Talk:List of best-selling music artists/Archive 3

message: Considering that the Beatles broke up in 1970, and that John Lennon died in 1980, there's no case for saying that the Beatles were active in the 70s or 90s. If we're going to count solo careers or continuing album sales, we might as well say "Active: 60s - present". I'm going to change it to "1960 - 70". Tyharvey313 02:56, 4 March 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: I changed around a couple of "Years Active" dates: I reverted Gasenriquez's 15:20, March 5, 2006 edits, with the exception of his Destiny's Child years active edit (which I have no background on and can't dispute). I deleted the "90s" again from Beatles years active based on my earlier argument, and, given that Gasenriquez re-added that without reading my previous comment about it, I reverted the rest of his edits. His others didn't make sense either--Celine Dion was listed as "80s-00s (1990-)". I also changed Bob Dylan's "Years Active" to "60s-00s (1965-Present)", since he's still writing and releasing albums and touring .Tyharvey313 03:25, 7 March 2006 (UTC)

text: Well I presume someone changed the Beatles to 90s as they released a 'discovered' single in the 90s at some point I think. But based on other artists, I don't think this does count as active. Robdurbar 11:00, 7 March 2006 (UTC)
thread_title: Dates

message: I have just archived talk from August 05 to January 06. If you think an artist should be in this list, you may want to look at this archive to see if their inclusion has already been discussed. I have kept the 'Vicky Leandros' section on this page as it could still be considred 'ongoing'.
===Vicky Leandros===
For example this week German-Greek Diva VICKY LEANDROS appears in position #127 with 50 million plus albums and has again the note "Greek goverment award". Vicky Leandros according to all her record companies and especially SONY CLASSICAL (GR) (and the greek goverment's award)  has sold around 150 million records all around the world from 1965 till nowdays, 40 million of which have been sold to Germany. It makes much sense since only her Eurovision entrances have sold more than 20 million records by themselves and none of her Japanese singles during the 70ies has sold less than 500.000 copies! 
In any case I think people should be objective and patient and not write innacuracies! There are many other artists that I saw mistakes but I am not mentioning because there is no reason to argue with others.
Thanks!!
Yes indeed VICKY LEANDROS has sold in excess of 150,000,000 worldwide and so should be far higher ranked in your list.In 2003 she received a special award from the Greek Government for this achievement and the promotion of Greek Music and Culture abroad.She has sold huge amounts of records in Japan as stated by a previous contributor above. She has also sold all over South America, South Africa , Canada , Asia aswell as all over Europe. However she tends to get forgotten as do most artists who are not big in England or America - and specially whose first language is not English - that is where the bias is . I guess most fans of hers not being from these places could not write this in English or would not be aware of this page to stick up for her but here's one who can. Imagine if she'd ever made it in America & England too- not many reach her sales volumes without it. I think we'd be talking top of the list with Elvis don't you? Only reason she didn't was total bias in favour of English and American artists in both countries with no radio play or promotion of any kind forthcoming.The sales of 100M mentioned in Wikipedia - not that it's accurate - are stated as only albums. Another ref - search under VICKY LEANDROS PHENOMENON in google - then City of Athens Portal to find an article with reference to the enormity of Vickys success and sales. She was the top selling singer in Europe continually for years on end !!! Each time I tried to revise her standing on the list somebody else shoved her down again - so I gave up !!! Apologies if I'm not using the system correctly and I won't do it again - but please whoever's job it is just put Vicky where she deserves to be - THANKS !!!!     Oh I see you've removed Vicky altogether now - hope you're planning to return her soon as her exclusion hardly makes your list more accurate.
::Well if you want to put her in find a reputable source that tells us how many records she has sold. Anyone can edit the article, but their needs to be proof of sales Robdurbar 18:49, 6 January 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: Indeed, she was removed as most sources - such as this one - claim she has only sold 40 million Robdurbar 18:53, 6 January 2006 (UTC)

text: Where? Provide a link and she will be in the page instantly. I've looked, including on Sony Classical's site, and found nothing.Robdurbar 09:47, 13 January 2006 (UTC)

text: I have however, found a source which claims 'around 50 million records' (lucky I can read German). As I do beleive the circumstansial evidence youve provided, I'm happy to include her. If you think she should be higher, again, please provide verifable sources. Robdurbar 01:18, 14 January 2006 (UTC)

text: Well I'm happy to accept it as a source - though if any other editors who speak greek could verify this one...? Robdurbar 17:12, 16 January 2006 (UTC)

text: Yeah, well we've put her in now :) Robdurbar 19:44, 21 January 2006 (UTC)
thread_title: Archive Talk

message: For example this week German-Greek Diva VICKY LEANDROS appears in position #127 with 50 million plus albums and has again the note "Greek goverment award". Vicky Leandros according to all her record companies and especially SONY CLASSICAL (GR) (and the greek goverment's award)  has sold around 150 million records all around the world from 1965 till nowdays, 40 million of which have been sold to Germany. It makes much sense since only her Eurovision entrances have sold more than 20 million records by themselves and none of her Japanese singles during the 70ies has sold less than 500.000 copies! 
In any case I think people should be objective and patient and not write innacuracies! There are many other artists that I saw mistakes but I am not mentioning because there is no reason to argue with others.
Thanks!!
Yes indeed VICKY LEANDROS has sold in excess of 150,000,000 worldwide and so should be far higher ranked in your list.In 2003 she received a special award from the Greek Government for this achievement and the promotion of Greek Music and Culture abroad.She has sold huge amounts of records in Japan as stated by a previous contributor above. She has also sold all over South America, South Africa , Canada , Asia aswell as all over Europe. However she tends to get forgotten as do most artists who are not big in England or America - and specially whose first language is not English - that is where the bias is . I guess most fans of hers not being from these places could not write this in English or would not be aware of this page to stick up for her but here's one who can. Imagine if she'd ever made it in America & England too- not many reach her sales volumes without it. I think we'd be talking top of the list with Elvis don't you? Only reason she didn't was total bias in favour of English and American artists in both countries with no radio play or promotion of any kind forthcoming.The sales of 100M mentioned in Wikipedia - not that it's accurate - are stated as only albums. Another ref - search under VICKY LEANDROS PHENOMENON in google - then City of Athens Portal to find an article with reference to the enormity of Vickys success and sales. She was the top selling singer in Europe continually for years on end !!! Each time I tried to revise her standing on the list somebody else shoved her down again - so I gave up !!! Apologies if I'm not using the system correctly and I won't do it again - but please whoever's job it is just put Vicky where she deserves to be - THANKS !!!!     Oh I see you've removed Vicky altogether now - hope you're planning to return her soon as her exclusion hardly makes your list more accurate.
::Well if you want to put her in find a reputable source that tells us how many records she has sold. Anyone can edit the article, but their needs to be proof of sales Robdurbar 18:49, 6 January 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: Indeed, she was removed as most sources - such as this one - claim she has only sold 40 million Robdurbar 18:53, 6 January 2006 (UTC)

text: Where? Provide a link and she will be in the page instantly. I've looked, including on Sony Classical's site, and found nothing.Robdurbar 09:47, 13 January 2006 (UTC)

text: I have however, found a source which claims 'around 50 million records' (lucky I can read German). As I do beleive the circumstansial evidence youve provided, I'm happy to include her. If you think she should be higher, again, please provide verifable sources. Robdurbar 01:18, 14 January 2006 (UTC)

text: Well I'm happy to accept it as a source - though if any other editors who speak greek could verify this one...? Robdurbar 17:12, 16 January 2006 (UTC)

text: Yeah, well we've put her in now :) Robdurbar 19:44, 21 January 2006 (UTC)
thread_title: Vicky Leandros

message: An anonymous editor has removed UB40, bumped Leandros down the list and moved Madonna up it. Without evidence provided to justify these changes, I have reverted them. Please provide evidence if you think that these claims are untrue Robdurbar 21:54, 17 January 2006 (UTC)
thread_title: Recent Edits Regarding Madonna, UB40 and Vicky Leandros

message: Just wanted to discuss the idea that this list is possibly biased towards more modern artists if it only covers sales of recordings and not sales of sheet music which was the original way of buying music, and later for many artists an additional source of sales. Are the figures limited to vinyl and CD?  
#PhilipPage
Oh it definately is. But I fail to see how this is avoidable. All lists on music sales are biased by when data was first collected. For example, List of best-selling singles (UK) ,despite using official figures, can only include singles post 1953, when sales figrues were first taken. There are no figures for sales of sheet music. However, it should also be noted that there was less music sold before the Second World War, when economic conditions were not as good. Robdurbar 10:34, 23 January 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: Well leagal downloads are included. As for illegals... for one thing its not been proved that they are significantly harming sales (album sales in the UK have been higher in 2003/2004 than ever before), and there have always been knockoff copies. If we can get some facts that show a significant, or suggestion of a significant, fall in sales due to illegal downloads then it could be noted. Robdurbar 23:29, 14 April 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  Biased  by technology? 

message: You guys have violated the 3RR rule, but I'm feeling generous, so Ive only protected the page. Please come to a sort of compromise here. Oran e  (t) (c) (e) 17:14, 25 January 2006 (UTC)
thread_title: Protected

message: http://www.ukmix.org/forums/viewtopic.php?t=31311&highlight=highest+selling+artist
1 The Beatles 40+ 400,000,000 UK 60s (1962-1970) Rock/Pop Guinness/EMI 
2. Michael Jackson 14 350,000,000 US 70s-00s (1979-) Pop/R&B MJ Stats 
3 Elvis Presley 150+ 300,000,000 US 50s-70s (1956-1977) Country/Rock 
4. Madonna 16 275,000,000 US 80s-00s (1984-) Pop WBR [1] 
5. Nana Mouskouri 450 250,000,000 Greece 60s-00s (1959-) Pop [2][3] 
6. Cliff Richard 60+ 250,000,000 UK 50s-00s (1959-1969,1977-1979,1986-1999) Rock/Pop [4] 
7.The Rolling Stones 54 ~250,000,000 UK 60s-00s (1964-1981) Rock 60.5 million in the US [5] 
8. Mariah Carey 14 230,000,000 US 90s-00s (1990-) Pop/R&B 
9. Elton John 43 ~220,000,000 UK 70s-00s (1972-1976,1989-1991,1997-) Pop [6] 
10.Celine Dion 21 220,000,000 Canada 80s-00s (1990-) Pop Music/Pop Discography 
11. Pink Floyd 21 ~210,000,000 UK 60s-00s (1970-1983,1994-1995) Prog Rock 73 Mil US 
12. Led Zeppelin 9/12 200,000,000+ UK 60s-70s (1969-1979) Rock/Blues MSNBC 
13. Metallica 10 ~200,000,000 US 80's-00's (1991-1997) Hard Rock 57 mil US 
14. Julio Iglesias 80 ~200,000,000 Spain 70s-00s (1969-) Latino Pop [7] [8] 
15. Queen 22 180,000,000 UK 70s-00s (1975-1995) Rock R&R 
16 AC/DC ~180,000,000 Australia/UK 70s-00s (1980-1992) Hard Rock AC/DC 
17 Whitney Houston 10 ~180,000,000 US 80s-00s (1985-2000) R&B/Pop Discography 
18. ABBA 160,000,000 Sweden 70s-80s (1974-1982) Disco/Pop ABBA discography 
19. U2 ~150,000,000 Ireland 80s-00s (1983-) Rock/Pop 50m.US 
20.The Jacksons 150,000,000 US 60s-80s (1969-1980) R&B 71m.US 
21. Garth Brooks ~145,000,000 US 80s-00s (1989-2001) Country 105m.US 
22. Janet Jackson 11 130,000,000 US 80s-00s (1986-) R&B/pop 
23. The Eagles ~120,000,000 US 70s-00s (1974-1979) Country/Rock 89 million in US 
24. Wei Wei ~120,000,000 China 80s-00s (1986-) Pop [12] [13] 
25. The Bee Gees 110,000,000 UK/Australia 60s-00s (1975-1979) Pop/Disco src.1 
26. Bon Jovi ~110,000,000 US 80s-00s (1986-2000) Rock/Hard Rock (100m.alb.) 
27. R.E.M. ~110,000,000 US 80s-00s (1991-) Rock [(106m.alb.) 
28. Kenny Rogers 105,000,000+ US 60s-00s Country/Pop/Rock [15] 
29. Black Sabbath 100,000,000+ US 70s-00s Hard Rock/Metal [17] 
30. Barbra Streisand 100,000,000+ US 60s-00s popular 70.5 million in US [18] 
31. Mireille Mathieu 37 ~100,000,000 France 60s-00s Pop src. 
32.Alla Pugacheva 15 ~100,000,000 Russia 70s-00s Rock/Pop *(10m.US) [19] 
33. Prince ~100,000,000 US 70s-00s Rock/Pop src. 
34. Ricky Nelson ~100,000,000 US 50s-80s Pop/Country/Rock 
35. Luciano Pavarotti ~100,000,000 Italy 60s-00s Opera [20] [21] 
36.Brenda Lee ~100,000,000 US 50s-60s Pop/Country [22] 
37.OmPrakash ~100,000,000 India 90s-00s [23] 
38.Illayaraja ~100,000,000 India 70s-00s [24] 
39. Johnny Mathis ~100,000,000 UK 60s-00s Rock/Pop [25] 
40. Lionel Richie ~100,000,000 US 80s-00s Pop/R&B [26] 21.0 mililion in US 
[27] 
41. Dolly Parton ~100,000,000 US 60s-00s Country [28] 
42. Donna Summer ~100,000,000 US 70s-90s Disco 
43. Aerosmith ~100,000,000 US 70s-00s Hard Rock [30] [31] 
44. Billy Joel ~100,000,000 US 70s-00s Pop / Rock 78 mil.US, [32] [33] 
45. Fleetwood Mac ~100,000,000 UK/US 60s-00s Pop/Rock 2 
46. Johnny Hallyday ~100,000,000 France 50s-00s Pop src.1 [34] 
47. Charles Aznavour ~100,000,000 France 50s-00s Pop [35] 
48. Bruce Springsteen ~90,000,000 US 70s-00s Rock/Pop *(61 mil. albums US) 
49. Def Leppard ~90,000,000 UK 80s-00s Hard Rock 55.5mil.US 
50. Bob Dylan ~90,000,000 US 60s-00s Folk-Rock *35m.US, 
51. Earth, Wind & Fire 90,000,000 US 70s-00s R&B/Funk/Disco/Pop *(23 mil.US) 
52. KISS 30 ~90,000,000 US 70s-00s Hard Rock source 
53.B'z 14 ~86,000,000 Japan 90s-00s Rock See also: discussion #22 
54. Eddy Arnold 85,000,000 US 40s-90s Country source 
55. Britney Spears ~85,000,000 US 90s-00s Pop *(32 mil. US), src. 
56. Modern Talking ~80,000,000 Germany 80s-00s Eurodance 
57. Jean-Michel Jarre 19 ~80,000,000 France 70s-00s Synth Pop sourceSee also: discussion #19 
58. Santana ~80,000,000 US 60s-00s Rock src.1 *[37mil. US] 
59. Dalida ~80,000,000 France 50s-80s as of 1981 See also: discussion #19 
60. Salvatore Adamo ~80,000,000 Italy 60s-00s [38] 
61. Fairouz ~80,000,000 Lebanon 60s-00s Traditional Arab, Modern, Pop *(35 mil. US) 
62. Eric Clapton ~80,000,000 UK 80s-00s Rock, Blues *(38 mil. US) 
63. Stevie Wonder ~80,000,000 US 60s-00s Soul/R&B/Pop,Disco [39] 
64. Hank Snow ~80,000,000 Canada 30's-90's Folk [40] 
65. Spice Girls 3 ~76,000,000 UK 90s-00s Pop source 
66. Backstreet Boys ~75,000,000 US 90s-00s Pop src.1 [41] 
67. Journey ~75,000,000 US 70s-00s Rock/Pop 40mil.US, [42] 
68. Paul McCartney ~75,000,000+ UK 60s-00s Rock 
69. Dire Straits 74,000,000 UK 70s-90s Rock 
70. Shania Twain 4 ~73,000,000 Canada 90s-00s Country/Rock/Pop 
71. Depeche Mode ~70,000,000 UK 80s-00s Pop/Rock 
72. A-ha 10 70,000,000 Norway 80s-00s Pop [43] [44] 
73. The Carpenters 70,000,000 US 60s-80s Pop 
74. Gloria Estefan ~70,000,000 US 80s-00s Latino Pop src.1, [45] 
75. Enya 5 70,000,000 Ireland 80s-00s New Age/Celtic 
76. Roberto Carlos ~70,000,000 Brazil 60s-00s [46] [47] 
77. Charley Pride ~70,000,000 US 60s-00s Country source 
78. Bay City Rollers ~70,000,000 UK 70s-00s Rock [48] 
79. Van Halen ~70,000,000 US 70s-00s Hard Rock [49] 
80. Kylie Minogue 65,000,000 Australia 80s-00s Synth Pop source 
81. George Strait ~65,000,000 US 70s-00s Country *54 mil. US 
82. Iron Maiden 65,000,000 UK 70s-00s Metal [51] 
83. Eminem 65,000,000 US 90s-00s Rap *(22 mil. US) 
84. Tupac 60,000,000+ US 90s-00s Rap [52] 
85. Genesis 60,000,000 UK Rock/Pop src. 
86. Phil Collins ~60,000,000 UK Rock/Pop src. 
87. Guns N' Roses ~60,000,000 US 80s-90s Hard Rock 71mil. albums 
88. Chicago ~60,000,000 US 60s-80s Jazz/Rock [53] 
89. Vicky Leandros 400+ ~60,000,000+ Greece 60s-00s Pop 
90. Bryan Adams ~60,000,000 Canada 80s-00s Pop/Rock 1 
91. The Doors ~60,000,000 US 60s-70s Rock *(30 mil. US) 
92. Tina Turner ~60,000,000 US 70s-00s Rock/Pop [54] 
93. Perry Como ~60,000,000 US 30s-00s Standards [55] [56] 
94. Frank Sinatra ~60,000,000 US 40s-90s Standards *(25 mil.US) 
95. Simon and Garfunkel ~60,000,000 US 60s Folk-Rock *(36mil.US) 
96. Pearl Jam ~60,000,000 US 90s-00s Alternative *(29 mil. US) 
97. John Denver ~60,000,000 US 60s-00s Folk/Rock/Country [57] 
98. The Monkees ~60,000,000 US 60s-90s Rock [58] 
99. Hank Thompson ~60,000,000 US 40s-00s Country 
100. Barry Manilow 60,000,000+ US 70s-00s Pop/Standards [59] 
101. Boyz II Men ~60,000,000 US 80s-00s R&B/Pop *(27mil.US), [60] 
102. Paul Anka ~60,000,000 Canada 50s-00s Pop [61] 
103. Alanis Morissette ~55,000,000 Canada 90s-00s Rock/Pop src.1 [62] 
104. TLC 55,000,000+ USA 90s-00s *(28 mil.US)R&B BMG 
105. The Police *53,000,000 UK 70s-80s Rock/Pop 22m.US, [63] 
106. Nirvana *52,000,000 US 80s-90s Alternative 24m.US 
107. Michael Bolton 52,000,000 US 80s-00s Pop [64] 
108. Luis Miguel 55,000,000 Mexico 80s-00s Latin Pop [65] 
109. Andre Kostelanetz 52,000,000 US 70s-00s Classic src.1 [66] 
110. Tony Bennett ~51,000,000 US 50s-00s Standards/Jazz [67] 
111. Alabama *~50,000,000 US 70s-00s Country 46m.US 
112. Johnny Cash 4 ~50,000,000 US Country [68] 
113. Motley Crue *~50,000,000 US 80s-00s Hard Rock 22m.US, [69] 
114. Foreigner *~50,000,000 US/UK 70s-90s Rock/Pop 36m.US 
115. Oasis ~57,000,000 UK 90s-00s Rock ~50m.albums 
116. Meat Loaf ~50,000,000 US 70s-00s Rock [70] src.2 
117. Olivia Newton-John ~50,000,000 Australia 70s-00s Country/Pop [71] 
118. Bjork ~50,000,000 Iceland 80s-00s Alternative [72] 
119. Gene Autry ~50,000,000 US Country [73] 
120. Nat King Cole ~50,000,000 US 30s-60s Jazz [74] 
121. The Seekers ~50,000,000 Australia 60s, 90s-00s Rock/Pop/Folk [75] 
122.The Doobie Brothers ~50,000,000 US 70s-00s Rock 50mil.US 
123. Three Dog Night ~50,000,000 US 60s-70s Rock [76] [77] src.3 
124. Bob Seger ~50,000,000 US 70s-00s Rock [78] 
125. Roger Whittaker ~50,000,000 UK 70s-90s src.1 [79] 
127. Annie Lennox ~50,000,000 UK 90s-00s src.1 [80] 
128. Ace Of Base ~50,000,000 Sweden 90s-00s Pop/Dance source 
129. David Bowie ~500,000,000 UK 60s-00s Rock src. 
130. Reba McEntire 48,000,000 US 70s-00s Country [81] 
131. Andy Lau (??‰Ø 48,000,000 Hong Kong 80s-00s Country [82] [83] 
132. Ayumi Hamasaki 46,000,000 Japan 90s-00s J-Pop src. 
133. Willie Nelson 46,000,000 US 50s-00s IRS 
134. George Michael 45,000,000 UK 80s-00s Pop [84] 
135. Biggie Smalls ~48,000,000 US 90s Rap *(38mil.US) 
136. Bananarama ~45,000,000 UK 80s-00s Pop/Rock/Dance 40mil albums 
137. Chris de Burgh 45,000,000 Ireland 70s-00s Pop/Rock src.1 [85] 
138. Red Hot Chili Peppers 44,000,000 US 80s-00s Alternative 
139. Milli Vanilli 44,000,000 Germany 80s-90s Pop [86] 
140. Alan Jackson 43,000,000 US 90s-00s Country source 
141. *NSYNC 42,000,000 US 90s-00s Pop *(30 mil. US) 
142. Christina Aguilera 4 ~40,000,000 US 90s-00s Pop 34m.albums 
143. Vicente Fernandez 40,000,000 Mexico 70s-00s Mexican 
144. Waylon Jennings +40,000,000 US Country [87] 
145. Jose Feliciano 40,000,000 Puerto Rico 60s-00s Pop 
146. Judas Priest 15 ~40,000,000 UK 70s-00s Hard Rock 
147. The Who ~40,000,000 UK 60s-00s Rock *(20mil.US) 
148. Ozzy Osbourne ~40,000,000 UK 60s-00s Hard Rock *(27mil.US) 
149. John Lennon ~40,000,000 UK 60s-70s Rock *13.5mil.US 
150. The Beach Boys 40,000,000 US 60s-90s (1961-1996) Pop/Rock
I personally think its a ripe off the old wikipedia " List of best-selling artist." - Kelvin Martinez
I think this quote from the same forum says it all:
This hoax spread all over the Net. We first saw it when someone posted here because a Britney Spears fansite posted it and then DrownedMadonna posted it and now Madonna.com are taking advantage of this stupidity of the Net and takes it as granted.  
This is so funny and confirms how rumours and false news can spread all over the Net and people believe it. 
Hey, c'mon. First... go to the source... where is this on IFPI?. Second, all we visit Wikipedia can recognize this list as the one that was on Wikipedia (before the last edit)
If anything, this goes to show why this article can't include speculation and unsourced 'estimates' Robdurbar 10:02, 10 February 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  I got the so-called complete list 

message: He is the latest artist to be added repeteadly without a source (We cannot source from Wikipedia - as an encyclopedia you can't quote yourself for validity). The only figures that I can find are for a combined Wham/solo sales figure of 70-80million records. However, on the basis of other artists on the list, we are not including aggregate sales over different projects - so he would have to have sold over 50 million solo, or as Wham. Robdurbar 09:07, 13 February 2006 (UTC)
thread_title: [[George Michael]]

message: Why can this page be redirected here when she isnt on any part of the page at all? Bakahito 18:19, 18 February 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: Well at some stage someone must have put her on this list, and she was then removed. Robdurbar 18:24, 18 February 2006 (UTC)
thread_title: Utada Hikaru?

message: This list currently (and the main posters here openly admit it) is skewed to favor artists from the rock 'n' roll era.  Its reliance on RIAA records (which, again, the sites custodians openly admit are sadly incomplete and didn't even start until 1952).  
The end result is that newbies like Britney Spears, Eminem and the Backstreet Boys get included on the list while the music industry's first superstar, and first artist ever to have a Platinum record, Al Jolson, does not.  
It further limits the achievements of included earlier artists by cutting down their total sales figures to post-1952 (when many had gold records in the 30s and 40s as well).  
And on top of this, by only including records that sold over 1 million copies, it particularly hurts the scores of 40s and 50s hitmakers whose 500 - 1000 records cut over a lifetime often sold well without reaching the million dollar mark.  If an artist had 600 records that sold even as few as 50,000 copies each, that's an additional 30,000,000 worth of points from non-hits (which RIAA didn't count).
And again, as RIAA scores are for the United States only, they cripple the scores of artists who sold as well, if not better in Europe/worldwide.
If this list is to present itself as all-inclusive (that is, without a disclaimer in its title "Best-Selling Music Artists of the Rock Era"), it must open itself up to accepting various (often estimated) sources for earlier artists who are not fairly represented by RIAA.
Finally, and most significantly, this list fails to adjust sales scores to correspond to the total world population at the time of a record's initial release.  For instance, Johnnie Ray's CRY sold 35 million to date.  The world population in 1951 was approximately 2.5 billion -- on sixth of what it is today.  A million-seller at that time meant that approximately 1 of every 2,500 people on the planet owned a copy of Johnnie Ray's CRY.  A million-seller today, otoh, means that 1 of every 6,500 people own a copy of the record in question.  That's a significant drop in percentages.  In order to account for the increasing world population (and corresponding decrease in total sales as represented by the phrase "million-seller") this list must incorporate a system whereby the sales from an earlier period are multiplied to correspond to what their sales would have been based on a similar percentage of today's population.  For instance, if Johnnie Ray's CRY originally sold 3 million copies in 1951, that would be the equivalent of 7.8 million copies today.  
For purposes of making this system workable, I'd suggest the following scale:
1950-1959, multiply by 2.6
1960-1969, multiply by 2.2
1970-1975, multiply by 1.65
1976-1982, multiply by 1.45
1983-1988, multiply by 1.3
1989-1994, multiply by 1.2
1995-1999, multiply by 1.1
2000-present, do not multiply.
*figures derived from the World Population charts listed at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_population.
 This is the only fair way to compare the sales of artists from different eras.  Anything less is a total sham.
--MPendragon
:Problems with the above:
*This is NOT based on RIAA figures alone. Figures are taken from all over the world - from Italy, the UK, Japan and Germany, as well as the USA. 
*Nowhere on this page does it say that only albums sold over 1 million copies are included in our figures
*This is not a list of your favourite, or most comparitavely succesful artists. It is a list of artists who have sold the most records. If Jonny Cash - a favourite of mine - sold less then he sold less.
Please actually read the list and look at the sources before making unfounded accusations. Robdurbar 09:06, 6 March 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  CRITERIA DISCRIMINATES AGAINST EARLIER ARTISTS 

message: OKAY..IF IN MANY SOURCES CLAIM THAT THE BEATLES SOLD MORE ALBUMST HEN ABBA...THEN WHY WERE ABBA PLACED #1? OH...AND I DID NOT EVEN SEE ELVIS PREISLY ON THAT LIST..YEAH..NO WONDER THIS ARTICLE WAS PUT UP FOR DELETION -66.154.192.129 March 6th, 2006
::If I understand what you've written in the above message, (and I don't claim to), you are trying to say Abba has sold more records than the Beatles and Elvis.  Almost all of the (tiny shreds of) evidence we have on the record sales of these artists implies the opposite.--Zoso Jade 14:28, 30 March 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  IF IT'S A FACT THEN WHY DO WE.... 

message: These were added with a link to their webpage that doesn't work; I've looked around at , but couldn't find any sales figures... does the user who added it know where the details are? Robdurbar 09:50, 9 March 2006 (UTC)
thread_title: Styx

message: Due to recent changes by some editors, I thougt I'd bring this one hear. Do people want to have the top category as 200 or 250 million? The reason that 250 million was chosen first was because it kept the top grouping fairly small. Recent changes have not moved up all artists with over 200 million sales given (for example, the last editor did not move queen up the list), so if it is done, then all the artists in the 100 million section would have to be checked. Toughts? Robdurbar 10:21, 12 March 2006 (UTC)
thread_title: 200/250 million

message: Both "Bee Gees" and "The Bee Gees" are listed in the 100 million category. Which is correct? 63.229.19.124 04:35, 20 March 2006 (UTC)
thread_title: Bee Gees

message: According to ESCTODAY (Eurovision Song Contest Today) which is refering to IFPI, here are the 20 (of 150) best selling artists of all time  :
#01.The Beatles 400,000,000 #02.Michael Jackson 350,000,000 #03.Elvis Presley 300,000,000 #04.Madonna 275,000,000 #05.Nana Mouskouri 250,000,000 #06.Cliff Richard 250,000,000 #07.The Rolling Stones 250,000,000 #08.Mariah Carey 230,000,000 #09.Elton John 220,000,000 #10.Celine Dion 220,000,000 #11.Pink Floyd 210,000,000 #12.Led Zeppelin 200,000,000 #13.Metallica 200,000,000 #14.Julio Iglesias 200,000,000 #15.Queen 180,000,000 #16AC/DC 180,000,000 #17Whitney Houston 180,000,000 #18.ABBA 160,000,000 #19.U2 150,000,000 #20.The Jacksons 150,000,000
This "independant" Eurovision site is reliable but there is something that bothered me though. The World Music Awards is always refering to IFPI  so why did WMA awarded Mariah Carey as the World's Best-Selling Female Artist of the Millennium in 2000 as she's only number 8 and Madonna number 4? I don't think Madonna has sold 50 million records since 2000 and then outsold Mariah Carey within 5 or 6 years. Anyway, WMA is keeping secret on this list, except the Beatles news on their website (as best selling act of all time), why can't they provide the second, the third, ...? IFPI website is just providing certifications of the year. IMO it is too conflicting for both (WMA and IFPI) to publish officially a list of the best selling artists of all time (with figures) as Music Companies and Majors won't probably accept it (again, it's my opinion). Readerweb 00:02, 24 March 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: As seen before - this is a fake list Robdurbar 18:13, 25 March 2006 (UTC)
thread_title: So called IFPI Best selling artists of all time LIST probably accurate

message: "The actual best selling musician in the world will probably never be known. Records of sales in many countries, particularly in the developing world, are poor and date back less than 20 years. The Beatles, Michael Jackson and Elvis Presley are all, however, regularly cited as being the top sellers. Less common claims are made for ABBA and Alla Pugacheva."
Led Zeppelin is often cited as the world's best seller. Not as often as The Beatles or Michael Jackson, but still. Why not add them to the "less common claims" area? --69.145.122.209 02:03, 27 March 2006 (UTC)
thread_title: "World's best seller"

message: I think this article could use some more specific genres. For instance, Billy Joel is 'not' pop, he is  piano rock. I'll gladly make them myself, I was just wondering why they were all "pop", "Rock" "Country" or otherwise. Why not "progressive rock", "bluegrass", and "piano rock"? Are we trying to keep in simple? I'm just wondering, 'cause it's really bugging me.
:To be honest, I'm not personally fussed by genre, I always take it to be a fairly arbitrary and meaningless division anyway. As the only person who bothers to check most of the entries on this page, I feel that you can go ahead and be bold but others may change it, of course. Robdurbar 09:27, 28 March 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: Can do. Prepare for some changes (Although I already did several) --69.145.122.209 22:34, 28 March 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: Done. It seems better to me, but I'm rather picky. Does it look like an improvement? --69.145.122.209 22:47, 28 March 2006 (UTC)
thread_title: Slight genre changes

message: What do people think about the latest claim? The site recokns that he's sold over 600 million records? Robdurbar 08:34, 18 January 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: It's interesting, but its not comparing 'sales'. Though Frank had more hits, those released in his early career - 30s/40s/50s were on sale in a time when far less music was bought. So its interesting but it doesnt change record sales ; Robdurbar 08:49, 13 April 2006 (UTC)
thread_title: Frank Sinatra

message: The official site seems to confirm: ABBA might have sold 370 million copies .
What about Tino Rossi? French article claims that he has sold over 300 million copies: just grandeur ? --Felyx 17:58, 17 April 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  Again ABBA 

message: So Who Has Sold The Most cause these list are put in alphabetical order instead of the highest sellers.
Read the article. Probably the Beatles or Elvis Presley but no-one knows ;) --Robdurbar 09:23, 18 May 2006 (UTC)
thread_title: what the hell

message: I'm sure the dixie chicks belong on this list somewhere, they're huge.
: they were huge, you mean. 74.65.39.59 10:50, 11 August 2006 (UTC)
thread_title: Dixie Chicks

message: I vote for a delation of this article...
:Too bad, 'cause it's already survived one. --69.145.122.209 17:23, 1 May 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: I think you'll find the article doesnt mention Nirvana (and certainly didnt when you made that comment)... --Robdurbar 10:35, 7 May 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  Deletion 

message: You say progressive, I say phychedelic. How about both? I think things like The Wall were more progressive, while things like Dark Side of the Moon and Animals were phychedelic.--69.145.122.209 03:16, 10 May 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: Thanks.--69.145.122.209 03:53, 10 May 2006 (UTC)
thread_title: Pink Floyd

message: The link provided for this band isn't very specific, so I've removed it for now. The link is  - can anyone find where this page makes a claim regarding record sales? --Robdurbar 09:34, 18 May 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: I just dinked around there for a couple minutes and couldn't find anything. --69.145.123.171 22:07, 18 May 2006 (UTC)
thread_title: Beastie Boys

message: Then why is ABBA on the top of the list??? -Dragong4
:The list is in alphabetical order - Mtmtmt 06:33, 23 May 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: Call me dumb, but if this is about top-selling artists, shouldn't the list be by number of sales? Also, what about a list of best-selling albums? (Or did I miss that one...?)  Trekphiler 20:35, 12 October 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  if they beatles has sold more albums then ABBA... 

message: How many copies have they sold worldwide?
: According to this website over 100 million... I'll put them on the list. --Robdurbar 21:31, 24 May 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  Deep Purple 

message: It did say they were melodic rock.  I changed it to hard rock, since that's what it says on the Def Leppard page. Bshbass 00:48, 27 May 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: I consider them hair metal or glam rock myself, but this works too. --69.145.123.171 18:03, 27 May 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  Def Leppard Genre 

message: Does this article take into account re-purchases of releases, especially of older ones that started life as vinyl records? Some artists, like Bob Dylan and Tony Bennett, have very high re-purchase rates; that is, when a media-type transition occurs (vinyl-to-cassette, cassette-to-cd, cd-to-dvd, etc,.,) a 1958 Bennett album or a 1965 Dylan album is much more likely to post high sales numbers in the new format, even in comparison to albums that were more popular at the time of original release. Does this list in any way account for these re-purchases? In the cases of the two artists mentioned, these sales, properly tallied, would probably boost their overall totals by close to 1/3. JDG 22:43, 28 May 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: I would imagine 'probably'; there is no one source so no doubt some figures will include these and others won't. In the end, there is no way to differentiate between why people are buying records, so there's no reason for them to be excluded. --Robdurbar 07:55, 29 May 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  Re-purchases 

message: They've sold more than 20 albums in the US, how many copies worldwide?
:Actually, quite a few sources list them as selling 'at least 50 million records'... I'll add them. --Robdurbar 08:42, 31 May 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  ZZ Top 

message: I forgot the link, but it said they've sold about 40 million copies around the world.
:If you can find the link, you can have them on the list.--69.145.123.171 00:29, 31 May 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  Yes 

message: Because the article was nominated by a user who has been indefinitely blocked, in part because of his tendency toward disruption; because the nomination, in contravention of WP:DP, failed to enumerate any valid grounds for deletion (and because neither did such grounds become evident in the course of the discussion); and because of WP:SNOWBALL's proviso that, where we can be eminently certain that a discussion will not yield any new argument or piece of information that will affect the disposition of the issue at hand, I closed this as a speedy keep.  If anyone thinks it ought to have been handled differently, please let me know.  Joe 19:39, 4 June 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: Sweet! I love this article. It just won't die. :) --69.145.123.171 20:14, 4 June 2006 (UTC)
thread_title: AfD

message: Similar to the George Michael bit above, I've removed the entry for Ozzy Osbourne for now because I think the '70 million' probably refers to career sales, and not sales under one monicker, which is the current guideline for inclusion. Correct me if I'm wrong on that. We could change this - or create another table for these sort of acts specifically?  --Robdurbar 09:57, 8 June 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: Nah, that'd take quite a while and probably give people grounds to finally delete this monstrosity. That link probably does refer to career sales, I.E., Black Sabbath and such, and therefore should not be included. If a legitimate site can be found that specifies the number of sales is just his solo career, that would work... Until then, it should probably be ommited. --69.145.123.171 03:32, 9 June 2006 (UTC)
thread_title: Ozzy Osbourne

message: Can anyone find a source of how many albums Clapton has sold in his solo career? I think he would have easily surpassed the 50 million mark, but I haven't found anything to veryify this. --Geoffrey Gibson 02:15, 10 June 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: The problem is, he's been in The Yardbirds, Cream, and numerous other bands. Any type of sales record for him are kinda tricky; we don't know if that's his solo career or all his bands sales added together. If there's a link that specifically lists it as being him alone, there won't be a problem putting him here. Until then... We don't know for sure. --69.145.123.171 00:04, 14 June 2006 (UTC)
thread_title: Eric Clapton

message: Been to this page many, many times and just noticed - over 250 million is sorted alphabetically by christian names, and over 100 million alphabetically by surnames. Personally I find the christian name order easier to read, but harder to correct if adopted as more entries. Also stops mistakes like 'Prince' appearing in wrong position as it does now. Need a discussion on which way it should be? Or Robdurbar, leave it up to you :)
:I'll add it to my 'to do' list ;). Seriously, though, I had done it intially by surname as this is a standard way to order people, but the top list got refactored to christian names. As christian is easier to read it probably works better, so yeah, change it or I will if I get the time --Robdurbar 18:06, 8 July 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: Not. Should be by number of sales, no? --Trekphiler 20:37, 12 October 2006 (UTC)
thread_title: alphabetical listings?

message: How many copies did he sell?
: 35 million it said on a documentary in 2004. 74.65.39.59 01:56, 23 July 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  Jimi Hendrix 

message: Excluding the Beatles-years, of course.
: I doubt he's sold 100 million, but (including sales since his death) he must have topped the 50 million easily. 74.65.39.59 01:57, 23 July 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  John Lennon 

message: The Beatles must be at the top, because EMI music and Guiness records both estimate they sold over ONE BILLION albums, very far away from the 2nd best selling group or artist.
:The sources for Elvis Presley have the same claim, please read Best-selling music artist for more. There's no definitive source that has tracked every sale for the artists, therefore unilaterally claiming that The Beatles are the best selling artist would be hard to verify. As for this article, it doesn't distinguish between the artist with over 250 million albums+singles, they're listed alphabetically. - Bobet 21:29, 2 August 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  Beatles 

message: Sony has tallied all Dylan purchases (not easy to do with all the dozens of re-releases in different formats), and puts him at "nearly 100 million" (see http://www.sonybmgmusic.co.uk/artist_spotlight/bob_dylan/ ). Sot it would seem reasonable to elevate him to the 100 million list here a few days after the release of "Modern Times" on August 28th, no? JDG 12:36, 4 August 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: I'd love to say yes, but what is 'nearly 100million records'? That could mean 94 million, which would still require this album to sell 6 million, a very high figure that would certainly take more than a few days. --Robdurbar 14:27, 4 August 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  Dylan to hit 100 million mark with new album 

message: How about adding a section for artists who sold 75 million albums or more. The 50 million list is pretty darn long (over hundred artists), and I reckon at least half of those listed there have sold at least 75 million, so I suggest create a new list for those to avoid extra scrolling. --Gusiman 01:04, 8 August 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: If it works then I don't see why not. --Robdurbar 05:43, 8 August 2006 (UTC)
thread_title: 75 million albums section

message: I'm not sure why John Denver has been reverted back into the 100 million section; the soruce claims 60 million albums, so he should be in the 50 million section. Clearly, he will have sold singles too, but there is no source for those. --Robdurbar 19:18, 11 August 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: Another source (non-external link) was cited. Denver sold over 100 million albums according to that source. Editor19841 (talk) 19:28, 11 August 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: Oh yes - mind you, it shouldn't have been copy-edited out of the article AND its very lazy editing to revert an edit with numerous changes just because one was incorrect. --Robdurbar 19:35, 11 August 2006 (UTC)
thread_title: John Denver

message: it has been said that motorhead have sold over 100 million albums worldwide
:You'll need a source (i.e., a website) that says so. Otherwise we can't put them here. --172.196.165.7 19:24, 12 August 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  motorhead 

message: Can anyone with better searching skillz find a cite (album liner notes, etc.) that lists how many Tom Jones has sold? Surely he has sold 50 million over his career. Shawn Pickrell 21:35, 17 August 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  Tom Jones 

message: At the start of the Some Kind of Monster DVD it claims that they have sold over 80 million albums, yet they are only under the 50 million of more section, not the 75 million or more. Harvester of Sorrow 21st August 2006
:If you can provide the full details of the DVD (release date, ISBN number etc.) then it could be 'upgraded'. --Robdurbar 19:40, 21 August 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: Not needed. The ref alreadys says 85 million. --Maitch 20:17, 21 August 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  Metallica 

message: What's the point of this when it goes against the list itself, the sources of the list, and the main article of the section, Best-selling music artist? Alla Pugacheva and Nana Mouskouri are both at the 250 million+ category (Pugacheva's source says 250 million and Mouskouri's 300 million). Mariah Carey's sources list sales of 170 million and Madonna's 250 million, yet they get mentioned as the two top selling female artists for some reason. - Bobet 22:31, 22 September 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: My response to this is covered by my response to the 'fundamentally flawed' comment. I agree with you that we should not start messing about by making such claims - I think they were added by an editor who was unfamiliar with the history and problems of this article. --Robdurbar 10:55, 30 September 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  "Top female artists" in the world's best seller section 

message: Currently there is one article circulating the net claiming 800 million sales. This was publicity more than fact. The majority of site (including their new autobiography) state 100 - 150 miiion which is more realistic.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Boney-Tour-Home-Studio-Backstage/dp/389602695X = 100 million
http://www.lyonpartners.nl/boney_m..html = 150 million
[link to copyvio website removed] = 150 million
:I was surprised by the figure but this 'article circulating the net' was actually an aritcle published in a major British national newspaper, The Independent (I happened to buy the paper that day and thought of this article straight away when I saw it!). The other sources, whilst all similar, are far less reputable than this one - what would others suggest we go with? --Robdurbar 13:33, 30 September 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: OK, agreed. --Robdurbar 20:06, 30 September 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  Boney M 

message: I know Michael Jackson has recorded songs in alot of different styles, but is the long, long list of genres next to his name necesary(sp)? Can't you just say pop/rock/r&b, as that seems to be the styles he mostly writes/records/performs in? Street walker 11:08, 5 October 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  Michael Jackson's genre/style 

message: I think the fillowing Indian and Pakistani artists should be included in your list:
Lata Mangeshkar
Mohammed Rafi
Kishore Kumar
Nazia Hassan
68.89.191.234 15:21, 6 October 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: If you can find a reliable source for the sales of those artists, please feel free to add them to the list. The problem with Indian artists (at least the ones you listed) is that they mostly make music for films and would probably not be credited with sales for film soundtracks (since there's usually more than one artist working on them) and their traditional album and singles sales would probably not be that high. But as stated before, if you find a source listing their sales that would make them eligible for the list, great. - Bobet 00:35, 7 October 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  Inaccurate list

message: While I can't verify this with a source at the moment, just glancing through Nightwish's website suggests that they are over the 100 million sales mark having at least one CD (Once) certified platinum in numerous countries and having huge sales worldwide. I may be misreading this (in which case, bash away!), but they may be worthy of mention.
Bluemoonflame 06:08, 28 October 2006 (UTC)
replies: text: Hi, I'm pretty sure they're not even close. Helsingin Sanomat says 2,5 million. Granted, the article is a year old, but they've had no new releases since and I really doubt their sales have increased that much since then. As Music recording sales certification#List of international sales certification thresholds shows, the amount of gold/platinum records isn't a very good indicator of total sales since the thresholds vary so much between countries. In their come country, Finland, Nightwish have sold around 100,000 copies of their newest album, which makes it a triple-platinum seller. - Bobet 15:47, 28 October 2006 (UTC)
thread_title: Nightwish

message: On Utada], this page is linked to at the bottom yet I do not see her at the bottom.
:Well that's an issue for the editors on that page. But, if she has sold over 50 million records, add her on (with source!) --Robdurbar 09:38, 9 November 2006 (UTC)
thread_title:  Utada