Big Shiny Tunes

Characteristics

The Big Shiny Tunes albums are each thought to be composed of a combination of rock songs that are major hits by well-known artists, less successful songs by well-known artists and songs by more obscure artists, released in the same year as the albums' publication. There are a combination of Canadian, British and American performers. One common feature among the selected artists is that they are attached to Universal Music, Warner Bros., EMI Music Canada, and/or MuchMusic, who come together to produce Big Shiny Tunes albums. The most frequently appearing band in the Big Shiny Tunes series is Nickelback, who appeared on 7 releases in the series (Big Shiny Tunes 5, 7-11, and 14.)

Part of the appeal of the series is that those who do not usually buy albums will find Big Shiny Tunes provides several well-known songs, as opposed to a CD by a single artist whose non-single tracks may be relatively unfamiliar. The music is aimed at teenagers and young adults. There has been some criticism of consistency in regards to the use of censored versus uncensored versions of songs from album to album (Big Shiny Tunes 6 carried a label stating that some songs contained coarse language, while the previous and following albums had censored songs by Matthew Good, Limp Bizkit, Staind, Not By Choice and Wheatus).

In addition to the ordinary albums in the series, MuchMusic also released albums that compile the biggest hits across a span of years, such as Big Shiny 80s (2005) that included classics like Billy Idol's "White Wedding." There have also been two volumes of Big Shiny 90s released.

History

The album Big Shiny Tunes was released in 1996. A new edition was released every year after until 2009, with Big Shiny Tunes 2 being particularly successful (the second and third albums alone account for over 2,000,000 of the albums sold under the brand). Big Shiny Tunes 2 had been accompanied by heavy advertising. The next year, MuchMusic assembled Big Shiny Tunes 3 by having its audience vote on which songs they would like to have included, a novel process. The success of the series continued as Big Shiny Tunes 6 sold 68,500 copies in its first week in 2001, more than any other album in Canada that week.

However, the series soon lost its predominance with the growth in popularity of rap music, as the next year Big Shiny Tunes 7 was outsold in its first week in Canada by Eminem's soundtrack to the film 8 Mile. Still, Big Shiny Tunes 7 sold 25,100 copies that week. Big Shiny Tunes 8, released in 2003, also made the best-seller list in Canada. The last album in the series, Big Shiny Tunes 14, was released on October 20, 2009. No edition has been released since then, indicating the discontinuation of the series.

Big Shiny Tunes

Note: Was certified 3x Platinum (300,000 units) in Canada on April 24, 1997.

Big Shiny Tunes 2

Note: Best-selling album of the series. Was certified Diamond in Canada (1,000,000 units) on March 25, 1998.

Big Shiny Tunes 3

Note: Was certified 8x Platinum in Canada (800,000 units) on February 19, 1999.

Big Shiny Tunes 4

Note: Was certified 8x Platinum in Canada (800,000 units) on November 6, 2000.

Big Shiny Tunes 5

Note: Was certified 6x Platinum (600,000 units) in Canada on December 6, 2001.

Big Shiny Tunes 6

Note: Sold 68,500 copies in its first week. However, it has not been certified by the CRIA.

Big Shiny Tunes 7

Note: Was certified 3x Platinum (300,000 units) in Canada on September 17, 2009.

Big Shiny Tunes 8

Note: Was certified 2x Platinum (200,000 units) in Canada on January 22, 2004.

Big Shiny Tunes 9

Note: Was certified Platinum in Canada (100,000 units) on March 22, 2005.

Big Shiny Tunes 10

Notes: When the track listing was originally shown via online music stores such as Mymusic before the official site opened, songs by Green Day, Audioslave, System of a Down, Arcade Fire, Beck, and the Foo Fighters were shown to be on the album.

Big Shiny Tunes 11

Notes: The album's official site also lists "Stricken" by Disturbed as being on the album as well, but it doesn't appear in the final product. The album was certified Platinum in Canada (100,000 units) on February 1, 2007.

Big Shiny Tunes 12

Note: Was certified Gold in Canada (50,000 units) on July 30, 2008.

Big Shiny '90s

Disc 1:

Disc 2:

Note: Was certified 2x Platinum (200,000 units) in Canada in February 2004.

Big Shiny '90s Volume 2

Disc 1:

1. Weezer – "Buddy Holly" (1995)
2. Oasis – "Champagne Supernova" (1996)
3. Blink-182 – "All the Small Things" (2000)
4. U2 – "Numb" (1998)
5. Jane's Addiction – "Stop" (1995)
6. The Breeders – "Cannonball" (1996)
7. Blur – "Girls & Boys" (1994)
8. Sloan – "Underwhelmed" (1992)
9. Better Than Ezra – "Good" (1995)
10. Live – "All Over You" (1994)
11. Collective Soul – "Gel" (1994)
12. Everclear – "Everything To Everyone" (1999)
13. Filter – "Hey Man, Nice Shot" (1995)
14. Prodigy – "Firestarter" (1996)
15. White Zombie – "More Human than Human" (1996)
16. The Chemical Brothers – "Block Rockin' Beats" (1997)
17. Bush – "Glycerine" (1995)

Disc 2:

1. Marilyn Manson – "The Dope Show" (1998)
2. Hole – "Celebrity Skin" (1995)
3. Smash Mouth – "Walkin' on the Sun" (1997)
4. Third Eye Blind – "Jumper" (1998)
5. Barenaked Ladies – "The Old Apartment" (1997)
6. I Mother Earth – "So Gently We Go" (Edit) (1995)
7. Jesus Jones – "Right Here, Right Now" (1990/1991)
8. Odds – "Eat My Brain" (1997)
9. R.E.M. – "Drive" (1993)
10. Garbage – "When I Grow Up" (1997)
11. Primitive Radio Gods – "Standing Outside a Broken Phone Booth with Money in My Hand" (1996)
12. The Cardigans – "Lovefool" (1996)
13. Depeche Mode – "Policy of Truth" (1990)
14. The Cranberries – "Salvation" (1996)
15. Econoline Crush – "Sparkle And Shine" (1997)
16. Moist – "Silver" (1994)
17. The Cure – "Pictures of You" (1990)

Big Shiny '80s

Disc 1:

1. The Buggles – "Video Killed the Radio Star" (1979)
2. Gary Numan – "Cars" (1979/1980)
3. Blondie – "Call Me" (1980)
4. Duran Duran – "Hungry Like the Wolf" (1984)
5. A Flock of Seagulls – "I Ran (So Far Away)" (1981)
6. The Fixx – "One Thing Leads to Another" (1985)
7. Talk Talk – "It's My Life" (1983)
8. INXS – "Original Sin" (1989)
9. David Bowie – "Modern Love" (1983)
10. Peter Gabriel – "Shock the Monkey" (1983)
11. The Cars – "You Might Think" (1981)
12. Michael Sembello - "Maniac" (1983)
13. Devo – "Whip It" (1981)
14. Martha and the Muffins – "Echo Beach" (1982)
15. Squeeze – "Another Nail In My Heart" (1983)
16. Nena – "99 Luftballons" (1982)

Disc 2:

1. The Clash – "Train in Vain" (1980)
2. The Boomtown Rats – "I Don't Like Mondays" (1979)
3. Billy Idol – "White Wedding" (1982/1984)
4. The Pretenders – "Back on the Chain Gang" (1983)
5. Fine Young Cannibals – "Suspicious Minds" (1986)
6. The Ramones – "Rock 'N' Roll High School" (1980)
7. The B-52's – "Love Shack" (1989)
8. Rough Trade – "High School Confidential" (1986)
9. The Psychedelic Furs – "Love My Way" (1984)
10. Split Enz – "I Got You" (1985)
11. The Dream Academy – "Life in a Northern Town" (1986)
12. Chalk Circle – "April Fool" (1984)
13. Tears for Fears – "Pale Shelter" (1984)
14. The Cure – "In Between Days" (1987)
15. Naked Eyes – "Always Something There to Remind Me" (1983)