Talk:List of best-selling albums/Archive 3

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RIAA 2004 Worldwide Sales list

This is the "OFFICIAL" worlwide album sales list, make by the RIAA in 2004:

According to the Recording Industry Association of America, Michael Jackson's Thriller - with worldwide sales exceeding 54 million copies - is the biggest selling album ever.

Even more incredible, is the the fact that four other King of Pop albums have made it to the 100 worldwide best seller list. They are: Bad and Dangerous at No. 21 and 23, both with 27 million copies sold; HIStory at No. 70 with 17 million double albums sold and Off The Wall at No. 77 with 16 million copies sold.

(rank, estimated world sales in millions, RIAA Certified Platinum level, Soundscan sales 1991-now (if known), TITLE, Artist (year).


001 54 26 00.0 THRILLER Michael Jackson (1983)

002 42 19 00.0 BACK IN BLACK AC/DC (1980)

003 41 27 00.0 GREATEST HITS 1971-75 The Eagles (1976)

004 40 15 00.0 SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER Soundtrack (1978)

005 37 17 11.7 THE BODYGUARD Soundtrack (1992)

006 37 14 00.0 BAT OUT OF HELL Meat Loaf (1978)

007 35 15 06.3 THE DARK SIDE OF THE MOON Pink Floyd (1973)

008 35 19 14.5 COME ON OVER Shania Twain (1997)

009 32 11 02.8 SGT.PEPPER'S LONELY HEARTS CLUB BAND The Beatles (1967)

010 32 11 00.0 DIRTY DANCING Soundtrack (1987)

011 30 22 00.0 LED ZEPPELIN IV Led Zeppelin (1971)

012 30 19 00.0 RUMOURS Fleetwood Mac (1977)

013 30 13 12.0 MILLENNIUM Backstreet Boys (1999)

014 30 10 09.2 LET'S TALK ABOUT LOVE Celine Dion (1997)

015 29 12 02.6 ABBEY ROAD The Beatles (1969)

016 29 11 10.5 FALLING INTO YOU Celine Dion (1996)

017 29 11 10.0 TITANIC Soundtrack (1998)

018 28 16 14.1 JAGGED LITTLE PILL Alanis Morissette (1995)

019 27 10 07.1 MUSIC BOX Mariah Carey (1993)

020 27 08 08.9 1 The Beatles (2000)

021 27 08 06.2 BAD Michael Jackson (1987)

022 27 08 04.6 GREASE Soundtrack (1978)

023 27 07 05.8 DANGEROUS Michael Jackson (1991)

024 26 16 00.0 HOTEL CALIFORNIA The Eagles (1976)

025 25 15 02.1 APPETITE FOR DESTRUCTION Guns & Roses (1988)

026 25 14 11.2 SUPERNATURAL Santana (1999)

027 25 14 10.0 BACKSTREET BOYS Backstreet Boys (1998)

028 25 09 00.0 BROTHERS IN ARMS Dire Straits (1985)

029 25 08 00.0 BRIDGE OVER TROUBLED WATER Simon & Garfunkel (1970)

030 24 15 00.0 BORN IN THE USA Bruce Springsteen (1984)

031 24 13 10.4 ... BABY ONE MORE TIME Britney Spears (1999)

032 24 12 00.0 SLIPPERY WHEN WET Bon Jovi (1986)

033 23 12 00.0 WHITNEY HOUSTON Whitney Houston (1985)

034 23 10 04.8 THE IMMACULATE COLLECTION Madonna (1990)

035 23 07 07.3 SPICE Spice Girls (1996)

036 23 06 05.0 GOLD - GREATEST HITS Abba (1992)

037 22 13 13.3 METALLICA Metallica (1991)

038 22 12 00.0 TAPESTRY Carole King (1971)

039 22 10 07.5 DAYDREAM Mariah Carey (1995)

040 22 10 00.0 CAN'T SLOW DOWN Lionel Richie (1983)

041 22 07 00.0 TRUE BLUE Madonna (1986)

042 21 13 00.0 GREATEST HITS Simon & Garfunkel (1972)

043 21 09 04.9 THE SIGN/HAPPY NATION Ace Of Base (1994)

044 21 08 00.0 SOUND OF MUSIC Soundtrack (1965)

045 20 11 00.0 THE WALL Pink Floyd (1979)

046 20 10 00.0 PLEASE HAMMER DON'T HURT 'EM MC Hammer (1990)

047 20 10 00.0 LIKE A VIRGIN Madonna (1984)

048 20 08 01.8 1967-1970 The Beatles (1973)

049 20 07 06.9 RICKY MARTIN Ricky Martin (1999)

050 20 00 00.0 SPIRITS HAVING FLOWN The Bee Gees (1979)

051 20 16 00.0 GREATEST HITS Elton John (1974) *

052 19 09 08.9 OOPS! ...I DID IT AGAIN Britney Spears (2000)

053 19 09 00.0 WHITNEY Whitney Houston (1987)

054 19 07 01.6 1962-1966 The Beatles (1973)

055 18 16 00.0 BOSTON Boston (1976)

056 18 13 00.0 PURPLE RAIN Prince (1984)

057 18 12 07.5 THE WOMAN IN ME Shania Twain (1995)

058 18 10 02.2 THE BEATLES (WHITE ALBUM) The Beatles (1968)

059 18 10 01.0 THE JOSHUA TREE U2 (1987)

060 18 06 06.1 ALL THE WAY...A DECADE OF SONG Celine Dion (1999)

061 18 06 05.4 THE SCORE Fugees (1996)

062 18 04 03.5 (WHAT'S THE STORY) MORNING GLORY Oasis (1995)

063 18 04 00.0 BREAKFAST IN AMERICA Supertramp (1979)

064 17 16 10.0 CRACKED REAR VIEW Hootie & The Blowfish (1995)

065 17 12 01.9 HYSTERIA Def Leppard (1987)

066 17 09 04.8 MARIAH CAREY Mariah Carey (1990)

067 17 08 08.9 THE MARSHALL MATHERS LP Eminem (2000)

068 17 06 00.0 COMES ALIVE Peter Frampton (1976)

069 17 04 04.3 SPICE WORLD Spice Girls (1997)

070 17 04 02.5 HISTORY Michael Jackson (1995)

071 17 02 03.4 ROMANZA Andrea Bocelli (1997)

072 16 16 08.8 NO FENCES Garth Brooks (1991)

073 16 11 11.0 NO STRINGS ATTACHED 'N Sync (2000)

074 16 10 07.3 UNPLUGGED Eric Clapton (1992)

075 16 10 00.0 FAITH George Michael (1987)

076 16 07 05.2 USE YOUR ILLUSION I Guns & Roses (1991)

077 16 07 00.0 OFF THE WALL Michael Jackson (1979)

078 16 06 06.7 JANET. Janet Jackson (1993)

079 16 05 03.6 BUTTERFLY Mariah Carey (1997)

080 16 00 00.0 TUBULAR BELLS Mike Oldfield (1973)

081 16 00 00.0 MERRY CHRISTMAS Mariah Carey (1994)

082 15 08 08.4 THE EMINEM SHOW Eminem (2002) *

083 15 01 03.5 GREATEST HITS Queen (1981)

084 15 12 07.7 YOURSELF OR SOMEONE LIKE YOU Matchbox 20 (1997)

085 15 12 00.0 NO JACKET REQUIRED Phil Collins (1985)

086 15 12 00.0 II Led Zeppelin (1969)

087 15 12 00.0 GREATEST HITS Kenny Rogers (1980)

088 15 10 07.2 LEGEND Bob Marley & The Wailers (1984)

089 15 10 00.0 GREATEST HITS VOL.2 The Eagles (1982)

090 15 10 00.0 GREATEST HITS VOL.1& 2 Billy Joel (1985)

091 15 08 07.8 TRAGIC KINGDOM No Doubt (1996)

092 15 08 07.5 THE LION KING Soundtrack (1994)

093 15 08 05.0 ACHTUNG BABY U2 (1991)

094 15 08 00.0 PHYSICAL GRAFITTI Led Zeppelin (1975)

095 15 07 06.1 THE MISEDUCATION OF LAURYN HILL Lauryn Hill (1998)

096 15 07 05.3 USE YOUR ILLUSION II Guns & Roses (1991)

097 15 07 00.0 TO THE EXTREME Vanilla Ice (1990)

098 15 06 04.2 THE COLOUR OF MY LOVE Celine Dion (1994)

099 15 05 03.9 BAT OUT OF HELL II - BACK INTO HELL Meat Loaf (1993)

100 15 04 03.7 RAY OF LIGHT Madonna (1998)

Madonna True Blue: 24 Million WorldWide and Where's like a Virgin

According to "Warner Music Italy" the "Official" sales of True Blue are 24,000,000 copies worldwide.

Here are two sources;

- Image1: Advertisement of the True blue album in the Corriere della Sera newspaper, with the official Warner Brothers 50 anniversary logo (2008).

http://www.madonnatribe.com/i_11/dalleoriginialmito_001.jpg

- Image2: Second advertisement of the True blue album in the Corriere della Sera newspaper, with the official Warner Brothers 50 anniversary logo (2008).

http://www.madonnatribe.com/i_11/dalleoriginialmito_502.jpg

And where is like a virgin in this list??? "Like a Virgin" sold 22.5 millions worldwide.

These are not authoritative reliable sources, they are trying to sell a product. — Realist2 22:20, 9 September 2008 (UTC)
Do you have another most authoritative reliable source than Warner (Madonna company)?. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 81.172.69.13 (talk) 23:56, 9 September 2008 (UTC)
We are actively removing claims by unreliable sources such as record companies. — Realist2 00:01, 10 September 2008 (UTC)
I see... Checkout the Immaculate and True blue sources in the main page. The Immaculate source is a link to a ghv2 product page and the true blue source is a link to Bloomsbury. Are these links most reliable than warner?????????. And 108 million copies of thriller is a reliable information??????? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 81.172.69.13 (talk) 00:15, 10 September 2008 (UTC)
Yes, they are third party sources (the ghv2 source could be a little better). Please remember, wikipedia isn't about fairness or even about the truth. Put simply, Wikipedia is about what can be backed up by sources that have a history of telling the truth and doing their research. — Realist2 00:20, 10 September 2008 (UTC)
¿? There aren't sales in those links... The list is partial. In my opinion 108 million copies of thriller is a false information (the sources aren't authoritative) and 24 million of True Blue is a realistic data....

Great, but your opinion doesn't mean very much on wikipedia and the sources for Thriller are good. — Realist2 00:45, 10 September 2008 (UTC)

yep, i see... only a few opinions mean something on wikipedia. More than real sources. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 81.172.69.13 (talk) 00:53, 10 September 2008 (UTC)

The Marshall Mathers Lp?

According to a lot of sources, the Eminem album The Marshall Mathers LP have sold more than 20 millions copies worldwide. Unfortunatly, this album is missing on the best-selling albums worldwide.

Pink Floyd poor source

Pink Floyd - The Wall - 1979 - Rock - 22 - [1]

  • I removed this claim from article its too poor quality. As it should be easy to get something i brought it here. Cheers. --— Realist2 (Come Speak To Me) 15:45, 5 June 2008 (UTC)
Well, it sold 23 million in the US alone[2], so the total figure should be even higher. Fram (talk) 19:16, 5 June 2008 (UTC)
The Norwich Evening News states it as unknown but about 35 million copies.[3] Fram (talk) 19:18, 5 June 2008 (UTC)
We had an edit conflict, I was going to say, somewhere around 30-33. That source doesnt seem sure of itself, it'll be picked to pieces at FL. — Realist2 (Come Speak To Me) 19:25, 5 June 2008 (UTC)
We do have to decide how to count double (and triple) albums. The 23 million sold in the US means that there have been 11,5 million copies of the Wall sold in the US, each consisting of two discs. Which do we count? 06:43, 6 June 2008 (UTC)
We dont count double albums (as there isnt a worldwide policy on it) so it would be 11.5 which means it wouldnt even reach 20 million worldwide. How long in minutes is the album with both CD's included? Pref with a source. Cheers. — Realist2 (Come Speak To Me) 06:49, 6 June 2008 (UTC)
I don't think that is correct is it? The RIAA certifies by title, meaning, I believe, that 23 million copies of the title "The Wall" have been sold in the USA. The fact that it is a double-album does not matter for the purposes of certification. If anyone has a link to a source which indicates differently, I'd be interested to see it. Cheers, TheBigRiver (just realised I'm not logged in....)
Yes thats correct Michael Jackson's HIStory album sold 3.5 million copies in america but was certified as 7x platinum. We go by worldwide sales not US certifications. — Realist2 (Come Speak To Me) 19:27, 3 July 2008 (UTC)

The wall has sold over 23 million copies in the US, so why isn't it on the list, sold 125 million copies in Brazil, in germany it has been certified 7x gold and 4x platinum that's over 6 million copies. So we isn't the wall listed it has sold over 30 million copies in only three countries. If found this out from the different certification sites. see [4]. --Black On High (talk) 18:46, 18 June 2008 (UTC)

It hasnt sold 23 million copies in the US. Its been certified for 23 million, however its a double disk album so sales are only 11.5 million. You need a single, reliable source that says the album has sold at least 20 million copies worldwide. Hope that helps. — Realist2 (Come Speak To Me) 18:55, 18 June 2008 (UTC)

How many copies has it sold? Shouldn't it be on this list? Dr Rgne (talk) 09:36, 30 June 2008 (UTC)

How's this for a "poor source" : according to the Wikipedia Dark Side Of The Moon page, that album has sold (at least) 36 million. And I don't see it here either. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 74.138.236.178 (talk) 03:10, 13 November 2008 (UTC)

Barbra S albm

Barbra Streisand - Guilty - 1980 - Pop / Rock - 20

Removed claim, it wasnt a third party source. Adding here. --— Realist2 (Come Speak To Me) 20:43, 6 June 2008 (UTC)

MJ at 48 million? 68 million? 108 million? No way, BBC reports Thriller at ... 650 million!

It's a reliable source, so it can be included.[5] it could of course be a type for the much more probable 65 million... Fram (talk) 10:56, 10 June 2008 (UTC)

My guess is it was a typo, they either ment 65 or 50. There is another BBC source in the lead that claims 65 so my guess is with that. Alternatively they accidently gave a figure close to how many records he's sold in his lifetime. Thats a whoping big mistake though. lol — Realist2 (Come Speak To Me) 11:40, 10 June 2008 (UTC)

Considering that it's being debated whether Michael Jackson's total record sales actually crossed 500 million, 650 million would be a horrible mistake, and probably points to the lack of credibility of the proofreaders of a professional news organization. Realist do you think you could give the boundaries nice round numbers? If you have taken a look at boundary markers before in statistics, you will notice they do not sharply cut off, but leaves a gap for +/- errors. Not only are the 7's, 3's and other non 0-5 enders unsightly, it's just not done. JFonseka —Preceding comment was added at 12:15, 12 June 2008 (UTC)

Actually credable sources say hes sold 750 million "units", whatever that means lol. I think thats a combination of singles, albums DVDS in his solo and group career. I did consider giving nice boundaries however it actually completely messes up the articles appearance, as a later discovered. We built a 35-39 group but if you look at the albums you will actually see that hardly any are in that region. — Realist2 (Come Speak To Me) 18:05, 12 June 2008 (UTC)

Fair enough, I just was mainly referring to the oddment of 650 million for Thriller lol. JFonseka —Preceding comment was added at 03:13, 13 June 2008 (UTC)

I will definately consider different boundries in the further if more album details come in, it was something I wanted to do myself anyway. However it seems unlikely that there will be many more additions to the article, we seem to have most the major ones here now. — Realist2 (Come Speak To Me) 03:32, 13 June 2008 (UTC)

The CBS reference claiming 104 million sales cites the Guiness Book of Records, which our Guiness reference claims lists 65 million. If someone with a copy of the GBR could check, we could get rid of either reference and possibly resolve the contradiction altogether. 80.244.74.178 (talk) 19:21, 13 July 2008 (UTC)

It doesn't really matter, I could quite easily find 20 reliable sources that say 100+. — Realist2 (Speak) 19:27, 13 July 2008 (UTC)

Anyone that "outranks" the GBR? Anyone more than a random news article or press release? Any source with credible offline sources, if nothing else? 80.244.74.178 (talk) 21:03, 16 July 2008 (UTC)

Ack. I was developing a feeling that you were slightly "biased" in the MJ question, so I checked your userpage and noticed two Jackson siblings among your top-5 artists. I was JUST getting ready to deride you...when I realised you're supporting one of my favourite -ism's. Democratic Socialism is a wonderful concept - socialistic equality through peaceful democratic means. However, the SDs here in Sweden have gone rotten and are, since the early 80s, no longer going for the gold. Okay, you rock, and I really don't care about this article that much. Congratulations, you won an argument on the internet! 80.244.74.178 (talk) 21:13, 16 July 2008 (UTC)

At least I'm good enough to openly display my biases and interests. Isn't it better that I'm open and frank about my opinions rather than hiding them. I think everyone should have a list of what they like and dislike on their user page, so we all know where we stand. I'm fully aware that displaying my biases diminishes the power of my argument somewhat. Actually I am rather neutral. I'm a huge fan of Madonna too, yet I had that article reassessed because I know longer believed it was worthy of being a WP:GA article. Also if you read the Michael Jackson article (which I rewrote myself), there is plenty of criticism of the "gloved one" there. — Realist2 (Speak) 21:34, 16 July 2008 (UTC)


This might be enough proof: http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r276/zomglolol/1.jpg (Credits to Steady-Laughing.com) It was awarded to Michael Jackson in 2006. It shows that he has at LEAST reached 104 million, though with the continuing sales of Thriller and the sales of Thriller 25 being added onto Thriller (from what I've heard, anyways) it should be well over that mark by now. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XqitNjghwKs http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pdAdyVTYo8o Some videos showing he did indeed receive an award for the biggest selling album of all time, though it doesn't say the numbers in the videos. :( —Preceding unsigned comment added by 66.176.118.107 (talk) 20:46, 30 July 2008 (UTC)

According to the Guinness Book of World Records - 2009 edition (ISBN: 1904994369), they have revised their total to 55 million. They have also specifically mentioned that the original source for the 100+ claim comes from the Business Management team for Michael Jackson. This therefore could be considered as a biased source with conflicting interests (publicity stunt). All the other sources are secondary reports to the original claim. As this article is based on "claims" - the existing reference is still valid, but the above is noted for discussion purposed only Eight88 (talk) 19:37, 18 October 2008 (UTC)

MJ's record sales

Now, if we have an OFFICIAL source such as the Guinness world book who is an authority for statistics reporting Jackson's Thriller sales at 65 million, why are we linking to articles across the internet that cite differently? It's probable that some sources copy each other. Where as Guinness is likely to have investigated the record sales as they don't actually certify or award without substantial evidence, in this case it would be in affiliation with the relevant record companies to Jackson across the globe as well as the RIAA. JFonseka

I agree! I've always found the number of 104 million albums way over the top, as Thriller is "only" 27x Platinum in the US and it was hard to believe that it would have sold another 77 million copies in other countries. 65 million seems a lot more probable, so we should put that number up. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 91.177.237.11 (talk) 23:26, 13 June 2008 (UTC)

Actually, since Thriller 25 has already sold 560,000 in the US, and sales of the two albums are combined (it was only allowed on the catalog chart), shipments of Thriller has exceeded 28x Platinum now. It was certified 27x in 2005. It sold about 400,000 copies from 2005-2007 plus 560,000 in 2008. Im not sure if it will ever get to 30x Plat though, his reissues tend to have better back catalog sales these days. — Realist2 (Come Speak To Me) 23:31, 13 June 2008 (UTC)
Furthermore if your going to start comparing his US sales against world sales as an argument that 104 is impossible. Let me remind you.
As you can see Mr Jackson has never needed the US to shift records and im not sure its any different in the case of Thriller. Consistantly, the US has only accounted for 25% of his sales. So looking at his history the 100+ figure fits perfectly well with his hisoric level of international appeal. Thats what makes him so much more interesting than Elvis who had 65-70% of his sales in America but couldn't give records away in asia lol. — Realist2 (Come Speak To Me) 23:47, 13 June 2008 (UTC)

Actually comparing Elvis to Jackson is not a very good idea considering Elvis' career started during the 1950's where less documentation exists from other countries as to his record sales. Furthermore Elvis' record sales do not come about as the result of studio albums released a few years apart with 9 or 10 songs per album, but rather several singles released every year, which makes his album catalog over 200 and difficult to track considering his career started in 1953. This is not a dispute of who sells more or who is more interesting, as it's undeniable that only Elvis and The Beatles upto date have exceeded 1 billion sales, indicated by the plaque that the Elvis Foundation received by the RIAA in 1992, but rather the use of unofficial sources over official sources. If official sources can't be found, then unofficial sources would have to suffice, but why is listed on the page itself that the Guinness certifies him at over 65 million, but despite this unofficial sources are taken into account? This is not only biased, but unprofessional and seems to be citing based on popularity or the volume of sources. The entire page has to be re-edited taking a look at some of the sources. Jackson's Thriller album sales may indeed be higher worldwide, but that's not what I was talking about. The Guiness Book of World Records has not listed him at 100 million records is the point. Now that is an official source compared to other websites cited here. I've had no issue upto date about Jackson's Thriller record sales until I read the citation that The Guiness Book lists him as 65 million, official sources are there for a reason. JFonseka

Im not slagging of elvis in the least (the two were famiy afterall) but im just putting to rest this myth that the l00+ figure is impossible (in relation to US sales, as thats what the argument against was based on). He's been having that sort of US/Worlds split for his entire solo career. Guiness really isnt official, they make mistakes all the time (they've made mistakes regarding Jackson infact). Enough reliable sources on the web say 100+ they stand with a lot of credability. Please remember that the figure was only made resently so published books that show it are still hard/impossible to come by. I imagine any future books written on Jackson will start using it. I really wouldnt put Guiness up as a beaken of truth though, like I said they made mistakes about Jackson in the past. — Realist2 (Come Speak To Me) 05:39, 14 June 2008 (UTC)
And what kind of mistakes are these? And which editions of the Guiness Book are these found in? Who ranks the credibility of these websites? Most of them seemed to be articles, what's to have stopped some of them from using information from other articles or perhaps say used the number cited from wikipedia itself? Anyways leaving that side, let me know which editions from the Guinness Book they have made errors in and what they were. I can understand the editors of the Guinness Book can make a mistake, but it's difficult to say they could have made a mistake in reading a statistic that says 100,000,000 and writing it down as 65,000,000 instead.

JFonseka —Preceding comment was added at 06:21, 14 June 2008 (UTC)

Well I have done a bit more searching and added an 8th source into the main article that seems to list the history of Thriller pretty well and states the album has been certified at about 104 million or so in 2007. So perhaps Guinness has made a mistake, the tracking of the history of Thriller seems to be legitimate. JFonseka

Sure, I cant remember the edition, I was reading it in my school libruary a few years ago. In one edition they said that Thriller was the longest music video ever made at 14 minutes long. However this is incorrect, Jackson had another music video in 1997 called Ghosts. Its 35 minutes long and IS the worlds longest music video. However Guiness relay to much on glits and glam. Thriller is worldfamous but "Ghosts" went very unnoticed in comparison. Guiness were too lazy to even check if Jackson had made a video longer than Thriller. Hopefully they've corrected it since but I dont read that kids book anymore lol. — Realist2 (Come Speak To Me) 06:37, 14 June 2008 (UTC)
Well, "Thriller" was a promotional video for a commercial single release. "Ghosts" was a 40 minutes long shot film with a couple of Jacko's songs. Something entirely different. Guiness have to draw the line somewhere. Otherwise, every Elvis Presley or Beatles film could be counted as a music video. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 84.184.189.194 (talk) 21:54, 4 July 2008 (UTC)

Well I dont know why the Album Bad is only 29 million, its really 32; here is proof http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bad_(album), so someone please make that correction. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Rafichamp (talk • contribs) 17:52, 18 August 2008 (UTC)

Again ive found a mistake, the album dangerous by michael jackson is only listed as 27million when it really is 30; here is proof; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dangerous_(album), so please make this correction, we need every single album to have its real sales. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Rafichamp (talk • contribs) 18:00, 18 August 2008 (UTC)

You cannot use other wikipedia articles as a source. Those articles haven't even provided a source for their claim. — Realist2 18:02, 18 August 2008 (UTC)

Past claims that were never sourced, we should reall look for sources for these

Source needed

Artist Album Released Genre Sales (millions) Source
The Beatles 1967–1970 1973 Rock 20 [citation needed]
Carpenters The Singles: 1969-1973 1974 Pop 20 [citation needed]
Elton John Greatest Hits 1974 Pop / Rock 24 [citation needed]
Julie Andrews The Sound of Music 1965 Pop 21 [citation needed]
Simon and Garfunkel Simon and Garfunkel's Greatest Hits 1972 Folk 21 [citation needed]
Simon and Garfunkel Bridge over Troubled Water 1970 Folk 25 [citation needed]
Mariah Carey Daydream 1995 Pop / R&B 25 [citation needed]
Whitney Houston Whitney Houston 1985 Pop / R&B 23 [citation needed]

Sourced figures but only US sales

Artist Album Released Genre Sales (millions) Source
Eagles Hotel California 1976 Rock 29 InfoPlease
Billy Joel Greatest Hits - Volume I & Volume II 1985 Pop / Rock 21 Denver Post
Garth Brooks Double Live 1990 Country 20 Denver Post

Comments

Looking into these, the Sound of Music was claimed in 1990 (LA Times, Chicago Sun-Times and Dallas Morning-News) to have sold only 10 million copies worldwide. By 2003, the Grand Forks Herald still only mentioned 11 million copies worldwide (the Cairns Post quoted the same figure in 2002). (Oh, and in 1966, it hald sold 5 million copies worldwide, according to the Gleaner).
Daydream sold 7.5 million in the US by 2006[6], but I can't find a worldwide figure from a reliable source.
No good sources found with a cursory search for the others. Fram (talk) 07:49, 13 June 2008 (UTC)
My opinion is they were added by fans and theres little chance any of them really reached these figures. — Realist2 (Come Speak To Me) 08:16, 13 June 2008 (UTC)
"Daydream" went Diamond for shipments of 10 million in the US but sold 7.545 million of that. This doesn't include the million and a half sold on Columbia House. The album sold 15 million copies in its first 5 months. Many press releases often claimed it to have sold 20-30 million worldwide. HMV lists it at 25. http://www.106.com.mk/najprodavanite_albumi.html Puckeylut (talk) 01:39, 19 June 2008 (UTC)
That is a mirror image of an older version of this article. I know, I wrote it! — Realist2 (Come Speak To Me) 01:45, 19 June 2008 (UTC)

Realist is probably right in this assertion, however according to this source [1] RCA claims that the North American sales reached 11 million despite the record not being certified at gold. This should probably be weighed in because, during the '50s, a record had to be over a certain retail price to count as a sale, apparently Elvis suffered a similar dilemma, in the 50's, the minimum price had to be $3.00[2]. I can only speculate as to why this is, it probably was to cut back on resales of records being listed as sales, and since most of Elvis' hits were being released as singles, there would be no need for most of it to be over priced, because people may not necessarily wish to buy several records released in the same year at the price of standard LP's, and hence to sell several records the price would be dropped. This points to the sales tactics of RCA, and this is probably true because RCA marketed both Elvis and Julie Andrews' Sound of Music. JFonseka —Preceding comment was added at 15:30, 13 June 2008 (UTC)

And stuff like superiorpics.com and artists' fan sites are usable? That strikes me as hypocrisy. This is also an absurdity...it is commonly accepted as fact that the album in the above links has surpassed 30 million copies sold, but because no tabloid like the Sunday Sport has printed an article as such, it can't be added. However a BBC blunder (650 million) would be usable? Look through the list of links/references on the article page, and tell me that they all are more reliable than the above-posted links. Dr Rgne (talk) 13:48, 20 June 2008 (UTC)

Queen’s last studio album release was “Made In Heaven” released in November 1995 containing the last recordings with Freddie. The album became the band’s biggest selling studio album, with world sales in excess of 20 million. http://www.emigroup.com/Press/2008/press37.htm

We don't use sources provided by record companies. — Realist2 (Come Speak To Me) 21:24, 7 July 2008 (UTC)

Thriller did not sold 108 million copies

Why are we saying that Thriller sold 108 million copies. Because one source claims that figure? Thriller sold almost three times more than Back In Black?! Yeah, there's a source that says 108, but the Guinness World Book of Records says 65. Christo jones (talk) 16:28, 6 September 2008 (UTC)

We list the highest claim, a policy we have been following for every other album on this list. Thriller won't be any different. — Realist2 16:35, 6 September 2008 (UTC)
Thriller is not an album like the other albums, it's the best selling album. Maybe we can follow another policy for this album, a realistic policy.

THRILLER , Michael Jackson (1982)

  • USA: 27,000,000 (2005)
  • UK: 3,760,000
  • Canada:2,800,000
  • France: 1,800,000
  • Japan: 1,620,000
  • Germany: 1,500,000
  • Brazil: 1,200,000
  • Italy: 1,190,000
  • Australia: 840,000 (2001)
  • Netherlands: 800,000 (1996)
  • Argentina: 577,000 (1999)
  • Mexico: 400,000 (1994)
  • Switzerland: 300,000 (1995)
  • Belgium: 300,000
  • New Zealand: 165,000
  • Finland: 90,000
  • Singapore/ 40,000
  • Other: 20,000,00??

Total worldwide sales: 64,382,000

These figures seems more realistic. Christo jones (talk) 17:07, 6 September 2008 (UTC)

Please don't commit unsourced, original research before my very eyes. I have a fragile state of mind as it is. — Realist2 17:10, 6 September 2008 (UTC)
My source is UKMIX.org, it's on the blacklist. But this part of the site UKMIX seems VERY realistic. And when we look to the certifications of the RIAA, BPI, IFPI, etc., than can we conclude that the figures mentioned on UKMIX are correct. Christo jones (talk) 17:14, 6 September 2008 (UTC)
Please stop, read WP:ORIGINAL RESEARCH. — Realist2 17:15, 6 September 2008 (UTC)
Well as far as i see, the claim that Thriller sold over 100 million copies is a rumour which you can figure out for your self when a source sais the album has sold 50 million copies worldwide and another sais 40 million copies. --Be Black Hole Sun (talk) 18:38, 16 September 2008 (UTC)
And what stops the 50 or 40 million claim being a rumor? — Realist2 18:48, 16 September 2008 (UTC)
Nothing really, just hard to believe a album sold over 100 million copies worldwide while artist with more albums sold havn't sold more then fourthy. Seriously i hate the beatles and ABBA but i'm pretty sure they have sold more albums why, cause they are two best-selling artists worldwide. Can you give you a source for this if you want to. --Be Black Hole Sun (talk) 13:22, 18 September 2008 (UTC)
I think you should put it in this context, Michael Jackson is one of the biggest selling artists in the world. Yet he hasn't actually released that much music as a so artist, he only releases 2 studio albums a decade. Really his commercial success has come from just 5 studio albums between 1979-1995. He releases little music but it sells a lot, basically. Also the 100 plus figure seems completely logical for Michael Jackson. With most of his studio albums you will find that US sales only make up 25%-33% of that albums commercial success. Since Thriller is certified for 27 million in the US and 100+ worlwide, that follows very accurately with his other albums such as Bad, Dangerous, HIStory and Invincible. Infact the idea that Thriller sold 27 million in the US but only 50 million worldwide, goes against the pattern of every other album he released. — Realist2 13:38, 18 September 2008 (UTC)

Actual useful commentary regarding article

As the table states "over 100 million" sold, then surely all ref's that stated this are valid? Just needs the entry for how many sold to be a range (100-108) rather than a single value? I know the list specifies highest value found, but better to quantify with more than a single source? Eight88 (talk) 00:00, 24 September 2008 (UTC)

You raise an interesting point. I think the "over 100 million" heading should be changed to "best selling album" then just have Thriller at 108? — Realist2 00:03, 24 September 2008 (UTC)
As you are a main editor of this article, you will know what is best. My point is simply that as it currently stands it invalidates references that assist with the accuracy of the article. Also it may have already been pointed out, but the statement that sources from record companies cannot be used - in itself invalidates most of the other artists references, as they are generally the primary source, and the sources quoted are secondary sources. It is impossible to not have this article without them (unless editors are of the opinion that some unknown journalist had unlimited access to all sales data worldwide. IFPI is probably the only valid source I suspect) Eight88 (talk) 01:03, 24 September 2008 (UTC)
What you reckon now? — Realist2 01:14, 24 September 2008 (UTC)
Yes, it looks like an improvement, and keeps the valuable all-important references. Keep up the excellent work btw. Eight88 (talk) 02:00, 24 September 2008 (UTC)

Most sales does not equal best

Since sales are based on the amount invested by marketing departments, number of buyers, album cost, the economy, and relative lack of current musical competition, what exactly does "best selling" mean? It means that music companies have convinced fans and customers that the more people spend, the better the music must be. Imagine Elvis or the Beatles competing on an even field with Michael Jackson. Guess who would "win" most album sales? 24.130.12.229 (talk) 00:10, 30 October 2008 (UTC)

At the least, "best selling" should explain the context of the figures. How big the market was, what the value of money was. Realist2, I have 10,000s of edits in Wikipedia. If you delete my comment again, I will take you to arbitration. 24.130.12.229 (talk) 00:10, 30 October 2008 (UTC)

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