Columbia House = a huge record club (even bigger than BMG) in the 90's and early 2000's that sold albums cheaper than you'd find in record stores. For example, you could buy a bundle of 20 CD's for only a few pennies. Here were their top selling albums of the 1990's:
The 100 Best Selling Albums of the 1990's - Columbia Clubs best sellers
10 Million Club ( 0 )
9 Million Club (1)
Garth Brooks - Double Live
8 Million Club (1)
The Beatles - 1967–1970
7 Million Club (2)
Eagles - Their Greatest Hits 1971
Garth Brooks - No Fences
6 Million Club (1)
Journey - Greatest Hits
5 Million Club (3)
The Beatles - Abbey Road
Garth Brooks - Ropin' the Wind
Michael Jackson - Thriller
4 Million Club (2)
Kenny G - Breathless
Green Day - Dookie
3 Million Club (7)
Shania Twain - Come On Over
The Eagles - Hell Freezes Over
(Soundtrack) - The Lion King
Madonna - The Immaculate Collection
Jewel - Pieces of You
Prince - Purple Rain (soundtrack)
Kid Rock - Devil Without a Cause
2 Million Club ( 18 )
Shania Twain - The Woman In Me
'N sync - No Strings Attached
Britney Spears - Baby One More Time
Beastie Boys - Licensed To Ill
Whitney Houston - The BodyGuard (soundtrack)
Backstreet Boys - Backstreet Boys
Backstreet Boys - Millennium
'N sync - NSYNC
The Eagles - Greatest Hits, Vol. 2
Madonna - Like A Virgin
TLC - CrazySexyCool
Whitney Houston - Whitney Houston
No Doubt - Tragic Kingdom
(Soundtrack) - Titanic
Prince - Sign “☮” the Times
Pearl Jam - Ten
Bruce Sringsteen - Live/1975-85
Boyz II Men - II
1 Million Club (40)
Dixie Chicks - Wide Open Spaces
Celine Dion - Falling into You
Mariah Carey - Music Box
Marey Carey - Daydream
Janet Jackson - Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation 1814
Lauryn Hill - The Miseducation Of Lauryn Hill
Janet Jackson - Control
(Soundtrack) - Waiting To Exhale
Eminem - The Slim Shady LP
Celine Dion - Let's Talk About Love
Michael Jackson - History: Past, Present and Future, Book 1
Whitney Houston - Whitney
Celine Dion - All The Way ... A Decade Of Songs
Kid Rock - Devil Without A Cause
Aaliyah - One in a Million
Mary J. Blige - Share My World
Monica - The Boy Is Mine
Mary J. Blige - What's the 411?
Kenny G - The Moment
Billy Ray Cyrus - Some Gave All
TLC - Ooooooohhh.... On the TLC Tip
Marah Carey - Mariah Carey
Toni Braxton - Secrets
Madonna - Evita (soundtrack)
Paula Abdul - Forever Your Girl
2 Pac - All Eyez on Me
Meat Loaf - Bat Out Of Hell II
Brandy - Never Say Never
Prince - Diamonds and Pearls
Barbara Streisand - The Concert
Creed - Human Clay
Janet Jackson - janet
Madonna - True Blue
Michael Jackson - Dangerous
Elton John - The Very Best of Elton John
The Notorious B.I.G.- Life After Death
New Kids on the Block - Hangin' Tough
LeAnn Rimes - Blue
Sheryl Cole - Tuesday Night Music Club
Reba McEntire - Greatest Hits Volume Two
500 Thousand Club (25)
Puff Daddy - No Way Out
Celine Dion - These Are Special Times
Nickel Back - Silver Side Up
The Police - Synchronicity
Janet Jackson - Design of a Decade 1986/1996
Janet Jackson - The Velvet Rope
Toni Braxton - Toni Braxton
Linkin' Park - Hybrid Theory
Whitney Houston - Im Your Baby Tonight
Selena - Dreaming Of You
Destiny's Childs - The Writings On The Wall
The Police - Every Breath You Take: The Singles
Barbara Streisand - Higher Ground
Brandy - Brandy
Usher - My Way
Reba - McEntire - For My Broken Heart
Monica - Miss Thang
Sheryl Crow - Sheryl Crow
Tracy Chapman - New Beginning
Elton John - Sleeping with the Past
Pink Floyd - The Division Bell
Blackstreet - Another Level
LeAnn Rimes - You Light up My Life: Inspirational Songs
En Vogue - Funky Divas
Heart - Heart
Add the Soundscan sales + BMG Club sales + Columbia House sales, and you pretty much have the real sales of an album. This shows why albums were not "overshipped" as many people say just from looking at the Soundscan sales only.
Record club sales were not counted by Soundscan but they were included in RIAA certifications. That should answer everyone's doubts that they had before.