A remix album is an album consisting of remixes or rerecorded versions of an artist's earlier released material. The first act who employed the format was American singer-songwriter Harry Nilsson (Aerial Pandemonium Ballet, 1971). As of 2026 the best-selling remix album of all time is Michael Jackson's Blood on the Dance Floor: HIStory in the Mix (1997).
History and concept Aerial Pandemonium Ballet (1971) by Harry Nilsson is credited as the first remix album. It was released after the successes of "Everybody's Talkin'" and The Point!, when he decided that his older material had started to sound dated. Neu!'s Neu! 2 (1973) has also been described as "in effect the first remix album", as many tracks see the duo "speed up, slow down, cut, doctor, and mutilate the material, sometimes beyond recognition".
In the 1980s, record companies would combine several kinds of electronic dance music, such as dance-pop, house, and techno into full-length albums, creating a relatively low-overhead addition to the catalogs and balance sheets. Soft Cell's Non Stop Ecstatic Dancing (1982) and The Human League's Love and Dancing (1982) are credited for inventing the modern remix album. Since this time, this kind of release is not only seen as an easy cash-in for an artist and their label, but also as an opportunity to provide a second lease of life for a record. In reggae music, it is very common for a whole album to be remixed in a dub style.Dub: soundscapes and shattered songs in Jamaican reggae, p.2Chris Roberts, Heavy Words Lightly Thrown: The Reason Behind Rhyme, Thorndike Press, 2006 ()
Jennifer Lopez's album J to tha L–O! The Remixes (2002) is listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the first remix album to debut at No.1 on the Billboard 200 chart.
List of best-selling remix albums + Best-selling remix albums worldwide Album Artist Record label Released Total certified units(from available markets) Claimed sales(At least 500,000 sold) 1 Blood on the Dance Floor: HIStory in the Mix Michael Jackson Epic Records 1997 2 You Can Dance Madonna Sire Records 1987 3 Love The Beatles Apple Records 2006 4 Reanimation Linkin Park Warner Bros. Records 2002 5 J to tha L–O! The Remixes Jennifer Lopez Epic Records 2002 6 Super Eurobeat Presents Ayu-ro Mix Ayumi Hamasaki Avex Trax 2000 7 Shut Up and Dance: Mixes Paula Abdul Virgin Records 1990 8 We Invented the Remix P. Diddy Bad Boy Records 2002 9 Never Say Never: The Remixes Justin Bieber Island Records 2011 10 Dance!...Ya Know It! Bobby Brown MCA Records 1989 11 No More Games/The Remix Album New Kids on the Block Columbia Records 1990 12 Misia Remix 2000 Little Tokyo Misia Arista Records 200013 Further Down the Spiral Nine Inch Nails Nothing Records 1995 14 Ayu-mi-x II Version Non-Stop Mega Mix Ayumi Hamasaki Avex Trax 2000 15 Disco Pet Shop Boys Parlophone 1986 16 New Old Songs Limp Bizkit Interscope Records 2001 17 Eu e Memê, Memê e Eu Lulu Santos BMG Brasil 2000 18 The Remix Lady Gaga Interscope Records 2010 19 The Remixes Shakira Sony Music 1997 20 Todas as Estações - Remixes Sandy & Junior Universal Music Group 2000
See also Dub music List of best-selling music artists
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