Talk:List of best-selling albums in the United Kingdom/Archive 1

Out of date
This list(actual sales) is useless in an encylopedia. Its out of date and whevever someone puts in up to date info, someone else removes it. Crazy...whats the point of a 2 years out of date list?..it doesnt reflect the true state and just adds to the 'wiki is wrong' myth if people use this information when quoting figures. 86.178.73.8 (talk) 11:49, 12 December 2011 (UTC)

Whoever put in the latest info. THANK YOU. and you clearly labelled the dates as well, to avoid confusion. good job. 86.178.73.8 (talk) 13:47, 23 December 2011 (UTC)

Please note the Official Charts Company (OCC) only has sales going back since 1994. End of year sales were available from Music Week for period 1990-93. Pre-1990 sales should be taken with a pinch of salt. Both of Queen's Greatest Hits albums include sales from The Platinum Collection. Sergeant Pepper's sales based largely on unconfirmed EMI claims. As for Dark Side of the Moon it was cerified 2.7m shipments in 2005 but the OCC gave it 3.9m a year later in the first of its All Time Charts. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Coachtripfan (talk • contribs) 16:55, 18 April 2012 (UTC) The best selling CDs of All Time ie 1982-2012 can be found at this link http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-19783857 (Coachtripfan (talk) 16:09, 2 October 2012 (UTC))

Certification levels
I don't want to be rude but this must be the most ridiculous pages on wikipedia - why have the irrelevant "certified" list on there at all yet alone in prime position. It basically is nothing more than a pointless list related to music industry awards. This is shown by the fact that it includes no Beatles records although we know "Sergeant Peppers" is at least in the Top3. I'll at least change the order. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.181.187.215 (talk) 13:40, 2 April 2010 (UTC)

The certification levels in this list don't match the awards that have been given by the BPI (select "Highest Certifications" link here). What may account for this is that even though an album may have sold enough for a higher certification, if a new award isn't requested it will still have the last one given as they aren't awarded automatically: "BPI member companies apply for titles to be certified via the BPI research department" (in the above link). --JD554 (talk) 11:02, 24 September 2009 (UTC) The List from The BPI Site has errors in it. For a start, they have given both 'Bad', (9th), & 'Immaculate Collection', (10th), the SAME Sales that they had in November 2006 - when The Official Charts Company first published those Lists. Both Albums were on higher Totals by June 2009. Indeed, 'Bad' has sold even more, since Michael Jackson's death. According to The BPI List, neither Album has sold even 1 UK copy between November 2006 & June 2009! Obviously that is incorrect - irrespective of Wikipedia & its, 'Prove it!' responses, to many people who try to stop nonsense being published as 'Fact', on its 'Pages.....82.22.122.117 (talk) 23:25, 1 January 2010 (UTC)

August 2011 reversions
This article does not have to solely rely on the OCC report. It can contain any album as long as the sales figure is reliably sourced. The report only covers until June 2009 and their are more recent figures available. Also being reverted is the capslocking of the headings, which are completely wrong. Copying and pasting previous versions of articles should never be done. Mister sparky (talk) 16:31, 16 August 2011 (UTC)


 * I don't say that is acceptable only the OCC report, but that the list must be updated full, not partial, because these are retail sales and can vary weekly.
 * An example: Sgt. Peppers arrives at 6 million and you update it in the table putting the album to the top. Who says that in the meantime, Greatest Hits by Queen has sold more records than Sgt. Peppers for to be still the #1?
 * For this reason, a list of best selling albums compiled with retail sales must be updated full and not partial, like does Nielsen SoundScan for US and Canada.


 * Furthermore, i don't understand what is wrong in the past version. It's written clearly that there are two lists and that they are differents. In the new version is written only about the BPI and nothing about the OCC list (except the last row). Also the table, in my version were structured in the same way: Rank, Date of release, Title, Artist and Sales (in the BPI list there is Certifications before the Sales). Maybe would be only edited Certified sales with Shipments, otherwise is correct. SJ (talk) 13:00, 17 August 2011 (UTC)
 * the list can be updated as updated sales figures become available, the same as any other list. eg today i updated some of the existing figures from musicweek. the occ only updates full lists every 10 or so years, so you're saying this article has gotta wait 8 more years to be updated? thats ridiculous. and the article still clearly states that their are 2 lists. the sales table should definitely be at the top because it's a list of the best-selling albums, not best-shipmented albums.Mister sparky (talk) 13:30, 17 August 2011 (UTC)
 * All the best-selling lists based on retail sales are updated full and not partial. Some examples:
 * http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_best-selling_albums_in_Japan
 * http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_best-selling_albums_in_Canada
 * http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_best-selling_albums_in_France
 * http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_best-selling_albums_in_Taiwan
 * http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Top_ten_best-selling_albums_of_the_Nielsen_SoundScan_era_%28United_States%29
 * Maybe we can find a compromise. We can do like the Japanese page (first link that i posted). We post the list of best-selling albums updated to 14 June 2009 and after that, we add the notes at the albums that according to reliable sources sold more copies. I think that is the better solution.


 * Now, back to the subject of the introduction. I'm not agree with this version. In the lead is not written nothing about the OCC. It's cited only the BPI and his methodology for to certificate the records. For the tables, i didn't say nothing about to post the Top Sales table before Top Certifications table (it doesn't matter). I say about the structure of the tables. In the old version, the both table were structured in: Rank, date of release, title, artist and sales (also the certifications in the shipment table). In the new version, the tables are different and it's not very good. SJ (talk) 18:41, 17 August 2011 (UTC)
 * you can list as many examples as you like, but it's completely irrelevant per WP:OTHERCRAPEXISTS. with regards to the lead, then add stuff about the OCC. the only info i removed was poorly written and didn't really explain anything. and it's still a work in progress, the certifications table was going to be structured in the same way. it wasn't going to be left different intentionally because i agree it does look odd at the moment. Mister sparky (talk) 21:55, 17 August 2011 (UTC)
 * No, it is called good sense. If we put it on this floor, your edits aren't full sourced. According to your table, Back to Black would be the 28th best selling album of all time in the UK. Have you got a source that claims it? Same thing for The Circus by Take That, 21 by Adele and other albums that you introduced/updated on the list ( not counting that you didn't report many albums http://www.bpi.co.uk/assets/files/top%2040%20albums.pdf ). You done Original researches, that is againt the Wikipedia policy. I would be happy to see an updated list, but not in this way. SJ (talk) 18:10, 19 August 2011 (UTC)
 * so actually sourcing updated sales is against wikipedia policy... that comment has made my interest in this discussion end. how would you suggest updating sales for albums without waiting 8yrs for the bpi to publish another list?? Mister sparky (talk) 22:08, 19 August 2011 (UTC)
 * and "original research" is defined in the wiki article as "The term "original research" (OR) is used on Wikipedia to refer to material—such as facts, allegations, ideas, and stories—for which no reliable published source exists"... musicweek is most definitely a reliable published source. so wrong. Mister sparky (talk) 22:13, 19 August 2011 (UTC)
 * I do not doubt that it is reliable. I simply said that the sources that you posted, don't claim that Back to Black is the 28th best selling album of all time in the UK. Same thing for other albums. You made that list with various sources and it is original research. It also written "That includes any analysis or synthesis of published material that serves to advance a position not advanced by the sources.". SJ (talk) 22:55, 19 August 2011 (UTC)
 * you have to use various updated sources to update the list. otherwise it's not going to be updated for another 7-8 years. Mister sparky (talk) 15:28, 21 August 2011 (UTC)
 * It's not a good reason for to do original researches. I know it's frustrating to see these lists not updated, but this is not the correct way, especially for Wikipedia policy. Now, i will restore the old table and meanwhile, we can think to a solution. SJ (talk) 17:23, 21 August 2011 (UTC)
 * it's called updating the article. and don't quote policy at me i've been here far too long. Mister sparky (talk) 17:28, 21 August 2011 (UTC)
 * Well, and you would know that you are wrong. We must respect the Wikipedia policy. SJ (talk) 17:36, 21 August 2011 (UTC)
 * What ever happened to Winehouse's Back to Black? It was reported that it sold 3.26 million copies. These are some of the references:
 * http://music-mix.ew.com/2011/08/25/amy-winehouse-back-to-black-best-selling-21st-century-uk/
 * http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-14660787
 * http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/08/24/amy-winehouse-back-to-black-record_n_935431.html
 * http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2030074/Amy-Winehouse-sets-charts-record-Back-Black-centurys-best-selling-album.html
 * http://thesop.org/story/20110827/uk-amy-winehouses-back-to-black-bestselling-album-of-21st-century.html
 * http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/top-stories/2011/08/24/amy-winehouse-s-back-to-black-now-biggest-selling-album-of-21st-century-115875-23368996/
 * --Iggy Ax (talk) 11:32, 22 November 2011 (UTC)

The top selling albums is a pointless list when it is so out of date
I can see the logic in having a list of the top certified albums, but there is absolutely no point in showing the top selling albums from two and a half years ago. Either update the sales with reliable sources (as it was) or ditch it because it is now significantly out of date. Given the amount of dicussion on this page suggesting that it needs updated I would say there is a consensus that the article does not work in its current form. Sanders11 (talk) 10:08, 24 December 2011 (UTC)

Ive reverted back to your table. I agree, its ridiculous to have such out of date info, when current info is available sourced and clearly dated, as you did. 86.178.73.8 (talk) 18:35, 26 December 2011 (UTC)

A list of best-selling albums based on retail sales can't be updated to fragments. The OCC list is like the SoundScan list, that is updated fully and not partially. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Best-selling_albums_in_the_United_States_since_Nielsen_SoundScan_tracking_began SJ (talk) 00:08, 27 December 2011 (UTC)


 * From what I can see a new list is released there every year, who knows when the next UK list will be released. Hypothetically, say the next list isn't released for another 15 years, should it remain as it is until then despite being hugely inaccurate and out of date? I agree that the new sales shouldn't really be added with a rank seeing as it is sale figures being referenced, but I don't think we should stick to this rigidly to the detriment of the article's quality; there's no point having an article like this if it doesn't function properly. List of best-selling albums is updated as and when sales figures are announced, and I think if no new figures are released soon then the page should be switched more to follow that style. I would imagine a lot of people viewing this page are looking to see where Adele's sales fit in and I think it's misleading to not mention Adele's sales when they are so widely publicised. Hopefully with new albums featuring on this list the OCC will release an updated version of the list soon. Sanders11 (talk) 18:13, 27 December 2011 (UTC)

I agree completly. eg Say we had sourced figures for 19 of the positions, with just one missing, would that mean we couldnt update the 19 we do have sourced?. If wiki rules say this is so, then the rule needs to be looked at because its not working. many people feel wiki isnt accurate and when you have articles like this, with out of date information, it only adds to that myth. Its ridiculous that the top 2 best selling UK albums of the 21st centurty, which currently hold position 9 and 11 in the REAL list, are not mentioned here. 86.176.51.102 (talk) 14:47, 4 January 2012 (UTC)

This is up to just before Michael Jackson passed away so obviously his totals will be far higher now considering the amounts he sold in the aftermath of his death. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 109.151.197.145 (talk) 12:38, 7 January 2012 (UTC)

At last!!. The OCC have revealed the latest sales. About bloomin' time. Thanks whoever updated this page!. 86.178.229.183 (talk) 15:12, 28 February 2012 (UTC)

...and ANOTHER official OCC update..wow..after 3 years of none, we have had 2 in less than a month. Hope they keep it up, as this page is only as accurate as the last update. 86.178.229.183 (talk) 12:08, 20 March 2012 (UTC)

Yet another update due Tuesday 10th april. This time a full top 40. If noone else does it, then I'll update this page as soon as the OCC publishes the chart. 86.178.229.183 (talk) 00:56, 10 April 2012 (UTC)

Thanks for the top 40, but where are the actual sales figures?. 86.178.229.183 (talk) 04:05, 11 April 2012 (UTC)
 * I had a brief listen to the Radio 2 programme, and I don't think Tony Blackburn ever revealed any actual sales figures, unfortunately. The sales figues for the top 10 could be found here, but it didn't seem right to me to have sales figures for just them and not the other thirty. The lead currently states that that the top two albums all sold over 5 million, and that the top eight both sold over 4 million - is it necessary to go into much more detail? A Thousand Doors (talk &#124; contribs) 11:03, 11 April 2012 (UTC)

Well the only reason most people come to this page, is to see how much the albums actually sold. The certified shipment figures are meaningless as they dont follow the order the albums are listed in, therefore the sales should be included. I dont see why having just the top ten sales affects the rest. But if it cannot be together, then it makes more sense, and much more useful a page, to have just the top ten, as it was until recently. The reason it was just top ten, was precisly this, only those sales certifiable. It was like that for 3 years, what's suddenly changed? Thanks 86.178.229.183 (talk) 00:55, 16 April 2012 (UTC)
 * I included the top 40 for the sake of comprehensiveness – similar articles usually list more than just the top ten. For example, this one goes up to 60, this one 100, and this one 113. If we were to include the sales figures as well, the table would look something like this. Now, I'm not saying that I would be against including this information (as obviously it's highly relevant to the list), and we might be able to source sales figures for the remaining 30 albums from other reliable sources. But we may run into the danger of including sales data for one album that is more recent than another's, which could make the article pretty confusing to follow. To be honest, I'm thinking about submitting this article at peer review sometime soon, so hopefully another editor may be able to offer advice on best to incorporate the sales info. A Thousand Doors (talk &#124; contribs) 09:57, 17 April 2012 (UTC)

The top ten sales are certified by the OCC and up to date, so there is no confusion in publishing the sales for the top ten imo. 86.162.142.107 (talk) 14:17, 30 April 2012 (UTC)
 * You're right that they're up-to-date, but my concern is that publishing sales data for just the top ten would look incomplete and visually unappealing, (see here: User:A Thousand Doors/List of best-selling albums in the United Kingdom). That being said, the information is highly relevant to the list, so I have added a new external link to the end of the article that links to the webpage where the sales for the top ten are listed. A Thousand Doors (talk &#124; contribs) 17:28, 30 April 2012 (UTC)

Back To Black
It should have 8 Platinum Awards - not 6. It is in 12th place, because The OCC added in its 'Deluxe' Edition Sales. That means that, that Album's Platinum Awards should be added in too. It has 2, & the original Edition has 6 - that's 8 Platinum Awards altogether. 82.22.125.117 (talk) 08:35, 12 April 2012 (UTC)
 * I'm afraid that I'm not entirely sure that that's correct. Island Records requested to the OCC that the deluxe edition of Back to Black be counted as an entirely separate album from the original (see James Masterton's comment here), and the BPI lists the deluxe and original albums separately, with their own distinct certification levels (search "Back to Black" here). I've just relistened to Tony Blackburn's show, and he never said anything about counting both versions of the album together, nor did the OCC say anything like that on their website. But if you have sources to the contrary, I'm happy to change this. Thanks, A Thousand Doors (talk &#124; contribs) 13:01, 12 April 2012 (UTC)

Whilst 'Back To Black' & 'Back To Black' Deluxe did Chart seperately in 2007 & 2008, UK Chart Rules had changed, by the time Amy died, in July 2011. At that time the Sales of both versions of that Album were combined by The OCC. This is perfectly clear to see, as there is no sign of the Deluxe Edition in the W/E 6th August 2011 Chart. (There would be if The OCC had still been counting them as 2 Albums). Amy had 3 Albums in that Top 10 - 'Back To Black' at No.1, (up from No.59), 'Frank' at No.5, & a 2 CD Set, at No.10 - 'Frank' & Back To Black'. It is 100% obvious that 'Back To Black' Deluxe would have also been in the Top 75, that Week. It wasn't. Why? Obviously because The OCC was adding its Sales to that Week's No.1 Album - 'Black To Black'. Indeed, The OCC have told me that they now combine the Sales of the original & 'Deluxe' versions. That is why 'Back To Black' is the UK's 12th Best Selling Album. It would drop several places if the Sales of the 'Deluxe' version were removed. And as their Sales are now combined, their BPI Awards should be too. Otherwise, it is very inconsistent!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_best-selling_albums_in_the_United_Kingdom

I'm saying that the 2 versions did Chart seperately in 2007 & 2008, but, by 2011 The OCC added their Sales together - for both the 2011 Charts, & for 'The UK's Best Selling Albums' purposes. However - if you want to remain wrong, then so be it.....86.13.2.211 (talk) 18:59, 26 May 2012 (UTC)


 * Unfortunately we would need a reliable source to verify that both the standard and deluxe versions of Back to Black were counted in the Radio 2 list. The OCC may well have told you that they now combine the sales of both versions, but to include that in the article would be original research. A Thousand Doors (talk &#124; contribs) 11:12, 1 June 2012 (UTC)
 * You know what? I've had a bit more of a think about this, and I'm beginning to suspect that you might be right after all. As you say, the deluxe version of Back to Black didn't appear in the charts after Amy died, which would suggest that the OCC combined its sales into those of the standard version, and its entirely conceivable that they did the same thing when compiling the list of biggest-selling albums as well. Plus a certification level of 8× platinum would make more sense given the levels of the albums around it. The only thing stopping me from changing that "6" to an "8" is that the BPI lists the two different versions as being distinctly different, each with their own certifications. To represent Back to Black's platinum status any other way seems like it could be original research to me... A Thousand Doors (talk &#124; contribs) 01:55, 2 June 2012 (UTC)

Whitney Houston Bodyguard Soundtrack
Where's the Bodyguard soundtrack? It's 7 x platinum in the UK?? Her first two albums are 5 and 6 x platinum also. Where are they?
 * The Official Charts Company didn't include those albums in their best-selling list (see here), hence why we haven't included them in this article. If you think those albums should be included, you'll have to take it up with them, I'm afraid. A Thousand Doors (talk &#124; contribs) 09:03, 25 January 2013 (UTC)

Official Charts Company - compiler since 1990s
The OCC came into being in 1990 (as CIN). It became the 'official' chart compiler in 1994. Sales pre-1990 are mainly record company estimates - with some certifications. There were no official sales chart prior to 1969. The BMRB compiled charts from a sample of 250 shops - 5% of all outlets from 1969-82 and Gallup took over with a larger sample until 1994. For how UK Charts - singles and albums see this link. History of UK Charts(Coachtripfan (talk) 12:24, 3 August 2013 (UTC)) — Preceding unsigned comment added by Coachtripfan (talk • contribs) 19:47, 24 April 2013 (UTC)
 * See my comment above. The OCC and several other reliable sources promoted the list as being the "best-selling albums of all time" rather than just the "best-selling albums since 1990" – per WP:Verifiability, that is what Wikipedia needs to reflect. I'm afraid that all we have to the contrary is your word. A Thousand Doors (talk &#124; contribs) 22:32, 26 April 2013 (UTC)

Sales
Why aren't they included? When this list is about the best-selling albums? — Statυs  ( talk,  contribs ) 17:11, 27 July 2013 (UTC)
 * Simply because it unfortunately isn't available; the most recent update only gives sales data for the top five albums. This update from last year gives the top 10, but it's already outdated. It's mentioned in the lead that the top three albums have all sold >5m copies and the top eight have all sold >4m, and there's a link to the sales for the top five in the External links section, but, aside from that, I couldn't really see how else to include them. A Thousand Doors (talk &#124; contribs)
 * Ah, makes sense. Thanks for the response. — Statυs  ( talk,  contribs ) 15:38, 28 July 2013 (UTC)

ABBA Gold now 2nd best seller
Here's my source - the OCC itself! ABBA overtake The Beatles(Coachtripfan (talk) 12:29, 3 August 2013 (UTC))

Sergeant Pepper now triple platinum!
Previously certifications were for albums post 1973 and record companies had to apply to get an award. Now certification is automatic for sales since 1994 (when the Official Charts Company started compiling the charts). Sergeant Pepper is now triple platinum (900,000 sales) for sales since 1994. Sergeant Pepper goes triple platinum(Coachtripfan (talk) 12:28, 3 September 2013 (UTC))
 * Thanks for the info. The certifications column has now been updated with most the recent certification given by the BPI. A Thousand Doors (talk &#124; contribs) 16:37, 3 September 2013 (UTC)

Lead sentence
There have been a number of reversions of this article recently, and in particular over the nature of the opening sentence. WP:LEAD says, in part, that the article should begin with a declarative sentence telling the nonspecialist reader what (or who) is the subject. This article is about the best-selling albums in the UK, so ideally it needs to define what an album is for a nonspecialist reader. The article isn't "about" the UK Top 40 Best Selling Albums chart, so there's no need to define that in the first sentence. In fact, I would argue that the phrase "UK Top 40 Best Selling Albums" shouldn't even be in the article at all. I cannot find any reliable sources that refer to the list of the UK's best-selling albums in this way. BBC News certainly never used the term "UK Top 40 Best Selling Albums". Neither did The Telegraph, Sky News, or even the OCC themselves. In fact, a quick Google search reveals only 11 webpages that use this phrase at all. So, since no reliable sources are using this name to refer to the list, Wikipedia should not either. If anyone disagrees, I am happy to discuss the issue further. Thanks, A Thousand Doors (talk &#124; contribs) 22:02, 20 February 2014 (UTC)
 * This article is called "list of best selling albums in the UK", which is quite self-explanatory. It's about the albums that have sold the most copies in the UK, nothing more. The article is not called just "albums" and isn't about what an album is. The articles album and LP record do that already, and there is also a separate article for UK Albums Chart, and wikilinks to such articles will suffice. In keeping with its title, this article lists the Top 40 best selling albums in the UK, and includes their ranking, sales and certification details. We could easily expand it to the top 100, though finding a reliable source for the top 100 will be difficult as the OCC/BPI have only published a top 40 of the all-time best sellers in recent years. This source, which is used in the article, includes a list that is clearly labeled as The Official Top 40 Biggest Selling Albums Of All Time. Since this source is the OCC itself (you can't get a higher authority), I don't quite understand your point when you say you can't find a reliable source pertaining to this. Can you explain your position further. Aristiano (talk) 15:52, 23 February 2014 (UTC)
 * Hi Aristiano. There may well be other articles on Wikipedia that define what an album is, but unfortunately that's not entirely relevant. Per WP:Summary style, "each article on Wikipedia must be able to stand alone as a self-contained unit". In other words, we can't just assume that a reader will instinctively know what other article they need to read in order to find the information that they are looking for. Since this article is all about albums, it's important to establish early on exactly what an album is for the benefit of our non-specialist readers.
 * I'll concede that the OCC's article does include the phrase "The Official Top 40 Biggest Selling Albums Of All Time", but I cannot find any other reliable sources that refer to the chart in this way, e.g. BBC News didn't, The Telegraph didn't, Sky News didn't, etc. "The Official Top 40 Biggest Selling Albums Of All Time" may well be the chart's "official" name, but unfortunately, per WP:Article titles, "Wikipedia does not necessarily use the subject's 'official' name" – we need to use the name by which the subject is most commonly known. If a user wants to know what are the best-selling albums in the UK, it's unlikely that they would search for an article called "The Official Top 40 Biggest Selling Albums Of All Time", partly because that name doesn't even mention the UK.
 * Anyway, that's my position. If you'd like to discuss the matter further, I would be happy to do so. Thanks. A Thousand Doors (talk &#124; contribs) 17:19, 23 February 2014 (UTC)
 * I'm sorry, I'm still not seeing the point you're making. Is this about the opening sentence being changed to "The UK Top 40 Best Selling Albums chart is compiled by...." and you are objecting to that wording? That as the opening sentence is actually more accurate and in line with WP:LEADSENTENCE than stating what the definition of an album is. Again, this article is not about what an album is, it is about the best selling albums of all time in the UK and that is what we should be specifying to readers, specialist and non-specialist alike. If any reader has searched for this article, it is more than probable that they already know what an album is. However, wikilinking the word "album" will cover this point. WP:CONTEXTLINK states "the opening sentence should provide links to the broader or more elementary topics that define the article's topic or place it into the context where it is notable". I have no problem with adding in the second paragraph what the BPI itself precisely defines as an album (running length, number of tracks) but it isn't the primary purpose of this article. As per the article's title, the primary purpose is to provide a list which names the UK's best selling albums. Whether its a Top 40 list or a Top 100 or even a Top 1000 isn't relevant, it is still a list. Nobody is suggesting we rename the article, but at present we can only detail the Top 40 best-sellers because that is the only number that can be reliably sourced by the OCC and therefore that is what the opening sentence should focus on. The OCC, who are part of the BPI, are the only official body in the UK who can provide such a list and they alone are the most valid and definitive source you will ever get. If they call this all-time chart The Official Top 40 Biggest Selling Albums Of All Time then that should be good enough for us. They're the authority. It's irrelevant whether the BBC, The Telegraph or anybody else uses this exact wording (though the BBC source does refer to "The full chart of the UK's best-selling albums...." at the bottom when it listed the whole all-time top 40 on one of its radio shows). Aristiano (talk) 01:12, 24 February 2014 (UTC)
 * What do you think of this as a compromise? A Thousand Doors (talk &#124; contribs) 16:47, 26 February 2014 (UTC)
 * It's better than it was. I've made a couple of minor tweaks. First to change the opening sentence because the way it read implied that Queen's Greatest Hits became the biggest selling album in Feb 2014 when in actual fact it's been the biggest seller for over 10 years now. Same with the last sentence, it suggested Adele's album only became the most certified this month, when it was actually two years ago. I've split a sentence in two in the second paragraph because it was too long, and clarified the end of the paragraph about the UK Albums Chart. Aristiano (talk) 20:24, 26 February 2014 (UTC)

Eminem
most of his albums shud be here — Preceding unsigned comment added by 81.151.118.153 (talk) 17:29, 13 July 2014 (UTC)
 * Unfortunately, none of them has sold enough. A Thousand Doors (talk &#124; contribs) 13:25, 23 July 2014 (UTC)

Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran's second album X has been certified by the BPI as 8x Platinum, which means it has sold 2.4 million copies just in the United kingdom. Biagio2103 (talk) 18:02, 2 October 2015 (UTC)
 * The next time the OCC publish an update, it will probably be somewhere on it. A Thousand Doors (talk &#124; contribs) 18:56, 2 October 2015 (UTC)
 * He gets streamed a lot, so don't forget that some of the 2.4 million units will be streams. Btljs (talk) 19:11, 2 October 2015 (UTC)
 * That's a good point. The OCC may or may not include streams when compiling their next list. I'd guess that they probably would. A Thousand Doors (talk &#124; contribs) 20:41, 2 October 2015 (UTC)
 * There's no way of knowing - they are rather inconsistent. They like having lists of "biggest" songs (and lately albums) which include streams but also talk about "million sellers" without streams. If sales continue to fall, my guess is that they will tend more and more towards including streams. Btljs (talk) 21:23, 2 October 2015 (UTC)
 * Yeah, that seems inevitable to me. As the BPI reported back in July, the British public are consuming more albums than ever now, they're just buying less of it. A Thousand Doors (talk &#124; contribs) 21:53, 2 October 2015 (UTC)
 * What I find weird is that there is no such thing as a streamed album - there are only streamed tracks which then count towards both singles and albums charts. So not only isn't anybody buying anything, what they are consuming is double counted! In the past, whether you bought a single or not, you still bought the song again when you bought the album, but now you don't need to buy either. Btljs (talk) 22:09, 2 October 2015 (UTC)

Sales column
Good work on the Sales column. Obviously, it's frustrating to have to use sources from such varied dates, as it throws up some rather incongruous data (the sales figure listed for Legend, for example, is clearly at least 200,000 fewer than what it should be). Still, it's clearly highly relevant to the list and it's all cited to reliable sources, so that's all good. I'm tempted to ask the OCC if they'd consider adding sales figures to their next update... A Thousand Doors (talk &#124; contribs) 13:52, 23 November 2015 (UTC)
 * Thanks. Do we know if Legend has sold 3M? OCC should mark that landmark with an article at least. Albums don't come more classic than that. Btljs (talk) 18:39, 23 November 2015 (UTC)
 * My thinking is that if Legend had sold more Bat Out of Hell by February 2014, and Bat Out of Hell had sold more than 3M by March 2012, then, by transitivity, Legend must have sold more 3M by February 2014. A Thousand Doors (talk &#124; contribs) 21:36, 23 November 2015 (UTC)
 * Yes, it started to do my head in trying to work out the implications of chart positions and sales on different dates! See User_talk:Btljs for problems with Dark Side and Brothers in Arms which I can't work out. Btljs (talk) 22:19, 23 November 2015 (UTC)

Is Hits daily double considered a reliable source?. They state Adele's 25 has sold 2.61 million in the UK, which would place her at 39 or 40 on this chart. (Number 40 Alana Morrisette is stated as 2,710,000 which is more than the stated figure for number 39, Jeff Wayne which is (2,560,000), I can't check the source for Alana because it's subscription only. I thought sources should be freely view-able on wiki?. Thanks http://hitsdailydouble.com/news&id=299001 Metafis (talk) 19:42, 25 December 2015 (UTC)
 * If you look at the discussion above, you'll see that what we've got is an imperfect combination of a chart order on a specific date and sales figures from multiple dates sometimes years apart. Alan Jones has stated that Tracy Chapman is in the top 40 and so, one suspects, is 25. The trouble is that all the albums listed are gaining sales all the time so the bottom end of the chart is a moving target. We'll know when 25 hits 2.7M by when it is certified 9X platinum (assuming it's still not available for streaming).


 * By the way, sources don't have to be free or even available online at all. They can be books or journals that you'd have to buy or subscription based news sources. See WP:PAYWALL Btljs (talk) 19:43, 30 January 2016 (UTC)

Musicweek states Adele has now sold 2,825,607. http://www.musicweek.com/news/read/adele-albums-sell-more-than-10-million/064272 (music week seems to be an acceptable source as its used in the main page references.) This would put her at number 31 on the list. Shouldn't she be there? thanks. 86.147.191.17 (talk) 18:13, 8 March 2016 (UTC)


 * Thanks whoever put Adele in the list. As she is now there, I have changed the opening paragraph that names the acts with more than 1 album in the list from "Five acts" to "Six acts" and added Adele's name. 86.147.191.17 (talk) 01:56, 12 March 2016 (UTC)

NEW BPI UK SALES AWARDS
Today - Friday 5th February 2016 - The B.P.I. gave out long due Sales Awards to several UK Albums. Greatest Hits (One) by Queen rose from 11 UK Platinum Awards to 20. Their Greatest Hits II Album went up from 8 to 13 Platinum Awards. (Although both of those Albums have at least 566,000 Sales, (each), added in from a 1994 Double Album & a 2000 Triple Album). ABBA Gold has risen from 14 Platinum Awards to 17. Sgt. Pepper by The Beatles is up from 3 Platinum Awards to 17. This means that the 1st Greatest Hits Album by Queen, has the most Platinum Awards, with The Beatles & ABBA Albums joint 2nd. 21 by Adele moves from 1st place to 4th, with its 16 Platinum Awards. The 1976 Greatest Hits Album by ABBA now has 8 Platinum Awards - up from 1. (A lot of other 1970's & 1980's Albums by ABBA need their 1 Platinum Awards increased too. As do further Beatles Albums from the 1960's etc). 82.6.134.233 (talk) 20:09, 5 February 2016 (UTC)

ABBA - GREATEST HITS 8 x Platinum Certification (Album) 05 February 2016 UNIVERSAL MUSIC (POLAR)

PINK FLOYD - THE DARK SIDE OF THE MOON 14 x Platinum Certification (Album) 05 February 2016 WARNER MUSIC (RHINO)

ABBA - GOLD - GREATEST HITS 17 x Platinum Certification (Album) 05 February 2016 UNIVERSAL MUSIC (POLYDOR)

ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACK - GREASE 8 x Platinum Certification (Album) 05 February 2016 UNIVERSAL MUSIC (POLYDOR)

ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACK - SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER 7 x Platinum Certification (Album) 05 February 2016 WARNER MUSIC (REPRISE)

REM - AUTOMATIC FOR THE PEOPLE 7 x Platinum Certification (Album) 05 February 2016 WARNER MUSIC (WARNER BROS)

JEFF WAYNE - THE WAR OF THE WORLDS 9 x Platinum Certification (Album) 05 February 2016 SONY MUSIC (COLUMBIA)

SIMON & GARFUNKEL - BRIDGE OVER TROUBLED WATER 10 x Platinum Certification (Album) 05 February 2016 SONY MUSIC (COLUMBIA)

DIRE STRAITS - BROTHERS IN ARMS 14 x Platinum Certification (Album) 05 February 2016 UNIVERSAL MUSIC (VERTIGO)

U2 - THE JOSHUA TREE 8 x Platinum Certification (Album) 05 February 2016 UNIVERSAL MUSIC (ISLAND)

ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACK - THE SOUND OF MUSIC 8 x Platinum Certification (Album) 05 February 2016 SONY MUSIC (SONY MUSIC)

QUEEN - GREATEST HITS II 13 x Platinum Certification (Album) 05 February 2016 UNIVERSAL MUSIC (VIRGIN)

BOB MARLEY & THE WAILERS - LEGEND 11 x Platinum Certification (Album) 05 February 2016 UNIVERSAL MUSIC (TUFF GONG)

MIKE OLDFIELD - TUBULAR BELLS 9 x Platinum Certification (Album) 05 February 2016 UNIVERSAL MUSIC (VIRGIN)

QUEEN - GREATEST HITS 20 x Platinum Certification (Album) 05 February 2016 UNIVERSAL MUSIC (VIRGIN)

MICHAEL JACKSON - THRILLER 13 x Platinum Certification (Album) 05 February 2016 SONY MUSIC (EPIC)

MEAT LOAF - BAT OUT OF HELL 10 x Platinum Certification (Album) 05 February 2016 SONY MUSIC (EPIC)

WHITNEY HOUSTON - WHITNEY 7 x Platinum Certification (Album) 05 February 2016 SONY MUSIC (ARISTA)

PHIL COLLINS - BUT SERIOUSLY 9 x Platinum Certification (Album) 05 February 2016 UNIVERSAL MUSIC (VIRGIN)

BEATLES - SGT PEPPER'S LONELY HEARTS CLUB BAND 17 x Platinum Certification (Album) 05 February 2016 UNIVERSAL MUSIC (APPLE CORPS)
 * Odd that this should happen to such little fanfare. Nonetheless, I've just been on the BPI's website and checked all the albums, and you're right, so thanks for the notification. A Thousand Doors (talk &#124; contribs) 22:43, 5 February 2016 (UTC)
 * I wonder if the BPI are starting at the top and working their way down over a few weeks rather than flooding their pages with updated certifications. I agree it's strange how they haven't flagged it up on their news page and nothing in OCC either. Unless they're going to release a revised best-sellers chart at some point...
 * Some anomalies on the chart: Joshua Tree, over 2.7M sales according to OCC in October 2015 but only 8X Platinum this week. Dirty Dancing no update from 5X by BPI (yet). Note also that X by Ed Sheeran is on 9X (although a lot of streaming) and 25 must be nudging the 9X door on sales alone. Btljs (talk) 08:42, 6 February 2016 (UTC)

QUEEN'S 'GREATEST HITS' (ONE) &  'GREATEST HITS II'  -  THEIR 'BONUS' UK SALES
It is simply not true that the 1st, (1981), Greatest Hits Album, by Queen, has sold over 6,120,000 'Units' in the UK. (By October 2016). The Official Charts Company had several people compiling the UK's Top 100 Best Selling Albums in 2006. A decision was made to allow 'Greatest Hits', (1981) & 'Greatest Hits II', (1991), to have 50% of the Sales of a 1994 Double Queen CD, (No.37 in the Charts), and 33% each of the Sales of the Triple CD, 'The Platinum Collection', (2000), which reached No.2 in 2002 & spent 155 Weeks in the Top 75. Between them, the 2 Queen Hits Albums each gained a 'Bonus' 1,252,000 Sales, from those other 2 Queen releases - 626,000 each. This was admitted by UK Chart Expert Alan Jones, in the 19th September 2009 issue of 'Music Week'. Without the 'Bonus' 626,000 Sales, Greatest Hits (One), would still be the UK's Best Selling Album, with 5,494,000 'Units' sold. However, it would 'only' be 174,000 Sales ahead of the UK's 2nd 'Best Selling Album' - 'ABBA Gold', (over 5,320,000 UK Sales). Not the misleading 800,000, more than the ABBA Album, that the 626,000 'Bonus' Sales give it. If you remove those 626,000 'Bonus' Sales from 'Greatest Hits II', it is certainly not the UK's 10th Best Selling Album, with over 3,900,000 UK Sales. Its Sales get lowered to 3,274,000 'Units' and it falls to 18th place. It would allow 'The Immaculate Collection', by Madonna, to rise from 11th to 10th place. Anyone who claims that Greatest Hits (One) has sold over 6,120,000 UK 'Units' and 'Greatest Hits II' has sold over 3,900,000 'Units' is really not stating facts. Just very misleading Sales Totals. The Official Charts Company know that the Media do not like 'Chart Facts' that require too much thinking about. That is why they say that the 1st Queen 'Hits' Album is on over 6,120,000 UK Sales & the 2nd Queen 'Hits' Album is on over 3,900,000 UK Sales. They never 'complicate' matters, by trying to explain, that each have 626,000 'Bonus' Sales from 2 other Queen releases. But that does not alter the fact that they have both been given those 'Bonus' Sales.....86.2.61.136 (talk) 13:27, 17 October 2016 (UTC)
 * If you (or anyone else) can get details of the MW article which confirms this then that information can go on the page. Btljs (talk) 04:09, 12 February 2016 (UTC)

Music Week/Alan Jones and Queen's sales
How the All Time Charts were compiled - Music Week WORDS: Alan Jones Sep 19 2009

In the 50 years since Music Week commenced publication, upwards of 250,000 albums have been released, of which fewer than 9,000 have made the Top 40, with just 862 reaching number one.

Trying to establish which of these albums are the best or most significant musically is a fool’s errand, and not one we are about to undertake but it is possible to determine, with some degree of accuracy, which ones have sold the most copies.

Using their own data since 1994, and multiple other sources prior to that date, including Joseph Murrells’ Book Of Golden Discs, BPI certifications, record company sources, press clippings and my own algorithmic computations based on chart performance, The Official Charts Company has compiled exclusively for Music Week a list of the 50 biggest selling albums of the last 50 years. Only the elite of the elite made the list, for which combined sales exceed 153m – about 10 times the total sales for 1959, the first year of Music Week’s publication, and probably a little more than will be sold by all albums in the whole of 2009. These albums account for a little over one in every 40 sales over the entire 50-year period – 2.5% of approximately 6bn sales.

So, without further ado, let’s open the envelope and reveal the winner. Actually, let’s open two envelopes and reveal two winners. First of all, the number-one regular album release and the moral victor is Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band by The Beatles.

Widely considered to be the most influential rock album ever released, Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Heart’s Cub Band was The Beatles’ eighth album, and was recorded over a 129-day period from December 1966 to April 1967, with sessions occupying 700 hours of studio time. Including the most elaborate and eclectic songs The Beatles had recorded to that point it was instantly embraced by both the media and the public, and spent its first 23 weeks in the chart at number one. It returned to the summit on three further occasions and eventually spent 27 weeks at the top – the sixth longest run at number one by any album.

Although The Beatles themselves never released a single from it, every track is well-known to most of the public and four of them have subsequently provided hits for other artists. With A Little Help From My Friends reached number 10 for Young Idea and 32 for Joe Brown in 1967, and has subsequently been a number-one hit for Joe Cocker (1968), Wet Wet Wet (1988) and Sam & Mark (2004). Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds reached number 10 for Elton John (1974). She’s Leaving Home was number one for Billy Bragg and Cara Tivey (1988, as the other side of the Wet Wet Wet single). And When I’m 64 reached number 43 for Kenny Ball & His Jazzmen (1967).

Even the least covered song on the album – George Harrison’s Within You, Without You – has attracted recordings from Danny Colfax Mallon, Hampton String Quartet, Center Line, Steve Khan, Joe Sasche & Ernst Bier, Peter Knight and at least 30 others. Sgt. Pepper has a fairly modest chart career compared to many albums – it ranks 18th in the longevity league, with 203 weeks on the chart but has been a consistent performer for more than 40 years, accumulating sales of more than 4,910,000 up to the cut-off point a couple of weeks ago.

As vast as that tally is, there is one album which has sold more copies – Queen’s Greatest Hits. It is an album which was first released in 1981, cherry-picking their most successful singles, from their introductory 1974 smash Seven Seas Of Rhye to 1980’s Flash. Released on October 26 1981, it debuted at number two behind Shakin’ Stevens’ Shaky album, and started a four-week run at number one the following week. It sold enough copies in the final few weeks of 1981 to finish second to Adam & The Ants’ Kings Of The Wild Frontier in the annual rankings, and has continued to sell at an impressive rate ever since.

In 1996, it was issued in a slipcase with Greatest Hits II and in 2000 with Greatest Hits II and Greatest Hits III. As these packages contain the original albums, the decision was made, right or wrong, to share out the sales pro rata. As Greatest Hits I, II and III together have sold 1,680,000, individual tallies for all three have been allocated an extra 560,000 sales.

By the same token, Greatest Hits I and II’s combined sales of 132,000 have been split, with an extra 66,000 being added to each. Taking all this into consideration, Greatest Hits has sold a massive 5,780,000 copies. Greatest Hits II, eighth on the list, has sold 3,840,000 copies.

Abba’s Gold: Greatest Hits is another perennial whose evergreen status reached a new high last year, when it returned to the top of the album chart, some 16 years after it was first released, in the wake of the success of the Mamma Mia movie. It continues to close the gap on the top two, and has sold 4,648,000 copies.

Taking fourth place is the recently disbanded Oasis. As the biggest selling act of the 1990s, each of Oasis’s first three releases make it onto the all-time Top 100 list, but their biggest album, by some distance, with sales surpassing 4,435,000, is (What’s The Story) Morning Glory The band’s second album sold a whopping 345,000 in its first week in the shops, and contains their first two number one hits: Some Might Say and Don’t Look Back In Anger, as well as a brace of number twos: Roll With It, which famously lost out to Blur’s Country House in the 1995 Britpop battle of the bands ballyhoo, and Wonderwall, which, despite being pipped to the top spot by Robson & Jerome, sold just shy of a million copies and remains the band’s biggest selling single to date.

Completing the top five, in tragic circumstances, Michael Jackson’s Thriller has sold 4,096,000 copies. It was placed seventh in the list until it, along with the rest of Jackson’s catalogue, received a massive but unwelcome boost when the singer died in June. The 1982 release was previously overtaken as Jackson’s biggest seller by Bad – the 1987 follow-up which has sold 3,771,000 copies – but has reasserted itself in recent years and was itself Jackson’s favourite among his albums.

Jackson is one of five acts with two albums on the list, the others being The Beatles, Abba, Fleetwood Mac and Queen, but all trail Coldplay who occupy 30th place with A Rush Of Blood To The Head (2,715,000), 39th place with X&Y (2,572,000) and 43rd place with Parachutes (2,461,000).

All of Coldplay’s albums are from the current decade, helping the 2000s (or Noughties, as some call it) to snare 15 places in the Top 50, the same as the 1990s. Ten of the albums date from the 1980s, eight from the 1970s and just two from the 1960s – Sgt. Pepper and the oldest album on the list, the soundtrack to The Sound Of Music (1965). It is one of three soundtrack albums to make the chart. Of the 47 other albums, 29 are by British acts, and 11 are by American acts. And although it’s a compilation that takes the top slot on the list, all but eight of those 47 artist albums are regular releases.

It is also noticeable that, although many major acts hit the ground running and had major careers from the getgo, only a handful of debut albums have sold the 2,276,000 copies required for inclusion on the list. The highest-selling debut album of all time is James Blunt’s Back To Bedlam, which occupies 14th place overall with sales of 3,181,000 since its 2005 release, eclipsing the 3,050,000 sales of Dido’s 2000 debut, No Angel.

Another debut album to do particularly well, especially as it is the only album in the Top 50 not to yield a hit single (aside from The Sound Of Music) is Mike Oldfield’s Tubular Bells. The introductory release on the Virgin label in 1973, it is still its biggest seller, with sales to date of 2,630,000, enough for 35th place on the list. Virgin was, of course, an independent label at that time but is now part of EMI, which provides 14 of the Top 50, as does Sony. Eleven albums issued by Universal, 10 by Warner Music and one Independiente release complete the total.

The most recent album to make the grade is Leona Lewis’s Spirit, which ranks 27th with 2,819,000 sales. Lewis is also one of two mixed race acts on the list (the other is Bob Marley), which is dominated by white pop/rock artists, while black artists are represented only by Michael Jackson and Tracy Chapman.

This, then, is the Top 50 albums of the last 50 years, a period in which albums have gone from being a useful way of supplementing income from the dominant singles market to the record industry’s cash cow. The main method of delivery has changed over the years, with vinyl yielding to cassette before CD took the mantle. It is a position it still holds, though its future dominance must be in doubt. And who would be bold enough to say that 50 years from now the album market will survive at all?

(Coachtripfan (talk) 18:41, 29 March 2016 (UTC))


 * Thank you; I've included the info about QGH in the lede. Btljs (talk) 06:55, 30 March 2016 (UTC)

Sales
I'm hoping that this list might be featured on Wikipedia's front page towards the end of July to coincide with the 60th anniversary of the UK Albums Chart, but, in its current state, it's probably not quite ready. The biggest problem is the Sales column – do either of you have data for the missing/uncited sales figures? I'd look for them myself on the Music Week website, but I don't have a subscription. If not, how best do you think this issue could be resolved? Judicious use of Template:Unknown, perhaps? I'd welcome any suggestions. Thanks, A Thousand Doors (talk &#124; contribs) 01:22, 12 July 2016 (UTC)
 * Take them off. There is no excuse for uncited sales figures when we have up to date chart positions. Really, we should trim very out of date (older than a couple of years) figures now even if they are sourced. It's fine when there hasn't been a chart update for a while, but now it should all be refreshed. Btljs (talk) 17:22, 12 July 2016 (UTC)
 * What, all of them? Well, I don't mind deleting them, although that does seem like a bit of a shame – the ones that are there are meticulously sourced, we just need to find references for the rest. A Thousand Doors (talk &#124; contribs) 17:49, 12 July 2016 (UTC)
 * We'll soon see if we get protests. The BPI updated all their awards so they are as accurate as anything for sales within 300K. I'm thinking this list will be pretty static from now on with a slow climb for 25 and X and no new entries in the foreseeable future with album sales so low currently. Btljs (talk) 20:01, 12 July 2016 (UTC)
 * I think removing them all was a bit cynical. We have some reliable figures. Unreal7 (talk) 09:07, 13 July 2016 (UTC)
 * why have the sales figures been removed?...thats the main reason most people come to this page, to see the sales. 109.152.235.165 (talk) 11:54, 13 July 2016 (UTC)
 * I don't mind whether they're there or not (although they're obviously highly relevant), but having gaps and uncited sales looks just terrible. Can the missing sales figures be referenced from anywhere, or do we just need to make use of Template:Unknown? A Thousand Doors (talk &#124; contribs) 12:21, 13 July 2016 (UTC)

correction
According to the OCC Beatles 1 should be at no. 20, not Simon and Garfunkel. These all-time lists are sales-only and exclude streams. Beatles 1 may be at 3.23m but with streams added it is 3.26m. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 88.107.98.143 (talk) 10:29, 31 August 2016 (UTC)
 * Thanks for that. A Thousand Doors (talk &#124; contribs) 10:48, 31 August 2016 (UTC)

Hand Me Down Records
I couldn't find any information about the Kings of Leon record label, even though it is mentioned under official charts. Could this be in err? The wiki page for this album (which could of course be wrong) says The Control Group and RCA Records are the label. I didn't want to make a change (especially with a reference that doesn't match) without striking a conversation on this. Does anyone understand the discrepancy? Thanks - Garchy (talk) 20:04, 26 January 2017 (UTC)

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Possibly inflated Sgt. Pepper sales figures
Would it be possible to add a disclaimer for Sgt. Pepper 's sales given information in this article:
 * "As a result, as official as the OCC claim their Sgt Pepper’s sales to be, it is barely an estimation based on old press by their in-house chart expert Alan Jones. The album was first claimed at 2,77 million sales in 1987 before jumping to 4,25 million in 1992. The OCC used those claims to add their own post-1994 figures in order to reach a cumulative tally. Both claims were far from being legitimate yet.


 * With sales being such a black box in the past, it was easy to claim anything. Easy to factor in as UK sales all units exported to various countries which had yet to develop their local market at the time, easy also to trick on wording by combining sales of distinct packages owning the Sgt Pepper’s track and claiming them to be pure studio album sales.


 * Although all industry insiders can’t be revealed for obvious reasons, sales of the album are quite well tracked in reality. Its net shipment topped the million mark in pure local sales early in 1973. Moving then more than 50,000 units a year, that number decreased steadily to barely over 10,000 units a year during the 80s with Blue compilation being the primary catalog force. It waited until the 1987 CD release to get relevant anew, shifting 170,000 copies for the year. Adding close to 300,000 more sales from 1988 to mid-1992, its EMI shipments from that date to 2008 are known, amassing an impressive 1,193,000 units. OCC scan system tells us it added over 230,000 copies sold since.


 * Doing the math, the total is close to 3,3 million with nearly 80% of those units being purely verified tallies, not involving any kind of estimate whatsoever a very little room for error in unknown periods as the album had close to zero chart activity during those years."

Thoughts? -- Mαuri ’96 “  everything and nothing always haunts me…  ” 21:26, 7 December 2017 (UTC)


 * Interesting article. The question of whether any of that information can be included in this article depends on how reliable Chartmasters.org is. It's not a website that I've heard of before, and I can't find any "About" page on the site to check that it has the level of fact-checking that we'd require from our reliable sources. From what I can tell, it's a Wordpress blog maintained by just one author, with occasional posts from someone else and little in the way of editorial oversight. I'm not convinced that it's reliable enough to be cited in this article, but the people over at the reliable sources noticeboard may be able to give a more informed judgement. Thanks, A Thousand Doors (talk &#124; contribs) 17:15, 8 December 2017 (UTC)


 * Hello again. I didn't see your reply and was bold and added the source as a footnote without changing any sales figures or ordering. Feel free to remove it. For the time being, I'll wait for other editors to weigh in.-- Mαuri ’96 “  everything and nothing always haunts me…  ” 02:43, 24 December 2017 (UTC)


 * I'm afraid that I'm not entirely comfortable with including that information being included until we've established how reliable the source is – I can't find any reliable source to back up what the note currently says. I also think that it's too long. At 187 words, it's almost a third the size of the lead, which is way too much to dedicate to just one source. I've removed it for now, but I'm happy to discuss further with other editors. Pinging for their opinions, as they've both made regular contributions to this article. Thanks, A Thousand Doors (talk &#124; contribs) 18:44, 29 December 2017 (UTC)


 * Yeah I don't think it's that reliable either. We may never know for certain. Unreal7 (talk) 15:10, 11 September 2018 (UTC)

Separate table for studio albums
I'm not entirely convinced by the idea of having a separate table in the article just for the best-selling studio albums. It seems a little redundant and confusing to our readers to have, essentially, the same information twice. If we absolutely have to indicate which albums are studio releases (and I'm really not sure that we do), couldn't we just add an additional column to the original table, e.g. something like this:

I'd prefer to revert to an earlier version of this article, but obviously I'm more than happy to discuss it first. I welcome any and all thoughts. Thanks, A Thousand Doors (talk &#124; contribs) 16:56, 14 November 2018 (UTC)
 * Any thoughts on the above? Thanks, A Thousand Doors (talk &#124; contribs) 19:58, 2 December 2018 (UTC)
 * Sure. Unreal7 (talk) 20:07, 2 December 2018 (UTC)

Sales Awards -- Friday 21st December 2018
Apart from 'ABBA Gold' being raised from 17 to 18 UK Platinum Awards -- 'Greatest Hits' (One), by Queen was raised to 21 Platinum Awards, Rumours' from 11 to 13 Platinum Awards, 'Legend' from 11 to 12 Platinum Awards,'Bat Out Of Hell' from 10 to 11 Platinum Awards, 'The Joshua Tree' from 8 to 9 Platinum Awards and 'Graceland' from 7 to 8 Platinum Awards. 86.2.61.136 (talk) 19:55, 21 December 2018 (UTC)

ABBA Gold's Up-Dated UK Sales...
On Monday 22nd April 2019, The Official UK Charts Company revealed that 'ABBA Gold' has now reached over 5,580,000 UK Sales. Here is the Link to that Article - on their Web Site: https://www.officialcharts.com/chart-news/abbas-studio-albums-ranked__26063/ 86.2.61.136 (talk) 19:59, 23 April 2019 (UTC)

Release Date of 'Greatest Hits;' - ABBA
The Sales of all of these Albums are from the UK only. Therefore, the Release Dates, of the Albums, should also be UK only. You gave the Scandinavian Release Date, of ABBA's 'Greatest Hits' Album, which was November 1975. However, it should have its UK Release Date - April 1976.86.2.61.136 (talk) 14:12, 28 March 2020 (UTC)

Up-Dated UK Sales Awards - To Monday 10th August 2020
The Sales Data in the article is now out of date. On Monday 10th August 2020, The B.P.I. gave out new UK Platinum Awards to the following Albums: All of which can be verified via this Link: https://www.bpi.co.uk/brit-certified/

Queen Greatest Hits Virgin Platinum 22X Album 10.08.2020 ABBA Gold - Greatest Hits Polydor Platinum 19x Album 10.08.2020 Beatles Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band Apple Corps Platinum 18x Album 10.08.2020 Fleetwood Mac Rumours Rhino/Warner Records Platinum 14x Album 10.08.2020 Bob Marley & The Wailers Legend Tuff Gong Platinum 13x Album 10.08.2020 Simon & Garfunkel Bridge Over Troubled Water Columbia Platinum 11x Album 10.08.2020 Tracy Chapman Tracy Chapman Elektra Platinum 9x Album 10.08.2020 86.2.61.136 (talk) 14:16, 3 September 2020 (UTC)

'Christmas' -- Michael Buble
Your 'UK's Best Selling Albums' List should include 'Christmas', by Michael Buble. It was released in October 2011, and is currently, (W/E 10th December 2020 Chart), back in the UK Top 10 - at No.9. It is its 40th Top 10 Week, in the UK. It was given a 10th Platinum Award, by The British Phonographic Industry, (The B.P.I.). on Friday 27th December 2019. That's for a Total of 10 x 300,000 = 3 Million UK Sales. Yet, you have it nowhere in your Top 60. 81.103.92.196 (talk) 10:08, 5 December 2020 (UTC)