If they have #1 albums, then they are not nobodies.
They aren't somebody because of their album sales though. They are somebody because of their past singles which earned them fans.... and resulting in high album sales.
They cost more, so the fact that people are willing to pay for an artist's entire work instead of just a song says something.
It's pretty elementary to think that a lot of "nobodies" have #1 albums when the same can be sad about singles, too. They can't really be nobodies if they are getting #1 albums. Broaden your horizons and realize that there is more to music than pop. This kind of music dominates the singles category, but I'd argue it's a good thing that there is more variety in the albums reaching #1. Also, from the perspective of an artist, a #1 album is probably far more coveted.