EPIC: If Michael Jackson’s low point of...

EPIC: If Michael Jackson’s low point of the year was a Grammy shut-out in February, then his high point came in July when “Bad” became the first album to generate five No. 1 singles. Having sold 4 million last year, “Bad” added another 2 million to that tally--a respectable showing (though Epic’s Miami Sound Machine, with a far lower pop profile, sold virtually as many albums this year). R&B; vet Luther Vandross finally landed his first Top 10 pop album, while Sade glided to her third Top 10 album in a row. But the label’s biggest surprise was a startling comeback by Cheap Trick, which earned its first platinum album in nearly a decade.