Does anyone have a list of albums that have reached Platinum status?

Diamond (10+ Million) Certified (From Wikipedia)

Prince and The Revolution - Purple Rain
06/25/1984
13 million (♦ [+ ▲³])


I am glad he has atleast one Diamond.....

This was posted last year on the org "how many albums has he sold in total"

"For You" (1978; 88,000; no certification)
"Prince" (1979; 183,000; platinum)
"Dirty Mind" (1980; 125,000; gold)
"Controversy" (1981; 200,000; platinum)
"1999" (1982; 641,000; 4x platinum)
"Purple Rain" (1984; 2.3 million; 13x platinum)
"Around the World in a Day" (1985; 162,000; 2x platinum)
"Parade" (1986; 230,000; platinum)
"Sign 'O' the Times" (1987; 271,000; platinum)
"Lovesexy" (1988; 68,000; gold)
"Batman" (1989; 111,000; 2x platinum)
"Graffiti Bridge" (1990; 145,000; gold)
"Diamonds and Pearls" (1991; 2.5 million; 2x platinum)
"Symbol Album" (1992; 1.1 million; platinum)
"The Hits/The B-Sides" (1993; 630,000; platinum)
"The Hits 1" (1993; 1.4 million; platinum)
"The Hits 2" (1993; 1.6 million; platinum)
"Come" (1994; 310,000; gold)
"The Black Album" (1994; 261,000; no certification)
"The Gold Experience" (1995; 423,000; gold)
"Chaos and Disorder" (1996; 131,000; no certification)
"Emancipation" (1996; 628,000; 2x platinum)
"Crystal Ball" (1998; 113,000; no certification)
"Newpower Soul" (1998; 214,000; no certification)
"The Vault - Old Friends 4 Sale" (1999; 113,000; no certification)
"Rave Un2 the Joy Fantastic" (1999; 487,000; gold)
"The Very Best of Prince" (2001; 1.2 million; platinum)
"The Rainbow Children" (2001; 157,000; no certification)
"N.E.W.S." (2003; 29,000; no certification)
"Musicology" (2004; 2 million; 2x platinum)


This must be US only....I thought Batman and diamons and pears sold around 5 million each.....

prime said:

Yea, this must be US only, cause Im sure Graffiti Bridge and Lovesexy went Platinum. Barely..but they did make it.

prime said:

Please don't get this confused with total sales. The above-mentioned sales were actually according to Soundscan figures alone. Soundscan didn't come into existence until 1991. The information actually came out on Billboard magazine in January 2006 months before 3121 came out. Here's the article in its entirety.

PRINCE'S TRUST

Hello Keith,

I believe you are the only person who can help me. I've been a huge Prince fan since the "Purple Rain" days and I've always had a big curiosity regarding record sales in general and of Prince's albums in particular.

I would like so much to know how much Prince's catalog albums from the 1980s have sold in the last 15 years. Would it be possible to know the SoundScan-era sales of all of Prince's albums from "1999" through the 1992 "Symbol" album?

I think many of his albums would deserve an upgrade in their certification from the Recording Industry Association of America. (But I'm unsure) if Warner Bros. (Prince's former record label) is willing to do it.

I really hope you can help me on this many-years-old curiosity!

Eduardo Sousa
Coimbra, Portugal

Hello Eduardo,

While some albums clearly needs some upgrading in their gold and platinum status (like the "Grease" soundtrack as noted here last week), it's doubtful that Prince's catalog is lacking in the certification department.

I'm going to provide even more information than you asked for, just to be thorough.

Below is a list of all of Prince's albums that were commercially released, beginning with his 1978 debut "For You." I've provided the U.S. sales of each album during the SoundScan era (the company began tracking sales data in 1991).

Additionally, I've indicated what the release's current gold or platinum status is according to the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). For further information on about the gold and platinum certification program, please visit the organization's Web site at riaa.com.

Gold indicates 500,000 units shipped to U.S. retailers (minus returns), platinum equals 1 million units shipped. Also, multi-disc or "double albums" abide by different standards for certification, about which RIAA.com has more information.

Also, Prince's new album, "3121," is due out this spring through Universal Records. You can check out the first single and video, "Te Amo Corazon," at his official Web site npgmusicclub.com.

Title (Year of Release; Units Sold Since 1991; Gold/Platinum Certification)

"For You" (1978; 88,000; no certification)
"Prince" (1979; 183,000; platinum)
"Dirty Mind" (1980; 125,000; gold)
"Controversy" (1981; 200,000; platinum)
"1999" (1982; 641,000; 4x platinum)
"Purple Rain" (1984; 2.3 million; 13x platinum)
"Around the World in a Day" (1985; 162,000; 2x platinum)
"Parade" (1986; 230,000; platinum)
"Sign 'O' the Times" (1987; 271,000; platinum)
"Lovesexy" (1988; 68,000; gold)
"Batman" (1989; 111,000; 2x platinum)
"Graffiti Bridge" (1990; 145,000; gold)
"Diamonds and Pearls" (1991; 2.5 million; 2x platinum)
"Symbol Album" (1992; 1.1 million; platinum)
"The Hits/The B-Sides" (1993; 630,000; platinum)
"The Hits 1" (1993; 1.4 million; platinum)
"The Hits 2" (1993; 1.6 million; platinum)
"Come" (1994; 310,000; gold)
"The Black Album" (1994; 261,000; no certification)
"The Gold Experience" (1995; 423,000; gold)
"Chaos and Disorder" (1996; 131,000; no certification)
"Emancipation" (1996; 628,000; 2x platinum)
"Crystal Ball" (1998; 113,000; no certification)
"Newpower Soul" (1998; 214,000; no certification)
"The Vault - Old Friends 4 Sale" (1999; 113,000; no certification)
"Rave Un2 the Joy Fantastic" (1999; 487,000; gold)
"The Very Best of Prince" (2001; 1.2 million; platinum)
"The Rainbow Children" (2001; 157,000; no certification)
"N.E.W.S." (2003; 29,000; no certification)
"Musicology" (2004; 2 million; 2x platinum)

Here's the link.

http://www.billboard.com/...1001846844


I hope this helps.

Smittyrock70 said:

Thanks!!!! So all of the totals are from 1991 on.....

Apparently to date Purple Rain has sold between 19 and 20 million copies worldwide (13 million stateside and 6 million world wide)
Not bad but consider 3 years ago Thriller apparently sold its 100 millionth copy!!!!.
Overall I believe hes sold around about 100 million records if you take into account single sales. When Doves Cry sold 2 million copies and Lets Go Crazy, Purple Rain, Kiss, U got the look, Batdance and Cream have all sold a million each, The Most Beautiful girl may have got 750,000.

The second biggest seller Diamonds and Pearls sold 6.4 million worldwide and 1999 and Batman have sold between 4 and 5 million world wide. Even to date For You is nearly 1 million copies.