[2] The idea to make a compilation with contemporary hits came from the president of Virgin Records, Anders Hjelmtorp, inspired by the successful Now!
During the first years after 1986, the Absolute series was a pure collaboration between record companies Virgin, EMI and Elektra.
In January 1990 EVA Records was started with Virgin, EMI and BMG as part-owners.
Since the start, new Absolute-albums have been released a few times each year.
As of 2020, the latest album in the series is Absolute Music 89 which was a double album featuring artists like Carola, Zara Larsson and Shawn Mendes.