10 Best-Selling Rock Albums Of The 1980s
9. Hi Infidelity - REO Speedwagon (20,000,000)
REO Speedwagon released several albums in the 1970s before finally finding the secret to success in the early 80s - cheesy soft rock ballads!
In November 1980, the band put out Hi Infidelity, their first foray into more mainstream pop rock. They'd actually been a hard rock band before this, which is bonkers to imagine now.
The group knew they were onto a winner with the album's first single, Keep On Loving You. It topped the charts in the States and went Platinum by selling over one million copies in total. This paved the way for the monumental commercial success that Hi Infidelity would achieve.
The album was also a chart topper, shifting a mind-blowing 10 million units in the US alone. It wasn't just American listeners who couldn't get enough of this inoffensive radio rock, as the album has sold an estimated 20 million copies around the world.
Rock purists will gag at the idea of someone buying an REO Speedwagon album. The band are the selliest sellouts to ever sell out, but hey, it did absolute wonders for their bank balances.
Who are we to judge?