The 5 Longest No. 1 Album Streaks In Classic Rock Music History

While there's a particular canon of albums considered to be milestone recordings of classic rock, some of those historic LPs made history right from the start. Shortly after they were released in the 1960s and 1970s, they became the best-selling album in the United States — and then they just kept flying off of record store shelves. They wound up remaining in the No. 1 spot on the Billboard 200, the all-genre album sales chart of record, for months on end, setting records for classic rock bands in the process.

Sometimes, one album becomes incredibly vital to pop culture, and so cherished by so many people, at one particular moment in time. That "moment" lasts for a good long while, and no other LP can break their solid grip on the No. 1 spot. These bands rose above all other classic rock acts with objective proof of immediate and extreme popularity and appreciation, spending the most consecutive weeks atop the album chart — the longest streaks ever at No. 1 for classic rock acts. Here's how Fleetwood Mac, the Monkees, the Beatles, and Pink Floyd went streaking.

"Rumours" ranks among the best-selling albums in history, and much of its sales accumulated in 1977, the year it was released and dominated the Billboard 200 album chart. Fleetwood Mac exemplified the smooth, laid-back California sound of the late 1970s, and its many songwriters and vocalists ensured radio-friendly singles and the launch of many successful solo careers. "Rumours" generated four Top 10 hits in rapid succession: "Go Your Own Way," "Dreams," "Don't Stop," and "You Make Loving Fun," which kept the band very visible throughout 1977.

First hitting stores in February 1977, "Rumours" spent two weeks at No. 1 in April. Over the summer, returned to the top for another eight weeks, which isn't even the longest streak in the LP's history. Following one week at the top by "Barry Manilow Live," "Rumours" came right back and wouldn't leave. From late July until late November, "Rumours" was the No. 1 album in the U.S. That's a span of 19 weeks. Altogether, the album spent 31 weeks at No. 1, even if the streak was broken up a couple of times. 

"The Monkees" — the innovative NBC sitcom about a wacky rock band played by hired singers and actors — was created with the aim of selling lots of records. It was an extremely successful endeavor. The first episode of "The Monkees" hit the air in September 1966; by mid-November, the initial collection of Monkees music, a self-titled LP, had risen to the No. 1 spot on the Billboard 200. Featuring the smash "Last Train to Clarksville," it remained there through the end of 1966 and into February of 1967. Altogether, that's 13 weeks that "The Monkees" occupied that loftiest of chart positions.

The Monkees scored four No. 1 albums in 1967, and the second one was their appropriately titled second album, "More of the Monkees." Powered by the hits "(I'm Not Your) Steppin' Stone" and "I'm a Believer," It knocked "The Monkees" out of that No. 1 slot, and it wouldn't budge. Even more successful than the debut LP, "More of the Monkees" spent a whopping 18 weeks as the No. 1 album in the U.S., generating enough sales for Billboard to proclaim it the best-selling LP of 1967.

The Beatles evolved rapidly, moving from a pop-rock band that triggered the youth-oriented "Beatlemania" in 1964 into a long-haired, experimental, psychedelic rock outfit with 1967's "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band." The album was so inventive that it posed major risks for the Beatles — it's a loosely connected series of songs, many of them heavy and/or weird, which approximates the story of another, fictional band. It's a masterpiece made possible by a maturing approach to rock 'n' roll and cutting-edge recording studio technology. Nevertheless, "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" includes many instantly popular Beatles tracks, such as "With a Little Help From My Friends," "Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds," "When I'm Sixty-Four," and "A Day in the Life."

Long-time Beatles fans went all in on the stylistic shifts, and the group seems to have picked up plenty of new adherents in the process. Issued in May 1967, the album floated to No. 1 in July and remained there for nearly four months. When Bobbie Gentry's "Ode to Billie Joe" displaced it, "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" had been the No. 1 LP for 15 weeks.

Progressive rock band Pink Floyd was among the best-selling acts of the 1970s thanks mostly to two blockbuster LPs: 1973's "The Dark Side of the Moon" and 1975's "Wish You Were Here." Its next LP would be hotly anticipated at any rate, and Pink Floyd delivered with "The Wall." Released in November 1979 as a two-LP set, it's an ambitious and far-reaching concept album, written primarily by bassist Roger Waters as an examination of mental illness.

"The Wall" also happened to launch some of Pink Floyd's best known and most highly regarded songs, such as "Run Like Hell," "Hey You," "Comfortably Numb," and "Another Brick in the Wall (Part II)," which hit No. 1 on the singles chart for four weeks in January 1980. The same week that the track first topped the Hot 100, "The Wall" ascended to the No. 1 slot on the Billboard 200 album chart. And there, "The Wall" stood firmly for a total of 15 weeks.

At the height of their fame in 1964, the Beatles achieved the unbelievable milestone of occupying the Top 5 of the Hot 100 singles chart. But Beatlemania extended beyond the 45s market in 1964 — the Fab Four and inspiration for the "British Invasion" era sold a lot of albums, too. The LP "Meet the Beatles!" took hold of the No. 1 spot for 11 weeks, from mid-February to late April, then lost the position to "The Beatles' Second Album," which occupied the top for five weeks.

That's 16 straight weeks for two Beatles albums. But then the companion record to the group's first movie rose to the top of the Billboard 200 and would ultimately set a personal best (later broken) for an individual album. "A Hard Day's Night" featured songs heard in the film of the same name, including the theme song and "Can't Buy Me Love." Not only did "A Hard Day's Night" the album sell a total of 4 million copies, but it ruled over the charts from late July until late October — 14 weeks in all.