The Best Selling Albums released after January 1, 2000 WORLDWIDE!

The friendliest place on the web for anyone that follows U2.
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
See posts with no answers
Time for another update of the biggest selling albums(over 10 million worldwide) since the new decade started in January 2000.

1. Beatles: 1 : 24,000,000
2. Norah Jones: Come Away With Me : 18,000,000
3. Eminem: The Marshall Mathers LP : 17,000,000
4. Eminem: The Eminem Show : 16,000,000
5. Evanescence: Fallen : 16,000,000
6. Britney Spears: Oops!....I Did It Again : 15,000,000
7. Linkin Park: Hybrid Theory : 14,000,000
8. Avril Lavigne: Let Go : 14,000,000
9. N'Sync: No Strings Attached : 13,000,000
10. Madonna: Music : 12,500,000
11. U2: ALL THAT YOU CAN'T LEAVE BEHIND : 12,000,000
12. Dido: No Angel : 11,000,000
13. Limp Bizkit: Chocolate Starfish : 11,000,000
14. Shakira: Laundry Service : 11,000,000
15. Pink: M!SSUNDAZTOOD : 11,000,000
16. Enya: A Day Without Rain : 10,500,000
17. Shaggy: Hotshot : 10,500,000
18. Moby: Play : 10,000,000
19. Shania Twain : UP : 10,000,000
20. Usher : Confessions : 10,000,000
 
mikeuk said:
STING

Recent reports - covered here- put sales of ATYCLB at over 13 million.

Mike
Click to expand...

Until I see an increase in the IFPI(Europe) numbers, RIAA(USA) numbers or CRIA(Canada) numbers, 12 million is the best estimate. I have seen reports the past week as low as 10.8 million all the way up to 14 million. Thats the problem with reports.

But here are the actual sales facts we know of based on audits done by the various organizations IFPI, RIAA, CRIA, etc.

Europe 4 million sold as of March 2002 (IFPI)

Canada 500,000 sold as of December 2001 (CRIA)

United States 4.25 million sold to date (Soundscan)

Australia 280,000 sold as of December 2001.

New Zealand 45,000 sold as of December 2001.

Brazil 375,000 sold as of January 2002.

Obviously many of these figures are old and we won't know what the new European sales figure is until the album reaches the 5 million mark. It could be at 4.7 million in Europe. The same holds for many of these other places. In addition, exact sales figures for Asia, Africa, and most of South and Central America with the exception of Brazil are not known.

The album could be at 13 million or 14 million, but until I see a change in the IFPI or RIAA, I think 12 million is most accurate and might actually be a little high. If the album is at 14 million now, where in the world did they sale that extra 2 million and where is the audit that shows it. Since U2 sale 70% of their albums in Europe and North America, I would expect an increase of 2 million or more to effect the albums sales numbers on the RIAA, IFPI and CRIA. But right now, there has not been any new certifications from those organizations.
 
Last edited:
u2 record company report that ATYCLB has sold 14million worldwide i think they should now (this was stated on Radio 1)
 
andyuk said:
u2 record company report that ATYCLB has sold 14million worldwide i think they should now (this was stated on Radio 1)
Click to expand...

AsI had already posted this figure I was about to reply to STING, but at least it's now at least 2 of us that recall this. The actual figure wasn't given, but the Q on radio 1 was around what according to their record company has ATYCLB sold worlwide to the nearerst miilion - answer 14 million. So that's more than 13.5m sold- and Bomb will surpass this.

The same station gave, as part of the same competition, Joshua Tree sales as 20.7 million, but I do know that STING thinks this is under-stated, but until such time somebody `official' gives a different figure we should go with the record company!

Mike
 
mikeuk said:


AsI had already posted this figure I was about to reply to STING, but at least it's now at least 2 of us that recall this. The actual figure wasn't given, but the Q on radio 1 was around what according to their record company has ATYCLB sold worlwide to the nearerst miilion - answer 14 million. So that's more than 13.5m sold- and Bomb will surpass this.

The same station gave, as part of the same competition, Joshua Tree sales as 20.7 million, but I do know that STING thinks this is under-stated, but until such time somebody `official' gives a different figure we should go with the record company!

Mike
Click to expand...

Its better to pay attention to companies that actually certify that an album has sold x number of copies like RIAA or IFPI rather than go with a press release from record company, band member, manager etc. Many record companies and record executives have made wild claims about sales in the past for various artist, which is why the only accurate way to know album sales is through certifications by IFPI, RIAA and other organizations and combine the results to get the worldwide total.

Its not to say that the album has not reached a new sales level, but that there is no evidence that it has in fact reached that level other than an unsubstantiated claim from record company or other source that should always be taken with a grain of salt.
 
Squire said:
Do you guys know wich was the biggest selling album of the 90's?
Click to expand...

This is not 100% confirmed, but I believe that ALANIS MORISSETTE "JAGGED LITTLE PILL" was the biggest selling album of the 1990s. The runner up would be Shania Twain with "Come On Over".

By the end of 1999, "Jagged Little Pill" had sold over 28 million copies worldwide. "Come On Over" was at the 26 million mark at that point.
 
Time for another update of the biggest selling albums(over 10 million worldwide) since the new decade started in January 2000.

1. Beatles: 1 : 24,000,000
2. Norah Jones: Come Away With Me : 19,722,000+
3. Eminem: The Marshall Mathers LP : 17,000,000
4. Evanescence: Fallen : 16,124,000+
5. Britney Spears: Oops!....I Did It Again : 15,000,000
6. Eminem : The Eminem Show : 14,254,000+
7. Linkin Park: Hybrid Theory : 14,000,000
8. Avril Lavigne: Let Go : 13,066,000+
9. N'Sync: No Strings Attached : 13,000,000
10. Madonna: Music : 12,500,000
11. U2: ALL THAT YOU CAN'T LEAVE BEHIND : 12,000,000
12. Shakira: Laundry Service : 11,247,000+
13. Dido: No Angel : 11,000,000
14. Limp Bizkit: Chocolate Starfish : 11,000,000
15. Pink: M!SSUNDAZTOOD : 11,000,000
16. Enya: A Day Without Rain : 10,500,000
17. Shaggy: Hotshot : 10,500,000
18. Moby: Play : 10,000,000
19. Shania Twain : UP : 10,000,000
20. Usher : Confessions : 10,000,000

I got some new more exact results for a few albums from the Global Chart records area. They have only been tracking sales since late 2002.
 
Time for another update of the biggest selling albums(over 10 million worldwide) since the new decade started in January 2000.

1. Beatles: 1 : 24,000,000
2. Norah Jones : Come Away With Me : 19,722,000+
3. Eminem: The Marshall Mathers LP : 17,000,000
4. Evanescence: Fallen : 16,124,000+
5. Britney Spears: Oops!....I Did It Again : 15,000,000
6. Eminem : The Eminem Show : 14,254,000+
7. Linkin Park: Hybrid Theory : 14,000,000
8. Shania Twain : UP : 14,000,000
9. Avril Lavigne: Let Go : 13,066,000+
10. N'Sync: No Strings Attached : 13,000,000
11. Madonna: Music : 12,500,000
12. U2: ALL THAT YOU CAN'T LEAVE BEHIND : 12,000,000
13. Usher : Confessions : 11,626,000+
14. Shakira: Laundry Service : 11,247,000+
15. Dido: No Angel : 11,000,000
16. Limp Bizkit: Chocolate Starfish : 11,000,000
17. Pink: M!SSUNDAZTOOD : 11,000,000
18. Enya: A Day Without Rain : 10,500,000
19. Shaggy: Hotshot : 10,500,000
20. Norah Jones : Feels Like Home : 10,022,000+
21. Moby : Play : 10,000,000
 
Here is another update of the top selling albums of this decade so far (over 10 million in sales worldwide).

1. Beatles: 1 : 24,000,000
2. Norah Jones : Come Away With Me : 18,734,000+
3. Eminem: The Marshall Mathers LP : 17,000,000
4. Britney Spears: Oops!....I Did It Again : 15,000,000
5. Eminem : The Eminem Show : 14,967,000+
6. Linkin Park: Hybrid Theory : 14,000,000
7. Avril Lavigne: Let Go : 13,197,000+
8. Evanescence: Fallen : 13,105,000+
9. N'Sync: No Strings Attached : 13,000,000
10. Madonna: Music : 12,500,000
11. U2: ALL THAT YOU CAN'T LEAVE BEHIND : 12,000,000
12. Usher : Confessions : 12,046,000+
13. Shakira: Laundry Service : 11,000,000
14. Dido: No Angel : 11,000,000
15. Limp Bizkit: Chocolate Starfish : 11,000,000
16. Pink: M!SSUNDAZTOOD : 11,000,000
17. Enya: A Day Without Rain : 10,500,000
18. Shaggy: Hotshot : 10,500,000
19. Norah Jones : Feels Like Home : 10,000,000
20. Moby : Play : 10,000,000

Shania Twain's UP was moved out of the list of albums selling 10 million+ since the start of the decade because I discovered that UP is a double album which means it has actually sold only 5 million in the USA rather than 10 million that RIAA certifies it for. RIAA counts both disc in a single double album package as album sales. There for, UP has actually only sold 5 million copies in the USA which brings its worldwide total below the 10 million mark.

I also made some changes to some of the other albums sales levels based on more accurate information provided by www.mediatraffic.de .
 
Last edited:
How up to date are your Beatles 1 sales? I think it's much higher than that by now...
 
BigMacPhisto said:
How up to date are your Beatles 1 sales? I think it's much higher than that by now...
Click to expand...

I've not seen any new certifications from IFPI(Europe) or RIAA(United States), so I'd say its still stuck around 24 million.
 
STING2 said:
Here is another update of the top selling albums of this decade so far (over 10 million in sales worldwide).

1. Beatles: 1 : 24,000,000
2. Norah Jones : Come Away With Me : 18,734,000+
3. Eminem: The Marshall Mathers LP : 17,000,000
4. Britney Spears: Oops!....I Did It Again : 15,000,000
5. Eminem : The Eminem Show : 14,967,000+
6. Linkin Park: Hybrid Theory : 14,000,000
7. Avril Lavigne: Let Go : 13,197,000+
8. Evanescence: Fallen : 13,105,000+
9. N'Sync: No Strings Attached : 13,000,000
10. Madonna: Music : 12,500,000
11. U2: ALL THAT YOU CAN'T LEAVE BEHIND : 12,000,000
12. Usher : Confessions : 12,046,000+
13. Shakira: Laundry Service : 11,000,000
14. Dido: No Angel : 11,000,000
15. Limp Bizkit: Chocolate Starfish : 11,000,000
16. Pink: M!SSUNDAZTOOD : 11,000,000
17. Enya: A Day Without Rain : 10,500,000
18. Shaggy: Hotshot : 10,500,000
19. Norah Jones : Feels Like Home : 10,000,000
20. Moby : Play : 10,000,000

Shania Twain's UP was moved out of the list of albums selling 10 million+ since the start of the decade because I discovered that UP is a double album which means it has actually sold only 5 million in the USA rather than 10 million that RIAA certifies it for. RIAA counts both disc in a single double album package as album sales. There for, UP has actually only sold 5 million copies in the USA which brings its worldwide total below the 10 million mark.

I also made some changes to some of the other albums sales levels based on more accurate information provided by www.mediatraffic.de .
Click to expand...

U2 beaten by Britney Spears, N'Sync, and Bovril Latrine? Christ on a bike. Sad.
 
sallycinnamon78 said:


U2 beaten by Britney Spears, N'Sync, and Bovril Latrine? Christ on a bike. Sad.
Click to expand...

Realize though that recent albums released by Britney Spears and N'Sync each sold less than 7 million copies. Also remember that the albums by these artist that did make the top 20 had the vast majority of their sales coming from the United States. Nearly all of N'Sync's total for "No Strings Attached" came from the United States. Remember the United States is only 33% of the global music market, so few people outside the United States even know who N'Sync is.
 
@Sting2
What do you think about the current sales from HTDAAB? I assume, that the album have already passed the 8m mark, or?

Thanks a lot
 
The new album is at 5.7 million according to the world chart but it is still young in its chart run.
 
Yahweh said:
The new album is at 5.7 million according to the world chart but it is still young in its chart run.
Click to expand...

you don't have to take mediatraffic data (or actual copies sold to consumers) when you make this kind of list: you should refer ONLY to shipped copies...so HTDAAB has probably sold 7-7.5 million copies.
 
perhaps a bit off topic, but those watching this thread may provide some insight:

at the time of the Rattle&Hum release, a press statement proclaimed R&H the biggest single run in CD pressing/printing history. It claimed they had molded 9 million copies in one order.

Obviously R&H was also available as a gatefold double 33, but sales always put it much lower than 10M, what's going on there? is there a warehouse filled to the ceiling with crates of R&H??
 
fitz said:
@Sting2
What do you think about the current sales from HTDAAB? I assume, that the album have already passed the 8m mark, or?

Thanks a lot
Click to expand...

www.mediatraffic.de attempts to form a "soundscan" chart for the entire planet. Because not all regions have soundscan systems, their numbers understate total album sales.

The total sold to consumers based on mediatraffic is 5,818,000.

The total shipped to retailers is at least over 8 million at a minimum. So its correct to say that the album has sold over 8 million copies worldwide. But, it will be a while before we see 9 million or 10 million because stores will not order more albums until they come close to selling their current stock which right now numbers about 2 million worldwide, 800,000 of that in the United States.

So HTDAAB has sold about 2/3s of what ATYCLB has to date. 8 million for BOMB, 12 million for ATYCLB.
 
eviltwin said:
perhaps a bit off topic, but those watching this thread may provide some insight:

at the time of the Rattle&Hum release, a press statement proclaimed R&H the biggest single run in CD pressing/printing history. It claimed they had molded 9 million copies in one order.

Obviously R&H was also available as a gatefold double 33, but sales always put it much lower than 10M, what's going on there? is there a warehouse filled to the ceiling with crates of R&H??
Click to expand...

Rattle And Hum initially sold about 8 to 9 million copies in its first year of release and has since gone on to sale around 13 million copies. I'd say the press release is inaccurate and there definitely is not a warehouse filled with R&H. The album soldout all of its initial shipment in record time and until HTDAAB was the fastest selling U2 album in UK history. Retailers only order more copies of an album they know they can sell, so what you see in the stores is all that they currently have in stock essentially.
 
thanks for that Sting2, that means the record company (Phongram at the time I believe) made a good decision to run a first batch of 9mil copies. Does anyone have info on current production runs? I haven't been to a CD factory in a while...
 
"So HTDAAB has sold about 2/3s of what ATYCLB has to date. 8 million for BOMB, 12 million for ATYCLB."

@STING2: How many copies of ATYCLB were sold? 12 million shipped but that are not the sales?!
 
We know:

4 million in Europe
4,2 million in USA
500,000 in Canada
45,000 in New Zealand
280,000 in Australia

This means 9 million plus all South America market, Asia and the copies sold after past certification of 4x Platinum in Europe.


In my opinion, 11,5 or 12 million is a very good estimate.

Vox
 
Last edited:
Vox02 said:
We know:

4 million in Europe
4,2 million in USA
500,000 in Canada
45,000 in New Zealand
280,000 in Australia

This means 9 million plus all South America market, Asia and the copies sold after past certification of 4x Platinum in Europe.


In my opinion, 11,5 or 12 million is a very good estimate.

Vox
Click to expand...

Ok! But are that the sales or just the number of copies shipped?!
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

B
Top 100 selling albums of 2017 in the United States 6 months into the year
Replies
1
Views
1K
Y2K
Y2K
S
The Joshua Tree Demo Recordings?
Replies
2
Views
2K
misfit toys
misfit toys
N
  • Poll
Best Non-Album Track Survivor - Final Pool - Round 19
Replies
16
Views
1K
lazarus
lazarus
leamspaceman
Selling my U2 collection
Replies
4
Views
1K
leamspaceman
leamspaceman
M
"Week 43" top 100 selling albums of the year to date.
Replies
11
Views
3K
hasin73
hasin73

Latest posts

Back
Top Bottom