Talk:List of best-selling albums worldwide

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[edit] FL (CLOSED)

Ok are we ready for FL? Realist2 ('Come Speak To Me') 00:31, 18 May 2008 (UTC)

The moment we've all been waiting for! Yes, we are ready for FL, I think. You're going to put pictures after it passes? Cheers, Kodster (heLLo) (Me did that) 00:44, 18 May 2008 (UTC)
Might not bother. Realist2 ('Come Speak To Me') 00:46, 18 May 2008 (UTC)
OK fingers crossed. --Realist2 ('Come Speak To Me') 00:59, 18 May 2008 (UTC)

[edit] In A Gadda Da Vida (Resolved)

I have seen it claimed in various places that it has sold over 25 million copies worldwide. Does anyone have an appropriate link, and could then add it? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Dr Rgne (talk • contribs) 14:40, 24 May 2008 (UTC)

Er, sorry that's 30 million, not 25... —Preceding unsigned comment added by Dr Rgne (talk • contribs) 18:00, 24 May 2008 (UTC)

If its reliably sourced it can be added, ive never heard the claim myself but if sourced its not a problem. Please sign your posts otherwise it doesnt come up on my watchlist, and i dont know youve left a message. Cheers. --Realist2 (Come Speak To Me) 20:06, 26 May 2008 (UTC)

http://www.amazon.com/Ball-Iron-Butterfly/dp/B000025APG http://www.classicbands.com/IronButterflyInterview.html http://daz.com/artists/Iron%20Butterfly.html http://www.jambase.com/Artists/42998/Iron-Butterfly/Bio

I also have the book "Guinness Book of Rock Stars"(the 1993 edition:( ). At that point the album was said to have sold "over 25 million copies worldwide". The 30 million figure is from 2006, I think. Note that Rolling Stone magazine (and also the In A Gadda DA Vida wiki page(?) ) have the figure listed at 4 million!! In reality the platinum award was specifically created by Ahmed Ertegun(sp?) as "the album has gone gold at least 20 times over" (quote from the Guinness Book). Dr Rgne (talk) 07:14, 27 May 2008 (UTC)

Wc can see what others think but im not sure any of the sources are reliable enough. I cant see a sales figure in the Amazon link. The classic bands source is just an interview with passing comments - anything can be said in an interview. The last two are better but they have no auther details or date. Realist2 (Come Speak To Me) 09:04, 27 May 2008 (UTC)


What exactly would be an acceptable source? It is unlikely that a "modern rock" magazine would do an article stating the sales of a 1968 album. I could have listed hundreds of sites where the figure of 30 million is accepted as fact. There are some links on this article that are essentially just some website stating something matter-as-factly. The 30 million sales for In A Gadda Da Vida is far more widely accepted than the "104 million" sales of Thriller(most reports say approximately 54 million). I'm not sure exactly what you're looking for... Dr Rgne (talk) 09:30, 27 May 2008 (UTC)

Its not the figure that is the problem, no1 honestly believes the 104/108 figure but all that matters is there are some damn reliable sources out there that use the figure. Its not the figure, its the source. If you find a source that says "In A Gadda Da Vida" sold 200 million copies and the source was the BBC it would be included instantly regardless of if its believable.

I suggest you look at the sources already in the article to see the quality of them. Some are better sources than others but they're all good (some are slightly outdated though), still im not saying your claim wount be included, others might disagree with my analysis which is absolutely fine. "Kodster" is quit good with these things so i would wait for him to comment. Realist2 (Come Speak To Me) 10:38, 27 May 2008 (UTC)

The Independent lisst it as "over 20 million copies", so I guess it can be added.[1] Fram (talk) 11:26, 30 May 2008 (UTC)
Yes, very good source, i will add accordingly, cheers. — Realist2 (Come Speak To Me) 13:16, 30 May 2008 (UTC)

Sorry to offend, but I do not think this has been resolved. The book I mentioned was incorrect. Erm. The correct book is "The Virgin Encyclopedia of Sixties Music" by Colin Larkin. I have the 1997 edition, which I managed to find. It is entirely probable that there are later versions. The ISBN is 0-7535-0149-X, or 9 780753 501498. I'm not sure which number is which. Anyway, on page 247, Iron Butterfly get an article, and near the end of their article it states(and I'm copying word-for-word here) "By 1993 their legendary second album had sold an astonishing 25 million copies and in 1995 the band reformed once more for a further anniversary tour". Obviously their reforming for an anniversary tour in 1995 is irrelevant here, but this respected published source, clearly states the "25 million mark". That's by 1993(and mentioned in 1997). I would be very keen to know if/when Larkin/Virgin updated/published later editions of this book, as I'm pretty sure the "30 million mark" would be noted. That's speculation on my part. However the 1997 book clearly and unambiguously states the "25 million by 1993" part. Dr Rgne (talk) 14:36, 30 May 2008 (UTC)

We cant speculate, we could bump it up to 25 million but ill need to go research and see if the book is viewed as credible/respected. — Realist2 (Come Speak To Me) 15:04, 30 May 2008 (UTC)

I realise I'm getting tedious now, but will these do?

http://www.woofstock.org/bands/bands.html http://www.rock.co.za/rockofages/index060216.html http://www.johnrandals.wordpress.com/2008/03/13/urban-legend-in-the-garden-of-eden/

And on and on. If nothing else, the first link should be considered reliable enough. It's certainly more reliable than certain other sources used... Dr Rgne (talk) 16:08, 30 May 2008 (UTC)

Just because other sources are not perfect doesnt mean we let standards slip to let your suggestion in. The first one is the most reliable, its nowhere near as reliable as the independant source however, i would be reluctant to change it, im not sure your sources are good enough for FL. An admin should express their opinion and ill hapilly support that. — Realist2 (Come Speak To Me) 16:17, 30 May 2008 (UTC)

I guess the 25 million can be reliable added from this newspaper source from 2006:[2]. Not so well known as the Independent, but more recent, and reliable enough for our purposes. Sources like woofstock are not acceptable per WP:RS. Fram (talk) 19:33, 30 May 2008 (UTC)
Agree, ill update accordingly, cheers Fram. — Realist2 (Come Speak To Me) 19:44, 30 May 2008 (UTC)

[edit] AC/DC (Resolved)

The reference for Back in Black only claims 19 million albums sold, not the 42 million in the article. Can we please at least have references that match the claims in the Wikipedia article? One of the two needs to be changed - either a more accurate citation or a revised number, but I have no idea which of the two is correct. 09:42, 30 May 2008 (UTC)

There are major issues to be raised with this article. What is the "official" number sold of a various albums? Another good example is the aforementioned "Thriller" which has sold anywhere between 54 and 108 million, according to various sources. Either one single final line should be taken, or any wild claims can be added... Dr Rgne (talk) 10:46, 30 May 2008 (UTC)

No, the AC/DC source does say 42 million, you need to scroll to the bottom, cheers. --— Realist2 (Come Speak To Me) 13:15, 30 May 2008 (UTC)

[edit] What to do with clear errors in reliable sources?

The Brisbane Times seems to be a reliable online newspaper, published by a well-known house. Yet, I doubt that an artist we don't have an article on has sold 20 million copies of one record, as claimed here[3]. I suppose in this case we would be better not to include it in the list? Fram (talk) 12:08, 2 June 2008 (UTC)

If someone wants to include it theres nothing that can stop them, its a reliable source and we are no experts on sales to dispute it. Thats IMO anyway. --— Realist2 (Come Speak To Me) 14:56, 2 June 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Pink Floyd poor source

Pink Floyd - The Wall - 1979 - Rock - 22 - [4]

  • I removed this claim from article its too poor quality. As it should be easy to get something i brought it here. Cheers. --— Realist2 (Come Speak To Me) 15:45, 5 June 2008 (UTC)
Well, it sold 23 million in the US alone[5], so the total figure should be even higher. Fram (talk) 19:16, 5 June 2008 (UTC)
The Norwich Evening News states it as unknown but about 35 million copies.[6] Fram (talk) 19:18, 5 June 2008 (UTC)
We had an edit conflict, I was going to say, somewhere around 30-33. That source doesnt seem sure of itself, it'll be picked to pieces at FL. — Realist2 (Come Speak To Me) 19:25, 5 June 2008 (UTC)
We do have to decide how to count double (and triple) albums. The 23 million sold in the US means that there have been 11,5 million copies of the Wall sold in the US, each consisting of two discs. Which do we count? 06:43, 6 June 2008 (UTC)
We dont count double albums (as there isnt a worldwide policy on it) so it would be 11.5 which means it wouldnt even reach 20 million worldwide. How long in minutes is the album with both CD's included? Pref with a source. Cheers. — Realist2 (Come Speak To Me) 06:49, 6 June 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Whitney Houston album sales (Resolved)

I got the official Whitney Houston site whih claims 42 million for the Boduguard [7] (If you want to check, go on [8] and click on bio], compared to this source [9] whoch is less reliable. Even at the bottom of the page, it says "elling albums according to chart expert Hanboo". I got a very reliable source for Whitney's dbeut album, which sold 25 million [10], but again it was reverted and I was accused of vandalism. Please sort this problem. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 5 octaves (talk • contribs) 02:07, 6 June 2008 (UTC)

Firstly the source thats there now, IS reliable and is used multiple times in this article, it was not deemed unreliable at its last FL. Your source is from Whitneys own site, we have avoiding 1st party sources for this article because they were removed at the last FL. Third party sources only please, that have NO attachment to Whitney. You did shuffle everything around and kept edit warring which looked like vandalism. You have also readded it 3 times which violates 3rr. --— Realist2 (Come Speak To Me) 02:27, 6 June 2008 (UTC)


You said we can't use 1st part sources, but Barbra Steisand's source on list of best-selling albums is her OFFICIAL SITE. So why have you allowed it on the list? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 5 octaves (talk • contribs) 20:34, 6 June 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Barbra S albm

Barbra Streisand - Guilty - 1980 - Pop / Rock - 20

Removed claim, it wasnt a third party source. Adding here. --— Realist2 (Come Speak To Me) 20:43, 6 June 2008 (UTC)

[edit] MJ at 48 million? 68 million? 108 million? No way, BBC reports Thriller at ... 650 million!

It's a reliable source, so it can be included.[11] it could of course be a type for the much more probable 65 million... Fram (talk) 10:56, 10 June 2008 (UTC)

My guess is it was a typo, they either ment 65 or 50. There is another BBC source in the lead that claims 65 so my guess is with that. Alternatively they accidently gave a figure close to how many records he's sold in his lifetime. Thats a whoping big mistake though. lol — Realist2 (Come Speak To Me) 11:40, 10 June 2008 (UTC)