Only five albums reached number one in 1984 and the list might surprise you

It has never been easy for an artist to have a number-one song, let alone a number-one album. It takes a lot of luck and even more great music. In a normal year during the album/cassette/CD eras of music, album sales were tracked and those with the most estimated sales (in theory) made the charts.

Music comes and goes rapidly as tastes and favorite songs and artists pop up. Some have incredible lasting power, while others are shooting stars -bright and shiny for a brief moment, then gone.

Only five albums hit number one on the Billboard 200 album chart in 1984, a rather small number in general. The following year, 1985, 14 albums hit number one, including two from 1984.

Can you guess what five albums hit number one in 1984?

15 weeks - Thriller, Michael Jackson

No matter your generation, you know about Michael Jackson's incredible Thriller album. While other albums press for the top spot all-time now and then, Thriller is the all-time top-selling album with approximately as of 2021, according to Guinness World Records.

The album featured two number-one singles—"Beat It" and "Billy Jean"—five top-five songs and seven top-10 hits. This is an incredible feat that has never been matched.

In addition to the 15 weeks it was number one in 1984, the album spent four different stints at number one in 1983 for a total of 22 amazing weeks. If you combine the two years, Thriller had two different stints of 17 consecutive weeks at number one.

Not only was it one of the best albums of 1984, but it is arguably the greatest album of all time.

10 weeks - Footloose, Various Artists

After Jackson locked down the number one spot for the first 15 weeks of 1983, the soundtrack for the movie Footloose was number one for 10 weeks.

The soundtrack featured two number-one hits - the title track by Kenny Loggins and "Let's Hear It for the Boy" by Deniece Williams. A duet by Mike Reno (Loverboy) and Ann Wilson (Heart) topped out at number seven, and three other songs broke onto the Top 40 charts.

The movie was about a small town that didn't allow dancing. A new high school student, played by Kevin Bacon, rebels against this strange decree and pulls students together to hold their secret prom. The music in this movie set the mood, and in the end, with the joyous tunes that eventually topped the charts, the students could have their prom and dance.

This album, from a terrific teen movie of the Eighties, had impressive staying power at the top of the charts.