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Wait so are you saying during that time GNR was bigger, or do you think GNR is bigger all time? Or both?
Back then, no question in my mind, it was Guns. As I said the furore around them was huge, they were like a circus, in the tabloid media, on mainstream TV etc
Everybody knew who they were, it just wasn't the same with Metallica. Metallica were always kind of viewed as a Heavy Metal Band and as such didn't really receive the press or attention that Guns did, who were much more regarded as a straightforward rock band, with slight pop sensibilities.
As I said before though, judging bigger overall is quite difficult to quantify. Metallica have obviously sold more but they've had far greater longevity and released far more music. It's hard to measure them against each other, as we are talking about a band that has been around for nearly 40 years and is still releasing new music, against a band that was only around for about 6 years and hasn't released a proper studio album in 30 years.
That’s fair. Again, I’m not disagreeing it’s just fun to elaborate on these kinds of things. I do think GNR is more famous because they were the rock star bad boys, and Axl was the frontman who would cause nothing but trouble. Metallica on the other hand just played heavy ass music, and wanted to kick your ass. James wasn’t too attention seeking like Axl was. I think a good conclusion is that Metallica is more successful, and sell more if you watched the video I sent the other guy it showed during the early 90’s Metallica was selling almost as much as Madonna, and MJ, and more than GNR, but GNR is more famous. This is a debate that could go on forever tho, but this seems fair to me.
Yes, but that is just for the US and solely for the Soundscan Era. Appetite has actually outsold it in the US, even with a Greatest Hits album since 2003, eating into it's sales, something Metallica has never had to contend with.
Appetite also edges it in total Spotify streams, by over 400m, with 2.5B to Metallicas 2.1B
I wouldn't go by those Youtube videos, they are fun to look at but pointless.
You can't judge sales just based on certification, as labels actually need to certify acts and quite a few don't bother or don't always certify them on time.So many, many acts are under certified, some hugely.
There is also the fact that lots of certification organisations such as BPI, RIAA etc didn't actually implement multiple platinum certifications until the 80s. So lot's of 60s and 70s acts were retrospectively certified.
In truth The Eagles and Led Zeppelin were more certified, than Metallica or Guns N Roses, in the US, in the 90s. At the start of the 90s Zeps full catalogue was only RIAA certified to the tune of around 10m, by the end of the 90s, due to retrospective certifications, it was around 100m!
Yes, the last time I saw published figures, it was top and although no one knows what will happen in the future, I can't see anything catching it, as the nearest albums to it, Jagged Little Pill and Come on Over sell considerably less than it and have done for many years now.
Hi Music enjoyer!
Being picky, the black album has the highest Soundscan tracked sales to date, but it's not the highest selling album of the soundscan era 😉
The Bodyguard, Come On Over and Jagged Little Pill all outsold it. It's just that sales outside of retail, most notably through music clubs, are ignored by Soundscan. These albums sold millions there on top of their soundscan figure, while Metallica's classic was available only at retail.
About the conversation as a whole, I agree with what is being said, meaning Metallica are the top sellers, but Guns the most popular / successful group. The fact that they lead on the ASR ranking in spite of selling less overall (while total sales are half of the calculation) is very telling!
"The Bodyguard, Come On Over and Jagged Little Pill all outsold it."
By the way, what do you think about Hootie & The Blowfish's 21x platinum certification ? It's obviously linked to that Eagles' 38xp cert, I know you said it was "mysterious" at the time, do you still think so ?
"Is the black album the highest selling album of the soundscan era?"
You seem to underestimate catalog sales, most of the black album's sales were achieved after the early 90s.
I have a question. How do songs such as Back in black, nothing else matters, seven nation army, californication, etc all chart not very high at all. Like not even too 30, but are some of the most recognizable songs ever? Also, where would you put Metallica on an all time biggest artists, and bands ever? Like top eight biggest band ever, and top 20 biggest artists ever?
Metallica in 3 of the 4 most important European markets UK + France + Italy as a sum barely reach 10 million total albums, not much I would say. A little too dependent on the North American market. I think Iron Maiden and Pearl Jam are doing a little better in those 3 markets.
I can't speak for France or Italy but they just never seemed to really connect with the UK music buying public. Most of their albums bar Metallica, pretty much entered high then fell away quickly.
While they are more successful overall, than US contemporaries such as Bon Jovi and Guns N Roses, those two are far more popular, successful and well known than Metallica, in the UK.
Guns n' Roses are less successful because they have a much smaller discography. Chinese democracy is not even considered by many to be a Guns album but only with the name Guns on the cover. I don't think Appetite is less popular than the black album and the two Illusion have sold more than Justice or Master of puppets, with better results also in streaming.
