The Essential Michael Jackson is a greatest hits compilation album by American singer-songwriter Michael Jackson. It was released on July 19, 2005, by Sony Music's catalog division Legacy Recordings as part of The Essential series. The two-disc compilation features thirty-eight hit songs by Michael Jackson, from his days at Motown Records with The Jackson 5 in the late 1960s and early 1970s to his 2001 hit "You Rock My World".
On August 26, 2008, The Essential Michael Jackson 3.0 was released in the United States as a limited edition containing an additional disc of seven songs performed by Jackson. A re-titled release in the United Kingdom was released on September 5, 2005, as The Hits. As of 2021, the album was certified 5× platinum in the United States for over 2.5 million copies sold. Worldwide, the compilation has sold an estimated 6 million copies.
Impact of album after death Following Jackson's death on June 25, the album sold 102,000 units in the US on the chart week ending July 1, 2009. The following week the album sold 125,000 units in the US on the chart week ending July 8, 2009 and was the third biggest-selling album of the week. In the UK, where the album had peaked at number two in 2005, it reached number one for seven consecutive weeks from the weeks ending July 11, 2009 to August 22, 2009, dethroning Jackson's own album, Number Ones, which topped the chart the week ending July 4, 2009.
The album has been certified 5× platinum in the United States 9× Platinum in Australia and 7× Platinum in the United Kingdom with worldwide sales estimated around 6 million copies.
As of November 30, 2024, the album reached a new milestone by remaining on the Billboard 200 chart for 500 consecutive weeks. This is Jackson's second album to achieve this feat right after his album Thriller, which holds the record for 653 weeks on the chart.
On 8 May 2026, the album returned to number 1 position on the official UK charts, due to the popularity of the biopic Michael.
Track listing North American version
Tracks 1–3, 7–9 and 14 performed by The Jackson 5/Jacksons.
European and international version
Tracks 1–3, 7–8 and 13 performed by The Jackson 5/Jacksons.
Japanese version
Tracks 1–3, 7–8 and 13 performed by The Jackson 5/Jacksons.
Qobuz.com Studio Masters (digital version; 24bit/96kHz)
Tracks 1–3, 7–9 and 14 performed by The Jackson 5/Jacksons.
All attempted recreation of single edits are restored to actual single versions on digital edition with the exception of "Off the Wall", which is a further edit of UK 7" remix and "Will You Be There", which is a radio edit with newly added string intro. Both versions are exclusive to this release. "Enjoy Yourself", "Blame It on the Boogie", "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough", and "Black or White" are restored to their album length on the digital edition. The uncut version of "The Lady in My Life" was announced on Legacy Recordings' website to be released on 2008's 3.0 edition bonus disc, but eventually omitted for unknown reasons. However, this version is previously available on the 2002 compilation The Songs of Rod Temperton, which has become a much sought-after item among Jackson collectors upon release, despite the fact that the version on the compilation is an inferior tape transfer with heavy, irreparable distortion due to tape degradation. A UK-exclusive edition of this compilation was renamed as The Hits (with the same font as the five-album box set The Collection) and given a colorized version of the cover in 2009.
Charts
Weekly charts +Weekly chart performance for The Essential Michael Jackson Chart (2005–2026) Peakposition Croatian International Albums (HDU) 29 Czech Albums (IFPI) 3 Greek Albums (IFPI) 20 Icelandic Albums (Tónlistinn) 9 Mexican Albums (AMPROFON) 1 Polish Albums (ZPAV) 5 Slovenian Albums (IFPI) 24
Year-end charts +Year-end chart performance for The Essential Michael Jackson Chart (2005) Position Australian Albums (ARIA) 69 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders) 58 Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia) 37 Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan) 52 Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade) 87 UK Albums (OCC) 88 Chart (2009) Position Australian Albums (ARIA) 8 Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan) 22 UK Albums (OCC) 12 US Billboard Comprehensive Albums 22 Chart (2010) Position Australian Albums (ARIA) 63 US Billboard 200 112 Chart (2014) Position Australian Albums (ARIA) 93 Chart (2015) Position Australian Albums (ARIA) 81 US Billboard 200 174 Chart (2016) Position Australian Albums (ARIA) 77 Australian Catalogue Album Chart 10 Chart (2017) Position Australian Albums (ARIA) 96 US Billboard 200 126 US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard) 73 Chart (2018) Position US Billboard 200 105 US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard) 51 Chart (2019) Position US Billboard 200101 Chart (2020) Position US Billboard 200 149 Chart (2021) Position US Billboard 200 163 Chart (2022) Position US Billboard 200 145 Chart (2023) Position UK Albums (OCC) 25 US Billboard 200 141 US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard) 86 Chart (2024) Position UK Albums (OCC) 16 US Billboard 200 130 US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard) 44 Chart (2025) Position UK Albums (OCC) 14 US Billboard 200 127 US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard) 41
Decade-end charts +Decade-end chart performance for The Essential Michael Jackson Chart (2000–2009) Position Australian Albums (ARIA) 76 Chart (2010–2019) Position Australian Albums (ARIA) 80
Certifications and sales
See also List of number-one albums of 2009 (Australia) List of number-one albums of 2009 (Mexico) List of number-one albums from the 2000s (UK) List of number-one R&B albums of 2009 (UK)
References
External links