Monumental Album Flops

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Got this off from some site.

‘Pop’- U2, 1997
Rise: Ten years after U2 assumed the rock ‘n’ roll throne, they planned the glitzy Popmart tour as an ironic take on consumerism, and they rushed out the accompanying album to meet the deadline.

Fall: The half-baked ‘Pop’ was so forgettable that U2′s next album, ‘All That You Can’t Leave Behind,’ was widely hailed as the band’s “comeback” record.

Stats: ‘The Joshua Tree’ (1987), 10 million; ‘Pop,’ 1.5 million

‘Forever’- Spice Girls, 2000
Rise: Smash success of 1996 debut set off an international wave of Beatlemania proportions for this prefab five.

Fall: The departure of Ginger Spice and the maturing of the group’s target audience ensured the Spice phenomenon wouldn’t last ‘Forever.’

Stats: ‘Spice’ (1996), 7.4 million; ‘Forever,’ 200,000

Warning’ – Green Day, 2000
Rise: ‘Dookie’ was a certified monster; 1997′s ‘Nimrod’ featured the surprise hit ballad ‘Good Riddance (Time of Your Life),’ which was heard by millions on the ‘Seinfeld’ finale.

Fall: For a band built on potty humor, their newfound maturity might have been premature. However, fans would later come around to embracing the grown-up sentiments of 2004′s comeback blockbuster ‘American Idiot .’

Stats: ‘Dookie’ (1994), 7.8 million; ‘Warning,’ 1.1 million

Forever’ – Puff Daddy, 1999
Rise: His 1997 smash debut rode Biggie Smalls’ broad back to two No. 1 singles and another that reached No. 2.

Fall: Criminally underperforming sequel led the rapper to go into the hip-hop witness protection program, changing his name (for the first time) to P. Diddy.

Stats: ‘No Way Out’ (1997), 5.2 million; ‘Forever,’ 1.4 million

Human Touch’/ ‘Lucky Town’ – Bruce Springsteen, 1992
Rise: His ‘Born in the U.S.A.’ pulled off one of the great feats in pop history, placing seven singles in the Top 10.

Fall: Newly remarried and relocated to L.A., the Boss released two generally upbeat albums with little help from his longtime E Street Band. Even hard-core fans were — gasp! — bored silly.

Stats: ‘Born in the U.S.A.’ (1984), 15 million; ‘Human Touch’/ ‘Lucky Town,’ 1 million each

Mind Blowin” – Vanilla Ice, 1994
Rise: ‘Ice Ice Baby’ was the first hip-hop single to hit No. 1 on the pop charts.

Fall: Exposure of the former Robert Van Winkle’s suburban background fueled jokes about the original white gangsta’s street cred, as did a tale of allegedly being dangled off a balcony by Suge Knight.

Stats: ‘To the Extreme’ (1990), 7 million; ‘Mind Blowin’,’ 42,000

HIStory’ – Michael Jackson, 1995
Rise: The creator of the world’s best-selling album of all time (‘Thriller’) was still capable of selling seven times platinum in the U.S. with 1991′s ‘Dangerous.’

Fall: Jackson’s plan for his none-too-humbly titled ‘HIStory’ included placements of statutes of himself around the world. The new songs were so uninspiring he ended up including a greatest-hits disc.

Stats: ‘Thriller’ (1982), 27 million; ‘HIStory,’ 2.5 million

Rave Un2 the Joy Fantastic’ – Prince, 1999
Rise: The ’80s superstar was ripe for a comeback after split with longtime label Warner Bros.

Fall: Clive Davis roped in Sheryl Crow, Gwen Stefani and other luminaries in a ‘Supernatural’-style bid to return His Purple Majesty to the pop throne, but the album tanked.

Stats: ‘Purple Rain’ (1984), 13 million; ‘Rave Un2 the Joy Fantastic,’ 480,000

Glitter’ – Mariah Carey, 2001
Rise: The pop diva with the glass-shattering vocal range was the most successful U.S. artist of the 1990s.

Fall: ‘Glitter,’ the soundtrack to an equally unsuccessful movie, was released on September 11, 2001, and things only got worse from there.

Stats: ‘Rainbow’ (1999), 2.9 million; ‘Glitter,’ 630,000

Self Portrait’ – Bob Dylan, 1970
Rise: You know — the quintessential singer-songwriter who could do no wrong.

Fall: The Dylan generation had a tough time swallowing what ‘Self Portrait’ proved: that their hero was fully capable of sucking as much as the next mere mortal.

Stats: ‘Blonde on Blonde’ (1966), 2 million; ‘Self Portrait,’ 110,000