Fiona Shepherd: It’s boring, but classic hits are the greatest

The Beatles’ Sgt Pepper might have topped every other albums-related poll in existence, but when it comes to cold hard commerce it seems the masses just want to hear the hits, thank you very much.

And so it is that Queen reign supreme. Their Greatest Hits has shifted close to six million copies in the UK since its release in 1981, making it the biggest-selling album on our shores.

Three more compilations crop up among the next ten slots, but fans of what might be regarded more conventionally as “classic albums” can rest easy – Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours, Simon and Garfunkel’s Bridge Over Troubled Water, U2’s Joshua Tree and Meat Loaf’s Bat Out Of Hell all have their place in the Top 40. As does the Dirty Dancing soundtrack and two of Dido’s best efforts to send the nation into a coma.

Other than the not terribly illuminating insight that a lot of people have really boring taste in music, the biggest talking point is the lofty placing of Adele’s 21. Having recently streaked past both Michael Jackson’s Bad and the classic rock behemoth that is Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon, the unstoppable Ms Adkins has now mown down Dire Straits’ Brothers In Arms and has the sacred Thriller in her sights. Quite something for an album which is only 15 months old.

In fact, the lower reaches of this Top 40 are dominated by albums released this century, including debuts by Lady Gaga, Keane and Scissor Sisters and a double whammy for Coldplay, which would seem to contradict the contention that nobody buys albums any more. I can’t wait for Adele’s greatest hits collection to be released.