Today in 2000, Eminem’s “The Marshall Mathers LP” debuted at #1 on Billboard with record-breaking sales

23 years ago today (June 11, 2000), Eminem’s “The Marshall Mathers LP” debuted at No. 1 on the US Billboard 200 charts with 1,760,000 sold in it’s first week and stayed atop for eight consecutive weeks. A significant commercial success compared to the release of “The Slim Shady LP” just the previous year, the album sold 1.78 million copies in its first week, which made it among the fastest-selling studio albums in the United States.

It spawned the hits like “The Real Slim Shady,” “The Way I Am” and “Stan,” featuring Dido, is certified diamond by RIAA and is the best selling rap album in Soundscan history.

“The Marshall Mathers LP” has been included in numerous all-time lists and is widely regarded as Eminem’s greatest album. It has sold 30 million copies worldwide, making it one of the best-selling albums of all time, and is certified 11x platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). It was nominated for Album of the Year and won Best Rap Album at the 2001 Grammy Awards, while “The Real Slim Shady” won Best Rap Solo Performance.

According to Billboard, as of 2022, “The Marshall Mathers LP” is one of the 15 best-performing 21st-century albums without any of its singles being number-one hits on the Billboard Hot 100 charts. The first single, “The Real Slim Shady”, became Eminem’s biggest hit up to that point. It peaked at number four on the Billboard Hot 100 and topped the UK Singles Chart.

“Stan”, the third single released from the album, became a number-one hit in both the United Kingdom and Australia. The song, which details around a crazed fan of the same name, has been highlighted as a work of poetry by critics, and soon gave rise to the Oxford English Dictionary term “stan.”

You can revisit the classic album below: