So, after checking all figures, what’s the most successful album by U2 and how many overall equivalent albums sales have they achieved? Well, at this point we barely need to do the addition of all figures defined all over this article!
In the following results table, all categories display figures in equivalent album sales. If different, pure sales are listed between parentheses.
artist_spotify_id
#
Cover
Album
Studio albums (EAS)
sales_update_date
Other LPs (EAS)
Physical singles (units sold)
Digital singles (units sold)
Streams
Streams increase
Total EAS
valid_as_of
streams_updated_value
album_id
51Blml2LZPmy7TTiAg47vQ
1
Boy
3,700,000
18.09.21
1,790,000
60,000(200,000)
105,000(700,000)
107,000 (09/20/23)
Av.: 50LD: 50
5,777,000
20,230,920
107,000
1,571
51Blml2LZPmy7TTiAg47vQ
2
October
3,600,000
18.09.21
706,000
45,000(150,000)
60,000(400,000)
46,000 (09/20/23)
Av.: 20LD: 20
4,487,000
20,230,920
46,000
1,572
51Blml2LZPmy7TTiAg47vQ
3
War
10,900,000
18.09.21
13,037,000
270,000(900,000)
375,000(2,500,000)
551,000 (09/20/23)
Av.: 260LD: 260
25,193,000
20,230,920
551,000
1,573
51Blml2LZPmy7TTiAg47vQ
4
The Unforgettable Fire
8,100,000
18.09.21
4,213,000
420,000(1,400,000)
345,000(2,300,000)
437,000 (09/20/23)
Av.: 210LD: 250
13,515,000
20,230,920
437,000
1,574
51Blml2LZPmy7TTiAg47vQ
5
The Joshua Tree
26,800,000
18.09.21
17,389,000
1,159,000(3,864,000)
1,845,000(12,300,000)
2,295,000 (09/20/23)
Av.: 1,040LD: 1,210
49,644,000
20,230,920
2,295,000
1,575
51Blml2LZPmy7TTiAg47vQ
6
Rattle And Hum
13,800,000
18.09.21
1,839,000
870,000(2,900,000)
255,000(1,700,000)
275,000 (09/20/23)
Av.: 120LD: 120
17,039,000
20,230,920
275,000
1,576
51Blml2LZPmy7TTiAg47vQ
7
Achtung Baby
17,500,000
18.09.21
5,025,000
1,215,000(4,050,000)
750,000(5,000,000)
985,000 (09/20/23)
Av.: 460LD: 470
25,475,000
20,230,920
985,000
1,577
51Blml2LZPmy7TTiAg47vQ
8
Zooropa
8,000,000
18.09.21
364,000
315,000(1,050,000)
120,000(800,000)
133,000 (09/20/23)
Av.: 60LD: 70
8,932,000
20,230,920
133,000
1,578
51Blml2LZPmy7TTiAg47vQ
9
Pop
6,700,000
18.09.21
248,000
614,000(2,048,000)
90,000(600,000)
84,000 (09/20/23)
Av.: 30LD: 30
7,797,000
20,230,920
84,000
1,579
51Blml2LZPmy7TTiAg47vQ
10
All That You Can't Leave Behind
12,300,000
18.09.21
6,784,000
555,000(1,850,000)
1,005,000(6,700,000)
864,000 (09/20/23)
Av.: 370LD: 450
21,508,000
20,230,920
864,000
1,580
51Blml2LZPmy7TTiAg47vQ
11
How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb
10,200,000
18.09.21
640,000
245,000(816,000)
435,000(2,900,000)
330,000 (09/20/23)
Av.: 140LD: 160
11,860,000
20,230,920
330,000
1,581
51Blml2LZPmy7TTiAg47vQ
12
No Line On The Horizon
4,400,000
18.09.21
46,000
15,000(50,000)
390,000(2,600,000)
132,000 (09/20/23)
Av.: 30LD: 30
4,998,000
20,230,920
132,000
1,582
51Blml2LZPmy7TTiAg47vQ
13
Songs Of Innocence
1,100,000
18.09.21
0
0(0)
75,000(500,000)
373,000 (09/20/23)
Av.: 90LD: 90
1,548,000
20,230,920
373,000
1,583
51Blml2LZPmy7TTiAg47vQ
14
Songs Of Experience (Deluxe Edition)
0
0
0(0)
0(0)
397,000 (09/20/23)
Av.: 0LD: 0
397,000
20,230,920
397,000
0
51Blml2LZPmy7TTiAg47vQ
15
Orphan
0
18.09.21
970,000
450,000(1,500,000)
225,000(1,500,000)
370,000 (09/18/21)
N/A
2,300,000
20,230,920
370,000
1,749
'Av.' stands for Average, 'LD' for Last Day.
As a reminder:
Studio Album: sales of the original album
Other Releases: sales of compilations generated thanks to the album
Physical Singles: sales of physical singles from the album (ratio 3/10)
Download Singles: sales of digital singles from the album (ratio 1,5/10)
Streaming: equivalent album sales of all the album tracks (ratio 1/1500 for Audio stream and 1/6750 for Video stream)
What do we see here? The Joshua Tree is the predictable winner. Up to an incredible 47,7 million, the only albums we studied so far topping it are Nirvana‘s Nevermind, the Grease Soundtrack and Led Zeppelin‘s fourth album, all over 52 million.
There is more to highlight. Whilst on pure sales Achtung Baby is their second biggest selling title by far, with the CSPC’s approach that crown goes to War at 24,6 million, something that not many would have seen coming a few pages earlier. Achtung Baby, on its own hand, still cumulated a great 24,4 million CSPC’s sales.
Driven by Beautiful Day, All That You Can’t Leave Behind reaches 20,5 million CSPC’s sales, proving, once again, it is far bigger than How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb, despite having similar pure album sales and being remembered as about equally successful. As it generates more yearly sales now than both Achtung Baby and War, it may even challenge the band discography runner up spot in the future.
The Unforgettable Fire looks now better with 13 million CSPC’s sales, although still lower than Rattle And Hum at 16,7 million. In the other side, Boy, October, Zooropa and Pop didn’t get much outside their original sales.
You may be wondering about U2‘s final CSPC total. Well, the final result is an astonishing 194,5 million, only 6 million short of Led Zeppelin‘s total.
Do not forget to check our amazing lists posted inside the CSPC: Data Collector which includes the full listing of all CSPC results compiled so far to better gauge their positionin the history of the music industry.
As usual, feel free to comment and / or ask a question!
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