2112 certified four times platinum

[New_World_Man]

I noticed yesterday that the album 2112 was certified 4 times platinum by the RIAA. I'm not surprised since the last time it was certified was for going three times platinum way back in November of 1995. However, the fact that this album has sold so many copies (especially compared to others except of course MP) is still a bit weird to me and I'll tell you why. Hardly any of the songs have ever been played much on the radio. You sure as hell rarely hear the entire side one suite. At times I have heard Overture/temples of syrinx but even that was pretty rare. I don't think I ever heard (except maybe on super rare occasions or satellite radio) "something for nothing" or A "Passage to Bangkok" or any other track on side two. Even Permanent Waves which has two well known radio songs on it hasn't even gone double platinum (not yet anyway but I'm sure it's close). So this begs the question why has an album, that is mostly known for it's epic sidelong track, sold so well? This album has sold more than any other prog rock band except for Pink Floyd, Genesis (some of their poppier albums sold as well or in one case 6 million) and Kansas. It's definitely what I consider a cult album and also apparently a lot of non hardcore Rush fans own it but why exactly? Any opinions are welcome. I know album sales aren't everything but I'm always interested in this kind of thing and am curious when outilars like this exist. 

Edited August 8 by New_World_Man

[grep]

I think I heard the full side 1 on NY radio maybe 3 times between 1985 and 1995.  Never after that. 

A couple of times it was a middle of the night request situation, the other I think it was a special event before a show at the Meadowlands in NJ. 

[JCW555VT]

In countless Rush documentaries, 2112 is cited at the breakthrough album for them after the less-than-stellar sales of Caress of Steel. The debut album and Fly By Night did OK but they weren't smash successes either. 2112 is more catchy than The Necromancer and The Fountain of Lamneth were to my ears and as much and I love the latter two, catchiness is key. 2112 is more catchy than Rush's other epics too to my ears (again, as much as I love them). A Passage to Bangkok is the classic deep track song that the band even parodied it "they never play Bangkok anymore". Something for Nothing is great and I have heard it a few times on Deep Tracks stations. I know not everyone's a fan of Tears but it's a ballad that the band never really did after that and I do know people who really like it. I can easily see people high as a kite zoning out to The Twilight Zone and how mellow that song is along with the lyrics. Lessons is sort of the odd song out as it's the only Rush song whose lyrics were solely penned by Alex so it has that oddball appeal to it, and I've also heard it on Deep Tracks once or twice. 

I just think it was right place, right time, and the legacy of the album has continued to contribute to its sales.

[ytserush]

6 hours ago, New_World_Man said:

I noticed yesterday that the album 2112 was certified 4 times platinum by the RIAA. I'm not surprised since the last time it was certified was for going three times platinum way back in November of 1995. However, the fact that this album has sold so many copies (especially compared to others except of course MP) is still a bit weird to me and I'll tell you why. Hardly any of the songs have ever been played much on the radio. You sure as hell rarely hear the entire side one suite. At times I have heard Overture/temples of syrinx but even that was pretty rare. I don't think I ever heard (except maybe on super rare occasions or satellite radio) "something for nothing" or A "Passage to Bangkok" or any other track on side two. Even Permanent Waves which has two well known radio songs on it hasn't even gone double platinum (not yet anyway but I'm sure it's close). So this begs the question why has an album, that is mostly known for it's epic sidelong track, sold so well? This album has sold more than any other prog rock band except for Pink Floyd, Genesis (some of their poppier albums sold as well or in one case 6 million) and Kansas. It's definitely what I consider a cult album and also apparently a lot of non hardcore Rush fans own it but why exactly? Any opinions are welcome. I know album sales aren't everything but I'm always interested in this kind of thing and am curious when outilars like this exist. 

I don't consider this an outlier.

 

Count how many times 2112 has been reissued on vinyl and CD since 2012. You'll find your answer there.

 

It's their second highest selling studio album and has been since probably 1981. Also, the story of how it was made within the context of the time has become integral to the band's legacy. It's been an essential point for the distilled history of the band. The 2112 medley has been a staple in many of their sets while A Passage To Bangkok has reemerged in the set on a few recent tours after being a staple in the '70s.

 

 

 

 

[New_World_Man]

Outlier in the sense that it has sold tons of copies (four million now) with hardly any radio play. You compare that to albums of theirs that have more radio songs (signals and PeW in particular)  that puts it firmly in the outliar camp at least imo. It's practically the textbook definition of a cult album. The early Metallica albums have sold a lot too without much radio play (if any) at the time but I honestly can't think of many examples like this.

Edited August 9 by New_World_Man

[JARG]

Expect rushbrazil.com clickbait article any time now.

[zepphead]

Perhaps the reason so many people own it is because it is bloody good!

As a Prog Rock fan, a heck of a lot of Prog Bands get no radio play at all (with the exception of Planet Rock here in UK) but I do not consider Prog to be in any way a ‘cult’ movement.

For a large number of Rush fans the heavier period of the ‘70s was the band’s golden age.

 

Another consideration is the different iterations of the album which have been released. I personally bought the original vinyl release,  CD release in 1987, the 1997 remastered version and the 40th anniversary edition in 2016. 

[Blue J]

1 hour ago, zepphead said:

Perhaps the reason so many people own it is because it is bloody good!

As a Prog Rock fan, a heck of a lot of Prog Bands get no radio play at all (with the exception of Planet Rock here in UK) but I do not consider Prog to be in any way a ‘cult’ movement.

For a large number of Rush fans the heavier period of the ‘70s was the band’s golden age.

 

Another consideration is the different iterations of the album which have been released. I personally bought the original vinyl release,  CD release in 1987, the 1997 remastered version and the 40th anniversary edition in 2016. 

 

The first time I ever heard 2112 was not until about 1980 (but in my defence, I was seven years old then). 

 

To this day, the passage from the end of Overture and The Temples of Syrinx is one of the heaviest things I've ever heard in my life. 

 

The suite is just one of those things, makes everything on side 2 pale in comparison. But there are good songs there. 

 

Cracking great album!

[ytserush]

On 8/8/2026 at 8:54 PM, New_World_Man said:

Outlier in the sense that it has sold tons of copies (four million now) with hardly any radio play. You compare that to albums of theirs that have more radio songs (signals and PeW in particular)  that puts it firmly in the outliar camp at least imo. It's practically the textbook definition of a cult album. The early Metallica albums have sold a lot too without much radio play (if any) at the time but I honestly can't think of many examples like this.

Maybe, but bands that tour as much as they do with those songs almost always in the set is what makes it a cult experience. Rush and Metallica were cult bands when they first started because they toured constantly and those songs got exposure through touring without the benefit of radio.

[OctaveSauvage]

 

ytserush said:

Maybe, but bands that tour as much as they do with those songs almost always in the set is what makes it a cult experience. Rush and Metallica were cult bands when they first started because they toured constantly and those songs got exposure through touring without the benefit of radio.

 

Exactly. For a band like Rush, the “radio” was often the stage, word of mouth, and that one friend who insisted you sit down and hear the whole side. 2112 especially feels like an album that people discovered through other fans as much as through any official channel.

 

And once it became part of the live identity of the band, it kept reinforcing itself. Even if stations weren’t spinning the full suite, generations of fans knew it was one of the essential Rush experiences. That kind of reputation can sell records for decades.