86 Under-Certified Albums: They need an updated RIAA Cert

by **thebigham** » Sat Oct 06, 2007 10:24 pm

This is a fun list I've compiled based on albums whose SoundScan sales seem to be more than the albums' RIAA certification.

This list is based on SoundScan sales. My cutoff for 2xp was 1.8 million. An album that is over 1.8 million in SoundScan sales, I feel can be re-certifed 2xp. My cut-off over 2 million was 2.7, 3.7, 4.7 million and so on.

A few albums are on here because they haven't had a new RIAA certification since the mid-80s.

I've also included a few current albums that have not been certified yet.

I did not include any albums that were under-certified due to music club sales. "This album has sold 2.5 million, but it has sold xx copies at Columbia House and it must have sold yy copies at BMG, so it must be 4xp." I'm not going to get into that with this list.

Eminem and Janet Jackson both seem to be in need of a major RIAA audit. Both have 5 under-certifed albums.

Feel free to add any under-certified albums that you feel should be re-certified. Please list a source or an exact figure if you can.

Remember: Billboard and The RIAA are not responsible for updated certifications! The record company is responsible.

Thanks and enjoy!!!!

Chris

Undercertified Albums

ABBA, Millenium Collection: 925,410, yet Gold (9/07)

Clay Aiken, Measure of a Man: 2,746,270, yet 2xp

Bee Gees, Number Ones: 1,055,376, yet Gold (7/07)

Black Eyed Peas, The E.N.D: 3,000,000, yet 2xp (3/11)

Black Eyed Peas, Elephunk: 3,204,000, yet 2xp (3/11)

Black Eyed Peas, Monkey Business: 4,272,000 yet 3xp (3/11)

Mary J. Blige, No More Drama: 2.9 million, yet 2xp

Mary J. Blige, Reflections: 675,053, yet not certified (5/07)

Andrea Bocelli, Under The Desert Sky: 560,410, yet not certified (3/07)

Andrea Bocelli, Romanza: 4,050,369, yet 3xp (5/06)

Bon Jovi, This Left Feels Right: 549,727, yet not certified (7/07)

Bon Jovi, One Wild Night Live 1985-2110: 579,314, yet not certified (5/07)

Boys II Men, Legacy: 961,499, yet Gold (9/07)

James Brown, 20 All Time Greatest Hits: 1,337,250, yet not certified (5/07)

Michael Buble, Michael Buble: 2,540,000, yet 1xp (3/11)

Michael Buble, Let It Snow: 928k, yet not certified (12/10)

Mariah Carey, Greatest Hits: 949,470, yet 1xp - 2cd album (9/07)

Mariah Carey, The Remixes: 253,928, 2-cd album, no certification (9/07)

Johnny Cash, The Essential: 944,591, yet 1xp – 2cd album (9/07)

Johnny Cash, 16 Biggest Hits: 2,730,421, yet 2xp (9/07)

Dixie Chicks, Top Of The World Tour Live: 929,608, yet Gold

Eric Clapton, Best of Eric Clapton - Millenium: 522,256, yet not certified (9/07)

Collective Soul, 7even Year Itch: 489,056, yet not certified (9/07)

Sheryl Crow, Very Best of Sheryl Crow: 3,985,993, yet 3xp (9/07)

Sheryl Crow, C'mom C'mon: 1.7 million, yet 1xp

Celine Dion, The Collection: 881,000, yet Gold (9/07)

Dr. Dre, Dr. Dre 2001: 7,150,750, yet 6xp (5/07)

Doobie Brothers, Greatest Hits: 2,085,512, yet not certified (9/07)

Hillary Duff, Metamorphosis: 3,829,115, yet 3xp

Eagles, Very Best: 2,254,794, 2 cd album, yet 3xp (9/07)

Eminem, The Slim Shady LP: 4,929,196, yet 4xp (2/05)

Eminem, Curtain Call: 2,713,610, yet 2xp (4/07)

Eminem, Encore: 4,836,340, yet 4xp (11/05)

Fall Out Boy, Take This To Your Grave: 563,316, yet not certified (3/07)

50 Cent, Get Rich or Die Trying: 7,714,510, yet 6xp (9/07)

Nelly Furtado, Loose: 1,927,943, yet 1xp (9/07)

The Game, Doctor's Advocate: 899,238, yet not certified (4/07)

Marvin Gaye, Every Great Motwon Hit: 2,456,792, yet 1xp (3/07)

Goo Goo Dolls, Dizzy Up The Girl: 3,989,464, yet 3xp

Grease Soundtrack: 8xp in 1984, 5,629,362 in sales since 1991 (9/07)

Green Day, American Idiot: 6,000,000, yet 5xp (2/11)

Al Green: Greatest Hits: 2,834,886, yet 2xp (10/06)

Josh Groban, Josh Groban: 4,827,360, yet 4xp. (9/07)

Hall & Oates, Rock ‘n Soul Part 1: 1.19 million, yet last certified in 1985 (1/07)

Janet Jackson, DOAD: 2.354 million with 2 million in record club sales, yet 2xp (4/07)

Janet Jackson, All For You: 3.239 million, yet 2xp (4/07)

Janet Jackson, Rhythm Nation: No certification since 1992, 1.35 million in SoundScan sales since 1991, yet 6xp (7/06)

Janet Jackson, Janet: 6.983 million, yet 6xp (4/07)

Janet Jackson, Control: No certification since 1989, yet 5xp

Michael Jackson: Greatest Hits: HIStory Volume 1: 900,720, et Gold (4/07)

Jack Johnson, Brushfire Fairytales: 2,191,155, yet 1xp (5/07)

Keane, Hopes & Fears: 927,943, yet Gold (3/07)

Lenny Kravitz, Greatest Hits : 4,312,425, yet 3xp (12/05)

John Legend, Get Lifted: 1,989,258, yet 1xp (9/07)

Linkin Park, Meteora: 5,467,300, yet 4xp (9/07)

John Mayer, Heavier Things: 2,891,770, yet 2xp (9/07)

Tim McGraw, Tim McGraw: 404,632, no cert (6/05)

Moulin Rogue Soundtrack: 2,856,685, yet 2xp (8/07)

Nine Inch Nails, With Teeth: 1.1 million, yet Gold (10/07)

Nirvana, Nirvana: 1,820,233, yet 1xp (7/07)

No Doubt, Rock Steady: 2,725,302, yet 2xp (12/03)

Phantom of the Opera Soundtrack: 4,759,383, yet 4xp (2/05)

Pus.sycat Dolls, PCD: 2,792,645, yet 1xp (9/07)

Queen, GH: We Will Rock You: 634,743, yet not certified (7/07)

Lionel Richie, Can't Slow Down: 10xp, no certification since 1985

Frank Sinatra, Very Good Years: 3,239,585, yet 2xp (3/07)

Smashing Pumpkins, Greatest Hits: 997,218, yet Gold (8/07)

The Sound of Music Soundtrack: Gold in 1965, yet album says 6 million sold

Britney Spears, In The Zone: 2,952,000, yet 2xp (1/07)

Gwen Stefani, Love.Angel.Music.Baby: 3,905,980, yet 3xp (8/07)

Rod Stewart, Voice: Very Best Of: 1,884,225, yet 1xp (9/07)

Sublime, Sublime: 5,748,166, yet 5xp (9/07)

System of a Down, Toxicity: 3,935,043, yet 3xp (8/07)

T-Pain, Epiphany: 675,155, yet not certified (9/07)

Tina Turner, Private Dancer: No certification since 1987, yet 5xp

U2, Best of U2 - 1980-90: 2,945,840, yet 2xp (5/07)

U2, U218 Singles: 775,577, yet not certified (9/07)

Van Morrison, Best of Van Morrison: 4,050,369, yet 3xp (5/06)

Kanye West, College Dropout: 3,008,372, yet 2xp (9/07)

Barry White, Best of Barry White (Millennium): 451,145, yet no certified (3/07)

White Stripes, Elephant: 1,874,914, yet 1xp (7/07)

The Who, 20th Century Masters: 916,287, yet Gold (3/07)

ZZ Top, Greatest Hits: 3,859,100, yet 3xp (9/07)

by **Basil** » Sat Oct 06, 2007 11:03 pm

Interesting list Chris, many thanks for putting it together.

If we had the record labels for each of these titles we might find that certain labels have the majority of uncertified albums!

Certainly Eminem's label seems totally uninterested.

Grease is definitely the unchallenged King of undercertified albums - it should be at least double it's 1984 level.

Number Two on the list is DSOM which as we all know from soundscan figures is 4-5m under.

And Number Three is Bob Marley's Legend which is 3-4m under according to soundscan sales.

Several of the artists you list have fallen out with their label. This seems to make the label lose interest in them - Elton John, for example.

And anything released on Motown seems to stand no chance at all!

by **Fedepeti** » Sat Oct 06, 2007 11:32 pm

Rolling Stones - Forty Licks: 2.750,000 (May 2007), yet 4x platinum

by **Basil** » Sat Oct 06, 2007 11:55 pm

The Temptations
1999 - Best of Vol One - The 60's - 817,000 feb 2005 - no cert

Stevie Wonder
1972 - Talking Book - 541,000 - no cert
1973 - Innervisions - 563,000 - no cert

Marvin Gaye
1971 - What's Going On - 1,093,000 - only Gold
1973 - Let's Get In On - 620,000 - no cert
2000 - 20th Century Masters Vol Two - 697,000 feb 2005 - no cert

Jackson Five
1972 - Greatest Hits - 496,000 - no cert

Pink Floyd
1995 - Pulse - 1,539,000 jan 2007 2cd only 2xP
1992 - Shine On - 255,000 9cd only Platinum

Queen
1994 - Greatest Hits I&II - 886,000 feb 2007 - 2cd only Platinum

Led Zep
Very Best Of - 1,427,000 - 2cd only Platinum
How the West Was Won - 769,000 - 3cd only Platinum

Bee Gees
1969 - Best Of - certified Gold 1969. 440,000 sales since 1991.

by **allaplgies** » Sun Oct 07, 2007 12:32 am

Nirvana:

Nirvana Greatest Hits: Soundscan has this at 1,820,000 as of July 2007. This by your standards should be 2x platinum

Nirvana Box Set, With The Lights Out: 630,000 in Dec. 2006. Only needs 667,000 for 2x platinum status

Nevermind was certified 10x platinum in March 1999. This should easily be at 11x platinum now. Not sure on other Nirvana albums

by **jcguzman** » Sun Oct 07, 2007 12:48 am

Bee Gees Greatest.Only 2times platinum and it should be 5 at least.

Bee Gees the record has scanned over 1.400.000 and it should be at least 2 times platinum since its a double album.

Me LastFM · by **AutomaticBR** » Sun Oct 07, 2007 2:46 am

wonderful list, thanks Chris!

these are some that came through my mind now, i'll try to find some more precise info about them...

Björk - Vespertine

it was on 368,000 through Soundscan in 2004, maybe near 400k now... "Homogenic" got Gold with around 400k scanned too, so maybe if it's not there yet, it's pretty near

Janet Jackson - Janet Jackson

never certified and released early in the 80's. The Soundscan total for this one is very little, but i did an estimation once with it's chart run by adding to each week's position the amount of sales that same position got in a very low sales period in 2005 and i remember i got a total over 500k, so maybe this could be Gold

Jennifer Lopez - This is me... then

I don't have an updated SScan figure, but it was on 2.6M some years ago, maybe 3x Platinum now?

Jennifer Lopez - Como ama una mujer

Never certified, it sold over 150k so it could be Platinum (Latino)

Foo Fighters - The Colour & The Shape

Over 1.9M through Soundscan in 2005, and it's only certified Platinum

Jack Johnson - On and On

It's probably on 1.8M through Soundcan now and it's only 1x Platinum. It was on 1,769,000 back in June if i remember correctly and it's a nice catalog seller

Michael Buble - Michael Buble

Same case as above

Green Day - Warning

Only Gold and it reached 1,000,000 through Soundscan in 2005

Green Day - Bullet in a bible

Never certified. It was on 409,418 through Soundscan in 18/02/2006

U2 - The Best Of 1980/1990 & The B-Sides

Certified 2x Platinum, it's a double album and it scanned 1.4M 'til 12/2005

U2 - The Best Of 1990/2000 & The B-Sides

Never certified, it's a double album and it scanned 556,000 'til 12/2005

Christina Aguilera - Christina Aguilera

8x Platinum and on 8.1M scanned + BMG Music Club sales of over 900k it leads to at least 9x Platinum

Britney Spears - Britney

4x Platinum and over 4.3M scanned + BMG Music Club sales of over 500k, it really should be 5x Platinum

i have the impression that i read recently on Billboard that No Doubt's "Rock steady" was finally certified 3x Platinum, but on RIAA.com it's still only 2x

also, i don't have an updated figure but years ago i got that their debut album was near 400k, maybe it could be Gold now

EDIT: oh, another thing i remember now... i think Lily Allen and Gwen Stefani's latest albums were not certified yet

by **robbyds** » Sun Oct 07, 2007 3:06 am

very interesting thread. so what will janet's RIAA total be if and when her albums are recertified?

by **thebigham** » Sun Oct 07, 2007 3:38 am

Gwen Stefani's album has been certified 1xp. It is now up to 1.5 million.

No Doubt's Rocky Steady is still certifed 2xp.

You are right about Michael Buble. I'll add him to the list.

With Christina and Britney, I am not going to get into all of that.

There's a bit of current Catalog sales in my post for those of you who keep track.

Chris

by **aez** » Sun Oct 07, 2007 4:08 am

Thanks Chris!

Very interesting list!

by **380sec** » Sun Oct 07, 2007 9:07 am

The vast majority of Janet's catalogue needs to be re-certified.

by **frankie_85** » Sun Oct 07, 2007 9:24 am

Very interesting list!Thanks! :wink:

by **oasisbobo** » Sun Oct 07, 2007 1:27 pm

this is great why dont we start a campain to get Under-certified albums in the US and UK certified , Send e-mails , write letters , start petitions

by **thebigham** » Sun Oct 07, 2007 7:11 pm

Added Michael Buble and Nirvana to The List.

by **Dane** » Tue Oct 09, 2007 5:13 am

Great list Chris! Thanks, I've been awaiting it since you told us you were working on it!

I have a few additions:

AC/DC - Live - 4,007,000 yet 3 x P (jul07)
AC/DC - Live Sp. Ed. (2cd) no cert since 2001, but scanned 612,000 since 2003 (mar07)

by **crocop** » Tue Oct 09, 2007 7:56 am

Metallica, Metallica: 15,001,436, et 14xp (9/07)
Wohoooo...over 15 millions!!!

by **NothingFails** » Tue Oct 09, 2007 8:33 am

man, times have changed so much. Remember the 90's when 3 million meant 5x and 7 million meant diamond? LOL. Now the labels are slacking on certifications.

by **brunosilva** » Tue Oct 09, 2007 9:32 am

thebigham wrote:Celine Dion, Falling Into You: 10,753,000, yet 10xp (1/07)

Celine Dion, The Collection: 881,000, yet Gold (9/07)

Falling Into You is 11x Platinum, not 10xP.

For Celine:
Soundcan+BMG:

Let's Talk About Love: 10.536.000 (10x Platium)
Falling Into You: 11.741.000 (11x Platium)
All the Way: 8.579.300 (7x Platium)
Celine Dion: 2.981.000 (2x Platium)
The Collectors: 879.555 (Gold)

by **Dane** » Tue Oct 09, 2007 10:04 am

NothingFails wrote:man, times have changed so much. Remember the 90's when 3 million meant 5x and 7 million meant diamond? LOL. Now the labels are slacking on certifications.

club sales.

by **thebigham** » Tue Oct 09, 2007 3:46 pm

I removed Celine Dion's Falling Into You. My error. Sorry.

by **planet3bhz** » Tue Oct 09, 2007 4:34 pm

the legendary miss britney spears is missunderstood

by **heh** » Tue Oct 09, 2007 5:16 pm

The Lost Boys soundtrack has scanned well over 800,000 copies since 1991. It was certified Gold in 1988 (if memory serves) and was never certified again...

by **TiagoRodrigues** » Tue Oct 09, 2007 5:25 pm

Mary J. Blige, No More Drama: 2.9 million, yet 3xp

Why should this be 4 x platinum? :-?

by **matthew_dixon** » Tue Oct 09, 2007 5:26 pm

thebigham wrote:I removed Celine Dion's Falling Into You. My error. Sorry.

Ahhhhh - so THAT's what the topic is about.

I thought it was a topic complaining about albums by US boyband 112 that had been under-certified! :lol:

by **thebigham** » Tue Oct 09, 2007 6:01 pm

TiagoRodrigues wrote:
Mary J. Blige, No More Drama: 2.9 million, yet 3xp
Why should this be 4 x platinum?

Error. It should say 2xp. I changed it. Thanks!