Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness

The third studio album by the Smashing Pumpkins was released in October of 1995 as a double-disc. Despite the high price tag in the pre-digital era, the album was quickly certified diamond, an accomplishment made by very few rock bands in the 1990s.

Nobody in the music industry saw it coming; except for lead singer-songwriter Billy Corgan, who considered this success to be vindication. For some time, the album held the record for being the best-selling double album of all time. Upon its release, the album immediately topped the Billboard 200, remaining on the charts for 93 weeks.

The album brought in eight Grammy nominations and ranks as one of Rolling Stone’s “Greatest Albums of All Time.”

The famous face of the woman on the album cover comes from Jean-Baptiste Greuze’s The Souvenir, a painting from the 18th century.