This weeks US sales for The Best Of 1980-1990

[lparks41]

36 2,438,500 8,600 46 The Best Of 1980-1990 U2 #178

I found this on another site on the CURRENT BIGGEST MILLION SELLERS list. I thought you guys would be interested to know this. The best of album sold 8,600 copies this week cummulatively bringing it to a grand total of 2,438,500 copies in the US.

 

[doctorwho]

Ya know... I don't even own this!

I have the b-side version only. Never felt the need to buy the a-side only version.

I know the b-side version is also Double Platinum, but that's probably because it was counted as 2 discs. As such, I think it sold around 1 million copies in the U.S.

The a-side only version, which is what you reported, is doing quite well - it's always on the Catalog charts (somewhat surprisingly, the 90's "Best Of" isn't - I expected it to be in the lower part of the charts, but there).

Also, it's nice that HTDAAB has outsold this. It shows that people do like the new work and aren't just interested in U2 for their old stuff.

 

[bsp77]

I believe they made exactly a million copies of the b-side version for the US and I don't think it is available new anymore, so it is probably 1 million sales or at least very close.

Did the 90's disc even go platinum? I can't remember.

 

[Vox02]

I believe they made exactly a million copies of the b-side version for the US and I don't think it is available new anymore, so it is probably 1 million sales or at least very close.

Did the 90's disc even go platinum? I can't remember.

Yes. Best Of 80-90 B Sides version was a limited version of 1,000,000 copies in the USA, so RIAA counted this as Double Platinum.

U2 BEST OF 1980-1990/THE B SIDES 12/04/98 ISLAND M (2) ALBUM GROUP Std

U2 BEST OF 1980-1990/THE B SIDES 12/04/98 ISLAND P ALBUM GROUP Std

U2 BEST OF 1980-1990/THE B SIDES 12/04/98 ISLAND G ALBUM GROUP Std


Best Of 80's (without B sides) started the ATYCLB era with a Gold certification and ended with a Double Platinum.

U2 BEST OF 1980-1990 12/10/98 ISLAND G ALBUM GROUP Std

U2 BEST OF 1980-1990 07/20/01 ISLAND RECORDS P ALBUM GROUP Std

U2 BEST OF 1980-1990 03/06/02 ISLAND RECORDS M (2) ALBUM GROUP Std

Yes, Best of 90's was only Platinum

U2 BEST OF 1990 - 2000 03/31/03 INTERSCOPE P ALBUM GROUP Std
U2 BEST OF 1990 - 2000 03/31/03 INTERSCOPE G ALBUM GROUP Std


Vox

 

[jick]

(somewhat surprisingly, the 90's "Best Of" isn't - I expected it to be in the lower part of the charts, but there).

U2's work in the 90's weren't as popular as their 80's work. And it is clear to all that U2 were grasping for straws to come up with a cohesive collection for that era. They had to do new mixes of four songs, add two new songs, put two songs not really from that era (BD, Stuck), and some filler non-singles (The First Time, Until The End Of The World). I am not suprised why the 90's collection showed no resurgence whatsoever. In the end, the bottom line is quality.

Cheers,

J

 

[bsp77]

U2's work in the 90's weren't as popular as their 80's work. And it is clear to all that U2 were grasping for straws to come up with a cohesive collection for that era. They had to do new mixes of four songs, add two new songs, put two songs not really from that era (BD, Stuck), and some filler non-singles (The First Time, Until The End Of The World). I am not suprised why the 90's collection showed no resurgence whatsoever. In the end, the bottom line is quality.

Cheers,

J

Seriously, the Sales section of the forum is not the place for these critiques, but I will agree that ultimately the 90's collection was not great. But they actually had plenty of songs to draw from and the remixes were mostly unnecessary:

Achtung Baby:

The Fly
Mysterious Ways
One
Even Better than the Real Thing
Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses
Until the End of the World (not a single, but got serious airplay and is now considered classic)

Zooropa:

Numb
Lemon
Stay
Zooropa (not a single, but got rock airplay)

Pop:

Discotheque
Staring at the Sun
Last Night on Earth
Please
If God Will Send His Angels
Gone Remix (this was a good new mix and represents why it is popular in concert)

Other:

Hold Me Thrill Me Kiss Me Kill Me
Miss Sarajevo
The Ground Beneath Her Feet (I don't think this should be considered a ATYCLB song, it was recorded in 1999 and sounds closer to Passengers)

That is 19 songs before adding anything new and nothing off of ATYCLB. Now they just would need to remove 4 or so of the least important songs and it would be a great CD.

 

[mikeuk]

I believe they made exactly a million copies of the b-side version for the US and I don't think it is available new anymore, so it is probably 1 million sales or at least very close.

Did the 90's disc even go platinum? I can't remember.

In Europe it (combination of both versions, but with the double only counting as 1 unit) has been certified at 7 x Platinum.

Mike

 

[ybird3k]

In Europe it (combination of both versions, but with the double only counting as 1 unit) has been certified at 7 x Platinum.

Mike

is this the best of 80-90 or 90-00?

 

[BigMacPhisto]

Ya know... I don't even own this!

Also, it's nice that HTDAAB has outsold this. It shows that people do like the new work and aren't just interested in U2 for their old stuff.

The B-Side version is the one U2 album that I don't own.......got the A-side only one before I was a fanatic, so I ended up simply burning the bonus disc......I actually prefer the back cover of the A-Sides version.....

Considering that the A-Sides/B-Sides version sold over 1 million sets, we know that the overall total for The Best Of 1980-1990 is more than 3.4 million, which is still ahead of HTDAAB.

Interestingly, the Best of 1990-2000/B-Sides was never certified.....I have a feeling that Island simply counted all sales of The Best of 1990-2000 into the same grouping, despite the fact that the two releases were separate chart entries....

 

[beLIEve]

Other reasons for sales differences

Jick,

I guess since HTDAAB has nearly doubled in sales (& jumped 20 spots on the BB charts) since you posted:

"HTDAAB's drop in charts is not unexpected...the album is just fulfilling it's chart destiny"

...you had to drop by to jump on another topic for your negative dribble.

U2 has picked up a lot of fans over the past 25 years, spanning 2 generations at a minimum. As this happens, the bands most recent work on a "Best Of" is more likely to be owned by the "younger or newer" fans as well as the "older" fans.
The point? Newer and Older fans were much more likely to already own the 1990 - 2000 U2 music.

U2's longevity would not be possible if they had not consistently picked up new fans with each album. The demographics on this board and at the Zoo are much younger than most of us realize. The result? The most recent fans bought the first Best Of because it summarized a time period they missed out on completely. Also, even first generation fans include the very large group picked up with the Joshua Tree, and the first Best Of was a way for them to get Pride, SBS, NYD, Bad, etc., as U2's fanbase and album sales were small, relatively speaking, prior to The Joshua Tree.

Quality of songs? One is recognized as U2's best song by many sources and people, and in some cases, as the BEST SONG OR BALLAD EVER. AB was a huge success...as was Zooropa, POP, and ATYCLB. Yes, POP. It did very well outside the U.S., and all 4 albums were supported by huge world tours. The combined sales of those 4 albums, not to mention the "other" projects/singles, were 45M+. Back to Quality - UTEOTW is U2's "finest 4 minutes ever", in my opinion along with Rolling Stone. Stay is and was a very popular ballad. Please is considered SBS part II. MOFO, DYFL, and even Discotheque drew upon an even newer fanbase.

As it's already been pointed out, there were AT LEAST 19 songs that were "hits" from 1990 - 2000, but U2 had plenty of material to chose from and as always, threw us a few curveballs. As for 2000 being "not in the era", that's B.S. Rattle and Hum was close to 1990, and just what "era" does a BB King collaboration belong in? Besides, the album titles clearly state the years that the songs can be "from", and BD sounds like it could have gone on any 1990 U2 record, and the same goes for ANY ballad, including Stuck.

I've complicated this with a long response, but you are smart enough to get the message. The Best Of 1980-1990 came out in 1998, with a worldwide hit single "The Sweetest Thing", and drew interest and purchases from 2 generations of fans. The Best of 1990-2000 came out in 2002, and both generations of fans were much more likely to have some or all of that material already. The natural result is less sales for the 2nd Best Of.

The only thing I'll concede is that the 2nd Best Of did not come with a worldwide hit single, which can make a difference. However, according to your logic, adding "new material" to a Best Of album shows a lack of quality from the time period. Since "The Sweetest Thing" was new to 98% of U2's fanbase in 1998, does the fact that it became a huge hit and helped sales significantly mean that U2 needed a "quality" new song to help sell it's first Best Of album? Yeah, it was a b-side back in 1987, but that's not what was released now, was it? The "cleaned up, new version" sounded a lot like, umm, a song from the 1990's, especially the "do do do" ending. What could this mean?

 

[ybird3k]

'Best of 80-90' was relased 8 years after the ending of the decade and 'Best of 90-00' was released just 2 years after the ending of the decade.

I think if '90-00' had been released in 2008 instead of 2002, it might have done better.

I also think that U2 fans generally own more of the 90's albums than the 80's albums, and also there were less albums in the 90's, so a lot of people wouldnt have a need to buy 'Best of 90-00' as they would have already owned All of the songs on it, with the exception of 'electrical storm' and 'the hands that built america'.

 

[mikeuk]

is this the best of 80-90 or 90-00?

80-90 !

Mike

 

[BigMacPhisto]

A few other notes......

Hits: The second Best Of only has three tracks that still get a ton of airplay here in the United States, "Mysterious Ways" "Beautiful Day" and "One"......whereas "New Year's Day" "Sunday Bloody Sunday" "Pride" and the JT singles.....and "Desire".....so there's a few more radio staples on the first volume.

It's a second volume: Let's face it, it's the second part in what will ultimately be a Best Of trilogy.......like anything, people want to hear (or read, or see) the first part before they experience the second......so the first volume is usually going to have higher sales.

 

[fitz]

A lot of U2-Fans had the old albums from the 80's only in vinyl. The Best of 80-90 offered the chance to get their greatest hits from the 80's as a cd. This is also a reason, why the first best of is so a great success.

 

[BigMacPhisto]

A lot of U2-Fans had the old albums from the 80's only in vinyl. The Best of 80-90 offered the chance to get their greatest hits from the 80's as a cd. This is also a reason, why the first best of is so a great success.

Yeah, same for if they owned the albums on casette.....and considering that not too many people had CD players back then, this is quite logical.

 

[doctorwho]

Below are chart & sales summaries for the 90's "Best Of + B-sides", "Best Of" and their combined efforts. Many countries had combined the sales of both versions, which ranked the album higher on the charts. However, in the U.S., the albums were listed separately. Therefore, I wanted to make a "combined" list to show where the album would have ranked on the charts had the sales of both versions been combined. This last item, IMO, is a better indicator of the overall success of the 90's "Best Of".


90's "Best Of + B-sides":

Chart:
#3 - 27 - 49 - 62 - 80 - 91- 88 - 93 - 100 - 134
163 - 184 - out of Top 200

Sales:
184,804 + 59,694 + 31,512 + 36,916 + 26,344 + 33,292 + 44,681+ 33,055 + 13,613 + 7,469 + 6,017 + ~5,400+ ~4,000 + ~3,000 + ~3,000

Total Estimated Sales:
492,000


90's "Best Of":

Chart:
#34 - 57 - 49 - 58 - 56 - 58 - 64 - 88 - 94 - 115
117 - 154 - 171 - 166 - out of Top 200

Sales:
37,922 + 26,436 + 50,687 + 34,331 + 49,635 + 64,412 + 44,993 + 15,377 + 11,048 + 9,223 + 8,528 + 6,680 + 6,477 + 8,954 + ~5,400

Total Estimated Sales:
380,000


Combined:

Charts (estimated, theoretical position if sales were combined):
#3 - 13 - 30 - 29 - 35 - 37 - 39 - 40 - 45 - 52
62 - 65 - 87 - 119 - 125

Sales (combined weekly sales of both albums):
184,804 + 97,616 + 57,948 + 87,603 + 60,675 + 82,927 + 109,093 + 78,048 + 28,990 + 18,517 + 15,240 + ~13,900+ ~10,700 + ~9,500 + ~12,000

Total Estimated Sales (for both albums):
874,900

As shown, the combined sales have surpassed 870,000 copies in the U.S.

The "B-Sides" version of the album has officially sold close to 500,000 copies in the U.S. Due to RIAA rules, this should certify it as Platinum.

The single CD version should be certified as Gold. Note that sales increased for the single CD version this week (with a corresponding jump in the charts).

Since the RIAA has only one listing for this release, they clearly combined the sales. As such, the estimated sales of 875,000 copies (after the first 15 weeks ONLY), were enough to give it a Platinum ranking (as clearly the RIAA didn't count the b-side as an extra disk).

 

[mikeuk]

I hadn't realised just how badly the Best of 90 had fared in the US charts !

Mike

 

[doctorwho]

The 90's "Best Of" didn't do that badly - in fact, it performed rather similarly to the 80's "Best Of". The 80's "Best Of + B-sides" debuted at #2, but the "Best Of" alone only charted in the 40's. Neither lingered on the charts for long.

The big difference is the 80's "Best Of" stayed on the Catalog charts, while the 90's "Best Of" did not.

 

[04072511]

Below are chart & sales summaries for the 90's "Best Of + B-sides", "Best Of" and their combined efforts. Many countries had combined the sales of both versions, which ranked the album higher on the charts. However, in the U.S., the albums were listed separately. Therefore, I wanted to make a "combined" list to show where the album would have ranked on the charts had the sales of both versions been combined. This last item, IMO, is a better indicator of the overall success of the 90's "Best Of".


90's "Best Of + B-sides":

Chart:
#3 - 27 - 49 - 62 - 80 - 91- 88 - 93 - 100 - 134
163 - 184 - out of Top 200

Sales:
184,804 + 59,694 + 31,512 + 36,916 + 26,344 + 33,292 + 44,681+ 33,055 + 13,613 + 7,469 + 6,017 + ~5,400+ ~4,000 + ~3,000 + ~3,000

Total Estimated Sales:
492,000


90's "Best Of":

Chart:
#34 - 57 - 49 - 58 - 56 - 58 - 64 - 88 - 94 - 115
117 - 154 - 171 - 166 - out of Top 200

Sales:
37,922 + 26,436 + 50,687 + 34,331 + 49,635 + 64,412 + 44,993 + 15,377 + 11,048 + 9,223 + 8,528 + 6,680 + 6,477 + 8,954 + ~5,400

Total Estimated Sales:
380,000


Combined:

Charts (estimated, theoretical position if sales were combined):
#3 - 13 - 30 - 29 - 35 - 37 - 39 - 40 - 45 - 52
62 - 65 - 87 - 119 - 125

Sales (combined weekly sales of both albums):
184,804 + 97,616 + 57,948 + 87,603 + 60,675 + 82,927 + 109,093 + 78,048 + 28,990 + 18,517 + 15,240 + ~13,900+ ~10,700 + ~9,500 + ~12,000

Total Estimated Sales (for both albums):
874,900

As shown, the combined sales have surpassed 870,000 copies in the U.S.

The "B-Sides" version of the album has officially sold close to 500,000 copies in the U.S. Due to RIAA rules, this should certify it as Platinum.

The single CD version should be certified as Gold. Note that sales increased for the single CD version this week (with a corresponding jump in the charts).

Since the RIAA has only one listing for this release, they clearly combined the sales. As such, the estimated sales of 875,000 copies (after the first 15 weeks ONLY), were enough to give it a Platinum ranking (as clearly the RIAA didn't count the b-side as an extra disk).

Would you be able to make a combined chart position for the 1980-1990 like you did with 1990-2000?

 

[doctorwho]

No. I don't have the weekly chart or sales info. for the 80's "Best Of".