A remix album is an album

Album

An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...

 consisting mostly of remix

Remix

A remix is an alternative version of a recorded song, made from an original version. This term is also used for any alterations of media other than song ....

es or re-recorded versions of a music artists' earlier released material.

One of the earliest remix albums was 1971's Aerial Pandemonium Ballet

Aerial Pandemonium Ballet

Aerial Pandemonium Ballet is a 1971 album by Harry Nilsson, and one of the first-ever remix albums, years before they became commonplace.With the successes of Everybody's Talkin and The Point! creating demand for Nilsson recordings, a reissue of his first two RCA Victor albums , then out of print,...

by Harry Nilsson

Harry Nilsson

Harry Edward Nilsson III was an American singer-songwriter who achieved the peak of his commercial success in the early 1970s. On all but his earliest recordings he is credited as Nilsson...

, which was released by Nilsson after the successes of Everybody's Talkin and The Point!

The Point!

- Musical play :In 1975, Esquire Jauchem, Artistic Director of the Boston Repertory Theater, approached Harry Nilsson about creating a stage musical of "The Point!" Although Nilsson said he had been asked many times and had always turned down the request, this time he granted his permission...

 after he decided that his older material had started to sound dated. The best-selling remix album of all time is Blood on the Dance Floor: HIStory in the Mix by Michael Jackson

Michael Jackson

Michael Joseph Jackson was an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. Referred to as the King of Pop, or by his initials MJ, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records...

 released by Epic

Epic Records

Epic Records is an American record label, owned by Sony Music Entertainment. Though it was originally conceived as a jazz imprint, it has since expanded to represent various genres. L.A...

 in 1997.

Sly & The Family Stone

Sly & the Family Stone

Sly and the Family Stone were an American rock, funk, and soul band from San Francisco, California. Active from 1966 to 1983, the band was pivotal in the development of soul, funk, and psychedelic music...

's 1979 release 10 Years Too Soon featured disco remixes of the 1960s Family Stone hits. Then, in 1982

1982 in music

This is a list of notable events in music from 1982. 1982 was a big year in music with Madonna making her debut as well as the year that Michael Jackson released Thriller which became the world's best selling album and it still holds that title today....

, Soft Cell

Soft Cell

Soft Cell are an English synthpop duo who came to prominence in the early 1980s. They consist of vocalist Marc Almond and instrumentalist David Ball. The duo is most widely known for their 1981 worldwide hit version of "Tainted Love" and platinum debut Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret...

's Non-stop Ecstatic Dancing

Non-stop Ecstatic Dancing

Non Stop Ecstatic Dancing is an EP by English synthpop duo Soft Cell, released in the United Kingdom on 21 June 1982 by Some Bizzare Records...

, which contained the track "A Man Could Get Lost," notable as one of the precursors to house music

House music

House music is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in Chicago, Illinois, United States in the early 1980s. It was initially popularized in mid-1980s discothèques catering to the African-American, Latino American, and gay communities; first in Chicago circa 1984, then in other...

, was released. A month after the Soft Cell album, The Human League

The Human League

The Human League are an English electronic New Wave band formed in Sheffield in 1977. They achieved popularity after a key change in line-up in the early 1980s and have continued recording and performing with moderate commercial success throughout the 1980s up to the present day.The only constant...

's Love and Dancing

Love and Dancing

Love and Dancing is a remix album released by the British synthpop band The Human League in 1982. It was released under the name "The League Unlimited Orchestra" as a nod to Barry White's disco-era Love Unlimited Orchestra...

was released, and just under a year later Imagination

Imagination (band)

Imagination were a three piece British soul and funk band, who came to prominence in the early 1980s. They had chart hits in 28 countries, earning four platinum discs, nine gold discs and more than a dozen silver discs around the world between 1981 and 1983....

's Nightdubbing was released.

The format was later popularized by the Pet Shop Boys

Pet Shop Boys

Pet Shop Boys are an English electronic dance music duo, consisting of Neil Tennant, who provides main vocals, keyboards and occasional guitar, and Chris Lowe on keyboards....

' 1986

1986 in music

This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1986.-January-June:*January 23 – The first induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame takes place...

 release Disco

Disco (album)

Disco is the second album by the UK electronic music group Pet Shop Boys. It was released by Parlophone on .Disco was not an original studio album, but rather a collection of remixes of tracks from their first album, Please, and its respective B-sides...

, and then the bandwagon was jumped on further by popular artists such as Madonna

Madonna (entertainer)

Madonna is an American singer-songwriter, actress and entrepreneur. Born in Bay City, Michigan, she moved to New York City in 1977 to pursue a career in modern dance. After performing in the music groups Breakfast Club and Emmy, she released her debut album in 1983...

 with her 1987

1987 in music

This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1987.See also:Record labels established in 1987-January-February:*January 3 – Aretha Franklin becomes the first woman inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame...

 EP

Extended play

An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...

 You Can Dance

You Can Dance

You Can Dance is the first remix album by American singer-songwriter Madonna, released on November 18, 1987, by Sire Records. The album contains remixes of tracks from her first three studio albums—Madonna , Like a Virgin and True Blue — and a new track, "Spotlight"...

and in 1990

1990 in music

This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1990.-Events:*January 21 – MTV's Unplugged premieres on cable television with British band Squeeze...

 by Paula Abdul

Paula Abdul

Paula Julie Abdul is an American singer-songwriter, dancer, choreographer, actress and television personality.In the 1980s, Abdul rose from cheerleader for the Los Angeles Lakers to highly sought-after choreographer at the height of the music video era before scoring a string of pop music-R&B hits...

's Shut Up and Dance

Shut Up and Dance

For the hit 1994 single by Aerosmith, see "Shut Up and Dance ." For the British hip hop/house music group, see Shut Up and Dance ....

.

Although they had existed for years, remix albums still eluded mainstream acceptance. That would all change in recent years with releases from many popular artists who have taken advantage of the format of the remix album (including Jennifer Lopez

Jennifer Lopez

Jennifer Lynn Lopez is an American actress, singer, record producer, dancer, television personality, and fashion designer. Lopez began her career as a dancer on the television comedy program In Living Color. Subsequently venturing into acting, she gained recognition in the 1995 action-thriller...

, whose 2002

2002 in music

This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 2002.-Events:*February 3 – U2 perform during the halftime show for Super Bowl XXXVI...

 remix album J to tha L-O!: The Remixes

J to tha L-O!: The Remixes

J to tha L–O! The Remixes is the first remix album by American recording artist Jennifer Lopez, released in the United States on February 5, 2002 by Epic Records. It was the first remix album to debut at the top of the U.S...

was the first remix album to ever debut at number one on the Billboard 200

Billboard 200

The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...

 albums chart). British band Bloc Party

Bloc Party

Bloc Party are a British Indie rock band, composed of Kele Okereke , Russell Lissack , Gordon Moakes , and Matt Tong...

 have released remix albums for two of their three studio albums to date (Silent Alarm

Silent Alarm (album)

Silent Alarm is the debut studio album by British indie rock band Bloc Party. Recorded in Copenhagen and London in mid-2004 with producer Paul Epworth, it was released in February 2005 on Wichita Recordings. The record peaked at number three on the United Kingdom Albums Chart...

and Intimacy

Intimacy (Bloc Party album)

Intimacy is the third studio album by British indie rock band Bloc Party. It was recorded in two weeks at several locations in London and Kent during 2008 and was produced by Paul Epworth and Jacknife Lee. Inspired by the release options available in the Internet age, the band members made the...

) which have the same track listing as the studio album, but the remix instead of the original (e.g. on "Intimacy Remixed

Intimacy Remixed

Intimacy Remixed is the remix album to Intimacy, the third album by indie rock band Bloc Party. It was released on 11 May 2009 in the United Kingdom through Wichita Recordings, the band's primary label, in limited edition CD and triple LP formats to coincide with Bloc Party's worldwide touring...

", track 6 on the original is 'Signs' whist on the remix album track 6 is 'Signs (Armand Van Helden Remix)

Signs (Bloc Party song)

"Signs" is the first single from Intimacy Remixed, the remix album to Bloc Party's third album Intimacy. The song's remix by Armand Van Helden was released on 27 April 2009 in the United Kingdom only on digital download and 12" vinyl...

', etc.)

In the world of reggae

Reggae

Reggae is a music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s. While sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to most types of Jamaican music, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that originated following on the development of ska and rocksteady.Reggae is based...

 music, it is not uncommon for a whole album to be remixed in a dub

Dub music

Dub is a genre of music which grew out of reggae music in the 1960s, and is commonly considered a subgenre, though it has developed to extend beyond the scope of reggae...

 style. Examples include UB40

UB40

UB40 are a British reggae/pop band formed in 1978 in Birmingham. The band has placed more than 50 singles in the UK Singles Chart, and has also achieved considerable international success. One of the world's best-selling music artists, UB40 have sold over 70 million records.Their hit singles...

's Present Arms in Dub (remixed by the band), Massive Attack

Massive Attack

Massive Attack are an English DJ and trip hop duo from Bristol, England consisting of Robert "3D" Del Naja and Grant "Daddy G" Marshall. Working with co-producers, as well as various session musicians and guest vocalists, they make records and tour live. The duo are considered to be of the trip...

's No Protection (remixed by the Mad Professor

Mad Professor

Mad Professor is a dub music producer and engineer known for his original productions and remix work. He is considered one of the leading producers of dub music’s second generation and was instrumental in transitioning dub into the digital age. He is a prolific producer, contributing to or...

), and Gorillaz

Gorillaz

Gorillaz is an English musical project created in 1998 by Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett. This project consists of Gorillaz music itself and an extensive fictional universe depicting a "virtual band" of cartoon characters...

's Laika Come Home (remixed by the Space Monkeyz).

In the modern day music business, it is not uncommon for a remix album to be released in lieu of a re-release when an album's performance does not meet expectations. Rihanna's Rated R

Rated R (Rihanna album)

Rated R is the fourth studio album by Barbadian recording artist Rihanna, first released November 20, 2009, on Def Jam Recordings. The album is a musical distance from her previous effort Good Girl Gone Bad , which contained up-tempo and ballad-oriented songs, and it heavily incorporated pop and...

 and Snoop Dogg's Malice N Wonderland will all see a remix album release following lackluster sales.