The TOP 200 SELLING ALBUMS IN THE UNITED STATES IN 2009!

Here are the top 200 selling albums in the United States for 2009 provided by Soundscan:


YEAR END TOP 200



Rank - Sales - TITLE - Artist
01 - 3,216,988 - FEARLESS - Taylor Swift
02 - 3,103,828 - I DREAMED A DREAM - Susan Boyle
03 - 2,355,449 - NUMBER ONES - Michael Jackson
04 - 2,237,750 - THE FAME - Lady GaGa
05 - 2,207,202 - MY CHRISTMAS - Andrea Bocelli
06 - 1,823,435 - HANNAH MONTANA: THE MOVIE - Soundtrack
07 - 1,786,825 - THE E.N.D. (THE ENERGY NEVER DIES) - Black Eyed Peas
08 - 1,735,358 - RELAPSE - Eminem
09 - 1,514,758 - THE BLUEPRINT 3 - Jay-Z
10 - 1,397,693 - ONLY BY THE NIGHT - Kings Of Leon
11 - 1,368,352 - DARK HORSE - Nickelback
12 - 1,287,045 - THIS IS IT - Michael Jackson
13 - 1,282,260 - TWILIGHT - Soundtrack
14 - 1,273,413 - THRILLER - Michael Jackson
15 - 1,264,241 - THE FOUNDATION - Zac Brown Band
16 - 1,222,070 - CRAZY LOVE - Michael Buble
17 - 1,212,336 - TIME OF OUR LIVES EP - Miley Cyrus
18 - 1,199,969 - I AM…SASHA FIERCE - Beyonce
19 - 1,183,086 - PLAY ON - Carrie Underwood
20 - 1,154,814 - THE ESSENTIAL - Michael Jackson
21 - 1,129,896 - UNSTOPPABLE - Rascal Flatts
22 - 1,067,100 - NO LINE ON THE HORIZON - U2
23 - 993,252 - BIG WHISKEY AND THE GROOGRUX KING - Dave Matthews Band
24 - 974,694 - LADY ANTEBELLUM - Lady Antebellum
25 - 964,575 - THE TWILIGHT SAGA: NEW MOON - Soundtrack
26 - 958,540 - WIDE OPEN - Jason Aldean
27 - 948,806 - BLACKSUMMERS'NIGHT - Maxwell
28 - 910,685 - I LOOK TO YOU - Whitney Houston
29 - 903,544 - 21ST CENTURY BREAKDOWN - Green Day
30 - 883,761 - LEARN TO LIVE - Darius Rucker
31 - 881,621 - LEAVE THIS TOWN - Daughtry
32 - 849,520 - NOW 31 - Various
33 - 815,483 - ALL I EVER WANTED - Kelly Clarkson
34 - 797,924 - FUNHOUSE - P!nk
35 - 781,632 - TAYLOR SWIFT - Taylor Swift
36 - 780,319 - THE FRAY - The Fray
37 - 779,093 - THE ELEMENT OF FREEDOM - Alicia Keys
38 - 740,931 - NOW 30 - Various
39 - 727,914 - MY WORLD (EP) - Justin Bieber
40 - 722,718 - DEFYING GRAVITY - Keith Urban
41 - 698,068 - BATTLE STUDIES - John Mayer
42 - 694,714 - INTUITION - Jamie Foxx
43 - 684,776 - LOVE ON THE INSIDE - Sugarland
44 - 674,654 - NOW 32 - Various
45 - 653,037 - OCEAN EYES - Owl City
46 - 649,255 - WE SING WE DANCE WE STEAL THINGS - Jason Mraz
47 - 641,933 - GLEE: SEASON ONE: THE MUSIC VOL.1 - Soundtrack
48 - 629,450 - THE FALL - Norah Jones
49 - 620,016 - LINES VINES AND TRYING TIMES - Jonas Brothers
50 - 610,806 - THE SOUND OF MADNESS - Shinedown
51 - 597,436 - 808S AND HEARTBREAK - Kanye West
52 - 576,728 - WORKING ON A DREAM - Bruce Springsteen
53 - 570,475 - THE FAME MONSTER EP - Lady GaGa
54 - 560,924 - SOUTHERN VOICE - Tim McGraw
55 - 558,481 - HANNAH MONTANA 3 - Soundtrack
56 - 553,889 - GREATEST HITS II - Kenny Chesney
57 - 535,396 - CIRCUS - Britney Spears
58 - 530,317 - PAPER TRAIL - T.I.
59 - 521,298 - IF ON A WINTER'S NIGHT - Sting
60 - 519,290 - A DIFFERENT ME - Keyshia Cole
61 - 514,861 - SCARS AND SOUVENIRS - Theory Of A Deadman
62 - 504,511 - TWANG - George Strait
63 - 498,595 - RATED R - Rihanna
64 - 496,494 - IN A PERFECT WORLD - Keri Hilson
65 - 495,177 - VIVA LA VIDA OR DEATH AND ALL HIS FRIENDS - Coldplay
66 - 479,332 - OFF THE WALL - Michael Jackson
67 - 477,641 - LOVE VS MONEY - The-Dream
68 - 474,669 - BAD - Michael Jackson
69 - 470,853 - LOVE IS THE ANSWER - Barbra Streisand
70 - 469,313 - AMERICAN SATURDAY NIGHT - Brad Paisley
71 - 466,322 - THA CARTER III - Lil' Wayne
72 - 465,580 - THAT LONESOME SONG - Jamey Johnson
73 - 463,851 - DAVID COOK - David Cook [/color]
74 - 461,034 - CARNIVAL RIDE - Carrie Underwood
75 - 460,029 - 19 - Adele
76 - 454,974 - BACKSPACER - Pearl Jam
77 - 450,247 - SWAN SONGS - Hollywood Undead
78 - 444,858 - THE HOLIDAY COLLECTION - Taylor Swift
79 - 443,147 - ONE OF THE BOYS - Katy Perry
80 - 438,434 - READY - Trey Songz
81 - 433,834 - FOR YOUR ENTERTAINMENT - Adam Lambert
82 - 429,206 - GLEE: SEASON ONE: THE MUSIC VOL.2 - Various
83 - 420,970 - THE CIRCLE - Bon Jovi
84 - 418,749 - CHICKENFOOT - Chickenfoot
85 - 414,629 - FREEDOM - Akon
86 - 412,933 - ROCK N ROLL JESUS - Kid Rock
87 - 410,646 - ABBEY ROAD - Beatles
88 - 406,905 - DEEPER THAN RAP - Rick Ross
89 - 406,896 - NOW 29 - Various
90 - 406,707 - MAMMA MIA - Soundtrack
91 - 405,198 - BRAND NEW EYES - Paramore
92 - 403,335 - LOTUS FLOW3R - Prince
93 - 396,580 - MEMOIRS OF AN IMPERFECT ANGEL - Mariah Carey
94 - 396,022 - KEEP ON LOVING YOU - Reba McEntire
95 - 394,680 - DEAR AGONY - Breaking Benjamin
96 - 394,005 - STRONGER (WITH EVERY TEAR) - Mary J Blige
97 - 392,416 - NOEL - Josh Groban
98 - 383,366 - DANGEROUS - Michael Jackson
99 - 381,100 - QUIET NIGHTS - Diana Krall
100 - 378,981 - BREAKTHROUGH - Colbie Caillat
101 - 376,211 - NIGHT CASTLE - Trans-Siberian Orchestra
102 - 375,888 - EPIPHANY - Chrisette Michele
103 - 375,336 - GREATEST HITS - Journey
104 - 364,708 - SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE - Soundtrack
105 - 362,458 - CRADLESONG - Rob Thomas
106 - 361,723 - THE RESISTANCE - Muse
107 - 361,583 - GREATEST HITS VOLUME 1 - Rascal Flatts
108 - 360,048 - HERE WE GO AGAIN - Demi Lovato
109 - 352,102 - YEAR OF THE GENTLEMAN - Ne-Yo
110 - 349,886 - REVOLUTION - Miranda Lambert
111 - 349,153 - BEFORE I SELF DESTRUCT - 50 Cent
112 - 347,029 - THE LAST KISS - Jadakiss
113 - 346,539 - GOLD-GREATEST HITS - Abba
114 - 342,155 - LEGEND - Bob Marley & the Wailers
115 - 334,740 - TOGETHER THROUGH LIFE - Bob Dylan
116 - 334,308 - KISS AND TELL - Selena Gomez & the Scene
117 - 331,207 - BLACK GIVES WAY TO BLUE - Alice In Chains
118 - 330,850 - WHEN THE WORLD COMES DOWN - All-American Rejects
119 - 330,476 - GOOD GIRL GONE BAD - Rihanna
120 - 329,299 - GREATEST HITS - Guns N'Roses
121 - 329,148 - SO FAR GONE - Drake
122 - 328,087 - SOULBOOK - Rod Stewart
123 - 323,624 - WANT - 3OH!3
124 - 312,999 - LITTLE BIT OF EVERYTHING - Billy Currington
125 - 312,398 - GOOD TIME - Alan Jackson
126 - 306,049 - RAISING SAND - Robert Plant & Alison Krauss
127 - 305,966 - THE POINT OF IT ALL - Anthony Hamilton
128 - 303,556 - CHRONICLE:THE 20 GREATEST HITS - Creedence Clearwater Revival
129 - 303,147 - THE BEATLES - Beatles
130 - 302,029 - FULL CIRCLE - Creed
131 - 301,307 - FEEL THAT FIRE - Dierks Bentley
132 - 301,153 - SGT PEPPER'S LONELY HEARTS CLUB BAND - Beatles
133 - 300,105 - SOUL - Seal
134 - 296,929 - DEATH MAGNETIC - Metallica
135 - 295,248 - UNCLE CHARLIE - Charlie Wilson
136 - 295,007 - AMERICAN RIDE - Toby Keith
137 - 293,561 - TESTIMONY:VOL 2-LOVE AND POLITICS - India.Arie
138 - 288,694 - THE ULTIMATE COLLECTION - Jackson 5
139 - 288,542 - LOSO'S WAY - Fabolous
140 - 277,026 - INCREDIBAD - Lonely Island
141 - 276,297 - LIFE STARTS NOW - Three Days Grace
142 - 274,231 - ALVIN AND THE CHIPMUNKS: THE SQUEAKUEL - Soundtrack
143 - 273,931 - DAY AND AGE - Killers
144 - 267,208 - DAUGHTRY - Daughtry
145 - 267,048 - ORACULAR SPECTACULAR - MGMT
146 - 266,975 - WOLFGANG AMADEUS PHOENIX - Phoenix
147 - 265,344 - ISOULJABOYTELLEM - Soulja Boy Tell'em
148 - 264,392 - YOUR SONGS - Harry Connick Jr
149 - 262,890 - JEREMIH - Jeremih
150 - 259,759 - MAN ON THE MOON - Kid Cudi
151 - 258,438 - IT'S NOT ME IT'S YOU - Lily Allen
152 - 255,715 - GOLD AND GREEN - Sugarland
153 - 255,378 - IT'S TIME - Michael Buble
154 - 253,685 - WILCO (THE ALBUM) - Wilco
155 - 253,052 - TROUBADOUR - George Strait
156 - 252,512 - MINUTES TO MIDNIGHT - Linkin Park
157 - 252,442 - ALL THE RIGHT REASONS - Nickelback
158 - 251,119 - SOME HEARTS - Carrie Underwood
159 - 249,747 - KIDZ BOP 15 - Kidz Bop Kids
160 - 249,526 - #1'S…AND THEN SOME - Brooks & Dunn
161 - 247,326 - R.O.O.T.S. (ROUTE OF OVERCOMING THE STRUGGLE) - Flo Rida
162 - 246,497 - THE LAST - Aventura
163 - 245,999 - HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL 3: SENIOR YEAR - Soundtrack
164 - 242,320 - JERSEY BOYS - Original Cast
165 - 239,714 - CALL ME IRRESPONSIBLE - Michael Buble
166 - 239,387 - JENNIFER HUDSON - Jennifer Hudson
167 - 237,994 - SHE WOLF - Shakira
168 - 237,627 - SONIC BOOM - Kiss
169 - 235,436 - FOREVER IN THE DAY - Day26
170 - 235,214 - MOTHERSHIP - Led Zeppelin
171 - 234,106 - GOOD EVENING NEW YORK CITY - Paul McCartney
172 - 233,640 - LIVE ON THE INSIDE - Sugarland
173 - 233,421 - CHRISTMAS: 25TH ANNIVERSARY COLLECTION - Mannheim Steamroller
174 - 232,908 - GRAFFITI - Chris Brown
175 - 232,609 - THE SOUND - Mary Mary
176 - 231,935 - RIOT - Paramore
177 - 231,907 - ALL HOPE IS GONE - Slipknot
178 - 231,505 - GREATEST HITS - Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers
179 - 231,206 - RUBBER SOUL - Beatles
180 - 230,882 - SPIRIT - Leona Lewis
181 - 230,091 - INDESTRUCTIBLE - Disturbed
182 - 228,017 - ENJOY THE RIDE - Sugarland
183 - 227,970 - KRIS ALLEN - Kris Allen
184 - 226,701 - THEATER OF THE MIND - Ludacris
185 - 226,617 - BLACK ICE - AC/DC
186 - 225,907 - DARK SIDE OF THE MOON - Pink Floyd
187 - 223,257 - FINDING BEAUTY IN NEGATIVE SPACES - Seether
188 - 219,362 - 1 - Beatles
189 - 218,575 - NOW THAT'S WHAT I CALL A COUNTRY CHRISTMAS - Various
190 - 218,248 - THE PROMISE - Il Divo
191 - 218,127 - KELLIE PICKLER - Kellie Pickler
192 - 218,102 - UNTITLED - R.Kelly
193 - 217,657 - WICKED - Original Cast
194 - 215,151 - BACK IN BLACK - AC/DC
195 - 214,417 - LUCKY OLD SUN - Kenny Chesney
196 - 214,298 - 2009 GRAMMY NOMINEES - Various
197 - 213,904 - TRANSFORMERS: REVENGE OF THE FALLEN: THE ALBUM - Soundtrack
198 - 213,058 - CAGE THE ELEPHANT - Cage The Elephant
199 - 212,419 - SAVING ABEL - Saving Abel
200 - 211,382 - TEN - Pearl Jam

man. the top seller is 3.2 million? its about as low as i thought. does anyone have a list of past years top sellers? like in pre 2000's?

i think this list proves that it's not U2, it's the industry...and some pretty bad taste.

i looked it up and hootie and blowfish's cracked rear view sold 10.5 million copys in 1995. it had already been released in 1994. Swifts album, the #1 ,was released in 2008 with 3.2. I mean thats insane the drop of the sales.

Taylor!

mikal said:

i think this list proves that it's not U2, it's the industry...and some pretty bad taste.

Click to expand...

What is not U2, but the industry?

Of course the situation of the industry is the reason that general sales, including U2's sales, are down. No doubt about that.
But when comparing the sales of NLOTH to the rest (so correcting for the industry status), still shows that NLOTH sold relatively less compared with ATYCLB or HTDAAB....

I don't care, it's not the album for that. But the band members realized very well that this album didn't have the hit single that made people but albums (as they stated in several interviews). So blaming only the market/industry for disappointing sales is not correct.

Interesting statistics:

2009 U.S. Music Purchases up 2.1% over 2008; Music Sales Exceed 1.5 Billion for Second Consecutive Year | Business Wire

- overall music sales: +2,1%
- overall album sales: -8,5%

This really shows that it's more and more about other formats than albums. It's more about the individual tracks.

- 40% of all sales are digital

NLOTH is really an album to listen to from beginning to the end. Much more tahn ATYCLB and HTDAAB, what is more about the individual tracks. That's why I think NLOTH gave less space for big hit singles.

So imo the reason for NLOTH doing relatively less great than ATYCLB/HTDAAB:
- the lack of hit singles
- timing of release. Holiday sales were as strong as in 2008. Releasing it before the holidays season would have pushed the album a bit more.

phommel said:

What is not U2, but the industry?

Click to expand...

the fact that they're 22nd, and many people are calling NLOTH a flop.

they are gonna have to come up with a formula for Measuring sucess. Like some kinda rating based on album sales/song sales via downloading/other formats. Like the the way a quaterback rating is used in the NFL. I know thats a odd comparison, but you can't look at just one format anymore. Notice NLOTH the lowest 1 million sellar on the list. interesting.

mikal said:

the fact that they're 22nd, and many people are calling NLOTH a flop.

Click to expand...

I agree. Defin. not a flop! 22nd is still great.

phommel said:

Interesting statistics:

2009 U.S. Music Purchases up 2.1% over 2008; Music Sales Exceed 1.5 Billion for Second Consecutive Year | Business Wire

- overall music sales: +2,1%
- overall album sales: -8,5%

This really shows that it's more and more about other formats than albums. It's more about the individual tracks.

- 40% of all sales are digital

Click to expand...

A single track only brings in 99 cents, while an album brings in over 10 dollars. Sales of tracks CANNOT replaced lost album sales.

All digital album sales are covered by soundscan.

phommel said:

Interesting statistics:

2009 U.S. Music Purchases up 2.1% over 2008; Music Sales Exceed 1.5 Billion for Second Consecutive Year | Business Wire

- overall music sales: +2,1%
- overall album sales: -8,5%

.

Click to expand...

Overall album sales are down by -12.7% according to your link! Overall revenue that the industry made is DOWN! It takes at least 10 singles sold to make up for each album lost!

allbecauseofu2 said:

they are gonna have to come up with a formula for Measuring sucess. Like some kinda rating based on album sales/song sales via downloading/other formats. Like the the way a quaterback rating is used in the NFL. I know thats a odd comparison, but you can't look at just one format anymore. Notice NLOTH the lowest 1 million sellar on the list. interesting.

Click to expand...

Well, there is really no comparison between an album that cost over 10 dollars and a track that only cost 99 cents. At best, you could say that selling 10 individual tracks is equal to selling one album.


Remember though, we are now at the point were over 1 Billion songs are illegally obtained every month in the United States. The trend where the majority of people obtain music for free continues to grow.

allbecauseofu2 said:

man. the top seller is 3.2 million? its about as low as i thought. does anyone have a list of past years top sellers? like in pre 2000's?

Click to expand...

Here are some top 10 figures for the United States from past years.


Best Selling Albums 1998[17][18]
1. Titanic / Soundtrack ~ 9,338,061
2. Let's Talk About Love / Celine Dion ~ 5,859,421
3. Backstreet Boys / Backstreet Boys ~ 5,709,369
4. Come On Over / Shania Twain ~ 4,872,841
5. *N SYNC / 'N Sync ~ 4,385,148
6. City of Angels / Soundtrack ~ 4,120,508
7. Double Live / Garth Brooks ~ 3,892,288
8. Big Willie Style / Will Smith ~ 3,687,568
9. Savage Garden / Savage Garden ~ 3,247,406
10. Armageddon / Soundtrack ~ 3,222,603

Best Selling Albums 2000[17][20]
1. No Strings Attached / 'N Sync ~ 9,936,104
2. The Marshall Mathers LP / Eminem ~ 7,921,107
3. Oops!... I Did It Again / Britney Spears ~ 7,893,544
4. Human Clay / Creed ~ 6,587,834
5. Supernatural / Santana ~ 5,857,824
6. Beatles 1 / The Beatles ~ 5,068,300
7. Country Grammar / Nelly ~ 5,067,529
8. Black & Blue / Backstreet Boys ~ 4,289,865
9. 2001 / Dr Dre ~ 3,992,311
10. The Writing's on the Wall / Destiny's Child ~ 3,802,165

Best Selling Albums 2003[23]
1. Get Rich or Die Tryin' / 50 Cent ~ 6,535,809
2. Come Away with Me / Norah Jones ~ 5,137,468
3. Meteora / Linkin Park ~ 3,478,361
4. Fallen / Evanescence ~ 3,364,738
5. Speakerboxxx/The Love Below / Outkast ~ 3,089,849
6. Dangerously in Love / Beyoncé ~ 2,527,485
7. Chocolate Factory / R. Kelly ~ 2,439,536
8. Metamorphosis / Hilary Duff ~ 2,405,544
9. Shock'n Y'all / Toby Keith ~ 2,324,437
10. A Rush of Blood to the Head / Coldplay ~ 2,183,997

Best Selling Albums 2006[26]
1. High School Musical / Soundtrack ~ 3,719,071
2. Me and My Gang / Rascal Flatts ~ 3,479,994
3. Some Hearts / Carrie Underwood ~ 3,015,950
4. All the Right Reasons / Nickelback ~ 2,688,166
5. FutureSex/LoveSounds / Justin Timberlake ~ 2,377,127
6. Back to Bedlam / James Blunt ~ 2,137,142
7. B'Day / Beyonce ~ 2,010,311
8. Hannah Montana / Soundtrack ~ 1,987,681
9. Taking the Long Way / Dixie Chicks ~ 1,856,284
10. Extreme Behavior / Hinder ~ 1,817,350


Best Selling Albums 2007[3]
1. Noel / Josh Groban ~ 3,699,000
2. High School Musical 2 / Soundtrack ~ 2,957,000
3. Long Road Out of Eden / Eagles ~ 2,608,000
4. As I Am / Alicia Keys ~ 2,543,000
5. Daughtry / Daughtry ~ 2,497,000
6. Hannah Montana 2/Meet Miley Cyrus / Soundtrack/Miley Cyrus ~ 2,487,000
7. Minutes to Midnight / Linkin Park ~ 2,099,000
8. The Dutchess / Fergie 2,064,000
9. Taylor Swift /Taylor Swift ~ 1,951,000
10. Graduation / Kanye West ~ 1,817,000

Best Selling Albums 2008[2]
1. Tha Carter III / Lil Wayne ~ 2,874,000
2. Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends / Coldplay ~ 2,144,000
3. Fearless / Taylor Swift ~ 2,112,000
4. Rock N Roll Jesus / Kid Rock ~ 2,018,000
5. Black Ice / AC/DC ~ 1,915,000
6. Taylor Swift / Taylor Swift ~ 1,599,000
7. Death Magnetic / Metallica ~ 1,565,000
8. Paper Trail / T.I. ~ 1,522,000
9. Sleep Through The Static / Jack Johnson ~ 1,492,000
10. I Am... Sasha Fierce / Beyoncé ~ 1,459,000


Best Selling Albums 2009[27]
Fearless / Taylor Swift ~ 3,216,988
I Dreamed a Dream / Susan Boyle ~ 3,103,828
Number Ones / Michael Jackson ~ 2,355,449
The Fame / Lady Gaga ~ 2,237,750
My Christmas / Andrea Bocelli ~ 2,207,202
Hannah Montana: The Movie (soundtrack) / Hannah Montana ~ 1,823,435
The E.N.D. / Black Eyed Peas ~ 1,786,825
Relapse / Eminem ~ 1,735,358
The Blueprint 3 / Jay-Z ~ 1,514,758
Only by the Night / Kings of Leon ~ 1,397,693

phommel said:

What is not U2, but the industry?

Of course the situation of the industry is the reason that general sales, including U2's sales, are down. No doubt about that.
But when comparing the sales of NLOTH to the rest (so correcting for the industry status), still shows that NLOTH sold relatively less compared with ATYCLB or HTDAAB....

I don't care, it's not the album for that. But the band members realized very well that this album didn't have the hit single that made people but albums (as they stated in several interviews). So blaming only the market/industry for disappointing sales is not correct.

Click to expand...

Well, were talking about the just the United States in this thread. Here are the combined top 10 sales from each year since 1998.

1998: 48,335,213
1999: 54,662,087
2000: 60,416,583
2001: 40,390,797
2002: 38,978,751
2003: 33,487,224
2004: 34,988,674
2005: 32,036,292
2006: 25,089,076
2007: 24,722,000
2008: 18,700,000
2009: 21,379,286

While the combined top 10 is up from 2008 slightly, thats not the case when you look at the top 100. Just looking at the top 10, sales are 40% down since 2004 and nearly 67% down since 2000. The impact has been huge, even though it can't explain the entire reason why U2's sales are down, it is by far the main reason!

the people who download illegaly need to at least keep track on a chart. so we at least we know whats not seling.lol. hey we are number 4 on the illegal chart! we're about to go gold at college dorms.lol.

Maoilbheannacht said:

Well, were talking about the just the United States in this thread. Here are the combined top 10 sales from each year since 1998.

1998: 48,335,213
1999: 54,662,087
2000: 60,416,583
2001: 40,390,797
2002: 38,978,751
2003: 33,487,224
2004: 34,988,674
2005: 32,036,292
2006: 25,089,076
2007: 24,722,000
2008: 18,700,000
2009: 21,379,286

While the combined top 10 is up from 2008 slightly, thats not the case when you look at the top 100. Just looking at the top 10, sales are 40% down since 2004 and nearly 67% down since 2000. The impact has been huge, even though it can't explain the entire reason why U2's sales are down, it is by far the main reason!

Click to expand...

Ok, but that's exactly the point I always try to explain!! So we do agree! Of course the main reason for lower total sales of albums (also the ones of U2) is the change in industry.
However, as you say, it can't explain the entire reason of lower U2 sales, also in the US.

ATYCLB sold ~ 4 million (I don't know exact numbers) in the US (2000/2001)
HTDAAB sold ~ 3 million " " " (2004/2005)
NLOTH sold ~ 1 million " " " (2009)


Since average sales over 2004/2005 are 34% less than those in 2000/2001, you could say that while HTDAAB sold less than ATYCLB, relatively speaking (so compared to the rest of the market) U2 sold as much, or even more, than in 2000/2001.

However, when you compare 2000/2001 (I see a ~58% drop, but let's count your 67%) with 2009, the market went down 67% as you say. That means that if the new U2 album was as popular as in those times, NLOTH would have sold ~1,3 million copies.

Counting the 58%, that means it should have sold ~1,7 million.
Also comparison with HTDAAB would result in 1.7-18 million.

That means that, corrected for the change in the market, NLOTH sold 23-45%(depending on which drops and comparison) less than ATYCLB HTDAAB in their markets did...

CONCLUSION: NLOTH is commercially less succesfull than their previous albums ATYCLB and HTDAAB.

phommel said:

Ok, but that's exactly the point I always try to explain!! So we do agree! Of course the main reason for lower total sales of albums (also the ones of U2) is the change in industry.
However, as you say, it can't explain the entire reason of lower U2 sales, also in the US.

ATYCLB sold ~ 4 million (I don't know exact numbers) in the US (2000/2001)
HTDAAB sold ~ 3 million " " " (2004/2005)
NLOTH sold ~ 1 million " " " (2009)


Since average sales over 2004/2005 are 34% less than those in 2000/2001, you could say that while HTDAAB sold less than ATYCLB, relatively speaking (so compared to the rest of the market) U2 sold as much, or even more, than in 2000/2001.

However, when you compare 2000/2001 (I see a ~58% drop, but let's count your 67%) with 2009, the market went down 67% as you say. That means that if the new U2 album was as popular as in those times, NLOTH would have sold ~1,3 million copies.

Counting the 58%, that means it should have sold ~1,7 million.
Also comparison with HTDAAB would result in 1.7-18 million.

That means that, corrected for the change in the market, NLOTH sold 23-45%(depending on which drops and comparison) less than ATYCLB HTDAAB in their markets did...

CONCLUSION: NLOTH is commercially less succesfull than their previous albums ATYCLB and HTDAAB.

Click to expand...

Less successful, but still a success. Having the 7th biggest selling album worldwide cannot in anyway be looked down upon.

phommel said:

ATYCLB sold ~ 4 million (I don't know exact numbers) in the US (2000/2001)
.

Click to expand...

ATYCLB sold ~3 million in the US by December 2001.

Vox

Maoilbheannacht said:

Less successful, but still a success. Having the 7th biggest selling album worldwide cannot in anyway be looked down upon.

Click to expand...

I agree completely!

Furthermore, personally I prefer NLOTH above ATYCLB/HTDAAB.

Are there any estimations for The Joshua Tree or Achtung Baby, since big albums like "Ten", "Back in Black" or "Dark Side Of The Moon" are still selling over 200.000?

spookyz said:

Are there any estimations for The Joshua Tree or Achtung Baby, since big albums like "Ten", "Back in Black" or "Dark Side Of The Moon" are still selling over 200.000?

Click to expand...

I think those were all reissues.

No, only Ten was re-issued this year.
Back In Black and Dark Side Of The Moon really sold that much without the release of (another) reissue.

Wow, that's impressive.

if Michael Jackson hadn't of died then NLOTH would be in the top 20.

what do you think the 00's albums sell if their no internet? or a more tricky qustion, what do older albums from the pre internet era sell , if they had been released in that kinda of world? like joshua tree. it perhaps only sells 2 million, and then just certain songs on itunes. then, of course the illegal downloading,.

I'm sure the time of 20+ or even 10+ sellers is over.

the time of 5+ sellers may be done.

well, at least Susan Boyle sold +6 millions...that shows that people still buy "legal" music...

the old fashioned cd. lol. i saw some blank casettes in a store yesterday. i was shocked.