem (Curtain Call: The Hits, 714 weeks), Bruno Mars (Doo-Wops & Hooligans, 706 weeks), and Guns N’ Roses (Greatest Hits, 704 weeks).

In the past tracking week, consumption of Nevermind increased, perhaps thanks to holiday shoppers—not that the title ever performs poorly. Nirvana’s sophomore set moved another 12,800 equivalent copies in the past tracking frame, according to Luminate. That number is up by almost 1,000 units, rising more than 7%.

Nevermind is far and away Nirvana’s longest-charting album on the Billboard 200. Only one other title from the band, their MTV Unplugged in New York live set, has hit triple-digit frames on the tally, and even that project has only barely done so. In the decades since it was released, the full-length has spent 100 turns on the tally.

The next title to join the 700-week group—which will be the tenth to do so—will likely be Michael Jackson’s Thriller. That bestseller is up to 656 stays on the Billboard 200, and it will likely reach the upcoming landmark in the next year.