But 1987's Permanent Vacation brought Aerosmith back to the big time, selling more than 5 million copies and capping one of the greatest comebacks in rock history. Michael Jackson Michael was only five when he formed the Jackson 5 with his four older brothers. In 1979 Jackson went solo with the hit album Off the Wall , but it was merely a warm-up. 1982's Thriller , fueled by marketing, MTV, and brilliant songs, sold over 40 million copies and became the best selling album ever. Jackson's evolving eccentricities, from plastic surgery to Bubbles the chimp, have made him an easy tabloid target, but he is undeniably one of the great musical talents of the last century.
Queen conjures up majestic, excessive, and, of course, operatic rock.
Queen, powered by Mercury's enormous stage presence, influenced everything from 80's glam metal to the development of music video. After All These Years. After faltering in the early 80s, the Grammy-winning Graceland marked his artist and commercial comeback in 1986. Steely Dan Amid the sea of '70s mainstream rock, Steely Dan's complex but accessible art rock made them one of the decade's most improbable success stories. Dormant for over 20 years, Steely Dan's 2000 return, Two Against Nature , won the Grammy for Best Album.