Talk:List of highest-certified music artists in the United States/Archive 1

Rihanna
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 Jackson
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
 * Then you can edit it like you see fit. - Jerryseinfeld 23:30, 24 Nov 2004 (UTC)

Eminem
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)
 * There are probably a number of artists on the list with potentially higher levels of certification. However, unless the record companies or the artists themselves contact the RIAA and pay for some research to be done in order to see if any certs are higher, then they won't be updated.Odin&#39;s Beard (talk) 21:03, 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)

Quality of article
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]


 * On a more constructive note: this article requires formatting and copyediting. I have tagged it for cleanup. Ifnord 04:05, 13 January 2006 (UTC)

Nothing on best-selling albums? Trekphiler 20:43, 12 October 2006 (UTC)

Outdated, differing names
This list is outdated and incorrect artist such as Prince Rogers Nelson released albums under different names and bands like The Rolling Stones released albums slightly different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]

Electric Light Orchestra
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)

Chili Peppers
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)

Mariah
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?
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)

Iron Butterfly
I noticed that iron Butterfly are conspicuous by their absence from this list. 41.245.172.177 (talk) 16:39, 30 August 2008 (UTC)

Studio albums
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)


 * I agree, the RIAA list includes all kinds of albums. I've removed that text.  Wasted Time R (talk) 11:41, 12 May 2009 (UTC)

The Supremes/Diana Ross
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)


 * Because Moown kept record sales info from the RIAA and still has kept it from the public. Motown started as a little music company and it costs money to be in the RIAA and even then it only open its info is any to the RIAA in the late 70s and up and that was to credit other groups such as the Marvelettes who had a million seller(Mr. Postman and Don't Mess With Bill was one but not before the supremes if I am correct) before the Supremes. The Supremres is a controversial group and that includes Berry Gordy who has sway over who knows such info. Till Motown opens is sales book we may never know how much the group sold. But don't expect them to hit into the 50 mil or even get 10 certifications.70.153.241.22 (talk) 22:12, 16 September 2009 (UTC)

Three Dog Night & Beach Boys
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)

Updated sales
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)

Andrea Bocelli
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)
 * There's a source provided in the references section of this article. This article is essentially a list taken from a page found at RIAA.com. Andrea Bocelli has been certified for 15 million album units in the U.S. according to the searchable gold and platinum database at RIAA.com. In the future, please don't guess the figures. Unless there's a reliable source to back them up, they can be removed at anytime. I've removed the additional artists listed on the page mostly because the page has always been kind of unofficially restricted to the top 100 sellers. I'm willing to discuss the addition of others, though I personally feel that it'd really just clutter up the article.Odin&#39;s Beard (talk) 23:20, 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)

Donna Summer
The largest Selling Female artist is not listed?74.73.176.161 (talk) 13:24, 27 April 2009 (UTC)
 * The largest selling female artist based on what? I don't know precisely how many albums she's sold, but this list is based upon total number of RIAA certifications. For instance, Britney Spears is certified for 32 million units but that's for the amount of units that have been shipped to retailers, not necessarily sold. Her actual number of sales might be less than that or possibly even more than that. It's extremely difficult to gauge something like actual album sales, as far as I know there isn't a source that's really reliable. As far as the RIAA is concerned, however, Summer is far from being the biggest selling female artist in the United States.Odin&#39;s Beard (talk) 21:35, 27 April 2009 (UTC)

EVERYONE READ THIS
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)

Beastie Boys
What happened to Beastie Boys on the page?75.142.54.211 (talk) 21:47, 25 October 2009 (UTC)

Title Change
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)

Johnny Cash
Should be up there. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Darth Septic (talk • contribs) 20:09, 10 January 2010 (UTC)
 * Cash is incredibly close, but he has only sold 21 million albums in the US according to the RIAA.75.142.54.211 (talk) 06:16, 13 January 2010 (UTC)

does anyone have info about these people's sales
toni braxton, sarah mclachlin, avril lavigne, neil young, alanis morissette, anne murray.Grmike (talk) 09:43, 3 February 2010 (UTC)grmike
 * This article only contains the top selling 100 artists via a list found at RIAA.com. However, the complete list contains any recording artists have have been certified by the RIAA for at least 10 million albums within the United States. The entire list wasn't included in the article because it would have made it ridiculously long. I know that Sarah McLachlin, Avril Lavigne, Neil Young and Alanis Morissette are somewhere on the list, but not in the top 100. 'Top Artists' web page at RIAA.com Just click next at the bottom or top of the page and the names of more artists will be revealed.Odin&#39;s Beard (talk) 19:19, 3 February 2010 (UTC)

this is the list of best sellling artists just by their studio albums
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)


 * What you're saying doesn't make any sense. This list was compiled from information taken and cited from the RIAA website. The RIAA includes virtually any album a recording artist has made, whether it be compilation, studio or live albums. An exception seems to be collaborative albums in which an artist or group records an entire album with someone else. The country artist, Willie Nelson, for example has recorded a bunch of those and several of them have been certified by the RIAA, yet the RIAA doesn't count those albums toward his total of RIAA certifications. Singles aren't included because singles and albums are two different things. There's already a List of best-selling singles in the United States article, so including them here is not only innacurate but redundant as well.Odin&#39;s Beard (talk) 22:57, 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&#39;s Beard you. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 174.116.11.136 (talk) 16:01, 20 February 2010 (UTC)

Revert war with an IP
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)
 * I've been trying to discuss this with him or her at his or her talk page, but I have now also hit the magic line. But this isn't just edit warring, it's deliberately introduced an error. Patti Labelle would not be 101. --Moonriddengirl (talk) 17:53, 25 April 2010 (UTC)

Stevie Wonder
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 THRASH METAL
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 page should be renamed or revised
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)
 * When it comes to calculating the "best selling" artists, the RIAA has always used albums rather than singles and videos to determine just where who ranks. Considering that albums in and of themselves no longer have the same impact they once did, that format might change eventually. The RIAA is basically considered to be THE definitive source for this sort of stuff and while the RIAA format might seem to have some flaws in the eyes of some, it's still THE source. I wouldn't hold my breath on getting the format of this page changed. I'm sure someone could probably come up with some argument that using the method you suggest as being original research or violates the NPOV policies, etc. But, as of now, the RIAA doesn't factor in singles or videos in determining who the best selling artists in the United States are. Until/unless they do, then it's extremely unlikely this page will reflect them either.

List extension
Who here agrees that this list should be extended to atleast 150? --Ultrablastic123 (talk) 04:41, 4 December 2010 (UTC)

tlc
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)

Michael Jackson
RIIA - 90.7 million

http://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?resultpage=1&table=SEARCH_RESULTS&action=&title=&artist=Michael%20Jackson&sort=Artist&perPage=25

--88.112.158.87 (talk) 17:55, 18 February 2011 (UTC)

Nirvana Total Error
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)
 * Thank you for pointing that out! Somebody changed the number, and this was not detected. According to the RIAA, their confirmed sales remain at 25 million. --Moonriddengirl (talk) 13:52, 27 September 2011 (UTC)

Rihanna
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)
 * You can see the list compiled by the RIAA here. I'm afraid that Rihanna is not on it, anywhere. :/ --Moonriddengirl (talk) 15:24, 1 June 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)


 * Pictogram voting comment.svg Note: Were the list to incorporate non-album certifications, I would further suggest that there be a separate column for albums, singles and videos similar to what is done at the list of best-selling singles in the United States.-- Mαuri ’96 “  everything and nothing always haunts me…  ” 10:14, 15 September 2013 (UTC)
 * While it might be possible to include additional information, I don't think it would make sense to have a list called "bestselling artists" that is not based on a master list. It would require constant research to make sure that we are incorporating everybody's sales, and not just people's favorite artists. That said, moving it to a different title (maybe "List of best selling album artists in the United States") would make sense to me. --Moonriddengirl (talk) 13:40, 15 September 2013 (UTC)

Only albums
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 would suggest you make a concrete proposal of how to change it and what criteria to include but also encourage great care, as this article came onto my watchlist years ago because of the vast amount of vandalism and POV-pushing it receives. People are constantly inflating figures for their favorite music artists. :/ Personally, I would be more inclined to suggest moving this (if necessary) to clarify that album sales are the only consideration than taking any step that might make it more vulnerable to these constant and ongoing attacks. --Moonriddengirl (talk) 12:52, 15 May 2012 (UTC)


 * Well, either the article includes all certifications or it is deleted. That's personally what I think. You should ask page protection. ·  Mcdonalds  ( talk ·  cont ), at 13:38, 15 May 2012 (UTC)


 * Doubt you'll get consensus to delete the article, but there's WP:AFD. :) Page protection wouldn't be a good idea; some IPs do add useful content. Is there a link to "all certifications" of the RIAA? The list entitled "Top Selling Artists" - which is what this article has been based on - lists only album certifications. I assume, anyway. It calls them "units." --Moonriddengirl (talk) 13:45, 15 May 2012 (UTC)


 * That's not I really want. :) When I came here, I thought this article would include all certifications and not only albums. Article's title is confused. Ah, I didn't know the article used this. But though, article's title is still confused to me. I am certain other users probably also thought this list includes all certifications when they saw "List of best-selling music artists in the United States" until they read intro. That's just my thought; maybe I'm wrong. :) ·  Mcdonalds  ( talk ·  cont ), at 13:55, 15 May 2012 (UTC)
 * If there is a source on the RIAA - which is the only independent certification agency at this point in the US - that we know lists all certifications, it would be fine by me to expand this page. Without that, though, I don't see how we can. Using the artist's or record company's own certifications would be an issue under WP:V, since sales rankings on "best selling" lists would be "unduly self-serving" (WP:ABOUTSELF). It would also be a problem under Neutral point of view, since articles are supposed, as far as possible, to reflect reliable sources, and this would then become a list of entirely unreliable sources. :) The title could be tweaked, I suppose, but I would recommend that, if we tweak it at all, we tweak it to indicate that this is the RIAA list not to indicate it is albums only. RIAA may eventually expand it to include single sales as well; either way, it's an accurate reflection of their list. I've finally confirmed that 'units' means albums by referring back to the archived versions of their list: . They were explicit about that then. Just as an aside, some of these artists have been stagnant a long time. :/ But, then, the way RIAA certification is done, that's to be expected. RIAA doesn't even evaluate an artist's output if their label doesn't pay for it, and with some of these defunct bands, I don't know why their labels would. It seems inevitable that newer artists will eventually overtake them. --Moonriddengirl (talk) 10:53, 16 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)
 * Feel free to propose a rename. :) --Moonriddengirl (talk) 12:39, 2 January 2014 (UTC)

Recent change
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 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)

Suggest removing genres
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)


 * I went ahead and did this due to lack of discussion and ongoing violations of WP:V and WP:NPOV. I don't believe genres should be included unless all of them are sourced. --Moonriddengirl (talk) 22:26, 14 October 2015 (UTC)

Rename "best-selling" to "highest-certified"
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)


 * While there is a difference between over-the-counter sales and shipments, shipments are nonetheless still sales. They are subject to returns but that would probably not significantly impact the popular artists on this list. I think the larger concern with this article is the out-of-date source. Certifications for some artists' catalogs are up-to-date while others are woefully obsolete. Pink Floyd's best selling album, The Dark Side of the Moon, has not been certified in 18 years and has been on the Billboard album charts for years since then. The Beatles' Abbey Road hasn't been certified in 15 years, Led Zeppelin IV has been 10 years. In fact, none of the original albums in any of the aforementioned bands' catalogs has been certified in the last 10 years or more. And all have had major re-issues since then and these are just a few of many such situations. The RIAA doesn't keep a running tally of shipments, so the totals in the source may be relatively current for artists that pursue the awards but completely outdated for those that don't. This list is very likely an inaccurate representation of the best-selling artists in the United States even if only considering shipments. Perhaps an explanatory note should be added to the article. Piriczki (talk) 14:35, 27 June 2016 (UTC)


 * Certifications should not be used as an indicator for "best-selling". Some albums are undercertified, as you said, while some others are overshipped. Labels have to pay an amount of money to the RIAA if they want to get a new certification. The addition of TEA (tracks equivalent album) and SEA (streamings equivalent album) into certification methodology makes it even worse. Bluesatellite (talk) 01:04, 28 June 2016 (UTC)
 * What a long-overdue and awesome step, Bluesatellite. :) Keeping vandalism out of this article has been a massive pain in the neck. I hope it will help! --Moonriddengirl (talk) 02:15, 17 July 2016 (UTC)

elton john
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)


 * It's probably based on who the record company identifies as the "artist" when applying for the award. Double LPs are based on their compact disc equivalent, that is why Goodbye Yellow Brick Road is 8x instead 16x. It hardly matters anymore as this list becomes more and more irrelevant as the decades pass without updated certifications on some of the best-selling albums. Piriczki (talk) 14:57, 15 August 2016 (UTC)

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)
 * The figures of total certified units within the article [List of best-selling music artists] are based on certified units of albums, singles (including digital downloads) and videos. The figures of total certified units for this article are based on certified units of albums only. -Richard Hendricks (talk) 13:47, 16 May 2018 (UTC)

Eminem is listed twice
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)


 * Thanks. Updated. Unfortunately, fans tend to come in and inflate their favorite performers, and sometimes people update oddly, resulting in double listings. --Moonriddengirl (talk) 14:58, 18 August 2018 (UTC)

Top 10 Artists Section
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)
 * Streaming and digital downloads are already counted for albums certification. For example, "One Dance" streams and downloads generated multi-platinum awards for the single itself, and at the same time, also generated the awards for View. Hence, combining albums and digital single certifications make absolutely non-sense, they're double counted and inflating the overall "units" for newer artists. Elvis Presley's singles sales were never counted to his albums certification, neither were the Beatles'. Also, the RIAA never combines album+singles, there are separate lists for each albums and digital singles. Bluesatellite (talk) 21:26, 8 July 2018 (UTC)
 * Okay, I notice that now. I should suggest something though, the table for Top 100 Artists (albums), there's some errors in there I want to fix. Some of the numbers skip, and I want to condense it to 50 artists, would you be okay with that? -- Bobtinin  (talk)  21:32, 8 July 2018 (UTC)
 * Hmmmm wait, Beastie Boys' 23 million albums (#100 rank) is much bigger achievement than Fifth Harmony's 12.5 million digital singles (#50 rank). The fact that albums create more value to industry, I prefer keeping the top 100 for album artists. Bluesatellite (talk) 21:56, 8 July 2018 (UTC)
 * That's okay, you make a good point. Albums are much harder to sell in high numbers, plus I value albums more as well. To fix the list, I'll have to add more artists to it though, there are missing numbers as I pointed out. -- Bobtinin  (talk)  23:04, 8 July 2018 (UTC)
 * If you count the list carefully, there ARE 100 artists (actually 102 with the 3-way tie for 100th) in the albums section. A two-way tie for 13th place makes the next place 15, not 14. That's the reason for the skipped numbers. Richard Hendricks (talk) 00:20, 9 July 2018 (UTC)
 * In a Top 100 list, there can be multiple people put into one of the places. -- Bobtinin  (talk)  07:50, 9 July 2018 (UTC)
 * I don't disagree. But the numbers will still skip. Richard Hendricks (talk) 17:09, 9 July 2018 (UTC)

New RIAA Digital Certifications
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 .Akhiljaxxn (talk) 17:17, 23 August 2018 (UTC)

This page makes no sense.
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)


 * According to RIAA, here, she has a total of 48 million certified units of 5 albums, including Come On Over, which is certified 20 million (click on the "More details" link to see the numbers). —[ Alan M 1 (talk) ]— 18:42, 11 May 2019 (UTC)

Move units column?
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.:

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? —[ Alan M 1 (talk) ]— 18:32, 11 May 2019 (UTC)
 * I'm not very active on this page these days, but the structure change seems sensible to me. Also, the script sounds like a great idea! :) That said, the biggest problem *I* faced when actively editing here was not a rush to keep it up to date as much as it was individual fans popping by to change the figures for their artists. :/ --Moonriddengirl (talk) 23:11, 12 May 2019 (UTC)

Unusual changes in source
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. —[ Alan M 1 (talk) ]— 23:03, 28 December 2019 (UTC)
 * Gloria Estefan went from 14.5 to 41.5 MM units (transposition?);
 * Selena is new with 35 MM;
 * Mana is new with 34 MM;
 * Ottmar Liebert is new with 28.5 MM;
 * Julio Iglesias is new with 25 MM.
 * Update: I didn't hear back from RIAA regarding the above, but Gloria Estefan was apparently a mistake, which has been corrected. The other four remain in the list, so they appear to be correct. My guess is that the distributors had not previously submitted the data required for certification. I've added them in today's edits. —[ Alan M 1 (talk) ]— 04:15, 1 February 2020 (UTC)
 * Update: RIAA apparently changed its mind. The other four are no longer in the source. I've removed them from the article and added back in the five acts tied at #97 with 23.5 million units. FWIW, RIAA didn't respond to my email and a web search of those names together finds nothing. —[ Alan M 1 (talk) ]— 06:34, 17 February 2020 (UTC)
 * Further to this: there were also many changes to the digital singles list, reversing many of the unreasonably large changes in the 2020-02-01 update. —[ Alan M 1 (talk) ]— 08:03, 17 February 2020 (UTC)

Total units
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)
 * No, it's a bad idea. The RIAA did not and never combine the rankings, why would we? They are apples and oranges, don't mix them without proper weighting. The album certifications since 2017 have already included track downloads and streams. Combining the units would make them double-counting. Bluesatellite (talk) 07:19, 18 April 2021 (UTC)

g byr
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)

100 singles
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? —[ Alan M 1  (talk) ]— 17:48, 6 February 2022 (UTC)


 * I agree, I think it's pretty jarring that they would include top 100 for albums but just top 50 for singles but I guess lol BrothaTimothy (talk · contribs) 14:57, 5 April 2023 (UTC)

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sales
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)