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Make room, Metallica. Set aside your hysteria, Def Leppard. And here’s another reason for you to salute, AC/DC. There’s now a fourth rock band that has scored a Top 10 album on the Billboard 200 album charts in five straight decades. That honor goes to U2.
The album that did it for U2 was Songs of Surrender, which arrived at No. 5 on the Billboard 200 chart earlier this month. The album features re-recorded versions of some of U2’s biggest songs, with the band releasing updated versions of “Pride,” “With Or Without You,” “One” and “Beautiful Day” ahead of the album’s release.
The band’s first Top 10 album came in 1987 with The Joshua Tree, which actually topped the Billboard 200 Album Chart. Their 1988 follow-up Rattle and Hum album hit No. 1. The chart-topping Achtung Baby hit No. 1 in 1991 taking care of the ’90s. Their other ’90s albums, Zooropa and Pop, also hit No. 1. In 2000, All That You Can’t Leave Behind peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard 200. How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb and No Line on the Horizon also hit No. 1. Then, in the 2010s, 2014’s Songs of Innocence hit No. 9, and the 2017 follow-up, Songs of Experience, debuted at No. 1.
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Metallica Have a Top 10 Album in Five Straight Decades
So U2 have a Top 10 Album in five straight decades, but who else does? Well, Metallica are part of that very select club. The band’s first Top 10 was 1988’s …And Justice for All. They scored their first chart-topper with 1991’s self-titled “Black Album,” while Load and Re-Load also topped the charts and the S&M live album hit No. 2 in the ’90s.
The 2000s gave us the chart-topping St. Anger in 2003, along with 2008’s chart-topping Death Magnetic. Metallica’s Hardwired … to Self-Destruct then hit No. 1 in 2016. The band then entered the “five decade” club when their S&M2 live album arrived at No. 4 in 2020.
Def Leppard Have a Top 10 Album in Five Straight Decades
You can add Def Leppard to the pretty rare club as well. They scored their first Top 10 album on their third try with 1983’s Pyromania. The album topped out at No. 2. Their 1987 follow-up Hysteria became their first chart-topper. They got off on the right foot in the ’90s hitting No. 1 with 1992’s Adrenalize.
They fell back a little on the charts for a period until 2008’s Songs From the Sparkle Lounge gave them their first 21st Century Top 10, landing at No. 5. Their self-titled 2015 effort just made the cut at No. 10, while 2022’s Diamond Star Halos also peaked at No. 10.
AC/DC Have a Top 10 Album in Six Straight Decades
You read that right! AC/DC have a Top 10 album in six straight decades. They actually take things back a decade earlier, hitting No. 3 in 1976 with Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap. Back in Black hit No. 4 in 1980, while For Those About to Rock hit No. 1 in 1981. The Razors Edge kicked off the ’90s in 1990 at No. 2, with 1994’s Ballbreaker hitting No. 4. In 2000, Stiff Upper Lip hit No. 7, with Black Ice topping the charts in 2008. Rock or Bust topped at at No. 3 in 2014. And Power Up finished up the run of six straight decades with a Top 10 at No. 1 in 2020.
