It is a list of something like the best-selling recorded music albums inside the world. The amount had to be published by a reputable source, and the record had to have sold at least 20 million copies to make the list. This list can also include studio albums, extended plays, greatest hits, compilations, numerous artists, soundtracks, and remixes, among other sorts of albums. The values mentioned do not account for used albums being resold.
All of the albums on just this list have at least 30% of their available claimed figures backed up by certified copies. The percentage of certified sales required rises with the age of the album, therefore albums produced before 1975 are really only expected to have at least 30% certified copies to back up their claims.
Newer albums, including such 21 as well as Come Away without Me, are expected to have good 70% certified copies to back up its claimed stats. Certified copies are obtained from local music industry groups’ web databases. That’s why albums like The Sound of Music, In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida, Parallel Lines, Spirits Having Flown, Private Dancer, Janet, Believe, Bolo Ta Ra Ra.., Human Clay, Laundry Service, as well as Back to Black, which would have made the list otherwise, were left off.
Every disc inside a multi-disc set is counted like one unit toward certification by the American and Canadian certification-awarding agencies (the RIAA and Music Canada, respectively), resulting in many double albums upon that list.
Pink Floyd’s The Wall as well as the Beatles’ The Beatles—have been certified with such a number that is double the number of units sold in the united states. The number of copies (not discs) shipped is stated on these albums’ certifications. For double albums that fit on one compact disc, such as the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack, the American certification level reflects the actual number of copies sold. For certification purposes, the RIAA added streaming to track sales as well as album sales in 2016, based on the idea of album-equivalent unit, and certification no longer reflects shipment alone.
For example, the Eagles’ Their Greatest Hits was rated 38 Platinum based on the new criteria when the certification was updated in August 2018.
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