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Music News: Soundscan \\ Top 15 artist of the era
Member Since: 8/14/2007
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Soundscan \\ Top 15 artist of the era
To paraphrase the famous subtitle of a 1960 Elvis Presley compilation, 50,000,000 Metallica fans can't be wrong. Metallica this week becomes the first hard-rock band-and only the fifth act overall-to top the 50,000,000 mark in album sales since Nielsen/SoundScan began tracking U.S. sales in May 1991.
There were charts before 1991, of course. Billboard first ran an album chart in March 1945. It became a regular weekly feature 11 years later. But precise sales figures weren't authenticated and made public until Nielsen/SoundScan brought the business into the modern bar-code-reading age (for better and for worse).
To mark the occasion, I'm counting down the top 15 acts that have sold the most albums in Nielsen/SoundScan history. Four of the artists on this list are so new that their entire chart careers are contained in the Nielsen/SoundScan era. Eminem debuted in 1999, making him the newest arrival on the list.
At the other extreme, three of the artists in the top 15 released their first albums in the ‘50s or ‘60s. Elvis Presley broke through in 1956, making him the act with the longest history on the list.
Five of the top 15 artists are country music stars, a sign of country's dominance in this period. Five are rock or hard rock acts. Three are pop. Surprisingly, only one, Mariah Carey, has an R&B connection. Eminem is rap's lone representative.
Five of the artists hail from outside the U.S. The Beatles and Pink Floyd both come from England; U2 originated in Ireland; and Celine Dion and Shania Twain were both born in Canada.
These are the 15 artists who have sold the most albums since May 25, 1991. The tallies don't count any albums sold before that date. Nielsen/SoundScan also maintains a running list of the top 200 albums in its history. I've included the total number of albums each of these artists has on that list, as well as the title of the artist's highest-ranking album.
01. Garth Brooks, 68,051,000. Brooks has seven albums (more than any other artist) on Nielsen SoundScan's running list of the top 200 albums in its history. Four of those albums are listed in the top 100, which is also a record. Brooks' best-selling album is 1991's Ropin' The Wind, which ranks #20. His eponymous debut album hit the country chart in May 1989, but it didn't crack the pop chart until May 1990. Brooks has been voted Entertainer of the Year four times (more than any other performer) by the Country Music Association.
02. The Beatles, 56,683,000. The most impressive aspect of the Beatles' tally is that it doesn't count the group's first 27 years of sales. Even so, the Fab Four has sold more albums since 1991 than any other group and any other rock act. The group first charted in February 1964 with Meet The Beatles! They have one album in the top 200, their 2000 hits compilation 1, which ranks #8. The Beatles were the first rock act to win a Grammy for Album of the Year (for 1967's Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band) and the first to win an Oscar for Best Original Song Score (for 1970's Let It Be). They were voted into the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame in 1988. Sadly, only two members of the group are still living. John Lennon was murdered in 1980. George Harrison died of cancer in 2001.
03. Mariah Carey, 51,370,000. Carey is the top-ranking female artist on the list. The pop/R&B star is also the only artist in the top 15 with an R&B base. Carey has five albums in the top 200, topped by 1995's Daydream at #47. Carey first charted in June 1990 with her eponymous debut album. In addition to her album achievements, Carey has two songs-"Touch My Body" and "We Belong Together"-on Nielsen/SoundScan's running list of the top 200 songs with the most paid downloads.
04. Celine Dion, 50,167,000. Dion is the only female artist with three albums in Nielsen/SoundScan's all-time top 50: Falling Into You at #10, Let's Talk About Love at #23 and All The Way...A Decade Of Song at #43. She's behind Carey on this list because Carey has sold more albums overall, partly due to having more releases. Dion has five albums in the top 200. She first charted with Unison in January 1991, four months before Nielsen/SoundScan took over tracking for Billboard.
05. Metallica, 50,111,000. Metallica is the highest-ranking hard rock act on the list. (AC/DC is runner-up at #26.) Metallica is on this year's short-list for induction into the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame. The band has four albums in the top 200, topped by 1991's Metallica at #2. That album spawned five chart hits, including "Enter Sandman." Metallica first charted in September 1984 with Ride The Lightning. Original bassist Cliff Burton was killed in a bus crash in 1986.
06. George Strait, 40,201,000. Strait is the only artist in the top 15 who has been voted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. He was inducted in 2006. Strait has one album in the top 200 (1992's Pure Country soundtrack at #168). The Texan first hit the country album chart in October 1981 with Strait Country. He first made the pop album chart in March 1984 with Right Or Wrong. Strait is a two-time CMA Entertainer of the Year winner.
07. Tim McGraw, 37,171,000. McGraw debuted in 1994, which makes him the highest-ranking artist whose entire career is reflected in this tally. McGraw first hit the pop and country charts the same week in April 1994 with Not A Moment Too Soon, which illustrates the much greater ease of crossover in this era. That album is #86 on the all-time top 200. It's the highest of three McGraw albums on the list. McGraw's wife, Faith Hill, is #61 on the list. They are the only couple in which both husband and wife rank in the top 100. McGraw was CMA's Entertainer of the Year in 2001.
08. Alan Jackson, 36,201,000. Jackson is a three-time winner of the CMA Award for Entertainer of the Year, a total topped only by Brooks. Jackson first hit both the pop and country album charts in March 1990 with Here In The Real World. He has one album in the top 200: 1995's The Greatest Hits Collection at #105. Only one track on the album, the spirited "Chattahoochee," crossed over to the Hot 100.
09. Pink Floyd, 34,986,000. Pink Floyd has one album in the top 200: 1973's The Dark Side Of The Moon, which ranks #32. The classic, which spawned the progressive rock group's first chart hit, "Money," is the oldest album in the top 200. Pink Floyd first charted in December 1967 with The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn. The band was voted into the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame in 1996. Guitarist Syd Barrett died in 1986. Keyboardist Rick Wright died on Sept. 15.
10. Shania Twain, 33,672,000. Twain is the only female country artist in the top 15. (Reba McEntire is runner-up in 22nd place.) Twain has three albums in the top 200. Her 1997 blockbuster, Come On Over, is the #1 best-seller of the Nielsen/SoundScan era, with sales of 15,467,000 (nearly half of her total). Twain, who was born Eileen Regina Edwards, was named CMA's Entertainer of the Year in 1999. Twain first hit the country album chart in July 1993 with her eponymous debut. She first made the pop album chart in March 1995 with The Woman In Me.
11. Kenny G, 33,340,000. The saxophonist is the only instrumentalist in the top 15. (Mannheim Steamroller is runner-up at #51.) Kenny G, who was born Kenny Gorelick, has two albums in the top 200. His 1992 smash Breathless is #39. 1994's Miracles-The Holiday Album, the best-selling holiday album of the Nielsen/SoundScan era, is #56. Kenny G first hit the album chart in March 1984 with G Force.
12. Eminem, 33,078,000. Eminem is the only rapper in the top 15 (Jay-Z is runner-up at #32). Eminem first charted with The Slim Shady LP in March 1999, more recently than any other artist on this list. He has four albums in the top 200, topped by 2000's The Marshall Mathers LP at #14. Like Carey, Eminem has two songs-the Oscar-winning "Lose Yourself" and "Shake That" (with Nate Dogg)-on Nielsen/SoundScan's running list of the top 200 songs with the most paid downloads.
13. U2, 32,473,000. The band from Dublin has won 22 Grammys, more than any other group. The haul includes two awards in each of the "Big Three" categories-Album, Record and Song of the Year. U2 first charted in March 1981 with Boy. The band has one album in the top 200-1991's Achtung Baby at #113. U2 was voted into the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame in 2005.
14. Backstreet Boys, 30,655,000. Want to stump your friends? Ask them, "Who is the only act in Nielsen/SoundScan history with two albums at or above the 10 million mark in U.S. sales?" You'll get a variety of answers, but I bet nobody brings up this boy band, which indeed holds the distinction. Here are the stats: 1999's Millennium has sold 12,103,000 copies. The group's debut, Backstreet Boys, has sold 10,101,000 copies since its release in August 1997. (The group also has a third album in the top 200.) Backstreet Boys are the top-ranking pop (as opposed to rock) group and the top-ranking boy band. (*NSYNC are runner-ups, at #23.)
15. Elvis Presley, 30,042,000. If Nielsen/SoundScan went all the way back to March 1956, when Presley exploded onto the charts with his eponymous debut album, he would doubtless be #1 on this list. Presley has one album in the top 200-2002's Elv1s: 30 #1 Hits at #200. Presley was named the recipient of a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 1971. He was voted into the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame in 1986 and the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1998. Presley died in 1977 at age 42. He's the only solo artist in the top 15 who is no longer living.
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Member Since: 6/14/2007
Posts: 13,130
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Member Since: 7/14/2008
Posts: 1,643
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Member Since: 8/9/2004
Posts: 21,889
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Soundscan era = 1991+
Mariah's position is invalid. It belongs to M-dolla.
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Member Since: 4/12/2007
Posts: 5,851
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*sigh* It's a real pity that Soundscan didn't exist until 1991. Elvis, MJ, and Led Zep are really underrepresented here.
Pink Floyd, The Beatles, even Mariah are missing a good chunk of their sales data here. Bruce Springsteen, Madonna, Janet Jackson, Prince, G n' R, AC/DC, and Whitney Houston would probably be on or near this list too.
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Member Since: 4/12/2007
Posts: 5,851
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Quote:
Originally posted by Hard Candy
Soundscan era = 1991+
Mariah's position is invalid. It belongs to M-dolla.
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I'm going to make an educated guess and say Madonna sold another 25 million albums before SS started. (not counting soundtracks or record club sales). Her debut had sold well over 4 million by 1991, LAV sold over 8 million, TB sold 7 million, LAP sold 4 million, and TIC sold over 2 million.
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Member Since: 3/28/2008
Posts: 11,952
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Eminem
<33
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Member Since: 8/9/2004
Posts: 21,889
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Quote:
Originally posted by bobbymfw
I'm going to make an educated guess and say Madonna sold another 25 million albums before SS started. (not counting soundtracks or record club sales). Her debut had sold well over 4 million by 1991, LAV sold over 8 million, TB sold 7 million, LAP sold 4 million, and TIC sold over 2 million.
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WRONG.
Madonna - 5x
Like a Virgin - 10x
True Blue - 8x
Who's That Girl - 1x
You Can Dance - 1x
Like a Prayer - 4x
I'm Breathless - 2x
The Immaculate Collection - 10x
Total: 41 million.
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Member Since: 6/10/2008
Posts: 5,271
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Country music is owning
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Member Since: 7/14/2008
Posts: 1,643
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Quote:
Originally posted by Hard Candy
WRONG.
Madonna - 5x
Like a Virgin - 10x
True Blue - 8x
Who's That Girl - 1x
You Can Dance - 1x
Like a Prayer - 4x
I'm Breathless - 2x
The Immaculate Collection - 10x
Total: 41 million.
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I think they meant maybe those were total sales before 1991?
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Member Since: 4/12/2007
Posts: 5,851
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Quote:
Originally posted by Hard Candy
WRONG.
Madonna - 5x
Like a Virgin - 10x
True Blue - 8x
Who's That Girl - 1x
You Can Dance - 1x
Like a Prayer - 4x
I'm Breathless - 2x
The Immaculate Collection - 10x
Total: 41 million.
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No Mazen. I was only accounting for her sales pre-Soundscan, not her total sales from each album. The Immaculate Collection has sold 5.7 million in the SS era and another 1.5 million through BMG which you've included in your total when you shouldn't have (also Columbia House and Independent retailers are included in RIAA certs but not counted by SS so you can't assume all of those 41 million albums were sold pre-1991).
Here are the totals for those albums during the Sondscan era as of 1/1/07.
Madonna: 419,960
Like A Virgin: 533,845
True Blue: 384,830
Who's That Girl: 47,900
You Can Dance: 257,595
Like A Prayer: 557,725
I'm Breathless: 233,395
The Immaculate Collection: 5.508 million
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Member Since: 8/9/2004
Posts: 21,889
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Quote:
Originally posted by bobbymfw
No Mazen. I was only accounting for her sales pre-Soundscan, not her total sales from each album. The Immaculate Collection has sold 5.7 million in the SS era and another 1.5 million through BMG which you've included in your total when you shouldn't have (also Columbia House and Independent retailers are included in RIAA certs but not counted by SS so you can't assume all of those 41 million albums were sold pre-1991).
Here are the totals for those albums during the Sondscan era as of 1/1/07.
Madonna: 419,960
Like A Virgin: 533,845
True Blue: 384,830
Who's That Girl: 47,900
You Can Dance: 257,595
Like A Prayer: 557,725
I'm Breathless: 233,395
The Immaculate Collection: 5.508 million
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Why would you count the sales of these albums during the Soundscan era? It's kinda pointless, and predicting their sales pre-SS is also inaccurate so I think the RIAA certifications are much more reliable in their case - which is what I basically posted.
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Member Since: 4/12/2007
Posts: 5,851
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Quote:
Originally posted by Hard Candy
Why would you count the sales of these albums during the Soundscan era? It's kinda pointless, and predicting their sales pre-SS is also inaccurate so I think the RIAA certifications are much more reliable - which is what I basically posted.
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That's why I used the term "educated guess", because this top 15 list is based solely on SS sales and I was trying to predict how many more sales Madonna would have if SS had started in 1983 vs. 1991. Unfortunately, the SS numbers only reflect her sales from Erotica through present + the residual sales of TIC and the catalogue.
The only thing I did wrong was forget to include I'm Breathless and You Can Dance. I should have included WTG? because according to SS that's a Madonna album even though it technically isn't.
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Member Since: 8/9/2004
Posts: 21,889
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Quote:
Originally posted by bobbymfw
That's why I used the term "educated guess", because this top 15 list is based solely on SS sales and I was trying to predict how many more sales Madonna would have if SS had started in 1983 vs. 1991. Unfortunately, the SS numbers only reflect her sales from Erotica through present + the residual sales of TIC and the catalogue.
The only thing I did wrong was forget to include I'm Breathless and You Can Dance. I should have included WTG? because according to SS that's a Madonna album even though it technically isn't.
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HATER!
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Member Since: 9/8/2008
Posts: 193
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TIC is a doublealbum,therefore given diamond cert.
and RIAA awards does not = soundscan sales
for example: "come on over" is 20x platinum, but has sold (to end-customer) 15.4 million copies.
whereas Metallicas Black album is 14x platinum,but sold 15.2 million copies
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Member Since: 7/14/2008
Posts: 1,643
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yes, this is SOUNDSCAN, not total world wide sales ever
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Member Since: 4/12/2007
Posts: 5,851
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Quote:
Originally posted by Time_as_abjection
TIC is a doublealbum,therefore given diamond cert.
and RIAA awards does not = soundscan sales
for example: "come on over" is 20x platinum, but has sold (to end-customer) 15.4 million copies.
whereas Metallicas Black album is 14x platinum,but sold 15.2 million copies
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TIC is not a double album because it only has one disc. Between BMG and SS alone, TIC has sold over 7 million so it's probably sold well over 10 million in total. The double-album rule only applies to albums with 2 discs like Shania Twain's "Up!" or Eagles "Long Road Out of Eden."
By the way, these days RIAA certs are usually very close to SS because SS accounts for 85-90% of the sales market. Since the music industry is in a nosedive, labels are more and more reluctant to fork over the $ to re-certify albums hence why the Black album is still at 14x platinum even though it's probably sold over 16 million when all is said and done. PCD or Love.Angel.Music.Baby are examples of albums that have sold more than a million past their last certification. Shania's Come On Over sold 2 million through BMG and probably that same amount through Columbia House so her 20x plat is more than legit.
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Member Since: 9/8/2008
Posts: 193
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i could swear TIC was a double...hmm (obviously i donīt own it,lol)
i did not say the 20x cert wasnīt legit, they always are, i just listed two examples that are equal on SS, but far from each other on RIAA.
black album is just one of several huge, undercertified albums...like Eminemīs marshall mathers (and eminem show aswell i think), Christina Aguilera(which sold over 9 million), oops i did it again...
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Member Since: 4/12/2007
Posts: 5,851
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Quote:
Originally posted by Time_as_abjection
i could swear TIC was a double...hmm (obviously i donīt own it,lol)
i did not say the 20x cert wasnīt legit, they always are, i just listed two examples that are equal on SS, but far from each other on RIAA.
black album is just one of several huge, undercertified albums...like Eminemīs marshall mathers (and eminem show aswell i think), Christina Aguilera(which sold over 9 million), oops i did it again...
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Yeah, The Black album is an excellent example especially considering it's going to overtake Shania to become the top-selling album of the SS era within the next year or two. Too many people take RIAA certs at their face value and that's why I wish the RIAA and labels would be more diligent about updating so that sales stats can be more accurate. On a good note, Appetite For Destruction was just certified 18x platinum, but now Metallica needs the boost.
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Member Since: 9/8/2008
Posts: 193
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appetite got a 18x platinum cert?!
****ing.legends!
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