Famous Albums That Were Released in December

We are now halfway through December, which is often thought of as a slow month for new album releases. If that was ever true, it no longer is.

A fairly recent release that blew that concept out of the water was Beyoncé’s eponymous fifth solo album (Dec. 13, 2013), which perfected the notion of the “surprise drop.” SZA’s SOS, which became the first album by a woman to spend 100 weeks in the top 10 on the Billboard 200, was also a December release (Dec. 9, 2022). The Lana reissue of SOS was also a December release (Dec. 20, 2024).

The ranks of December releases also include Eagles’ Hotel California (Dec. 8, 1976), the fourth highest-certified album in history, according to the Recording Industry Association of America.

It also includes four Grammy winners for album of the year – Blood Sweat & Tears’ eponymous sophomore album (Dec. 11, 1968), George Harrison & Friends’ The Concert for Bangla Desh (Dec. 20, 1971), Christopher Cross’ eponymous debut album (Dec. 27, 1979) and the O Brother, Where Art Thou? soundtrack (Dec. 5, 2000).

Many soundtracks have been December releases, in part because they accompany films that are released at year’s end to qualify for Academy Award consideration. Other soundtracks that were released in December include Into the Woods (Dec. 16, 2014), Star Wars: The Force Awakens (Dec. 18, 2015), The Greatest Showman (Dec. 8, 2017) and Spider-Man: Into the Spider Verse (Dec. 14, 2018).

Many greatest hits albums have also been December releases, in part because they require no set-up or consumer education. They include The Rolling Stones’ Hot Rocks 1964-71 (Dec. 20, 1971), Garth Brooks’ The Hits (Dec. 13, 1994), Eminem’s Curtain Call: The Hits (Dec. 6, 2005) and Carrie Underwood’s Greatest Hits: Decade #1 (Dec. 9, 2014). 

A sobering number of posthumous albums were released in December: Jim Croce’s I Got a Name (Dec. 1, 1973), The Notorious B.I.G.’s Born Again (Dec. 7, 1999), 2Pac’s Loyal to the Game (Dec. 14, 2004), Michael Jackson’s Michael (Dec. 10, 2010), Amy Winehouse’s Lioness: Hidden Treasures (Dec. 2, 2011), XXXTentacion’s Skins (Dec. 7, 2018) and Juice WRLD’s Fighting Demons (Dec. 8, 2019).

Of the hundreds of albums that have been released in December, here are some of the most notable (not repeating any already named).