For nearly a decade, the Eagles’ “Their Greatest Hits 1971-1975″ has been the recording industry’s ultimate evergreen release, certified by the RIAA as the all-time best-selling album in the United States. But thanks to continued robust demand for Michael Jackson’s catalog since his June 25 death, “Thriller” appears on the verge of matching “Their Greatest Hits,” at least in the eyes of the industry trade group.

In March, the Recording Industry Association of America certified “Thriller” as 28 times platinum, meaning that at least 28 million copies of the album have been shipped since its 1982 release. That’s just a notch behind the Eagles’ hits compilation, which was released in 1976 and was certified 29 times platinum in 2006.

Billboard estimates that the posthumous surge in Jackson’s sales and Sony Music Entertainment’s efforts to push Jackson CDs into the distribution pipeline have likely propelled shipments of Jackson product, if not yet sales, beyond the 29 million-unit mark in the United States.

Amid the recent explosion in Jackson sales, “Thriller” has enjoyed the second-biggest sales bump in his catalog, just behind the hits collection “Number Ones.” During the three weeks that ended July 12, “Thriller” sold 552,000 U.S. copies, for year-to-date sales of 608,000, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

STRONG SALES TO CONTINUE
Most industry executives believe that the most recent SoundScan week — which included the widely watched memorial service for Jackson at the Staples Center in Los Angeles — will mark a posthumous weekly peak for Jackson sales. They also expect sales to wind down slowly in the next few months, which means sales will remain strong. In the week ended July 12, Jackson’s album catalog sold a combined 1.1 million copies, up from nearly 800,000 in the preceding week and 422,000 in the week he died.

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