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Gnarls Barkley aren't alone: Here's a look at some other famously leaked albums.

The Beatles
Get Back (1969)
Before the Fab Four could Let It Be, they had to Get Back — the acetates, that is, of the original stripped-down tracks that later formed their final album.

Prince
The Black Album (1987)
Bootlegged copies of this long-shelved album floated around on the black market for years before its official release in 1994.

Jay-Z
Vol. 3… (1999)
In 2001, Jay-Z was sentenced to three years' probation for stabbing a record executive following rampant bootlegging of his fourth CD.

Britney Spears
Blacout (2007)
Leaks prompted her label to bump up the CD's release, and landed blogger Perez Hilton in court for illegally posting tracks early.


Posted Mar 27, 2008 | Published in issue #985 Apr 04, 2008 | Order Article Reprints