"Some Hearts" is now the #61 Soundscan's Biggest-Selling Album

[clh_hilary]

1 METALLICA METALLICA 15,734,964
2 COME ON OVER SHANIA TWAIN 15,513,000
3 JAGGED LITTLE PILL ALANIS MORISSETTE 14,714,000
4 MILLENIUM BACKSTREET BOYS 12,168,000
5 1 BEATLES 11,985,252
6 BODYGUARD SOUNDTRACK 11,829,000
7 SUPERNATURAL SANTANA 11,772,000
8 HUMAN CLAY CREED 11,574,000
9 NO STRINGS ATTACHED N SYNC 11,122,000
10 FALLING INTO YOU CELINE DION 10,790,000
11 COME AWAY WITH ME NORAH JONES 10,785,361
12 LEGEND BOB MARLEY & THE WAILERS 10,654,282
13 …BABY ONE MORE TIME BRITNEY SPEARS 10,556,897
14 THE MARSHALL MATHERS LP EMINEM 10,536,571
15 CRACKED READ VIEW HOOTIE & THE BLOWFISH 10,300,000
16 TITANIC SOUNDTRACK 10,143,000
17 BACKSTREET BOYS BACKSTREET BOYS 10,116,000
18 EMINEM SHOW EMINEM 10,026,713
19 CONFESSIONS USHER 9,938,564
21 [HYBRID THEORY] LINKIN PARK 9,914,573
20 TEN PEARL JAM 9,910,202
22 ROPIN' THE WIND GARTH BROOKS 9,571,000
23 LET'S TALK ABOUT LOVE CELINE DION 9,540,325
24 DARK SIDE OF THE MOON PINK FLOYD 9,243,586
25 OOPS!…I DID IT AGAIN BRITNEY SPEARS 9,209,039
26 GREATEST HITS BOB SEGER & THE SILVER BULLET BAND 9,123,919
27 DEVIL WITHOUT A CAUSE KID ROCK 9,072,939
28 NO FENCES GARTH BROOKS 9,010,000
29 NEVERMIND NIRVANA 8,927,529
30 N SYNC N SYNC 8,766,000
31 HELL FREEZES OVER EAGLES 8,724,000
32 WIDE OPEN SPACES DIXIE CHICKS 8,713,000
33 II BOYZ II MEN 8,573,000
34 COUNTRY GRAMMAR NELLY 8,489,000
35 FLY DIXIE CHICKS 8,289,000
36 CHRISTINA AGUILERA CHRISTINA AGUILERA 8,214,171
37 TRAGIC KINGDOM NO DOUBT 8,142,423
38 YOURSELF OR SOMEONE LIKE YOU MATCHBOX 20 8,086,000
39 GET RICH OR DIE TRYIN' 50 CENT 8,051,903
40 DOOKIE GREEN DAY 8,051,868
41 BREATHLESS KENNY G 8,037,381
43 GREATEST HITS JOURNEY 7,994,467
42 ALL THE WAY - A DECADE OF SONG CELINE DION 7,968,000
44 GREATEST HITS TOM PETTY & THE HEARTBREAKERS 7,928,859
45 THE HITS GARTH BROOKS 7,821,000
46 LION KING SOUNDTRACK 7,806,646
47 THE WOMAN IN ME SHANIA TWAIN 7,661,419
48 O BROTHER, WHERE ART THOU? SOUNDTRACK 7,660,636
49 DAYDREAM MARIAH CAREY 7,605,818
50 FALLEN EVANESCENCE 7,593,892
51 UNPLUGGED ERIC CLAPTON 7,558,000
52 ALL THE RIGHT REASONS NICKELBACK 7,557,850
53 SIGNIFICANT OTHER LIMP BIZKIT 7,534,000
54 DR. DRE -- 2001 DR. DRE 7,509,933
55 SOME GAVE ALL BILLY RAY CYRUS 7,480,000
56 SPICE SPICE GIRLS 7,412,000
57 PIECES OF YOU JEWEL 7,387,000
58 CRAZYSEXYCOOL TLC 7,281,000
59 MIRACLES: THE HOLIDAY ALBUM KENNY G 7,250,208
60 MUSIC BOX MARIAH CAREY 7,210,536
61 SOME HEARTS CARRIE UNDERWOOD 7,158,628
62 THE MISEDUCATION OF LAURYN HILL LAURYN HILL 7,076,737
63 JANET JANET JACKSON 7,025,727
64 GREATEST HITS JAMES TAYLOR 6,987,133
65 COOLEYHIGH HARMONY BOYZ II MEN 6,962,155
66 RICKY MARTIN RICKY MARTIN 6,960,025
67 A DAY WITHOUT RAIN ENYA 6,926,000
68 GREATEST HITS QUEEN 6,918,760
69 HOT SHOT SHAGGY 6,800,000
70 LET GO AVRIL LAVIGNE 6,788,000
71 TIME, LOVE & TENDERNESS MICHAEL BOLTON 6,728,000
72 CHOCLATE STARFISH LIMP BIZKIT 6,703,000
73 BREATHE FAITH HILL 6,523,630
74 THE SIGN ACE OF BASE 6,502,000
75 SONGS YOU KNOW BY HEART JIMMY BUFFETT 6,499,440
76 FEARLESS TAYLOR SWIFT 6,468,704
77 NELLYVILLE NELLY 6,458,000
78 WEATHERED CREED 6,390,000
79 MY OWN PRISON CREED 6,382,000
80 SONGS IN A MINOR ALICIA KEYS 6,264,661
81 WRITINGS ON THE WALL DESTINIY'S CHILD 6,258,000
82 SUBLIME SUBLIME 6,251,416
83 SMASH OFFSPRING 6,209,000
84 BREAKAWAY KELLY CLARKSON 6,198,264
85 GREATEST HITS TIM MCGRAW 6,166,947
86 UNFORGETTABLE WITH LOVE NATALIE COLE 6,160,000
87 E: 1999 ETERNAL BONE THUGS-N-HARMONY 6,120,000
88 CHRONICLE CREEDENCE CLEARWATER REVIVAL 6,065,385
89 THRILLER MICHAEL JACKSON 6,052,387
90 BIG WILLIE STYLE WILL SMITH 6,036,000
91 AMERICAN IDIOT GREEN DAY 6,029,000
92 DOUBLE LIVE GARTH BROOKS 6,016,000
93 HOME DIXIE CHICKS 6,007,000
94 SIXTEEN STONE BUSH 6,000,000
95 NOT A MOMENT TOO SOON TIM MCGRAW 5,998,000
96 BLUE LEANN RIMES 5,993,000
97 AUGUST AND EVERYTHING AFTER COUNTING CROWS 5,982,000
98 VS. PEARL JAM 5,965,559
99 THE EMANCIPATION OF MIMI MARIAH CAREY 5,953,333
100 GREASE SOUNDTRACK 5,943,514

And #10 Country album. #4 Country album released by a female solo artist (#6 by female vocals), #3 Country female artist (#4 female vocals). #14 album released by a solo female artist.

[CountrymusicCarrieIsAmazing]

I hope that our "Some Hearts" will never be caught up by Swift's dangerous "Fearless".
What can we do now to make "Some Hearts" increase the selling units?

[Caio]

This list is for sales of all time?

[Manchs]

I hope that our "Some Hearts" will never be caught up by Swift's dangerous "Fearless".
What can we do now to make "Some Hearts" increase the selling units?

In some years, she'll probably have. But Some Hearts is such an old album, Carrie has to release another massive album again to sell her old albums again.

Either way, Carrie remais more talented and on her way to become a legend while SWSRN will be (probably) remembered as a... big seller.

[Caio]

In some years, she'll probably have. But Some Hearts is such an old album, Carrie has to release another massive album again to sell her old albums again.

Either way, Carrie remais more talented and on her way to become a legend while SWSRN will be (probably) remembered as a... big seller.

It's true.

[maddkat]

This list is for sales of all time?

No, only in the soundscan era which started in 1991.

[Carrie&Taylor]

I hope that our "Some Hearts" will never be caught up by Swift's dangerous "Fearless".
What can we do now to make "Some Hearts" increase the selling units?

Re release it with bonus tracks like Fearless did. That's why hers is 6 and not 3 million.

[carebear4eva]

Re release it with bonus tracks like Fearless did. That's why hers is 6 and not 3 million.

I'd buy that

[carebear4eva]

Re release it with bonus tracks like Fearless did. That's why hers is 6 and not 3 million.

Come to think of it, she wouldn't even have to record any new material, just strap on her Greatest Hits from Albums 2,3, & 4. And maybe like 2 new tracks

[Pi314CA]

I hope that our "Some Hearts" will never be caught up by Swift's dangerous "Fearless".
What can we do now to make "Some Hearts" increase the selling units?

Release a track from SH. Won't happen but would love to see another track from SH like Starts With Goodbye.

[utlovescarrie]

I have every one of those country CD's (except my Dixie Chicks ones is in the bottom of a landfill these days ).

I think I read on these boards that one of Shania Twain's CD's was released with 2 CDs and each sale was counted as 2. Does anyone on here know if I am remembering that correctly. It was mentioned several years ago. Maybe Cary mentioned it?

[carebear4eva]

Release a track from SH. Won't happen but would love to see another track from SH like Starts With Goodbye.

Won't happen either, but I'd love Just Can't Live.

[AnthonyLovesCarrie]

I have every one of those country CD's (except my Dixie Chicks ones is in the bottom of a landfill these days ).

I think I read on these boards that one of Shania Twain's CD's was released with 2 CDs and each sale was counted as 2. Does anyone on here know if I am remembering that correctly. It was mentioned several years ago. Maybe Cary mentioned it?

The album you are referring to, is Shania's "Up!" album which was released in 2002. It was a double-disc album (both had the same track listing, except one disc was the "country" version of the songs and the other was the "pop" version of the songs). That album is certified Diamond (or 10x Platinum), but is not on this list because it really only sold over 5 million copies, but the RIAA counts each disc as a separate album, so it is certified for double than what it actually sold. I remember someone saying that Shania had asked them to only count each album sale once, but for whatever reason they couldn't do it...not sure if that's true or not.

Remember that certifications are based on shipments and not sales. The list above is exclusively how many copies these albums have sold. Shania's "Come On Over" album that is on the list is actually certified 20x Platinum (2x Diamond), for shipments of over 20 million copies, but it only actually sold about 15.5 million copies according to Soundscan. The same goes for Shania's other album on this list, "The Woman In Me". That album is 12x Platinum (Diamond), but really only sold about 7.5 million copies.

[Carrie&Taylor]

So maybe Carrie's 4th album they should "ship" out 1.5 million copies even if only say, 600x sell the first week but will tell everyone else that 1.5 million were sold

[CUFan7]

It is truly amazing to see "Some Hearts" on this list. It was a debut album from an American Idol winner who other than having an incredible voice and a likable personality (and it never hurts to be attractive), was a completely normal person. Wow.

[AnthonyLovesCarrie]

So maybe Carrie's 4th album they should "ship" out 1.5 million copies even if only say, 600x sell the first week but will tell everyone else that 1.5 million were sold

I guess an album has to be in really high demand from retailers for them to ship so many copies. I could be wrong, I'm not an expert at this stuff. I guess the reason why so many albums shipped more copies back in the 90s and earlier is because there were no digital downloads back then, so less physical albums are needed on shelves nowadays.

[clh_hilary]

I hope that our "Some Hearts" will never be caught up by Swift's dangerous "Fearless".
What can we do now to make "Some Hearts" increase the selling units?

How many copies is "Fearless" selling weekly these days? "Speak Now" has slowed down her momentum so much and her upcoming era will probably do nothing spectacular. Perhaps even selling less than "Play On".

This list is for sales of all time?

It's for the Soundscan er. It started from early 1991 (Some sources said March, some said May), when Billboard started to compose charts like the Hot 100 and Billboard 200 with actual sales reported. However, there are some units that are not counted by Soundscan, including sales from Music Clubs, since the price for albums sold in there is way too low to be considered legit; sales from Christian outlets -- they're being counted into their weekly totals but not their gross totals, it's been said that Soundscan will start counting them into albums' gross totals soon but no one has an exact date for that; it also doesn't cover all outlets, just around 98-99% of them as far as I remember, Soundscan will project the rest always; it also didn't count some albums like a lot of Vinyl albums since they don't have a bar code. But Soundscan in the States is probably the most accurate sales-tracking company in the world only behind Japanese's Oricon, which actually releases actual sales daily to the public for the Top 30 albums, and weekly for the Top 1000 or so.

Release a track from SH. Won't happen but would love to see another track from SH like Starts With Goodbye.

Won't happen and it will very likely flop. That's just like releasing Britney Spears' "Radar" from "Blackout" for "Circus"; Rihanna's "Rehab" (Featuring Justin Timberlake) from "Good Girl Gone Bad" for the deluxe 'Reloaded' version of the album; or Usher's "More (Remix)" from "Raymond VS Raymond" after releasing two singles from his remix EP "Versus". All of them underperformed.

The only examples I could think of to release singles after an era being interrupted is to release a soundtrack single in between. Madonna's "Dress You Up" from "Like A Virgin" went Top 5 as a fourth single after "Crazy For You", a soundtrack single, hit #1.

But then, country radio is a little different, they still choose whatever they like to play, although I wouldn't bet my money on a "Some Hearts" random album track instead of a zOMG BRAD NEW CARRIE UNDERWOOD ALBUM SMASH!!!! They even tried to disagree with "I Told You So" by pushing "The More Boys I Meet", and disagreeing with "Mama's Song"/not releasing singles by pushing "Songs Like This"!

The album you are referring to, is Shania's "Up!" album which was released in 2002. It was a double-disc album (both had the same track listing, except one disc was the "country" version of the songs and the other was the "pop" version of the songs). That album is certified Diamond (or 10x Platinum), but is not on this list because it really only sold over 5 million copies, but the RIAA counts each disc as a separate album, so it is certified for double than what it actually sold. I remember someone saying that Shania had asked them to only count each album sale once, but for whatever reason they couldn't do it...not sure if that's true or not.

Remember that certifications are based on shipments and not sales. The list above is exclusively how many copies these albums have sold. Shania's "Come On Over" album that is on the list is actually certified 20x Platinum (2x Diamond), for shipments of over 20 million copies, but it only actually sold about 15.5 million copies according to Soundscan. The same goes for Shania's other album on this list, "The Woman In Me". That album is 12x Platinum (Diamond), but really only sold about 7.5 million copies.

"Up!"'s international version includes a 'Pop' CD and a 'Dance'/"More Pop' CD, and a 'Country' version digitally which isn't downloadable for new buyers now. Just saying as an information.

And yes, it got counted twice by R.I.A.A. but it isn't because it's a double-album. Christina Aguilera's "Back To Basics" and Beyonce's "I Am...Sasha Fierce" are both double albums and they didn't receive such treatment, while the Eagles' comeback album which dethroned "Carnival Ride" from #1 got it (It got certified 7xPlatinum as a result) because of the length. It's all about the length. I believe the point is 100 or 110 minutes, which "Up!" easily crossed as either one of its CDs already got 19 songs on it.

I don't know whether Shania Twain had tried to make it counted twice in actual sales but it isn't possible because there isn't a 1 CD version that is available. I think one of the major factors for Billboard to consider stuff like this is whether customers have a choice, and, they never wanted to count more than one sale from a single customer so that's impossible.

The overshipping of both "Come On Over" and "The Woman In Me" has something to do with Music Clubs' sales. They are able to rank up 1-2 million copies of sales which aren't counted towards Soundscan but towards R.I.A.A.. And of course both got seriously overshipped because TWIM was the album before COO which opened Twain up to a wider audience, so the expectations were high for it as a long seller. And COO has constantly been selling great.

So maybe Carrie's 4th album they should "ship" out 1.5 million copies even if only say, 600x sell the first week but will tell everyone else that 1.5 million were sold

Of course they can try to do it, but there needs to be such a demand from retailers to make it happen. Retailers have a choice to 'return' the physical albums, but you really can't force them to take your album. Not to mention it makes no sense for the label to do it 'cuz as a result, it will hurt Carrie's reputation among retailers and a cut in their money with so many excessive albums being printed.

But first-week are always huge. Lady GaGa's "Born This Way" got shipped 2 million copies in the States on its first week, same goes to Taylor Swift's "Speak Now". It goes in line with the general practice as labels tend to ship units double of their expected first weeks, which both of them are able to pull. But BTW got sold more than 600k digital copies in its first week meaning it indeed results in an excessive amount of albums in retailers which might hurt her in her upcoming era, rumored to be starting in 2012. Katy Perry's "Teenage Dream" was also a disappointment. It got shipped over a million copies, but sold less than 200k copies in its first week. It now did pass 2 million copies already so I'm sure the retailers are happy.

And massive overshipping also can't add much to first-week hype because an album has to be 4-week old to get certified for anything.

I guess an album has to be in really high demand from retailers for them to ship so many copies. I could be wrong, I'm not an expert at this stuff. I guess the reason why so many albums shipped more copies back in the 90s and earlier is because there were no digital downloads back then, so less physical albums are needed on shelves nowadays.

Yes, you are absolutely right. And there were also way more physical outlets than today. And the Music Clubs sales I've been talking about.

[cary78663]

And #8 Country album. #3 Country album released by a female solo artist (#5 by female vocals), #2 Country female artist (#3 female vocals). #13 album released by a solo female artist.

Just to keep things accurate, SH is the #10 country album and #14 by a solo female artist on the list. You missed Garth Brooks' Ropin The Wind at #22 and Jewel's Pieces Of Me at #57. And the O Brother, Where Art Thou soundtrack album at #48 was on the country album charts. Still an outstanding showing for SH.

[conorlovescarrie:)]

That's so great!!

[clh_hilary]

Just to keep things accurate, SH is the #10 country album and #14 by a solo female artist on the list. You missed Garth Brooks' Ropin The Wind at #22 and Jewel's Pieces Of Me at #57. And the O Brother, Where Art Thou soundtrack album at #48 was on the country album charts. Still an outstanding showing for SH.

Thanks. Corrected!

ETA: That showed how much the market has declined though, since SH is the biggest country album for only the second decade of the Soundscan era!