Below are chart & sales summaries for the 90's "Best Of + B-sides", "Best Of" and their combined efforts. Many countries have combined the sales of both versions, which ranks the album higher on the charts. However, in the U.S., the albums are listed separately (Canada does this as well). 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 "Best Of".
I have obtained Christmas week sales, so all numbers below are accurate.
90's "Best Of + B-sides":
Charts:
#3 - 27 - 49 - 62 - 80 - 91- 88 - 93 - 100 - 134 - 163
Sales:
184,804 + 59,694 + 31,512 + 36,916 + 26,344 + 33,292 + 44,681+ 33,055 + 13,613 + 7,469 + 6,017
Total Sales:
477,397
90's "Best Of":
Charts:
#34 - 57 - 49 - 58 - 56 - 58 - 64 - 88 - 94 - 115
Sales:
37,922 + 26,436 + 50,687 + 34,331 + 49,635 + 64,412 + 44,993 + 15,377 + 11,048 + 9,223
Total Sales:
344,064
Combined:
Charts (theoretical position if sales were combined):
#3 - 13 - 30 - 29 - 35 - 37 - 39 (estimate) - 40 - 45 - 52 - 62
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
Total Sales (for both albums):
821,461
As shown, the combined sales have crossed 800,000 copies in the U.S. The combined "Best Of" releases saw a scant 17.6% sales drop, despite the fact that both releases individually fell out of the Top 100.
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. While both albums are selling less than the 80's "Best Of", this should not be of a surprise to anyone. The 90's single CD version is on a similar track to the 80's single CD (which never charted high).
