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To: Borges
When you’ve sold as many records as Abba have – and only The Beatles have sold more

Um, no.

I have no quarrel with Abba insofar as them being a great pop band writing some of the catchiest tunes ever. And they're more popular than me.

But this claim is simply unsupportable.

There is no official tally of global album sales. In general, each country has some sort of authoritative source but even there are differences.

The US has an excellent authoritative source, The RIAA Gold & Platinum Database. In this database, Abba doesn't even crack the top 15.

For those who care, here are the top 15 artists via RIAA of all time:

THE BEATLES Cert. Units (In Millions): 183

GARTH BROOKS Cert. Units (In Millions): 157

ELVIS PRESLEY Cert. Units (In Millions): 139

EAGLES Cert. Units (In Millions): 120

LED ZEPPELIN Cert. Units (In Millions): 111.5

BILLY JOEL Cert. Units (In Millions): 84.5

MICHAEL JACKSON Cert. Units (In Millions): 84

ELTON JOHN Cert. Units (In Millions): 79

AC/DC Cert. Units (In Millions): 75

PINK FLOYD Cert. Units (In Millions): 75

GEORGE STRAIT Cert. Units (In Millions): 69

BARBRA STREISAND Cert. Units (In Millions): 68.5

AEROSMITH Cert. Units (In Millions): 66.5

THE ROLLING STONES Cert. Units (In Millions): 66.5

BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN Cert. Units (In Millions): 65.5

48 posted on 09/15/2020 3:23:37 PM PDT by DoodleBob (Gravity's waiting period is about 9.8 m/s^2)
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To: DoodleBob

Garth Brooks 157m? The mind boggles.


58 posted on 09/15/2020 3:32:14 PM PDT by KevinB (Quite literally, whatever the Left touches it ruins.)
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To: DoodleBob

This is an album list, ABBA sold mostly singles. ABBA is also big on international sales. No one pretends they are #2 in the U.S.A. I’d be interested in knowing how they sell in the Far East, a large potential audience, but distinctive tastes.


92 posted on 09/15/2020 4:16:52 PM PDT by Dr. Sivana (There is no salvation in politics)
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