Released in 2009
Released in 2008
MJ albums

Top 40:
1. Susan Boyle I Dreamed A Dream 6.015.500
2. Lady Gaga The Fame (Monster) 5.894.000 Total:6.259.000
3. Black Eyed Peas The E.N.D. 4.611.000
4. Taylor Swift Fearless 4.235.500 Total:6.481.500
5. Michael Jackson Thriller (with Thriller 25 since 2009) 3.860.000
6. U2 No Line On The Horizon 3.609.500
7. Michael Jackson Number Ones (since 2009) 3.539.000
8. Kings Of Leon Only By The Night 3.525.500 Total:5.602.500
9. Michael Bublé Crazy Love 3.338.000
10. Beyoncé I Am... Sasha Fierce 3.243.500 Total:5.494.500
11. Michael Jackson This Is It 3.114.000
12. Eminem Relapse 3.102.500
13. Soundtrack Hannah Montana: The Movie 2.911.000
14. Andrea Bocelli My Christmas 2.884.000
15. Michael Jackson The Essential (since 2009) 2.843.500
16. Green Day 21st Century Breakdown 2.705.000
17. Pink Funhouse 2.515.500 Total:5.024.000
18. Soundtrack Twilight 2.396.000 Total:3.724.000
19. Michael Jackson King Of Pop (since 2009) 2.113.500
20. Michael Jackson Bad (since 2009) 1.978.000
21. Nickelback Dark Horse 1.943.500 Total:3.873.500
22. Jay-Z Blueprint 3 1.912.000
23. Lily Allen It's Not Me, It's You 1.805.500
24. Michael Jackson Dangerous (since 2009) 1.669.000
25. Bruce Springsteen Working On A Dream 1.655.500
26. Michael Jackson Off The Wall (since 2009) 1.651.000
27. Muse The Resistance 1.604.000
28. Coldplay Viva La Vida Or Death And All His Friends 1.599.000 Total:8.151.000
29. Whitney Houston I Look To You 1.594.500
30. Jason Mraz We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things. 1.593.500 Total:2.915.500
31. Miley Cyrus The Time Of Our Lives 1.545.000
32. Robbie Williams Reality Killed The Video Star 1.487.000
33. Soundtrack The Twilight Saga: New Moon 1.462.000
34. Soundtrack Mamma Mia! 1.426.000 Total:5.337.000
35. Madonna Celebration 1.405.500
36. Kelly Clarkson All I Ever Wanted 1.375.500
37. Seal Soul 1.346.500 Total:2.596.500
38. Zac Brown Band The Foundation 1.319.000 Total:1.469.000
39. Britney Spears Circus 1.303.500 Total:3.375.500
40. The Killers Day & Age 1.255.500 Total:2.758.500

Some extras:
Bon Jovi The Circle 1.086.000
Alicia Keys The Element Of Freedom 1.045.000
Rihanna Rated R 1.013.000
Michael Jackson Invincible (since July 2009) 917.000
Michael Jackson HIStory (since July 2009) 873.500
Mariah Carey Memoirs of An Imperfect Angel 686.000
Michael Jackson & The Jackson 5 The Motown Years 546.000
Lady Gaga The Fame Monster (Exclusive U.S. EP) 552.000
Prince & Bria Valente Lotus Flow3r / MPLSoUND / Elix3r 525.500
Mary J. Blige Stronger With Each Tear 343.000
Ciara Fantasy Ride 325.000
Britney Spears The Singles Collection 319.000
Lionel Ritchie Just Go 285.500
Chris Brown Graffiti 277.000
Janet Jackson Number Ones/The Best 209.500

Thanks to Zago of http://www.worldwidealbums.net
[Edited 1/5/10 8:37am]

Prince is pathetic.

Note to Prince. Old folks buy cds. Write with them in mind. These kids steal and want everything free.

Robbie Williams don't need America..lol

2freaky4church1 said:

Prince's album sales are great for the position he's in. He got virtually no radio support, so we can't compare him to the younger artists. He outsold Lionel.

really surprised at the numbers of Madonna and Seal, apparently they didn't flop like I thought they did. And damn at those numbers of Michael, thats amazing!

robertlove said:

Because Madonna has a much bigger fan base. The gay$ speak volumes when it comes to supporting a diva they love. Not all homos are on the Prince train. I watch two different Madonna forums, and the news just about the maxi singles to "Revolver" and "Celebration" were huge. People snapped them up when they came out (although I forget if "Revolver" is out yet or not). The album was rumored to be remastered hits, and a lot more comprehensive than the previous two Greatest Hits packages (both of which were absent of specific and big hits like "Angel", "Gambler", "Dress You Up", etc).

Seal has a strong fan base, although not sure how big it is. Obviously enough to double what Prince sold. And think about this: Seal's album was all cover songs, not originals. Prince had three disks of all original music (sans "Crimson and Clover") and barely broke half of what Seal did. That's saying something for Seal and his fan base. Yes it's great that Prince sold half million at Target only, but still....quality dictates quantity sometimes.

robertlove said:

Seal's album went pltinum in the UK, and went diamond in France- that's about 1 million sales in France alone, and the equivalent of 10 million in the US. Its one of the biggest albums of the decade and has been the biggest album in France for the past 2 years.

And M is doing well. The album is platinum in the UK and has sold 200k in Japan. That's over 500k from those 2 countries alone.

sleepyq said:

Let's keep that real though. It's not a money exchange rate like "2 Francs equal 50 U.S. cents". A million is a million. The French might call a million record "Diamond", but it's NOT the same as 10 million records. It's numbers, not word play. The fact is he sold over 2 million in Belgium. Over a million in Canada, Europe, and Switzerland. He did NOT sell 10 million records any one place.

So 1 million in France is not the equivalent as 10 million elsewhere. 1 album is 1 album. 1 million is 1 million. They can call it "God status", but if it's only 1 million units, then that's what he sold. Not 10 million. He didn't even sell 10 million world wide, I would imagine. Although he was probably closer to 10 million world wide than 1 million world wide, but he didn't sell 10 million in France or "the equivalent".

ernestsewell said:

Well Revolver only made it to #130 in the UK

ernestsewell said:

Well, yes- I wasn't trying to bloat his numbers. I was just pointing out that most of the success is concentrated in one territory. It was calculated by chart experts as the biggest foreign album of the decade in France. The whole thing is a very big deal over there. Even though the market is not as big as the US.
[Edited 1/4/10 10:31am]

ernestsewell said:

I think they are referring to the record buying population. Where the US population is 10x more than France (? not sure of the accuracy of that statement but you get my point) . So if a record sells 1 million UNITS in France it would be like selling 10 million UNITS in the US. Yes a million is a million no matter how you cut it but selling a million alone in France is pretty amazing
[Edited 1/4/10 10:35am]

This points out the US Music market alone does not determine the success of an album . ie Madonna, Seal , Robbie Williams

ernestsewell said:

France uses the Euro which 1 Euro = 1.4434 Dollars. nice try though.

ehuffnsd said:

Whatever....I couldn't care less about the currency, I was making a point where number are the same no matter where CDs are sold.

It's like that stupid argument about "muscle weighs more than fat". Well, no it doesn't. 16oz is 16oz, no matter where or how you weight it. A pound is a pound whether its in a bicep or a big ass.

And a million records is a million records.

ernestsewell said:

1millionx1.44= 1.44million so she gains .44million dollars by selling a million records in france vs selling a million in the us therefore she gains money.

and what they mean is it takes less muscle to get to a pound than it takes fat.

ehuffnsd said:

LOL No that's not what they mean. I constantly hear people tell folks who work out that "it's okay if you gain some weight. Muscle weights more than fat, and you're gaining muscle." It's a total farce.

"Takes less muscle?" A pound is a pound! I can either eat a drum of M&M's to gain a pound, or I can try to burn 3500 calories to burn that pound, and THEN eat protein and whatever and work out like a MFer to increase a muscle so the scales show 1lb more.

ernestsewell said:

when you are working out gain muscle mass. it takes less mass of a muscle to equal a pound than it takes mass of fat to equal pound. weight depends on the pull of gravity on mass where as mass is an empirical. you weight different on the moon than on Earth but your mass is the same in both places. so yes it makes sense if you understand the concept which you don't.

I think Prince did pretty well considering he sold almost the same amount of a triple album without promotion and without a hit single with an album by an artist constantly in the headlines with a massive hit single (Mariah)

ehuffnsd said:

Don't judge me, son. I do understand, but no trainer ever says "per square inch" or whatever. A pound is a pound. Yes, muscle takes up less space than muscle, but no trainer I've heard has ever said that. Which means if people JUST hear "muscle weights more than fat", they believe that nonsense.

ernestsewell said:

most people don't understand the difference between mass and weight so it's easier to say muscle weighs more than fat.

ehuffnsd said:

I know. I get that. I just meant that we know it's a bullshit statement. It gives people false information. If people knew the truth, then that's something better to work from.

I used that example because at the end of the day Seal gets paid for a million records, whether it's a million from France, or a million from the US, or a million from Belgium. The royalties stay the same. That was my point. Unfortunately royalty checks don't adjust for per capita status.

jiorjios said:

Obsessed was far, far from "massive." It was a hit, but not massive. I Want To Know What Love Is was a flop. HATEU is hardly making a dent. But yes, Mimi's album is a flop, considering the radio support Obssessed got, and her megastar status. Prince did well- especially for a target exclusive triple disc album. MPLS is eligible for a platinbum certification. Not counting his undercetified albums, it will be his 15th platinum album in the US.

sleepyq said:

How can it be platinum in the US if he sells 500k+ worldwide?

sleepyq said:

20 weeks in the Top 40 including 16 in the Top 20 is pretty massive (although I cannot understand why the hell it did so well)
[Edited 1/4/10 11:58am]

BlaqueKnight said:

No it proves how much of zombies people are but it also shows that kids of parents buying it for the holidays. The album is really a catalog purchase and they sold it to formats where they know it would be CHEAP to buy it.

robertlove said:

Last time on the BB 200 (black friday week):

183 RE 14 Prince/Bria Valente, Lotus Flow3r/MPLSoUND/Elix3r 7,222 999 621 396,930

So it must be over 400k by now- probably around 420k. As a 3cd album it needed 330k to be eligible for platinum. Its well over that now.
[Edited 1/4/10 12:17pm]
[Edited 1/4/10 12:18pm]

Prince got a long way to go before he could qualify for platinum, he can qualify for gold but there weren't enough shipments for gold I guess.

I've been saying that for years. Susan Boyle....shit hop....there's not much difference. They both sound alike....slow and dull.