This is an archive of past discussions. Do not edit the contents of this page. If you wish to start a new discussion or revive an old one, please do so on the current talk page. |
Archive 1 |
according to RIAA's sources Rihanna has 71 milion certified sales, can you add her? http://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?content_selector=gold-platinum-searchable-database
I don't think so. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.254.66.250 ( talk) 05:44, 14 December 2013 (UTC)
Janet has NOT sold 100 million records! Where is your source for that? I demand to know! It sounds like it came from www.notachanceinhell.com! MadonnaFan
Somebody has already had a concern about this. While he has not sold 38-40 m albbums as the person said, he has indeed sold about 32m (add up his album sales on his discograpghy page or see RIAA's biggest selling artists in the U.S) i request it to be changed from 27 m to 32-33 m. KingdomHearts25 —Preceding undated comment added 13:00, 24 February 2010 (UTC).
Yes, the problem at the moment is that Interscope aren't certifiying Eminems albums, not even Relapse has been certified yet and that has shipped 2 million. His sold over 40 million if you include Re-Up & 8 Mile but without them it is around 35-36 million based on sales. Both The Marshall Mathers LP & The Eminem Show have shipped/distributed enougth copies to be certified Diamond, but we have to wait for Interscope to pay for the certification i think. AJS2050 19:42, 22 March 2010 (UTC)
Obviously you're mistaken about Eminem. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 188.55.235.255 ( talk) 02:21, 24 September 2011 (UTC)
This entire list is bullcrap and I am going to commit suicide right now. [12:29, October 25, 2005 206.28.60.164]
HAHAHAHA! [02:01, November 21, 2005 LaotianBoy1991]
Nothing on best-selling albums? Trekphiler 20:43, 12 October 2006 (UTC)
This list is outdated and incorrect artist such as Prince Rogers Nelson released albums under different names and bands like The Rolling Stones released albums slightly different from their original name. [23:52, March 30, 2007 The Blizzard King]
The official RIAA list of best-selling music artists in the United States includes ELO with 12 million records sold.
However, the three Gold singles, four Gold albums, two Platinum albums and three Multi Platinum listed ELO albums found using the 'searchable database' equal 13.5 million records sold. This is despite the fact that all of the mentioned albums' and singles' re-certifications are an average of over 20 years old, the most recent taken place in 2000. In addition, only three of the band's twenty US Top 40 hit singles are listed on the website as being certified by the RIAA even once.
If the stats are right, ELO should be much further up the list just based on a handful of old records. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 208.201.247.46 ( talk) 18:19, 24 November 2007 (UTC)
I think the list forgot the Red Hot Chili Peppers... —Preceding unsigned comment added by 98.216.18.32 ( talk) 00:46, 9 April 2008 (UTC)
hi mariah carey sold over 120m. please correct it. i duno how to correct it. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 90.206.65.88 ( talk) 22:55, 12 April 2008 (UTC)
Mariah Carey has been certified 63x by the RIAA, the current does not include the last 2 certifications of her 2006 album, The Eancipation of Mimi. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 78.161.58.41 ( talk) 18:58, 11 May 2008 (UTC)
Britney Spears is definitely on this list somewhere from 54th to 58th I believe with 31M sold. 24.25.215.235 ( talk) 08:31, 28 July 2008 (UTC)
I noticed that iron Butterfly are conspicuous by their absence from this list. 41.245.172.177 ( talk) 16:39, 30 August 2008 (UTC)
why this talk of"usa studio album" the list counts compilations and live(official) as well... check the numbers —Preceding unsigned comment added by 189.30.252.13 ( talk) 17:38, 1 October 2008 (UTC)
Why are The Supremes & Diana Ross absent from certified record sales? This is a travesty! No wonder these lists are jokes and not taken seriously by anyone who has a brain. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 209.244.188.55 ( talk) 02:12, 18 October 2008 (UTC)
How is Three Dog Night not on this list? They are ranked at #67 in U.S. Albums sales by Billboard. The Wikipedia article on the band states they sold 40 million albums. By these RIAA numbers, that would place them between Reba and Prince. Why the inconsistancy?. Between 1968 and 1975, NO artist sold more records than 3DN. They out sold at least 10 of the artists on this list that were recording during the same time period.
Most lists combine single and albums sales. That method of rating puts 3DN in the top 25. There are many artists that sold more singles than albums... I think this listing is a little short sighted and out of skew. People looking for Best Selling Artists want an overall picture not just the RIAA album sales. As I look into other artists on this list, RIAA quotes very different sales figures. I'm very confused.
Devildave ( talk) 22:54, 21 October 2008 (UTC)
Agreed. The Beach Boys should be on this site, and not just because I'm a fan. The Beach Boys are the longest-running and biggest-charting U.S. rock and roll band, similar to Chicago in terms of chart singles. This list includes a lot of lesser-charting artists.-- Don1962 ( talk) 21:34, 4 February 2009 (UTC)
both britney spears and the doors have got another platinum certification so both are at 32 million —Preceding unsigned comment added by Neptune1993 ( talk • contribs) 06:03, 11 February 2009 (UTC)
I don't know if Bocelli sold 20million albums exacly in the US, but I know that he has sold 65 million worldwide and at least 30% were in the US, i would say more so i wouldn't be surprised if he actually sold 25million in the stats or so —Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.69.240.136 ( talk) 07:48, 22 March 2009 (UTC)
I checked and it seams he sold 12 million not 15 like u say, according to the site, wish is kinda low, if u ask me, but it must be true i guess.span style="font-size: smaller;" class="autosigned">—Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.69.240.136 ( talk) 07:48, 31 March 2009 (UTC)
The largest Selling Female artist is not listed? 74.73.176.161 ( talk) 13:24, 27 April 2009 (UTC)
If you are complaining about your favorite band not being on the list, then check the RIAA site'. This list is based on that. Your band may be on the list, but this list currently only has the top 100 best-selling artists according to the RIAA list. We could put the full RIAA list here, but it would be ridiculously long. However, if enough people would like to have the full list here I'm sure me and some other editors could add the rest of it. Discuss. Anonymous Talk Contribs 10:41, 10 June 2009 (UTC)
What happened to Beastie Boys on the page? 75.142.54.211 ( talk) 21:47, 25 October 2009 (UTC)
Seeing as this is NOT a list of best selling music artists in the u.s., the title should change to something like "Artists with most certified albums in the u.s." insted, it makes much more sense. —Preceding unsigned comment added by AJS2050 ( talk • contribs) 15:31, 8 January 2010 (UTC)
Should be up there. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Darth Septic ( talk • contribs) 20:09, 10 January 2010 (UTC)
toni braxton, sarah mclachlin, avril lavigne, neil young, alanis morissette, anne murray. Grmike ( talk) 09:43, 3 February 2010 (UTC)grmike
nothing else but the studio albums
no singles
no live concert
nothing but studio albums
but you named it the best selling artists in the US
people will think in every format
wouldn't that confuse people —Preceding unsigned comment added by 174.116.11.136 ( talk) 00:57, 5 February 2010 (UTC)
i am against this. i counted garth brooks, his singles album videos. hitting 128. usher only studio albums. as well as r kelly.. riaa is picking favorites. i going to the source. but i cant for i dont have a account so you do it. Odin's Beard you. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 174.116.11.136 ( talk) 16:01, 20 February 2010 (UTC)
41.31.225.86 adds a 101st music artist for his own way. I can't keep reverting his or her edits because of the three-revert rule. That's all I want to say. Somebody500 ( talk) 17:50, 25 April 2010 (UTC)
Has he not sold enough to be on this list? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 131.111.1.66 ( talk) 00:28, 29 May 2010 (UTC)
Areed. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 65.189.246.48 ( talk) 02:33, 17 July 2010 (UTC)
METALLICA IS MORE THRASH METAL THAN HEAVY METAL —Preceding unsigned comment added by 186.16.129.4 ( talk) 05:36, 20 July 2010 (UTC)
What's the difference? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 65.189.246.48 ( talk) 03:18, 13 August 2010 (UTC)
This list is clearly false. Term "best-selling music artists" should be about record sales (albums+singles+videos), NOT just album sales. For example, Barbra Streisand is obviously sold more albums than any other female artists, but she is not the best-selling female artist in the United States. If we count overall album/single/video certifications, Madonna and Mariah Carey are bigger-seller than Streisand. I suggest to rename this page to List of best-selling album artists in the United States, or revise it by including single+video certifications for each artist. What do you all think?? Bluesatellite ( talk) 00:59, 13 September 2010 (UTC)
Who here agrees that this list should be extended to atleast 150? -- Ultrablastic123 ( talk) 04:41, 4 December 2010 (UTC)
this group is certified for albums but what about their singles. they should actually be certified for more than 28 million. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.38.77.206 ( talk) 19:27, 29 January 2011 (UTC)
What about Bon Jovi? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 82.27.0.238 ( talk) 19:33, 9 February 2011 (UTC)
RIIA - 90.7 million
-- 88.112.158.87 ( talk) 17:55, 18 February 2011 (UTC)
Nirvana is either not tied for #79 or their listed 30 million total is incorrect. I cannot edit to fix as I don't know what the correct total is, but they are definitely either not listed in the right slot or not listed with the correct total. BugSwat ( talk) 13:46, 27 September 2011 (UTC)
Rihanna isn't in the list and she has over 71.5 million certified sales, according to RIAA. Rihanna RIAA Certification — Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.139.76.197 ( talk) 18:41, 22 May 2013 (UTC)
But the list is based just on albums sales, not on videos, singles, albums , etc together. So the tittle of the list is wrong, because they're not the best sellibg artist they are the best selling albums artists! So you guys should correct the tittle of the article or reestructure the list and add the real sales of artist in the USA based on the certified sales by RIAA! And the article will be more completed and correct! I'm just suggesting this for the better of the article. Because artist like Rihanna, Taylor swift, Lady Gaga, Katy Perry will not be on the list and they records sales are enogh to be on the list. Thanks, i hope my suggestions and opinion could help you guys! — Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.139.76.197 ( talk) 01:11, 1 July 2013 (UTC)
That list should include all certifications. Including only albums is no matter and spread wrong idea of who are best-selling music artists in the US. · Mcdonalds ( talk · cont), at 12:34, 15 May 2012 (UTC)
I think the article shouldn't only use albums sales. We should use all the certification of singles and albums that RIAA provide. RIAA gold & platinum I think you should sum all the certificated sales and put the total of every artist, including singles and albums. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.139.76.197 ( talk) 03:35, 25 May 2013 (UTC)
I think this discussion should be reopened. The title of the article is very confusing, as it suggests that it is a list of the best-selling artists in the Unites States, not a list of the artists with most albums sold. I think the title should be changed. -- 190.237.5.43 ( talk) 05:44, 2 January 2014 (UTC)
I have undone recent changes to this article which changed the format (though not the description) in a manner inconsistent with the source. This article tracks sales by albums, which are certified shipped units. This is an easily verifiable list of top-selling artists. The change added a column for digital single sales and then combined those numbers to create a wholly new ranking - so Taylor Swift was placed fourth on the list for combining 86 million digital singles and 23.5 million albums to 109.5 millions above the Eagles, who have sold 101 million albums. This is Wikipedia:Synthesis, as it puts the sales charts on an equal footing to determine "best-selling" notwithstanding that digital singles and albums are very different things. Separate articles may be appropriate or separate sections within the article, but combining them into a new ranking not put forth by the RIAA violates WP:V. -- Moonriddengirl (talk) 01:31, 10 June 2015 (UTC)
Every artist on this list has a link to a Wikipedia article where people can go to get more information about the artist, including the genre of music the play.
The bulk of the genres on this article are unsourced. But all of them, even the ones that are sourced, are constantly being changed by readers and users who think they know better what "heavy metal" or "rap" is (and sometimes I agree with them, but I know the whole original research thing).
I think the column is a "nice to have," but a "nice to have" that comes with a heavy maintenance cost and invites a ton of speculation. Since it isn't essential and since it constantly challenges verifiability, where it is sourced at all, I propose removing it. Unless there are objections, I will probably do so in about a week. -- Moonriddengirl (talk) 14:57, 11 October 2015 (UTC)
This "best-selling" title has already been misleading since day one. The RIAA never provide "sales", they provide certifications based on "shipments" to record stores. Nielsen SoundScan is the one tracking "sales" in the US. Moreover, the new metodology of the RIAA counts streaming into their certifications, which create a huge gap between sold units and certified units (for example Ariana Grande's album My Everything received double platinum (2,000,000 certified units), but it only sold 692,000 copies. Bluesatellite ( talk) 02:03, 26 June 2016 (UTC)
elton johns cert number is way off by at least 18 million .the lion king is certified diamond but elton does not get any credit while every other artist like the beegees for snf who share the album with mutiple artists get the credit and whitney houston who only wrote one song on that soundtrack gets the credit why does elton not get the credit for writing all the songs with tim rice?????? billy joel ,led zepplin the list is endless with their double albums getting certified double because there is two discs but elton johns goodbye yellow brick road double album sold now over 8 million in the states cannot get the same credit as these other albums up to 16 million why????????06:59, 15 August 2016 (UTC)06:59, 15 August 2016 (UTC)~~ — Preceding unsigned comment added by 203.160.125.32 ( talk)
I SEE ELTON JOHNS TOTAL CERTIFIED SALES IN THE STATES AS JUMP TO 129 MILLION ON THE LIST OF BEST SELLING ARTISTS BUT THAT FIGURE HAS NOT CHANGED ON THE BEST CERTIFIED ARTISTS IN THE US.WHY?05:05, 16 May 2018 (UTC)05:05, 16 May 2018 (UTC)05:05, 16 May 2018 (UTC)~ — Preceding unsigned comment added by 121.75.168.32 ( talk)
Hello, I was just looking through this page and I couldn't help but notice that Eminem is listed both as the #1, with 178 million, and as the #30 spot with 44.5 million. Diamond Age ( talk) 13:26, 13 November 2017 (UTC)
So is Britney, at 42 and 48. 73.53.72.243 ( talk) 16:13, 17 August 2018 (UTC)
@ Bluesatellite: Why was this section removed? It was a combination of singles and album certifications. Also I don't appreciate you insinuating that I was trying to put Drake and Rihanna at the top, when I clearly put The Beatles, Elvis, etc. at the top. -- Bobtinin (talk) 19:10, 8 July 2018 (UTC)
The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) announced today that 21 different songs and three albums, spanning Jackson’s career, have garnered major new Gold and Platinum certifications.
The new song awards mean that Michael Jackson enjoys 40 million cumulative digital singles certifications in the US
[1].
Akhiljaxxn (
talk)
17:17, 23 August 2018 (UTC)
References
numbers are wildly off. Shania Twain for example has her sales listed for a single album (Come on Over certified 40 million) — Preceding unsigned comment added by 75.117.165.109 ( talk) 01:13, 20 April 2019 (UTC)
I'd like to make a minor change to move the units column left to be between the rank and the name. This is to keep the two multi-row columns (rank and units) together to make it easier to see that they are tied together. It also makes it clearer when editing. E.g.:
No. | Units (millions) |
Name | Nat. | Active |
---|---|---|---|---|
48 | 34.5 | Bon Jovi | US | 1980s–2010s |
Dave Matthews Band | US | 1990s–2010s | ||
Britney Spears | US | 1990s–2010s | ||
51 | 33.5 | Phil Collins | UK | 1970s–2010s |
John Denver | US | 1960s–1990s |
It would also be nice if we could try to update it just once a month or so instead of whenever there's a change, since the singles table seems to change every day or two. I don't mind doing it – I wrote a script to scrape the website, which might eventually evolve to a more automated update process, but for now, I'd rather not do it so often, especially having to reconcile with other edits.
Thoughts? —[ AlanM1( talk)]— 18:32, 11 May 2019 (UTC)
When I downloaded and processed the RIAA website source at 2019-12-28T21:53Z and compared against the previous data from 2019-12-01T12:15Z, in the Top Artists Albums list, there were some unusually high changes, which I did not yet put in the article, pending confirmation/correction from RIAA, who I will email:
The minimum number of units to be certified on the list is 10 million, and the last 4 here were previously not on the list. All of these reflect an unreasonably large change, so I'm investigating further before entering them. —[ AlanM1( talk)]— 23:03, 28 December 2019 (UTC)
Is it a good idea to add a section for total certified units? (singles, albums and features combined) DriesTaeymans ( talk) 07:34, 15 April 2021 (UTC)
why oh why isnt goodbye yellow brick road by e.j not double certified like every other double album in history its sold in excess of eight million it has two records in the sleeve why is it not 16 million like every other double album ever put out billy joel led zepplin all doubles all double certified03:36, 29 November 2021 (UTC)03:36, 29 November 2021 (UTC)03:36, 29 November 2021 (UTC)~ — Preceding unsigned comment added by 27.252.27.137 ( talk)
I'm considering changing the second list (digital singles) from top 50 to top 100 (like the album list). Currently, that would put numbers 99 and 100 at 22.5 million units – no small feat. It's also interesting to watch more of a rising star's activity before they get up into the slower-moving 30+ million area. Maybe the additional work of maintaining the additional movement going on in those lower numbers will finally move me to finish automating it, too. Any objections? —[ AlanM1 ( talk)]— 17:48, 6 February 2022 (UTC)
The following Wikimedia Commons file used on this page or its Wikidata item has been nominated for speedy deletion:
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The following Wikimedia Commons file used on this page or its Wikidata item has been nominated for deletion:
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this list is so old has not been up dated in yrs what crap from wiki 121.75.192.34 ( talk) 07:34, 7 June 2023 (UTC)
This is an archive of past discussions. Do not edit the contents of this page. If you wish to start a new discussion or revive an old one, please do so on the current talk page. |
Archive 1 |
according to RIAA's sources Rihanna has 71 milion certified sales, can you add her? http://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?content_selector=gold-platinum-searchable-database
I don't think so. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.254.66.250 ( talk) 05:44, 14 December 2013 (UTC)
Janet has NOT sold 100 million records! Where is your source for that? I demand to know! It sounds like it came from www.notachanceinhell.com! MadonnaFan
Somebody has already had a concern about this. While he has not sold 38-40 m albbums as the person said, he has indeed sold about 32m (add up his album sales on his discograpghy page or see RIAA's biggest selling artists in the U.S) i request it to be changed from 27 m to 32-33 m. KingdomHearts25 —Preceding undated comment added 13:00, 24 February 2010 (UTC).
Yes, the problem at the moment is that Interscope aren't certifiying Eminems albums, not even Relapse has been certified yet and that has shipped 2 million. His sold over 40 million if you include Re-Up & 8 Mile but without them it is around 35-36 million based on sales. Both The Marshall Mathers LP & The Eminem Show have shipped/distributed enougth copies to be certified Diamond, but we have to wait for Interscope to pay for the certification i think. AJS2050 19:42, 22 March 2010 (UTC)
Obviously you're mistaken about Eminem. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 188.55.235.255 ( talk) 02:21, 24 September 2011 (UTC)
This entire list is bullcrap and I am going to commit suicide right now. [12:29, October 25, 2005 206.28.60.164]
HAHAHAHA! [02:01, November 21, 2005 LaotianBoy1991]
Nothing on best-selling albums? Trekphiler 20:43, 12 October 2006 (UTC)
This list is outdated and incorrect artist such as Prince Rogers Nelson released albums under different names and bands like The Rolling Stones released albums slightly different from their original name. [23:52, March 30, 2007 The Blizzard King]
The official RIAA list of best-selling music artists in the United States includes ELO with 12 million records sold.
However, the three Gold singles, four Gold albums, two Platinum albums and three Multi Platinum listed ELO albums found using the 'searchable database' equal 13.5 million records sold. This is despite the fact that all of the mentioned albums' and singles' re-certifications are an average of over 20 years old, the most recent taken place in 2000. In addition, only three of the band's twenty US Top 40 hit singles are listed on the website as being certified by the RIAA even once.
If the stats are right, ELO should be much further up the list just based on a handful of old records. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 208.201.247.46 ( talk) 18:19, 24 November 2007 (UTC)
I think the list forgot the Red Hot Chili Peppers... —Preceding unsigned comment added by 98.216.18.32 ( talk) 00:46, 9 April 2008 (UTC)
hi mariah carey sold over 120m. please correct it. i duno how to correct it. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 90.206.65.88 ( talk) 22:55, 12 April 2008 (UTC)
Mariah Carey has been certified 63x by the RIAA, the current does not include the last 2 certifications of her 2006 album, The Eancipation of Mimi. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 78.161.58.41 ( talk) 18:58, 11 May 2008 (UTC)
Britney Spears is definitely on this list somewhere from 54th to 58th I believe with 31M sold. 24.25.215.235 ( talk) 08:31, 28 July 2008 (UTC)
I noticed that iron Butterfly are conspicuous by their absence from this list. 41.245.172.177 ( talk) 16:39, 30 August 2008 (UTC)
why this talk of"usa studio album" the list counts compilations and live(official) as well... check the numbers —Preceding unsigned comment added by 189.30.252.13 ( talk) 17:38, 1 October 2008 (UTC)
Why are The Supremes & Diana Ross absent from certified record sales? This is a travesty! No wonder these lists are jokes and not taken seriously by anyone who has a brain. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 209.244.188.55 ( talk) 02:12, 18 October 2008 (UTC)
How is Three Dog Night not on this list? They are ranked at #67 in U.S. Albums sales by Billboard. The Wikipedia article on the band states they sold 40 million albums. By these RIAA numbers, that would place them between Reba and Prince. Why the inconsistancy?. Between 1968 and 1975, NO artist sold more records than 3DN. They out sold at least 10 of the artists on this list that were recording during the same time period.
Most lists combine single and albums sales. That method of rating puts 3DN in the top 25. There are many artists that sold more singles than albums... I think this listing is a little short sighted and out of skew. People looking for Best Selling Artists want an overall picture not just the RIAA album sales. As I look into other artists on this list, RIAA quotes very different sales figures. I'm very confused.
Devildave ( talk) 22:54, 21 October 2008 (UTC)
Agreed. The Beach Boys should be on this site, and not just because I'm a fan. The Beach Boys are the longest-running and biggest-charting U.S. rock and roll band, similar to Chicago in terms of chart singles. This list includes a lot of lesser-charting artists.-- Don1962 ( talk) 21:34, 4 February 2009 (UTC)
both britney spears and the doors have got another platinum certification so both are at 32 million —Preceding unsigned comment added by Neptune1993 ( talk • contribs) 06:03, 11 February 2009 (UTC)
I don't know if Bocelli sold 20million albums exacly in the US, but I know that he has sold 65 million worldwide and at least 30% were in the US, i would say more so i wouldn't be surprised if he actually sold 25million in the stats or so —Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.69.240.136 ( talk) 07:48, 22 March 2009 (UTC)
I checked and it seams he sold 12 million not 15 like u say, according to the site, wish is kinda low, if u ask me, but it must be true i guess.span style="font-size: smaller;" class="autosigned">—Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.69.240.136 ( talk) 07:48, 31 March 2009 (UTC)
The largest Selling Female artist is not listed? 74.73.176.161 ( talk) 13:24, 27 April 2009 (UTC)
If you are complaining about your favorite band not being on the list, then check the RIAA site'. This list is based on that. Your band may be on the list, but this list currently only has the top 100 best-selling artists according to the RIAA list. We could put the full RIAA list here, but it would be ridiculously long. However, if enough people would like to have the full list here I'm sure me and some other editors could add the rest of it. Discuss. Anonymous Talk Contribs 10:41, 10 June 2009 (UTC)
What happened to Beastie Boys on the page? 75.142.54.211 ( talk) 21:47, 25 October 2009 (UTC)
Seeing as this is NOT a list of best selling music artists in the u.s., the title should change to something like "Artists with most certified albums in the u.s." insted, it makes much more sense. —Preceding unsigned comment added by AJS2050 ( talk • contribs) 15:31, 8 January 2010 (UTC)
Should be up there. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Darth Septic ( talk • contribs) 20:09, 10 January 2010 (UTC)
toni braxton, sarah mclachlin, avril lavigne, neil young, alanis morissette, anne murray. Grmike ( talk) 09:43, 3 February 2010 (UTC)grmike
nothing else but the studio albums
no singles
no live concert
nothing but studio albums
but you named it the best selling artists in the US
people will think in every format
wouldn't that confuse people —Preceding unsigned comment added by 174.116.11.136 ( talk) 00:57, 5 February 2010 (UTC)
i am against this. i counted garth brooks, his singles album videos. hitting 128. usher only studio albums. as well as r kelly.. riaa is picking favorites. i going to the source. but i cant for i dont have a account so you do it. Odin's Beard you. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 174.116.11.136 ( talk) 16:01, 20 February 2010 (UTC)
41.31.225.86 adds a 101st music artist for his own way. I can't keep reverting his or her edits because of the three-revert rule. That's all I want to say. Somebody500 ( talk) 17:50, 25 April 2010 (UTC)
Has he not sold enough to be on this list? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 131.111.1.66 ( talk) 00:28, 29 May 2010 (UTC)
Areed. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 65.189.246.48 ( talk) 02:33, 17 July 2010 (UTC)
METALLICA IS MORE THRASH METAL THAN HEAVY METAL —Preceding unsigned comment added by 186.16.129.4 ( talk) 05:36, 20 July 2010 (UTC)
What's the difference? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 65.189.246.48 ( talk) 03:18, 13 August 2010 (UTC)
This list is clearly false. Term "best-selling music artists" should be about record sales (albums+singles+videos), NOT just album sales. For example, Barbra Streisand is obviously sold more albums than any other female artists, but she is not the best-selling female artist in the United States. If we count overall album/single/video certifications, Madonna and Mariah Carey are bigger-seller than Streisand. I suggest to rename this page to List of best-selling album artists in the United States, or revise it by including single+video certifications for each artist. What do you all think?? Bluesatellite ( talk) 00:59, 13 September 2010 (UTC)
Who here agrees that this list should be extended to atleast 150? -- Ultrablastic123 ( talk) 04:41, 4 December 2010 (UTC)
this group is certified for albums but what about their singles. they should actually be certified for more than 28 million. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.38.77.206 ( talk) 19:27, 29 January 2011 (UTC)
What about Bon Jovi? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 82.27.0.238 ( talk) 19:33, 9 February 2011 (UTC)
RIIA - 90.7 million
-- 88.112.158.87 ( talk) 17:55, 18 February 2011 (UTC)
Nirvana is either not tied for #79 or their listed 30 million total is incorrect. I cannot edit to fix as I don't know what the correct total is, but they are definitely either not listed in the right slot or not listed with the correct total. BugSwat ( talk) 13:46, 27 September 2011 (UTC)
Rihanna isn't in the list and she has over 71.5 million certified sales, according to RIAA. Rihanna RIAA Certification — Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.139.76.197 ( talk) 18:41, 22 May 2013 (UTC)
But the list is based just on albums sales, not on videos, singles, albums , etc together. So the tittle of the list is wrong, because they're not the best sellibg artist they are the best selling albums artists! So you guys should correct the tittle of the article or reestructure the list and add the real sales of artist in the USA based on the certified sales by RIAA! And the article will be more completed and correct! I'm just suggesting this for the better of the article. Because artist like Rihanna, Taylor swift, Lady Gaga, Katy Perry will not be on the list and they records sales are enogh to be on the list. Thanks, i hope my suggestions and opinion could help you guys! — Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.139.76.197 ( talk) 01:11, 1 July 2013 (UTC)
That list should include all certifications. Including only albums is no matter and spread wrong idea of who are best-selling music artists in the US. · Mcdonalds ( talk · cont), at 12:34, 15 May 2012 (UTC)
I think the article shouldn't only use albums sales. We should use all the certification of singles and albums that RIAA provide. RIAA gold & platinum I think you should sum all the certificated sales and put the total of every artist, including singles and albums. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.139.76.197 ( talk) 03:35, 25 May 2013 (UTC)
I think this discussion should be reopened. The title of the article is very confusing, as it suggests that it is a list of the best-selling artists in the Unites States, not a list of the artists with most albums sold. I think the title should be changed. -- 190.237.5.43 ( talk) 05:44, 2 January 2014 (UTC)
I have undone recent changes to this article which changed the format (though not the description) in a manner inconsistent with the source. This article tracks sales by albums, which are certified shipped units. This is an easily verifiable list of top-selling artists. The change added a column for digital single sales and then combined those numbers to create a wholly new ranking - so Taylor Swift was placed fourth on the list for combining 86 million digital singles and 23.5 million albums to 109.5 millions above the Eagles, who have sold 101 million albums. This is Wikipedia:Synthesis, as it puts the sales charts on an equal footing to determine "best-selling" notwithstanding that digital singles and albums are very different things. Separate articles may be appropriate or separate sections within the article, but combining them into a new ranking not put forth by the RIAA violates WP:V. -- Moonriddengirl (talk) 01:31, 10 June 2015 (UTC)
Every artist on this list has a link to a Wikipedia article where people can go to get more information about the artist, including the genre of music the play.
The bulk of the genres on this article are unsourced. But all of them, even the ones that are sourced, are constantly being changed by readers and users who think they know better what "heavy metal" or "rap" is (and sometimes I agree with them, but I know the whole original research thing).
I think the column is a "nice to have," but a "nice to have" that comes with a heavy maintenance cost and invites a ton of speculation. Since it isn't essential and since it constantly challenges verifiability, where it is sourced at all, I propose removing it. Unless there are objections, I will probably do so in about a week. -- Moonriddengirl (talk) 14:57, 11 October 2015 (UTC)
This "best-selling" title has already been misleading since day one. The RIAA never provide "sales", they provide certifications based on "shipments" to record stores. Nielsen SoundScan is the one tracking "sales" in the US. Moreover, the new metodology of the RIAA counts streaming into their certifications, which create a huge gap between sold units and certified units (for example Ariana Grande's album My Everything received double platinum (2,000,000 certified units), but it only sold 692,000 copies. Bluesatellite ( talk) 02:03, 26 June 2016 (UTC)
elton johns cert number is way off by at least 18 million .the lion king is certified diamond but elton does not get any credit while every other artist like the beegees for snf who share the album with mutiple artists get the credit and whitney houston who only wrote one song on that soundtrack gets the credit why does elton not get the credit for writing all the songs with tim rice?????? billy joel ,led zepplin the list is endless with their double albums getting certified double because there is two discs but elton johns goodbye yellow brick road double album sold now over 8 million in the states cannot get the same credit as these other albums up to 16 million why????????06:59, 15 August 2016 (UTC)06:59, 15 August 2016 (UTC)~~ — Preceding unsigned comment added by 203.160.125.32 ( talk)
I SEE ELTON JOHNS TOTAL CERTIFIED SALES IN THE STATES AS JUMP TO 129 MILLION ON THE LIST OF BEST SELLING ARTISTS BUT THAT FIGURE HAS NOT CHANGED ON THE BEST CERTIFIED ARTISTS IN THE US.WHY?05:05, 16 May 2018 (UTC)05:05, 16 May 2018 (UTC)05:05, 16 May 2018 (UTC)~ — Preceding unsigned comment added by 121.75.168.32 ( talk)
Hello, I was just looking through this page and I couldn't help but notice that Eminem is listed both as the #1, with 178 million, and as the #30 spot with 44.5 million. Diamond Age ( talk) 13:26, 13 November 2017 (UTC)
So is Britney, at 42 and 48. 73.53.72.243 ( talk) 16:13, 17 August 2018 (UTC)
@ Bluesatellite: Why was this section removed? It was a combination of singles and album certifications. Also I don't appreciate you insinuating that I was trying to put Drake and Rihanna at the top, when I clearly put The Beatles, Elvis, etc. at the top. -- Bobtinin (talk) 19:10, 8 July 2018 (UTC)
The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) announced today that 21 different songs and three albums, spanning Jackson’s career, have garnered major new Gold and Platinum certifications.
The new song awards mean that Michael Jackson enjoys 40 million cumulative digital singles certifications in the US
[1].
Akhiljaxxn (
talk)
17:17, 23 August 2018 (UTC)
References
numbers are wildly off. Shania Twain for example has her sales listed for a single album (Come on Over certified 40 million) — Preceding unsigned comment added by 75.117.165.109 ( talk) 01:13, 20 April 2019 (UTC)
I'd like to make a minor change to move the units column left to be between the rank and the name. This is to keep the two multi-row columns (rank and units) together to make it easier to see that they are tied together. It also makes it clearer when editing. E.g.:
No. | Units (millions) |
Name | Nat. | Active |
---|---|---|---|---|
48 | 34.5 | Bon Jovi | US | 1980s–2010s |
Dave Matthews Band | US | 1990s–2010s | ||
Britney Spears | US | 1990s–2010s | ||
51 | 33.5 | Phil Collins | UK | 1970s–2010s |
John Denver | US | 1960s–1990s |
It would also be nice if we could try to update it just once a month or so instead of whenever there's a change, since the singles table seems to change every day or two. I don't mind doing it – I wrote a script to scrape the website, which might eventually evolve to a more automated update process, but for now, I'd rather not do it so often, especially having to reconcile with other edits.
Thoughts? —[ AlanM1( talk)]— 18:32, 11 May 2019 (UTC)
When I downloaded and processed the RIAA website source at 2019-12-28T21:53Z and compared against the previous data from 2019-12-01T12:15Z, in the Top Artists Albums list, there were some unusually high changes, which I did not yet put in the article, pending confirmation/correction from RIAA, who I will email:
The minimum number of units to be certified on the list is 10 million, and the last 4 here were previously not on the list. All of these reflect an unreasonably large change, so I'm investigating further before entering them. —[ AlanM1( talk)]— 23:03, 28 December 2019 (UTC)
Is it a good idea to add a section for total certified units? (singles, albums and features combined) DriesTaeymans ( talk) 07:34, 15 April 2021 (UTC)
why oh why isnt goodbye yellow brick road by e.j not double certified like every other double album in history its sold in excess of eight million it has two records in the sleeve why is it not 16 million like every other double album ever put out billy joel led zepplin all doubles all double certified03:36, 29 November 2021 (UTC)03:36, 29 November 2021 (UTC)03:36, 29 November 2021 (UTC)~ — Preceding unsigned comment added by 27.252.27.137 ( talk)
I'm considering changing the second list (digital singles) from top 50 to top 100 (like the album list). Currently, that would put numbers 99 and 100 at 22.5 million units – no small feat. It's also interesting to watch more of a rising star's activity before they get up into the slower-moving 30+ million area. Maybe the additional work of maintaining the additional movement going on in those lower numbers will finally move me to finish automating it, too. Any objections? —[ AlanM1 ( talk)]— 17:48, 6 February 2022 (UTC)
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this list is so old has not been up dated in yrs what crap from wiki 121.75.192.34 ( talk) 07:34, 7 June 2023 (UTC)