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Former Santana and Frumious Bandersnatch members came together to establish one of the most renowned American rock group Journey in 1973 in San Francisco. Journey's musical heritage is a triumph from obscurity to fame. Don't Stop Believin, their 1981 smash song, became part of pop culture history when it served as the theme song for The Sopranos, a famous TV show. According to the Recording Industry Association of America, Journey has sold 48 million albums in the US, ranking them as the 25th best-selling band.
The band enjoyed a successful reunion in the mid-1990s and later regrouped with various lead singers, including Arnel Pineda, as a lead since December 2007.They are among the best-selling bands in history, thanks to their 100 million recordings sold worldwide. The band is on VH1's list of the 100 greatest artists ever, as it comes in at number 96. The top 10 Journey albums, according to sales, are listed below.
The Essential Journey (2001)
The rock band Journey has released a collection of songs called The Essential Journey. It was released on October 16, 2001, and it's a compilation CD from Sony BMG's Essential line. A total of 1,148,000 units were sold. Most of Journey's major and minor hits charted on the Billboard Hot 100 are present on the album. It excludes Journey albums released before and after Steve Perry joined the band, focusing only on music made between 1978's Infinity and 1996's Trial by Fire. The Greatest Hits album is on the first disc, with minor alterations to the track listing.
Trial By Fire (1996)
The American rock band Journey's tenth studio album is titled Trial by Fire. There have been 1,150,000 sales worldwide. The release of the album's October 22, 1996, was the first time the original 1980s band had collaborated since 1983's Frontiers. Kevin Shirley continues to produce the band's albums, produced Trial by Fire. The final album featured vocalist Steve Perry and drummer Steve Smith and was the first to feature bassist Ross Valory since Frontiers.
Captured (1981)
Journey's first live album is titled Captured. 2,003,320 sales have been noted for it. It was made available on the Columbia Records label on January 30, 1981. The album sold two million copies and became one of the highest selling albums of the band. The album peaked at No. 9 on the Billboard 200 albums list. The band's 1980 Departure tour is when this album was created. The first through fourth tracks come from a performance captured on August 8, 1980, at The Forum in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Tracks 5 and Track 6 were taken from the final version of the tour, which took place on October 13 in Koseinenkin Hall in Shinjyuku, Tokyo, Japan, while tracks 7 through 16 were taken from two performances at Cobo Hall in Detroit, Michigan, on August 4 and 5, 1980.
Raised On Radio (1986)
The American rock band Journey's ninth studio album, Raised on Radio, was published by Columbia Records in April 1986. 2,218,190 sales have been made. Ross Valory, the band's original bassist, is replaced on this album for the first time by session bassists Randy Jackson and Bob Glaub. A few tracks were supplied by the drummer Steve Smith, who was later replaced by Larrie Londin and Mike Baird. Girl Can't Help It on No. 17, I'll Be Alright Without You on No. 14, and Suzanne on No. 17are three of the album's top 20 US singles.
Departure (1980)
The American rock band Journey's sixth studio album is titled Departure, issued by Columbia Records on March 23, 1980. It sold 3,012,510 albums in total. Journey's highest-charting album up to that moment was Departure, which peaked at No. 8 and marked their first entry into the top 10 of the Billboard 200 album rankings. The album's opening track and full 25 songs are Any Way You Want It. The songs were made in a live studio, which gave the album a more gritty feel. The band entered The Automatt studio with 19 tracks, which they eventually cut down to 12.
Infinity (1978)
The fourth studio album by Journey, Infinity, was made available by Columbia Records in January 1978. 3,050,000 albums were sold in total. It was the group's debut album with Steve Perry as the lead vocalist and its final one with drummer Aynsley Dunbar. Journey, looking for a better lead vocalist, briefly hired Robert Fleischman and even made some recordings with him. One of those tracks, For You,was later featured on the Time3 compilation album and Fleischman's solo album Perfect Stranger. Due to management and artistic conflicts, Fleischman was quickly replaced by Steve Perry. Fleischman would eventually return as the band Vinnie Vincent Invasion's first singer.
Evolution (1979)
American rock band Journey's Evolution released their fifth studio album in April 1979 on Columbia Records. 3,052,920 albums were sold in total. Steve Smith, the band's talented drummer, appears on it for the first time. At the time, it was the band's most popular album and peaked at No. 20 on the US Billboard 200 chart. In the US, three million copies have been sold. Roy Thomas Baker, best known for his work with Queen, was still on board as producer, but drummer Aynsley Dunbar was swapped out for Smith, a former Ronnie Montrose's group member.
Frontiers (1983)
The eighth studio album of the American rock group, entitled Frontiers, was published by Columbia Records in February 1983. 10,000,000 albums were sold. Before 1996's Trial by Fire, this was the group's last album to feature bassist Ross Valory. Four top 40 singles from the album, including After the Fallon No. 23, Send Her My LoveonNo. 23, Faithfullyon No. 12, and Separate Ways Worlds Aparton No. 8, as well as a rock radio smash in Chain Reaction, helped the album reach No. 2 on the Billboard 200 chart.
Escape (1980)
The seventh studio album, Escape, spelled E5C4P3 on the album cover, was released on July 17, 1981. 10,411,540 albums were sold in total. It was number one on the American Billboard 200 chart and includes the rock radio classic Stone in Love and four top-ten Billboard Hot 100 singles: Don't Stop Believin, Who's Crying Now, Still They Ride, and Open Arms. The band's most excellent studio album and the second-most successful album overall.
Greatest Hits (1988)
The American rock band Journey's compilation CD Greatest Hits was first made available in 1988 by Columbia Records and had been the best-selling album among their albums. The band's best-selling career CD sold 25,000,000 copies and spent 721 weeks on the Billboard 200 albums chart, more than any other compilation album except Bob Marley and the Wailers' Legend. It has also spent 1,361 weeks on the Billboard Catalog Albums chart as of July 19, 2022.
Sources: Best Selling Albums, Classic Rock History, Ranker