DMB's Rank In Album Sales

[RB18740]

Since the start of the Nielsen SoundScan in 1991, the Dave Matthews Band ranks ninth in album sales. They will most definitely take over the #5 spot, but will "Big Whiskey" push them past U2 to allow them to be #4 for a while? With the new album, where do you think DMB will end up on the list?


1.) The Beatles with 57.3 million
2.) Metallica with 51.5 million
3.) Pink Floyd with 35.4 million
4.) U2 with 33.5 million
5.) Pearl Jam with 29.8 million
6.) Eagles with 29.6 million
7.) AC/DC with 29.5 million
8.) Aerosmith with 29.4 million
9.) Dave Matthews Band with 29.0 million (Excludes Dave's solo album)
10.) Dixie Chicks with 26.6 million

[aoeiifreak]

I think the album sales thing benefits the old groups more...not like a Beatles or Metallica fan back in the day could download a CD to save a few bucks.

[Born To Run]

So it doesn't count anything before 1991? Most of those bands were at their peak way before then. Beatles have sold a shit ton more albums than that.

But to play the game, I think this will put DMB at around Pearl Jam's rank.

[WaltzingBack]

how ze fuck do i supposed to know??

[DJGeneral]

They will not be able to beat U2. Not a chance.

This album will probably be able to sell maybe 1.5 million - 2 million tops when all is said and done.

[Casey Jones]

Obv this list doesn't include solo acts, in which case Garth Brooks would be #1 ahead of the Beatles. People like Elton John, Mariah Carey, and Madonna would also be on the list at higher positions than DMB.

[Roose13]

Soooo many great acts up there but how the hell are the Dixie Chicks in the top 10?!?!?!

[Casey Jones]

Here's the overall all time list from the RIAA, ending with DMB's position. Units in millions

BEATLES, THE 170
BROOKS, GARTH 128
PRESLEY, ELVIS 119
LED ZEPPELIN 111.5
EAGLES 100
JOEL, BILLY 79.5
PINK FLOYD 74.5
STREISAND, BARBRA 71
AC/DC 71
JOHN, ELTON 70
STRAIT, GEORGE 67.5
AEROSMITH 66.5
ROLLING STONES, THE 66
SPRINGSTEEN, BRUCE 64
MADONNA 63.5
CAREY, MARIAH 62.5
JACKSON, MICHAEL 61.5
METALLICA 58
VAN HALEN 56.5
HOUSTON, WHITNEY 54
ROGERS, KENNY 51
U2 50.5
DION, CELINE 50
FLEETWOOD MAC 48.5
DIAMOND, NEIL 48.5
KENNY G 48
TWAIN, SHANIA 48
JOURNEY 47
ALABAMA 46
GUNS 'N ROSES 43.5
SANTANA 43
CLAPTON, ERIC 42.5
JACKSON, ALAN 42.5
SEGER, BOB AND THE SILVER BULLET BAND 41
MC ENTIRE, REBA 40.5
PRINCE 39.5
SIMON & GARFUNKEL 38.5
CHICAGO 38
FOREIGNER 37.5
DYLAN, BOB 37
BACKSTREET BOYS 37
STEWART, ROD 37
2 PAC 36.5
NELSON, WILLIE 35
DEF LEPPARD 35
MC GRAW, TIM 35
BON JOVI 34
COLLINS, PHIL 33.5
TAYLOR, JAMES 33
KELLY, R. 33
DENVER, JOHN 32.5
QUEEN 32.5
SPEARS, BRITNEY 32
DOORS, THE 32
MATTHEWS, DAVE BAND 31

[Roose13]

^Nice to see Billy Joel at #6

[scajfk926]

That's scary DMB could pass Queen. They aren't nearly as good.

[aoeiifreak]

^ They're also behind the backstreet boys...

[dmbncsu]

Def 5. They will not pass the 3 million mark with Big Whiskey.

[kittensXLI]

Regardless of what happens, Pearl Jam will end up ahead of them after their new album comes out.

[iancontijoch]

hot damn Barbra Streisand is a cancer.

[zajDmB1]

For the record, RIAA only counts discs shipped, so those figures are not necessarily accurate in the post a couple above. The OP's Soundscan one is though, since it scans barcodes. The RIAA numbers probably get the gist of it, but for example, if the Beatles shipped 170 million units and they were all sitting in stores right now except for one million they sold, they would still have the number one spot even if no one bought the other 169 million. Obviously that many wouldn't be shipped if no one was buying them, but the example is still a good illustration of how the RIAA is not a REALLY good indicator of stuff.

Not mention I have heard Beatles sales are estimated to have passed a billion worldwide.

Originally Posted by scajfk926

That's scary DMB could pass Queen. They aren't nearly as good.

Off topic but, have you listened to Queen's albums, out of curiosity? I LOVE Queen but besides having like the greatest greatest hits disc ever haha, and a handful of other great songs, their catalogue has a good amount of crap in it. In terms of truly GREAT songs, I think DMB has just as many, if not only a little less than Queen. (not considering influence for the moment)

Queen is sort of like the Who for me. Their best songs are unfuckingreal, but then the quality of songs slips pretty significantly between their best ones and the just good ones.

[scajfk926]

Originally Posted by zajDmB1

Off topic but, have you listened to Queen's albums, out of curiosity? I LOVE Queen but besides having like the greatest greatest hits disc ever haha, and a handful of other great songs, their catalogue has a good amount of crap in it. In terms of truly GREAT songs, I think DMB has just as many, if not only a little less than Queen. (not considering influence for the moment)

Queen is sort of like the Who for me. Their best songs are unfuckingreal, but then the quality of songs slips pretty significantly between their best ones and the just good ones.

I definitely agree with your point. About 90% of Queen's stuff is filler material, including about everything from the last 3 albums. It's just those greatest greatest hits are amazing, genre defining, epic ballads that are far more popular than anything of DMB's. While I agree that DMB's catalog is more impressive, the best of the best has to go to Queen. The Who was a fantastic analogy and I'd throw Michael Jackson in as another example of this (although some might be offended by that haha).

If we consider influence, I also give the nod to Queen with an honorable mention to DMB. IMO DMB is among a handful of other bands (Blues Traveler among the more popular with DMB) that ushered in the new acoustic-alternative wave of rock in the early 90s. You could definitely make an argument that DMB has some responsibility for the acoustic driven rock that dominated mainstream music up until a few years ago.

[jimi626]

Originally Posted by RB18740

Since the start of the Nielsen SoundScan in 1991, the Dave Matthews Band ranks ninth in album sales. They will most definitely take over the #5 spot, but will "Big Whiskey" push them past U2 to allow them to be #4 for a while? With the new album, where do you think DMB will end up on the list?


1.) The Beatles with 57.3 million
2.) Metallica with 51.5 million
3.) Pink Floyd with 35.4 million
4.) U2 with 33.5 million
5.) Pearl Jam with 29.8 million
6.) Eagles with 29.6 million
7.) AC/DC with 29.5 million
8.) Aerosmith with 29.4 million
9.) Dave Matthews Band with 29.0 million (Excludes Dave's solo album)
10.) Dixie Chicks with 26.6 million

Just out of curiosity, where did you get those figures? I remember seeing those numbers a few weeks back on the boards and when I looked into it myself I found drastically different numbers. I just checked again and could only find this report, from January 2, 2009:

Top Ten Selling Artists Of Soundscan Era - (1991-12/28/2008):

1. GARTH BROOKS - 68,143,000
2. BEATLES - 57,088,000
3. MARIAH CAREY - 51,569,000
4. METALLICA - 51,136,000
5. CELINE DION - 50,571,000
6. GEORGE STRAIT - 40,619,000
7. TIM MCGRAW - 37,591,000,
8. ALAN JACKSON -36,520,000,
9. PINK FLOYD -36,520,000
10. SHANIA TWAIN - 33,707,000

[CrazyCaptain41]

Originally Posted by jimi626

Just out of curiosity, where did you get those figures? I remember seeing those numbers a few weeks back on the boards and when I looked into it myself I found drastically different numbers. I just checked again and could only find this report, from January 2, 2009:

Top Ten Selling Artists Of Soundscan Era - (1991-12/28/2008):

1. GARTH BROOKS - 68,143,000
2. BEATLES - 57,088,000
3. MARIAH CAREY - 51,569,000
4. METALLICA - 51,136,000
5. CELINE DION - 50,571,000
6. GEORGE STRAIT - 40,619,000
7. TIM MCGRAW - 37,591,000,
8. ALAN JACKSON -36,520,000,
9. PINK FLOYD -36,520,000
10. SHANIA TWAIN - 33,707,000

it seems like your numbers are about the same, however his list just includes bands/groups, where your list includes solo artists as well

[CrazyCaptain41]

edit: wrong thread

[jimi626]

Originally Posted by CrazyCaptain41

it seems like your numbers are about the same, however his list just includes bands/groups, where your list includes solo artists as well

Good call, didn't pick up on that. Anyone have a link to OP's numbers?. One of my old professors is looking to add DMB to his curriculum for a history of recorded music class. Since he's not a fan, and knows I am, he came to me for tracks, info, etc. That seems like a good piece of info if I can get a link to forward him.

Also, I'm guessing OP's list was released the same time the list I found was. If memory serves me U2 released an album since then - the gap has likely widen since these numbers were compiled.

[Dobler]

shows how terrible the music industry is. So many of those "artists" are just crap. There are so many artists that should be up there and so many artists that should have way better sales. I cant believe how low queen was, still impressive no doubt but Shinaw Twain, Tim McGraw, Backstreet boys etc... surpassed them!! when the backstreet boys played in my towns OHL hockey arena (that fits 6000 tops) and apparenty it didnt even come close to selling out and the arena barely broke even on costs

[bonzo48280]

Originally Posted by GLENN MCDONALD

Musiccan be divided into manygenresin many different ways. These classifications are often arbitrary and controversial, and closely related styles often overlap. Many do not believe that generic classification of musical styles is possible in anylogically consistentway, and also argue that doing so sets limitations and boundaries that hinder the development of music.











ranker top 10 lists

classic

[JohnK86]

classic

[kittensXLI]

classic

[Halloween7390]

classic

[liljoey90]

Classic

[~Crashintome89~]

Omg, it's glenn fuckin' mcdonald

EDIT: Classic

[Arby]

This is Classic Glenn

[bonzo48280]

I love it when fuckin' Glenn comes round here makin' noise

[mtc883]

Originally Posted by RB18740

Since the start of the Nielsen SoundScan in 1991, the Dave Matthews Band ranks ninth in album sales. They will most definitely take over the #5 spot, but will "Big Whiskey" push them past U2 to allow them to be #4 for a while? With the new album, where do you think DMB will end up on the list?


1.) The Beatles with 57.3 million
2.) Metallica with 51.5 million
3.) Pink Floyd with 35.4 million
4.) U2 with 33.5 million
5.) Pearl Jam with 29.8 million
6.) Eagles with 29.6 million
7.) AC/DC with 29.5 million
8.) Aerosmith with 29.4 million
9.) Dave Matthews Band with 29.0 million (Excludes Dave's solo album)
10.) Dixie Chicks with 26.6 million

Does anyone have updated numbers to this?