Record Sales are meaningless. They mean nothing in reality. Do you realize that record sales are an indication or how many records are ORDERED not how many are actually sold to the consumer? Here is what I mean. Marilyn Manson's new CD "I am a talentless weasel" is ordered by some big record chain. Say they order 1500 copies, guess what? Whether they sell any of them it is recorded as him selling 1500 records. No one could buy the album and he still gets the credit for "selling" 1500 albums.

So sales mean nothing in real terms, they are just one more kind of hype to overcome. How about this? Brittany Spears "sells" millions of records, right? Well just try and find someone you know who actually owns a copy. I have asked everyone I know and not one person has or knows anyone who bought one. Isn't it funny that millions of copies are "sold" yet no one bought any of them?

If you really want to see what a high selling record would be (I mean in actual sales) just look at what your friends have. Bands like The Misfits, Black Flag, Dead Kennedys, Iron Maiden and others would be chart toppers if actual sales were accounted for. Everyone has a Black Sabbath or an Alice Cooper record in their collections yet those bands don't seem to be "best selling". Curious that the albums that everyone owns never top the charts but the records that you can't seem to find a fan of are "chart toppers". If you do see these albums (Spears and whatnot) there are aways in the $3.99 bin at the local used CD store and that alone makes a statement about it's quality.

See throught the hype and promotion and look to real, non-fabricated music.