The Top 10 Highest-Selling Def Leppard Albums Until 2023
There are a few bands that have made their name in the history of rock and roll. The English rock band Def Leppard is one of those great bands carrying the flag of rock since their formation in 1977. In this article, we will be looking at the highest-selling Def Leppard albums until 2023.
During their ongoing successive career, they have contributed to rock’s reaching its popularity with their unique releases in the 1980s. Debuted in 1980 with On Through the Night, Def Leppard has 11 studio albums, 4 live albums, 2 extended plays, 4 compilation albums, and more for now. Preparing to release its 12th studio album on May 27, 2022, named Diamond Star Halos, Def Leppard has sold over 110 million copies worldwide.
With those releases, Def Leppard achieved 75x Platinum certifications as of 2023. Having a Diamond certification for the third Pyromania, Def Leppard also has two different Diamond certifications for the fourth album, Hysteria.
So, for those releases and certifications, what is the highest-selling Def Leppard album until 2023? What is Def Leppard’s most sold album as of 2023? Lets learn the best-selling Def Leppard album of all time.
The Top 10 Highest-Selling Def Leppard Albums Until 2023
10. Def Leppard – Euphoria
Number Of Sales: 689,000
Euphoria is the tenth highest-selling Def Leppard album as of April 2023, with 689,000 sales. Released on June 8, 1999, the album marks the band’s seventh studio album.
Peaked at number 11 on US Billboard 200 chart in 1999, the album has three different Gold certifications from Music Canada, RIAA, and RIAJ, separately. In its first week, Euphoria had sold over 98,000 units in the United States.
Consisting of 13 songs in its original release, the album has a 51-min listening time. The album features the album’s songs such as Paper Sun, Back in Your Face, Promises, Demolition Man, It’s Only Love, and 21st Century Sha La La La Girl.
9. Slang
Number Of Sales: 805,000
Marking the sixth studio album of Def Leppard, Slang was released on May 14, 1996. It is the band’s ninth highest-selling album until 2023, with 805,000 sales.
While the album has its only Platinum certification given by Music Canada, the album numbered 14 on the US Billboard 200 chart in 1996. It was an album released before the list’s tenth Euphoria.
8. Rock Of Ages: The Definitive Collection
Number Of Sales: 960,000
This album is Def Leppard‘s fourth compilation album featuring a two-disc anthology and 35 hit songs of the band. It was released on May 17, 2005.
Reached at number 10 on the US Billboard 200 chart, the album has 3x Platinum certifications in total. While 2x Platinum is given by Music Canada, the remaining Platinum is given by RIAA.
With 960,000 sales, Rock Of Ages: The Definitive Collection is the band’s eighth highest-selling album of all time.
7. On Through The Night
Number Of Sales: 1.12 Million
The band has sold 1.12 million worldwide with On Through The Night as of 2023. It was the band’s debut studio album released on March 14, 1980.
Consisting of 11 tracks in total, the album has the band’s hit songs Rock Brigade, Hello America, and Wasted. It has 2x Platinum certifications given by CRIA and RIAA.
On the other hand, the critics for the album were not bad at all. AllMusic rated the album 3.5/5 and Sputnik Music rated it 3/5.
6. Def Leppard – Retro Active
Number of Sales: 2 Million
Retro Active is the first compilation album of Def Leppard released on October 5, 1993.
Featuring the band’s unreleased recordings from recording sessions from 1984 to 1993, it has the band’s hit songs Fractured Love, Desert Song, Action, Ride into the Sun, Only After Dark, Miss You in a Heartbeat, and the acoustic version of Two Steps Behind.
Numbered at number 9 on the US Billboard 200 chart, the album was number 6 on the UK Albums chart. It also has two different Platinum certifications given by RIAA and Music Canada separately.
With 2 million sales, Retro Active is the sixth of the list.
5. High ’N’ Dry
Number Of Sales: 2.6 Million
The second studio album of Def Leppard, High ’N’ Dry, is the fifth highest-selling Def Leppard album as of March 2023.
Released on July 6, 1981, the album numbered 38 on the Billboard 200 chart. It was recorded between March and June 1981 and consisted of 10 songs in total.
In 2016, the band’s singer Joe Elliot remembered the recording session of the album. Celebrating the album’s 35th anniversary at the time, he said that Def Leppard‘s career is constantly evolving.
“35 years since the album was released – it doesn’t seem that long because our career is constantly evolving,” Elliot says. “It’s not like we split up for 10 years and then got back together. It’s one part of our story – it’s a building block in the whole process of what Def Leppard has become in 2016.
“When you look back at it now, there are bits of it that hit and bits of it that missed. But generally speaking, as the second album, it was the start of where we were going to go.
“We were open-minded and so happy to be working with a producer like Mutt Lange. He was like a teacher and we wanted to learn from him. He was this rock guru and we were prepared to get in the pit with him and wrestle it out.”
4. Def Leppard – Adrenalize
Number Of Sales: 6 Million
Marking the first album by the band following the death of guitarist Steve Clark, Adrenalize is the fifth studio album of Def Leppard released on March 31, 1992. It took four years to record the album from 1988 to 1992.
Certifying 10x Platinum in total, the album peaked at number 1 on six different charts from 1992 to 1993. It was one of that beloved albums of the band.
Back in 1992, Joe Elliot had mentioned the band’s late guitarist Steve Clark. According to him, he had no ego, even though people thought the opposite.
“He didn’t have an ego problem,” he says. “A lot of people thought he was arrogant because he wouldn’t talk to them, but he was just shy; he couldn’t talk to people he didn’t know.
“When we were on tour, he had a routine. He had to be on stage at nine, so he had to be out of the shower at eight. It was on days off that he’d lose the plot, but maybe only one day in a month, not every day off.”
With 6 million sales, Adrenalize is the fourth highest-selling Def Leppard album until 2023.
3. Vault – Greatest Hits
Number Of Sales: 6.5 Million
Vault – Greatest Hits is the compilation album of Def Leppard released on October 23, 1995. It is featuring the band’s hits from 1981 to 1995.
Certifying 9x Platinum by four different industries, it numbered 15 on the US Billboard 200 list. It was the third UK Top 5 album for the band after Hysteria in 1987 and Adrenalize in 1992.
Back in 1995, Elliot had commented the making of the album, saying it was great.
“It’s the perfect time to do it as far as we’re concerned,” he said. “You know looking at our career overall.
“To have done a Greatest Hits after that record I think would have been a bit opening up the 80s again. And it’s something that you know this is a chapter that we think it needs closing off.”
Def Leppard Vault – Greatest Hits is the third of the list with 6.5 million sales.
2. Pyromania
Number Of Sales: 12.1 Million
With 12.1 million sales, Pyromania is the second highest-selling Def Leppard album of all time. It is the band’s third studio album and was released on January 20, 1983.
The album marked the last album to feature Pete Willis and the first album to feature Phil Collen, who is still a member of the band.
As of 2023, the album has 7x Platinum certification given by Music Canada and a Diamond certification given by RIAA.
1. Def Leppard – Hysteria
Number Of Sales: 25.3 Million
With 25.3 million sales, Hysteria is the highest-selling Def Leppard album as of March 2023. It was released on August 3, 1987, and marked the fourth studio album of the band.
The album was certified 20x Platinum in total because of its huge massive success. Peaked at number 1 on US Billboard 200 chart, it was also the number 1 on the UK Albums chart.
Back in this past February, the band’s guitarist Phil Collen had discussed how Rick Allen‘s losing his arm affected the band and the recording process of the album.
“That was a huge blow to us all personally, of course,” Phil Collen said. “But Rick came through it all so well, it’s unbelievable. The fact that the record took so long to make took a lot of pressure off of him, in some ways.
“He had the time to learn how to play in a new way, of course, but just the way that he became a new person and learned how to do all the normal things that we take for granted – tying his shoes, cutting a loaf of bread and stuff like that – it was amazing.
“So Rick was able to get so many elements of his life back before we finished the album and went back into the world.”
