Pink Floyd’s 1973 album The Dark Side of the Moon remains one of rock music’s biggest and most enduring releases, more than five decades after it first arrived.
Released in March 1973, The Dark Side of the Moon became a turning point for Pink Floyd. The album has sold about 45 million copies worldwide and remains one of the best-selling albums in music history. It also helped establish Pink Floyd as one of the biggest rock bands of all time.
The album was recently ranked No. 2 on Collider‘s list of the 25 Best Rock Albums of All Time, describing the album as a masterful achievement for the band. It also pointed to songs such as “Time” and “Money” as part of the record’s lasting appeal.
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The album’s success was not built around one song alone. Instead, Pink Floyd created a connected musical experience that explored conflict, greed, time, death and mental illness.
‘The Dark Side of the Moon’ Became a Pink Floyd Landmark
The album was Pink Floyd’s eighth studio release. It was developed while the band was touring and was first performed live more than a year before its official release.
Roger Waters proposed an album centered on the pressures of everyday life and the mental health struggles of former Pink Floyd member Syd Barrett. Waters later became the album’s main lyricist, while David Gilmour, Richard Wright and Nick Mason helped shape its music and sound.
The record was recorded at EMI Studios, now known as Abbey Road Studios, between 1972 and early 1973. Engineer Alan Parsons played an important role in the recording, while producer Chris Thomas later helped with the final mix.
The album also stood out for its use of studio technology. Pink Floyd used multitrack recording, tape loops and early analogue synthesizers. The sounds of clocks, cash registers, coins, footsteps, voices and a heartbeat became part of the album’s identity.
“Money” became Pink Floyd’s most commercially successful track from the album. It reached No. 13 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1973 and remains a familiar rock radio song.
The album’s success continued long after its original release. It topped the U.S. Billboard Top LPs & Tape chart and returned to the Billboard 200 many times over the decades. As of January 2026, it had reached 996 weeks on the Billboard 200.
Its long chart history is only one part of the story. The Dark Side of the Moon has also received major recognition from music institutions. The album was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1999 and was selected for preservation in the U.S. National Recording Registry in 2013 for being “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.”
Pink Floyd was also ranked No. 11 on Parade‘s list of the 100 Best Rock Bands of All Time. The band has sold more than 250 million records worldwide and was inducted into the U.S. Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1996.
More than 50 years after its release, The Dark Side of the Moon remains a major part of rock history.
Related: 1981 Rock Song, Never a No. 1 Hit, Ranked Among ‘Greatest Classic Rock Songs’ of All Time
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