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The record companies swear that it's making a serious inroad on sales, and they can prove it. How? By showing that their sales are way down in the past few years.
It couldn't possibly be because (a) most of us have already replaced all our old vinyl and cassettes, so all that windfall money is no longer flowing in, or (b) because the record companies have made some really lousy decisions as they tried to guess what we consumers would want to buy.

Here's a list of the top 10 selling albums of all time worldwide (cumulative as of fall 2000). The baby boomers just don't buy albums like they used to. The executives and the hired muscle at the RIAA both try to find new sources to keep pulling in more revenue every year.

1 Thriller Michael Jackson 1982
2 Dark Side Of The Moon Pink Floyd 1973
3 Their Greatest Hits 1971-1975 The Eagles 1976
4 The Bodyguard Original Soundtrack 1992
5 Rumours Fleetwood Mac 1977
6 Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band The Beatles 1967
7 Four Symbols (Led Zeppelin Vol.4) Led Zeppelin 1971
8 Elton John's Greatest Hits Elton John 1974
9 Jagged Little Pill Alanis Morissette 1995
10 Bat Out Of Hell Meatloaf 1978

Very few recordings past 1980 on that list. Very few prior to 1970 on that list. There were albums that are arguably better that were released before that date. The baby boomers just didn't buy them (and rebuy them) to the same degree.

I found this list which claims to be the top 100 selling albums of all time based on September 2003 RIAA information. I couldn't get the RIAA's website to load so I could not confirm if this matched any data they offered. Again, few modern albums in the top 50 and nothing very old in the top 100 (a Patsy Cline greatest hits, excepted).

No. Artist Album Title Times-Platinum
1. The Eagles Eagles/Greatest Hits 1971 - 1975 28
2. Michael Jackson Thriller 26
3. Pink Floyd The Wall 23
4. Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin IV 22
5. Billy Joel Greatest Hits, Volume I & II 21
6. Fleetwood Mac Rumours 19
7. AC/DC Back In Black 19
8. The Beatles The Beatles 19
9 Shania Twain Come On Over 19
10. Whitney Houston The Bodyguard (Soundtrack) 17
11. Hootie & The Blowfish Cracked Rear View 16
12. Elton John Greatest Hits 16
13. The Eagles Hotel California 16
14. The Beatles The Beatles 1967-1970 16
15. Boston Boston 16
16. Garth Brooks No Fences 16
17. Alanis Morissette Jagged Little Pill 16
18. Bruce Springsteen Born In The USA 15
19. Led Zeppelin Physical Graffiti 15
20. Pink Floyd Dark Side Of The Moon 15
21. Bee Gees Saturday Night Fever 15
22. The Beatles The Beatles 1962-1966 15
23. Guns 'N Roses Appetite For Destruction 15
24. Garth Brooks Double Live 15
25. Santana Supernatural 14
26. Backstreet Boys Backstreet Boys 14
27. Garth Brooks Ropin' The Wind 14
28. Meatloaf Bat Out Of Hell 14
29. Prince & The Revolution Purple Rain (Soundtrack) 13
30. Metallica Metallica 13
31. Steve Miller Band Greatest Hits 1974-1978 13
32. Simon & Garfunkel Simon & Garfunkel's Greatest Hits 13
33. Bruce Springsteen Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band Live 1975-1985 13
34. Whitney Houston Whitney Houston 13
35. Backstreet Boys Millenium 13
36. Britney Spears Baby One More Time 13
37. Dixie Chicks Wide Open Spaces 12
38. Matchbox Twenty Yourself Or Someone Like You 12
39. Phil Collins No Jacket Required 12
40. Def Leppard Hysteria 12
41. Bon Jovi Slippery When Wet 12
42. Boyz II Men II 12
43. The Beatles Abbey Road 12
44. Various (Soundtrack) Forest Gump 12
45. Kenny Rogers Kenny Rogers' Greatest Hits 12
46. The Rolling Stones Hot Rocks 12
47. Shania Twain The Woman In Me 12
48. Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin II 12
49. Kenny G Breathless 12
50. Led Zeppelin Houses Of The Holy 11
51. Pearl Jam Ten 11
52. James Taylor James Taylor's Greates Hits 11
53. TLC CrazySexyCool 11
54. Celine Dion Falling Into You 11
55. Various (Soundtrack) Dirty Dancing 11
56. The Beatles Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band 11
57. The Eagles Eagles Greatest Hits Volume II 11
58. Jewel Pieces Of You 11
59 Various (Soundtrack) Titanic 11
60. Elton John Candle In The Wind 1997 11
61. Kid Rock Devil Without A Cause 11
62. 'N Sync No Strings Attached 11
63. Dixie Chicks Fly 10
64. Creed Human Clay 10
65. 'N Sync 'N Sync 10
66. Celine Dion Let's Talk About Love 10
67. No Doubt Traffic Kingdom 10
68. Notorious B.I.G. Life After Death 10
69. Doobie Brothers Best Of The Doobies 10
70. Green Day Dookie 10
71. Aerosmith Aerosmith's Greatest Hits 10
72. Garth Brooks The Hits 10
73. Mariah Carey Music Box 10
74. Eric Clapton Unplugged 10
75. Lionel Richie Can't Slow Down 10
76. Hammer Please Hammer Don't Hurt 'Em 10
77. Mariah Carey Daydream 10
78. ZZ Top Eliminator 10
79. Various (Soundtrack) Lion King 10
80. U2 The Joshua Tree 10
81. Van Halen 1984 10
82. Van Halen Van Halen 10
83. George Michael Faith 10
84. Nirvana Nevermind 10
85. Carole King Tapestry 10
86. Journey Greatest Hits 10
87. Led Zeppelin Led Zeppelin 10
88. Madonna The Immaculate Collection 10
89. Madonna Like A Virgin 10
90. Bob Marley & The Wailers Legend 10
91. Tom Petty Greatest Hits 9
92. Various (Soundtrack) Top Gun 9
93. Various (Soundtrack) Footloose 9
94. 2 Pac All Eyez On Me 9
95. Smashing Pumpkins Mellon Collie And The Infinite Sadness 9
96. REO Speedwagon Hi Infidelity 9
97. Patsy Cline Greatest Hits 9
98. Mariah Carey Mariah Carey 9
99. Boyz II Men CooleyHighHarmony 9
100 Garth Brooks Garth Brooks 9

Funny, most of the albums on this list are pop/mainstream stuff. These artists, maybe early Springsteen and Beatles excluded, are poo pooed and given the eye roll by the alternative/artsy music crowd.

I remember when going to high school with a Billy Joel or an Elton John album would get your ass kicked. Don't even talk about Mariah or Whitney, you would of been stabbed by the Goths.

Wow. Of the top 10, we have 8. Also, those cds/albums are old, and therefore we have some of those in at least 2 formats.

Here's an idea. How about being able to 'return' your unwanted cds to the store if you don't want them anymore and get back the original price you paid for them? Anything else you buy you can return if it's in perfect condition, right? This way, most consumers would only possess those cds that they listen to.