Measuring an artist’s success can be a numbers game. It’s one thing for an album to go gold or platinum, but to go diamond? Very few have had the honor. Yesterday, we celebrated the 10-year anniversary of Usher’s Confessions, one of the LPs to receive Diamond awards from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). The award was implemented in 1999 for albums/singles that sell 10 million units. Confessions was certified on Nov. 7, 2008 after selling 10,017,000 records.
Today’s rappers and crooners only dream of reaching numbers like that. Here, we take a look at other albums posted on the Diamond album wall of fame.
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Michael Jackson – Thriller
Release Date: December 4, 1982
Certification Date: August 21, 2009
Album Shipments: 29,000,000 -
Eminem – The Marshall Mathers LP
Release Date: May 23, 2000
Certification Date: March 9, 2011
Album Shipments: 12,169,000 -
Boyz II Men – II
Release Date: August 23, 1994
Certification Date: June 13, 1996
Album Shipments: 12,000,00 -
TLC – CrazySexyCool
Release Date: November 15, 1994
Certification Date: July 2, 1999
Album Shipments: 11,000,000 -
Norah Jones – Come Away With Me
Release Date: February 26, 2002
Certification Date: February 15, 2005
Album Shipments: 10,910,000 -
Linkin Park – Hybrid Theory
Release Date: October 24, 2000
Certification Date: January 7, 2005
Album Shipments: 10,889,000 -
Adele – 21
Release Date: February 22, 2011
Certification Date: November 28, 2012
Album Shipments: 10,857,000 -
Eminem – The Eminem Show
Release Date: May 26, 2002
Certification Date: March 7, 2011
Album Shipments: 10,098,000 -
The Beatles – The Beatles 1967-1970
Release Date: April 2, 1973
Certification Date: August 27, 2010
Album Shipments: 8,500,000 -
OutKast – Speakerboxxx/The Love Below
Release Date: September 23, 2003
Certification Date: May 30, 2006
Album Shipments: 5,500,000 -
Notorious B.I.G. – Life After Death
Release Date: March 25, 1997
Certification Date: January 6, 2000
Album Shipments: 5,000,000