Pearl Jam’s 1993 album Vs. set a first-week U.S. sales record.
Vs. was Pearl Jam’s second studio album and was released on October 19, 1993. It sold more than 950,000 copies in the United States during its first week, setting a record for first-week sales that stood for several years.
The album followed Ten, Pearl Jam’s hugely successful 1991 debut. Songs on Vs. include “Daughter,” “Animal,” “Go,” and “Elderly Woman Behind the Counter in a Small Town.” Its sound was generally more direct and raw than the band’s debut.
Pearl Jam chose to reduce promotion for Vs., including avoiding the production of conventional music videos for its songs. The album’s sales achievement therefore became especially notable: it reached a massive audience despite the band’s increasingly distant relationship with the music industry.