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Grateful Dead still making musical mark at 60, gets Guinness record
The Grateful Dead set a record with 66 Top 40 albums on the U.S. Billboard 200, recognized by Guinness World Records on Dec. 4, 2025.
- On Thursday, Dec. 4, Guinness World Records honored the Grateful Dead for the most Top 40 albums charted after a release reached the U.S. Billboard 200 Top 40 on Nov. 15.
- Ongoing archival releases have helped Rhino Music sustain catalog sales and kept Grateful Dead music in circulation through performances by Phil Lesh and Dead & Company.
- Limited runs—such as the 25,000 numbered copies of Dave's Picks Vol. 56, a four-CD set released May 30 with nearly five hours of music, sold out along with the $600 Enjoying the Ride set.
- Craig Glenday, editor-in-chief, Guinness World Records, posted an Instagram video showing the certificate; David Lemieux, Grateful Dead legacy manager and archivist, called the title unexpected 60 years ago.
- Historically, the Dead have held the most top-40 albums since Feb. 2024, while 2024 Kennedy Center Honorees and 2025 MusiCares Persons of the Year mourned Donna Jean Godchaux-MacKay last month.
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Grateful Dead earns Guinness World Record
Members of the rock group Grateful Dead. (Photo by © Roger Ressmeyer/CORBIS/VCG via Getty Images) Grateful Dead has earned a new Guinness World Record. The band’s most recent Dave’s Pick, Dave’s Picks Vol. 56: Rainbow Theatre, London, England – 3/20/81 & 3/21/81, debuted at #25 on the Billboard 200 chart, making it their 66th top-40 album. That earns them the Guinness record for the most top-40 albums charted on the Billboard 200. The Dead have …
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Total News Sources7
Leaning Left3Leaning Right0Center2Last UpdatedBias Distribution60% Left
Bias Distribution
- 60% of the sources lean Left
60% Left
L 60%
C 40%
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