Talk:List of best-selling albums by year in the United States

2016: Views or 25
There are two sets of official numbers. One of them is the traditional album sales, the other is the equivalent album units sold, which is a combination of actual albums sold and streaming. Adele’s 25 was the year’s top-selling album, however Drakes Views was the most popular album due its enormous appeal on streaming services. Personally I think we should keep the numbers as traditional album sold because that is how all the numbers on the page are given. If we start changing only for some of them, then it will introduce inconsistency. An alternative both sets of numbers can be used. Album-equivalent unit was incorporated following the decline of album sales, however this page is about best-selling albums, not most popular albums (Billboard ranks most popular albums based on equivalent albums). --Cary (talk) 12:53, 8 January 2017 (UTC)
 * This list echoes what Billboard and Nielsen name as its "Top Album of the Year", the title of the cited source is "Drake's 'Views' Is Nielsen Music's Top Album of 2016 in the U.S.", based on its physical sales and equivalent albums. Also, all the albums on here are not based on pure sales, prior to 1991 Billboard used a different methodology to name the bestseller. Billboard changes their rules, as they did last year, and this page should reflect that, and by Nielsen's definition a certain number of streams constitutes a "sale", this is the count used for RIAA certifications, so yes, this is a representation of what Nielsen considers the best-selling albums. --Shivertimbers433 (talk) 16:00, 8 January 2017 (UTC)
 * This is a list of the best-selling albums by year, not the most popular albums by year or top albums by year. Billboard added streaming information, and revised its ranking methodology with album-equivalent unit instead of pure album sales, to make the chart a better representation of music consumption activity. Billboard 200 doesn't rank the best selling albums anymore - it ranks the most popular albums. If you check Billboard reference, you can see there being two charts. One of them is "Top 10 Albums of 2016" (Drake No. 1), the other is "Top 10 Selling Albums of 2016" (Adele No. 1). So Adele had the best-selling album of the year. Also, Forbes link. --Cary (talk) 17:50, 8 January 2017 (UTC)
 * Again, Nielsen's definition of their methodology is that certain number of streams constitutes a "sale", and to quote your exact words, "equivalent album units sold". There's already an article that ranks albums yearly by Nielsen Soundscan pure sales in the calendar year, Best-selling albums in the United States since Nielsen SoundScan tracking began. This page lists what Billboard and Nielsen considered the Best-selling album of the year based on their methodology, there's no documentation that any of the pre-1992 titles named as the "best-selling" of their year actually sold the most copies, change the title if you disagree with the semantics. Also, per a Nielsen VP, "You can look at the digital numbers and say, ‘The sky is falling,’ but what we’re seeing is that digital consumption of music is more about streaming now than about purchasing”  --Shivertimbers433 (talk) 18:00, 8 January 2017 (UTC)

The album format is becoming less and less popular each year. If we continue to use the album format rather than the equivalent-units format the list will become less and less relevant each year. Therefore it should include album equivalent units. 2tea22 (talk) 23:33, 9 January 2020 (UTC)

Billboard or Soundscan?
For the years 1992 onward, is the best selling album of the year, as defined by this article, the Billboard number one album of the year or the best selling album of the year according to Soundscan as reported by other media outlets? For instance, in 1992 the Billboard number one album, based on the accumulated total number of units sold each week (per Soundscan) from November 30, 1991 through November 28, 1992, was Ropin' the Wind by Garth Brooks (see Billboard.com). But according to Soundscan, the best selling album of 1992 (presumably the calendar year) was Some Gave All by Billy Ray Cyrus (see article). Piriczki (talk) 18:01, 30 January 2017 (UTC)

Do you not understand that "Ropin In The Wind" was released in 1991? It is literally an album with a release date of 1991. Also "Some Gave All" went on to sell 4.2 million copies which is less than the 10 million that "Unplugged" sold. Reminder : the article is for best-selling albums in the US by year not worlwide. Lord NnNn (talk) 06:46, 22 February 2017 (UTC)

Dubious claim
How can Unplugged by Eric Clapton be the best selling album of 1992 at 10 million copies when it only had wholesale shipments of 3 million units by December 1992 according to RIAA certifications? According to Soundscan it wasn't even in the top 10 best selling albums of 1992. Piriczki (talk) 18:14, 31 January 2017 (UTC)


 * The Billboard No. 1 album of 1992 in the United States, based on the accumulated total number of units sold each week (per Soundscan) from November 30, 1991 through November 28, 1992, was Ropin' the Wind by Garth Brooks (see Billboard December 26, 1992 page 67 of 162 in .pdf). Some Gave All by Billy Ray Cyrus was ranked No. 4 and Unplugged by Eric Clapton was No. 36.


 * The Los Angeles Times reported that the best selling album of 1992 in the United States according to Soundscan was Some Gave All and No. 2 was Ropin' the Wind. The inclusion of December 1992 sales and omission of December 1991 sales that were counted in the Billboard totals boosted the more recently released Some Gave All over Ropin' the Wind which was released in 1991. The Bodyguard by Whitney Houston was ranked No. 4. Unplugged was not among the top 10 best selling albums of 1992 according to Soundscan.


 * The Bodyguard was released in 1992 and went on to sell 17 million copies in the United States according to the RIAA. Breathless by Kenny G was also released in 1992 and went on to sell 12 million copies according to the RIAA. Unplugged was released in 1992 and went on to sell 10 million copies according to the RIAA.


 * So, what was the best selling album in the United States in 1992? I'm not allowed to say but, according to Wikipedia, the winner is... Unplugged by Eric Clapton! Piriczki (talk) 16:40, 11 February 2017 (UTC)


 * This seriously seems to be getting personal at this point. For the last time - I have cited the RIAA for the 10 million copies sales. Can you for once start citing your sources before making outrageous claims? Lord NnNn (talk) 06:26, 22 February 2017 (UTC)


 * Fake news! Very unfair! Piriczki (talk) 13:39, 22 February 2017 (UTC)
 * I have changed this back to Brooks. The source I have given does bear that out. The mistake you are making is that on the RIAA page  that you have used, the 10,000,000 sales is the total all-time sales, not just those in 1992. Thanks, Black Kite (talk) 21:39, 25 February 2017 (UTC)
 * Edit: The LA Times is more authoritative (because it uses the SoundScan data from Jan-Dec 1992) so I have altered it to Cyrus. We could possibly mention both methods of counting in the list, but one thing is for certain - the best selling album of 1992 certainly was not Clapton. Black Kite (talk) 21:51, 25 February 2017 (UTC)

The RIAA is the most verifiable page and you have not provided me with enough evidence to think otherwise, therefore I am undoing your edit. The best-selling album of 1992 was in fact Unplugged by Eric Clapton for one simple reason - this list is the best selling albums of 1992 in the US. This means that the list consists of the best selling albums released in the year 1992 and not the amount of records sold in the year 1992. Lord NnNn (talk) 22:16, 25 February 2017 (UTC)
 * Hang on - do you think that this page contains a list of the best-selling albums released in any year? That's not what it does at all - read the article!  If that was the case, the best-selling album released in 1992 was The Bodyguard (sourced by the very same RIAA page), so Clapton would still be wrong! Black Kite (talk) 23:38, 25 February 2017 (UTC)

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Ace of Base and Garth Brooks
The Billboard charts says that there albums were the best selling of 1994 and 1992 respectively but here it says The Lion King soundtrack and Billy Ray Cyrus were the best selling of those years.

I’m just wondering which is true? Bob3458 (talk) 12:17, 2 June 2018 (UTC)


 * The article is correct. At the time the Billboard end of year charts were published the last week of the year. Soundscan figures are for the entire year. -Richard Hendricks (talk) 01:57, 3 June 2018 (UTC)

Best-selling vs. streaming
Shouldn't this list (for albums after 2015) include both actual sales and SPS? As Billboard proclaims Taylor Swift as the first artist to have the annual best-seller five times the inclusion of only streaming-equivalent figures for albums after 2015 conflicts this statement from Billboard. HĐ (talk) 02:55, 13 January 2021 (UTC)
 * Given a clear distinction between the year's "best-selling album" and "Top Album" as calculated by MRC Data MRC 2020, page 16, I have removed streaming-equivalent units and replaced with pure sales figures. Though streaming has become prevalent in the music industry, publications (in this case, Billboard or MRC Data themselves) still refer to the "best-selling albums" based on pure sales figures without SPS. For information regarding SPS, it can be retrieved from List of best-selling albums in the United States of the Nielsen SoundScan era (with an extra note). HĐ (talk) 03:52, 13 January 2021 (UTC)

Incorrect sales figures
The sales figures in the 1990s section are a mess, specifically in 1991 & 1995. Loibird90 (talk) 04:17, 13 January 2022 (UTC)

1991: Carey vs Brooks
1991 was the year that Nielsen/MRC Data was introduced to the music industry. From May 1991, all album sales were monitored by this system. Garth Brooks had the highest number of Nielsen-counted sales for that year, but Mariah Carey’s album outsold his with her combined sales from the pre-SoundScan era. So it would be much more valid to list her album as the bestseller for that year, especially when it’s supported by multiple Wikipedia sources and Billboard. Counting that year solely by MRC Data disregards the first four months of album sales. 2601:8C:C100:9F00:6D64:B110:74FF:E038 (talk) 05:16, 21 March 2022 (UTC)

Didn’t sign in when I published this. Ironman1p (talk) 05:44, 21 March 2022 (UTC)

Mariah Carey has already been certified 3P in Jan 1991. It had sold 2M+ in 1990 and another 3M+ in 1991. The best selling album of 1991 is Brooks' album that sold 4M. Fmfanbama (talk) 04:34, 25 March 2022 (UTC)

You cannot use Billboard YE chart to justify Maraih Carey as the best seller for 1991 calender year. For instance, Billboard 2022 Year End chart tracks from 20 Nov 2021 to Nov 2022. Fmfanbama (talk) 04:45, 25 March 2022 (UTC)

https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1992-02-02-ca-1643-story.html

or in late 1990--have an advantage in the yearly sales race. That’s why such year-end blockbusters as Michael Jackson’s “Dangerous” and Nirvana’s “Nevermind” aren’t included.

The SoundScan Top 10, in millions sold, in 1991:

1--Garth Brooks, “Ropin’ the Wind”: 4 million (released Sept., 1991).

2--Mariah Carey, “Mariah Carey”: 3.38 (June, 1990). Fmfanbama (talk) 04:52, 25 March 2022 (UTC)

Because the figures reflect all sales in 1991 Fmfanbama (talk) 04:52, 25 March 2022 (UTC)

Again as I told the other person these are Nielsen counted sales which did not until tracking until midway into the year. Carey’s album was certified 6x Platunum by the end of the year because she sold additional copies through pre-soundscan rules. Ironman1p (talk) 14:21, 25 March 2022 (UTC)


 * She was certified 6P, with close to 3P shipped in 1990 so her album is not the best selling album of 1991 in US with 3+M copies sold. Brooks shipped 5P and sold 4M in 1991. He's the clear winner Fmfanbama (talk) 08:16, 30 March 2022 (UTC)

1991: Carey vs Brooks
1991 was the year that Nielsen/MRC Data was introduced to the music industry. From May 1991, all album sales were monitored by this system. Garth Brooks had the highest number of Nielsen-counted sales for that year, but Mariah Carey’s album outsold his with her combined sales from the pre-SoundScan era. So it would be much more valid to list her album as the bestseller for that year, especially when it’s supported by multiple Wikipedia sources and Billboard. Counting that year solely by MRC Data disregards the first four months of album sales. Ironman1p (talk) 05:27, 21 March 2022 (UTC)


 * The entire paragraph you've written here is UNSUPPORTED by Billboard or any publication for that matter. Every source on the internet list Brooks and Hootie as the best selling albums of those years. Numbers synthesized by avid fans to "adjust" sales is original research, and is not supported by any reliable source.  ℛonherry  ☘  11:45, 22 March 2022 (UTC)
 * "when it’s supported by multiple Wikipedia sources and Billboard" is literally not true. There is not a single source that supports your claim that "Mariah had the best selling album of 1991". If there is, drop the source here. MRC Data is literally the organization that publishes the best sellers list. I don't know what you're on about. Please stop trolling and wasting editorial time over fancruft. Thank you.  ℛonherry  ☘  11:48, 22 March 2022 (UTC)

Honey I’ve given several sources that have stated that Mariah had the bestseller for that year. And the source you got from business insider says the same thing as well. https://www.businessinsider.com/best-selling-albums-by-year-list-2017-7. This page has had Carey’s album listed for years, MRC Data doesn’t matter since it was only introduced midway in the year. Ironman1p (talk) 12:44, 22 March 2022 (UTC)


 * I don't know what you're talking about. You still are refusing to show me a single source to support to claim but only claiming "there are many". There are no reliable sources to back your argument, while there are multiple RS's like Insider, MRC Data, and LA Times saying Garth has it. And yes, the Insider source says Garth has the best selling album of 1991, not Carey. Please stop trolling. And don't call me "honey".  ℛonherry  ☘  01:16, 23 March 2022 (UTC)

I honestly don’t know what you’re talking about because that Insider source clearly showed Carey having the bestseller for the year. Also another source like https://www.rockmusictimeline.com/1991 states the same thing. MRC Data is invalid to this discussion since the page clearly states that it only should be used for albums from 1992 and onward. Carey sold additional copies from the pre-SoundScan era rules, which is why she eclipsed Brooks’ sales. I edited this page a while back too to change it Carey’s album, no one had a problem with it until now. Ironman1p (talk) 01:47, 23 March 2022 (UTC)

Nielsen Introduction in '91
Should'nt Mariah Carey's album be the bestseller for 1991? I know that some of her sales weren't counted since Nielsen only began tracking Billboard at the end of May 1991, but those would sales would've put her over the Garth Brooks album. The Wiki page for her album also says the same. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Sugilite3 (talk • contribs) 02:02, 23 March 2022 (UTC)

It should be, yeah. Garth Brooks sold more in Nielsen counted sales but Mariah’s album sold more combining Nielsen sales with pre-MRC Data sales, since hers was released in 1990. I’ve been in an edit war for a about two weeks with someone who believes that the MRC Data is the only valid source for that year, but that would disregard the first five months of album sales during 1991. This page clearly mentions in the notes and synopsis that Nielsen data should only be taken into account for 1992 and onwards. Ironman1p (talk) 05:35, 23 March 2022 (UTC)


 * "Sugilite3" is a WP:SOCKPUPPET created by you 11 hours ago.  ℛonherry  ☘  12:54, 23 March 2022 (UTC)