The Dark Side of the Moon

Pink Floyd's eighth studio album, released on March 1, 1973 in the United States and March 16, 1973 in the United Kingdom. Conceived and largely written by Roger Waters, the album traces a single human life from birth to death, examining the forces that destroy happiness and sanity: time, money, violence, and the particular dread of mental deterioration.

The album was first performed live in near-complete form at Brighton Dome on January 20, 1972, more than a year before its release, allowing the band to refine the material before recording at EMI Studios (now Abbey Road) under engineer Alan Parsons. The sessions made innovative use of VCS3 synthesizers, tape loops, sophisticated multi-tracking, and spoken-word passages recorded from band associates asked about violence, death, and madness.

On release it reached No. 1 on the US Billboard chart and spent 741 consecutive weeks on the Billboard 200, a record at the time. Worldwide sales eventually exceeded 45 million copies, making it one of the best-selling albums in history. It was inducted into the US National Recording Registry by the Library of Congress in 2012. Its prism cover, designed by Storm Thorgerson and Hipgnosis, became one of the most recognized images in popular music.