People Still Buy Music: 10 million goddamn people own Linkin Park's Hybrid Theory
It’s been a big week for nu-metal radio rockers. First, Nickelback's Chad Kroeger shook a bored world by announcing his engagement to fellow bland Canadian Avril Lavigne. Now comes word that Linkin Park’s Hybrid Theory has been certified diamond, meaning it’s sold over 10 million copies since its release in 2000.
According to Billboard, the record is just the 20th album to go diamond since SoundScan began tracking sales in 1991. Hybrid Theory sold 3,000 copies last week alone, meaning there were 3,000 people dumb enough to buy a new copy of a record that they could get used on Amazon for $.01.
Since 1991, Metallica’s self-titled record has sold the most copies—15.8 million—with Shania Twain’s Come On Over coming in second with 15.5 million. Alanis Morissette’s Jagged Little Pill sits in third with sales of over 14.8 million copies.
Weirdly, Hybrid Theory never actually went to No. 1 on the Billboard charts, instead topping out at No. 2 in January of 2002. It was the best-selling record of 2001, moving 4.8 million copies that year alone.