10 Best Number One Rock Albums Of The 1990s
5. Anthology 1/2 - The Beatles
Fans of The Beatles had to do everything in their power not to wet themselves with excitement in late 1995, when UK broadcaster ITV (and ABC in the States) put out Anthology, the most comprehensive and detailed examination of the Fab Four ever made.
Over eight hour-long parts (three feature-length instalments over the pond), the band's entire story was mapped out, from their early days as a skiffle outfit to their meteoric rise to stardom, to their eventual collapse.
Through interviews with the three surviving members and archive footage of John Lennon, Anthology got fully under the skin of The Beatles and stands up as one of the greatest musical documentary series of all time.
To accompany this ground-breaking exposé, three Anthology albums were put out between 1995 and 1996. These included dozens of studio takes of famous Beatles songs, unreleased efforts, and two brand new tracks, Free as a Bird and Real Love, put together through technical wizardry.
Anthology 1 was number one for three weeks in December 1995, whilst Anthology 2 spent one week in that position the following year. As an intimate look at the greatest musical act in history, the Anthology albums are undeniably vital.