Wikipedia says that Screaming For Vengeance outsold British Steel and that Heading out to the Highway and You’ve Got Another Thing Coming were 10 hits in the U.S. while British Steel had no hit singles.

Sabbath should be able to have the same influence on metal and grunge without Paranoid if people still hear them, but I know that without that album they probably never catch the public’s attention. I remember reading that they disliked having kids show who only knew Paranoid as a hit single and show up to concerts trying to dance, or something like that, and weren’t interested in trying to make sure they had a radio friendly song for Master of Reality. Maybe that’s sour grapes, if it’s true then in real life if they’d not had that song maybe they would have tried harder for a in MoR, although I know that’s not what we’re asking here.

Led Zeppelin costing off of IV seems totally and obviously false to me. The first album is a top 20 hit in both the US and UK. Every album after that is #1 in the US and UK except IV, which is only #2 in the US (I know it’s still their biggest album). I’m #1 sure I’ve heard more than 50% of their catalogue get regular radio play, by far the most of any band. They have multiple other albums that sell more than 10 million copies. Take away #4 and cut the success of all of their other albums by a third and they’re still huge.

If The Beatles stop and Help! or Rubber Soul then John and Paul would probably have some huge solo albums in the late ’60s. Combined it’s less than The Beatles but its a big deal. People argue about whether they peaked right at the end of The Beatles and would have been better if they stayed together, or whether they were each holding the other back. They’re the best remembered British Invasion band but only to people who were the right age during Beatle Mania are the the “Official Greatest Band Ever.” Not that nobody younger likes them, but they don’t enjoy the same consensus.
Also, Rubber Soul was a pretty different album in the UK vs. US, so there’s a bastard album that’s The Beatles equivalent of The Rolling Stones Flowers that alot of people think is their best album.

I love The Stones even more but I don’t know how much Jagger and Richards accomplish without each other. If we image that they break up after Satanic then Jagger probably does alright for a while, but it’s not The Rolling Stones. They’re an important band but alot of people know Satisfaction without knowing who The Rolling Stones were.