The 9 Most Successful Rolling Stones Albums That Hit No. 1
What is considered the best Rolling Stones album? It’s a fair question, and there are plenty to choose from. Would it be one of the classics the band strung together in the 1960s and 1970s? Would it be one of the albums that peaked at No. 2 despite housing incredible songs? Or one of the many compilations stacked with hits (and some of the band’s controversial songs)? Best is subjective, but we know which of the nine Rolling Stones albums to reach No. 1 were the most commercially successful of the group’s records (thanks to some help from Billboard’s meticulous record-keeping).
Note: We used the time spent at No. 1 as the benchmark of success. We broke the ties in the middle of the pack by looking at duration on the charts.
9. ‘It’s Only Rock ‘n Roll’
- Weeks at No. 1: 1
- Weeks on chart: 20
The Stones’ 1974 album came on the heels of their exquisite five-album run. Each record from 1968’s Beggars Banquet to 1973’s Goats Head Soup was a certified classic. The the title track future member Ronnie Wood helped write before he joined and the rollicking roadhouse rock of “Ain’t Too Proud to Beg” are highlights. Ballads and quasi-ballads such as “Till the Next Goodbye,” “Time Waits for No One,” and “If You Really Want to Be My Friend” slow down the pace.
8. ‘Some Girls’
- Weeks at No. 1: 2
- Weeks on chart: 88
The steady disco blues of the lead track “Miss You” gave The Rolling Stones their last No. 1 single in 1978. Some Girls was a strong collection of tunes and proved the band was still relevant nearly 20 years into their career. “When the Whip Comes Down” stands with some of the Stones’ best work. “Beast of Burden” and the new-wave DNA of “Shattered” became classics in their own right.
7. ’Out of Our Heads’
- Weeks at No. 1: 3
- Weeks on chart: 65
Before they became the genre-hopping force of nature we came to love, The Rolling Stones hewed closer to the R&B that informed the early era of English rock ‘n’ roll on 1965’s Out of Our Heads. (See: “Mercy Mercy,” “Hitch Hike,” “That’s How Strong My Love Is,” and “Good Times”). Still, the moody “Play With Fire,” the shambolic “The Last Time” (on the U.S. version), and the signature “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” hinted at the greatness to come.
6. ‘Black and Blue’
- Weeks at No. 1: 4
- Weeks on chart: 24
The Stones’ yeoman-like pace early in their career and creative explosion that led to a run of landmark albums seemed to catch up with them on 1976’s Black and Blue. The first album made after Wood survived his Rolling Stones audition was an uneven collection. Standout tunes such as the solid “Hand of Fate” and “Hey Negrita” mingled with plodding songs such as the reggae-lite of “Cherry Oh Baby” and overlong “Memory Motel.” They largely abandoned their signature sound for more experimentation on Black and Blue, but the fans didn’t care and made it one of the most successful Rolling Stones albums.
5. ‘Goats Head Soup’
- Weeks at No. 1: 4
- Weeks on chart: 39
Mick Jagger once said the ballad “Angie” made Goats Head Soup a hit, and it’s hard to argue. The song was among the band’s biggest No. 1 hits and proved to be a favorite among many fans. The 1973 album is far more than just one song, though. “Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo (Heartbreaker)” is a slice of scuzzed-up funk-blues. With its slide guitar attack, vocal melodies, and Bill Wyman’s snaky bass riff, “Silver Train” might be one of the Stones’ most underrated songs.
4. ‘Exile on Main St.’
- Weeks at No. 1: 4
- Weeks on chart: 57
If he weren’t the famous lead singer of the band that made the album, Jagger might have faced the ire of Rolling Stones fans. He called 1972’s Exile on Main St. an overrated record that isn’t as cohesive as Beggars Banquet, Let it Bleed, or Sticky Fingers. The record-buying public firmly disagreed with Jagger. “Tumbling Dice” and “Happy” landed on the Billboard singles chart. Yet Exile became one of the Rolling Stones’ most successful albums more by word of mouth than by curious fans buying singles to explore the album before buying the whole package.
3. ‘Sticky Fingers’
- Weeks at No. 1: 4
- Weeks on chart: 69
It’s not hard to see why Jagger preferred an album like 1971’s Sticky Fingers over Exile. It fantastically mixes several things The Rolling Stones did well into one package. You get propulsive rockers such as “Brown Sugar” and “B****,” Jagger’s exquisite acoustic guitar ballad “Moonlight Mile,” and the extensive blues-jazz fusion jam on “Can’t You Hear Me Knocking.” Sticky Fingers arrived nearly 18 months after Let It Bleed. It was almost an eternity for a band whose fans had come to expect an album (or more) every year. They responded by keeping Sticky Fingers on the Billboard charts for more than a year.
2. ‘Emotional Rescue’
- Weeks at No. 1: 7
- Weeks on chart: 51
Guitarist Keith Richards was in the depths of drug addiction while making several Stones albums, including Exile on Main St. He was finally living a healthier lifestyle in 1980 and took over the Emotional Rescue sessions with a five-word motto. The album didn’t feature a litany of hit songs — the title track and “She’s So Cold” were the only short-players to reach the charts — but it continued the Rolling Stones’ revival. Like Some Girls before it, Emotional Rescue became one of the most successful Rolling Stones records, and the band continued that trend on the follow-up a year later.
1. ‘Tattoo You’
- Weeks at No. 1: 9
- Weeks on chart: 59
The Stones released a slew of killer albums in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Still, 1981’s Tattoo You was the most successful Rolling Stones album from a commercial standpoint. Lead song “Start Me Up” was the band’s longest-charting single (24 weeks). The rocking “Hang Fire” proved the Stones hadn’t lost the spark that made them one of the biggest bands in the world, and the ballad “Waiting on a Friend” might be one of the most genuine odes to friendship ever recorded. The band had albums last longer on the charts, but Tattoo You is the most successful Rolling Stones album because of its extended reign at No. 1.
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