By “Tampa” Earl Burton
Along with being a writer here at Rock at Night (and my internet radio gig with Real Rock Radio), one of my other enjoyments with music is collecting compact discs. Not vinyl albums – they took those away from me a long time ago and can do it again in a heartbeat (not to mention that it costs $35 to buy vinyl today) – we’re talking about CDs, those little glittering gems made popular in the Nineties that everyone loved. How much? So much so that, in the roughly forty years since they came out, over 200 BILLION of the discs have been sold.
When you collect things, you must add to your collection constantly, and I have. Through my radio travails, I have garnered almost 4000 CDs, encompassing pretty much every genre and artist of whom you can think. This is a result of perusing several used CD shops (we used to call them “record stores” back in the day, kids), trying to find something that I do not already have. While doing this, something has become quite notable in my searches – the number of supposedly “popular” albums that have found their way to the used bins, despite their alleged success.
Which artists or groups? And what albums? Well, let’s take a look, shall we?
Celine Dion, Falling Into You – The Canadian songstress was in her prime in the Nineties and fans couldn’t get enough of her. The album itself sold 32 million copies, easily putting it in the upper echelons of the most popular albums of all time. It would feature two massive hits, the Jim Steinman-penned “It’s All Coming Back to Me Now,” and a cover of fellow Canadian Gino Vanelli’s “All by Myself.” Thirty years later, however, this effort from Dion has ended up in used record stores in droves (I have three myself – you cannot give them away!).
Shania Twain, Come on Over – Another Nineties superstar, there can be plenty of debate as to whether Shania Twain was talented or just had a Svengali behind her. Twain benefitted tremendously from her work with Def Leppard and AC/DC producer (and eventual husband) Mutt Lange (NOW you know how she came up with that “BOOM BOOM SHHKK…BOOM BOOM SHHKK!), so much so that this record is also among the Top 20 albums ever released – at least by sales numbers. Today, you’re more likely to see this Twain disc used as a coaster than spun on a CD deck.
The Eagles, Greatest Hits – You could have put several discs from the California classic rockers in this list, as they have multiple contenders. Either one of the Greatest Hits discs populates the racks of used record stores, although their first Greatest Hits disc is regarded as the #1 album (by sales) of all-time, even topping Michael Jackson’s Thriller. We could have also gone with the comeback album from the band, Hell Freezes Over (entitled as such because drummer Don Henley once famously said that “hell would freeze over” before the band would reunite for a show), but if the supposed #1 album of all-time is populating the used bins like a rampant bunny, you got to choose that one for special recognition.
Aerosmith, Get a Grip – The third of a trio of albums from the Boston rockers, Get a Grip was, at least by sales figures, the band’s greatest success. It is estimated that it sold upward of 20 million copies, strangely passing both of its predecessors Permanent Vacation and Pump. While the disc did feature a couple of noteworthy tracks – “Eat the Rich” (not the Motorhead version) and “Livin’ on the Edge” (the first foray from Aerosmith into a “message” song) – it has since
become one of the albums most sold back to used record stores…you’d figure that if it was that great, people would want to hold on to it.
Jimmy Buffett, Songs You Know by Heart – Another Greatest Hits collection (this seems to be a theme), it is a bit surprising to see this one in the racks, and usually multiple copies. Buffett’s fandom is an enthusiastic one, so you’d think they would want to hold on to this album. Alas, that is not the case – you can find this and usually several copies of it under the “B” rack in the record stores. It used to be MORE prevalent before his passing in 2023.
I am sure if I sat down and did a thorough search of my collection, I could come up with some other extremely popular CDs that have found their way to the resale racks (off the top of my head, Smashing Pumpkins Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness, Don Henley’s Actual Miles, or Melissa Etheridge’s debut CD could easily have been put on this list), but I’d like to know what CDs are you seeing in your local “mom and pop.” It is a strangely interesting subject, one worth delving further into.
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