There are a number of near-universal truths in rock ‘n’ roll, one among them being: Where there’s a band with hits, there will probably be a band with a lot of hits compilations.

Decades in the past, when hits compilations began to change into extra prevalent, they had been a no brainer from a enterprise perspective. If an artist was dominating the charts, a greatest-hits album was a straightforward method to rack up extra gross sales and purchase time between correct releases. If an artist had fallen into industrial decline, a compilation album might juice their gross sales and probably revitalize their profession, reminding audiences why they fell in love with them within the first place.

A textbook instance of the latter is the Beach Boys’ Endless Summer, launched in 1974 because the band’s album gross sales had been plummeting and Brian Wilson was caught within the throes of dependancy and psychological sickness. Endless Summer turned a smash hit, topping the Billboard 200 and promoting 3 million copies, and it helped resuscitate the Beach Boys’ flatlining profession (even when it additionally had the hostile facet impact of turning them right into a fun-in-the-sun nostalgia act).

Other teams, reminiscent of Foreigner and Eagles, launched their first greatest-hits compilations within the midst of their chart-topping imperial phases. The former’s Records, launched in 1982, bought a strong 7 million copies. But these blockbuster figures pale compared to the latter’s Their Greatest Hits (1971–1975), which soared to 38 million gross sales within the U.S., making it the highest-certified album in RIAA historical past.

Of course, for each profitable or traditionally vital greatest-hits compilation, there are quite a few lazy, bald-faced money grabs from labels simply making an attempt to make a fast buck and heat the cabinets of your native Walmart. That’s the way you wind up with the next record of 15 Artists With More Hits Compilations Than Studio Albums.