Guinness World Records: British Hit Singles and Albums

click here for more details, find new or used items	David Roberts Used from £7.89 Pages: 768 (Paperback) ISBN: 0851121993 Pub: Guinness World Records Limited Pub date: 2004-05-28 Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 181110

Reader Reviews:

bible of pop (5/5 people found this helpful)

the best got even better. despite attempts to copy the format, this blows all competitors out of the water. best layout, best info, best photos.....forget the rest, stick with the best...

Worth the money! (12/12 people found this helpful)

This is the third book of this series that i own and the reason that its so much better than previous editions is because it now features both the single and album listings, giving you each artists complete discography in the one book! This obviously means that the Guinness Book now includes many more album-based artists that weren't placed highly in previous editions, and therefore definately gives a better overview of the real music industry, especially due to album sales seemingly taking over at the moment! It makes a start with a Top 10 Dvds list which will probably be made more prominent in future editions due to increasing sales, gives chronological lists of all number one albums since the 1950s, and also gives information on top selling film soundtracks, stage musicals and much much more!
If you've ever been interested in music releases or ever asked someone "what was that song called?" then this is the book for you!

Two for the price of one (9/10 people found this helpful)

I've bought numerous previous hit singles books and a few hit albums too. But putting them in one book is much easier. Plenty of extra info, well worth the money.

POP Bible just got bigger than life! (22/22 people found this helpful)

The 17th edition proudly states: "Two Books In One Volume" and believe me, you get 10 for the price of one (even if you order from outside EU and get severely taxed like me!). This edition FINALLY features the albums which are listed in red right after the singles for every act which is different than I thought but it works better!
This is surely the best chart book in the world in a beautiful green cover and for the first time it doesn't bring any negative surprises but the joy of a "smart buy" feeling. Enjoy!

The original, and still the best (22/22 people found this helpful)

This "bible" of facts on the pop charts from their inception to date used to have the field to itself and its publication every two years was eagerly awaited. Recently it has had competition, this year from two other publishers, and in response it has become an annual issue and, this year, they have added in album chart details (there used to be a separate Albums book, last issued eight years ago).

This means that the book increases in size by some 160 pages; they have not, however, compromised on paper or print quality, and although this does mean that it is quite a weighty tome it is no heavier than, say, the Radio Times Guide to Films, and should fit snugly on most bookshelves.

They have not altered the layout of the listings, which are clear and concise. For each artist/band the singles are listed first in black and then the albums in red; I suppose there may be a slight problem for anyone who is colour-blind but the print used is bold and I would say that it's as good as you're going to get. Only artist albums have been included, not various artist compilations such as "Now", although there are lists of the No 1 compilations and those based on TV shows and soundtracks.

As usual the top 500 chart acts are flagged, and a short description of them given. Because albums are included this time some famous names previously excluded from this "club" have been catapulted in; for example it now includes Led Zeppelin and James Last!

The only change in format is that the features and extra statistical information that used to be at the front of the book is now scattered throughout; this does help break up any artistic monotony one might feel the listings pages have.

All in all it's still the best reference work for those thousands of us who have an interest in the pop charts, who take part in or compile fiendishly obscure quizzes, or who can't remember when Wendy Richard was No 1 (with Mike Sarne) and want to satisfy their curiosity.

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