Big Shiny Tunes 2 Turns 20

READY TO FEEL OLD??

Big Shiny Tunes 2, one of the best-selling Canadian albums of all time, turns 20 YEARS OLD this weekend!

Celebrate the nostalgia on Friday, December 1st at noon and hear the ENTIRE album during Jam Sandwich! Listen HERE.

Learn more about the greatest album series of all time below!

1. Canada represent. The very first song on the very first Big Shiny Tunes album was “One More Astronaut” by I Mother Earth.

2. Bonkers success. When Big Shiny Tunes 2 was released on December 2, 1997, it debuted at #1 and sold over 128, 000 copies in its first week. It’s the best-selling album in the series, having sold more than 1, 000, 000 copies and being certified Diamond.

3. Vote jam or no jam! When Big Shiny Tunes 3 was released the following year, listeners were invited to vote for their favourite songs to be included on the album. It is the only album in the series to do so.

3. Frequent jammer points. Any guesses for the band that most frequently appears throughout the Big Shiny Tunes series?? It’s Nickleback. They’re included on seven albums, 5, 7-11 and 14.

4. Sanitized jams. After listeners complained about the censorship on songs from Matthew Good, Limp Bizkit, Staind, Not By Choice, Wheatus and more, Big Shiny Tunes 6 was released in 2001 uncensored with a warning label. It is the only uncensored Big Shiny Tunes album.

5. Change of the times.  The following year, Big Shiny Tunes 7  was released, but failed to perform to the same level as past albums due to the rising prominence of rap music. It still managed to sell over 25, 000 copies in its first week, but was outsold by Eminem’s soundtrack to 8 Mile. 

6. Time to ROCK OUT. The longest album in the series is also the most recent. Big Shiny Tunes 14 was released in 2009, clocking in at 74:11.

7. Best seller. The Big Shiny Tunes collection is recognized as the best-selling album series in Canadian music history, selling over 5 million copies in 10 years.

8. Decade spanning. In addition to the the annual compilation albums, three additional decade-themed Big Shiny Tunes albums were released. Big Shiny 90’s was released in 2002, Big Shiny 90’s Volume 2 in 2003 and Big Shiny 80’s in 2004.

9. Podium beats! As of 2010, Big Shiny Tunes 2 is the third best-selling album in Canadian music history. VARIETY INSANITY!!

10. Indefinite hiatus. There hasn’t been a Big Shiny Tunes album released since 2009. At the time, the label, Quebec’s MusiquePlus, released a statement saying the series was on an “indefinite hiatus”. Fingers crossed for a Big Shiny Tunes revival!

Here are a few of the nostalgic texts that flooded the textline during the Big Shiny Jam Sandwich!