The Hardest Diamonds: 10M+ Selling Hard Rock AlbumsHere's an interesting chart showing the biggest selling hard rock/metal albums of all time, as measured by RIAA certified U.S. sales figures. AC/DC continues to reign supreme in the genre with their brilliant 1980 release Back In Black. Already a double diamond RIAA award winner, can it go for the triple? You will find more infographics at Statista For more content like this, updates on our latest arrivals plus a discount code, subscribe to our MusicGoldmine bi-weekly newsletter here.
Authenticity: 5 Tips For Autograph BuyersWhen we began MusicGoldmine.com, we thought how great it would be to bring joy to our own and other people's lives by finding and selling cool music memorabilia. And of course we envisioned that a good portion of our items would be autographed by the artists we love and are inspired by. Early on though, we discovered some stark realities about what is out there in the marketplace. As we searched for genuine autographed memorabilia, we were shocked to find that some items being sold throu...
10 Highest RIAA Gold/Platinum Record Sales: $91K Anyone? + Next 20: Updated Nov. 2025RIAA awards have proven to be great performers in auctions in recent years and continue to set records. Case in point: The highest priced sale is for a Beatles Hey Jude white matte RIAA Gold Album award, sold for $91,000 in May 2023. Notably it was owned by Julian Lennon giving it extra special provenance and meaning given he is John Lennon's son and the namesake of the album. The award came with a NFT as well. The second spot is held by a Beatles Abbey Road album RIAA white matte award, ...
New To Collecting Gold & Platinum Records?New to collecting record awards, popularly known as "gold" or "platinum" records? Or have some knowledge and just want to know more about these fascinating pieces of music history? Learn about RIAA awards and what makes them great to add to your collection. Subscribe to our free bi-weekly newsletter and get our 55-page MusicGoldmine RIAA and Record Award Guide FREE plus a 15% off discount code here.
This Week In Music History Dec 19-Jan 1The week in music history brought to you by MusicGoldmine.com. Just a couple of highlights from this week in music history! DEC 26: Happy birthday to Lars Ulrich of Metallica, born today in 1963! In 1981, he met James Hetfield and the two formed Metallica. They are the two sole remaining original members. Ulrich along with his bandmates was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2009. Photo courtesy: Raph_PH [https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/deed.en] DEC 31: Happy 8...
This Week In Music History Oct 24-Nov 6The week in music history brought to you by MusicGoldmine.com. Just a couple of highlights from this week in music history! OCT 26: Happy birthday to Natalie Merchant, born today in 1963! Best known as the original lead singer of the indie-pop band 10,000 Maniacs, Merchant left in 1993 to pursue a solo career. Photo courtesy: Justin Higuchi [https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/deed.en] NOV 3: Happy Birthday to Adam Ant, born today in 1954! Stuart Leslie Goddard's first band wa...
This Week In Music History Nov 21-Dec 4The week in music history brought to you by MusicGoldmine.com. Just a couple of highlights from this week in music history! NOV 21: Today in 1987, Tiffany was knocked out of the #1 spot by Billy Idol - why is this noteworthy? Well, Tiffany had been at #1 with the Tommy James hit "I Think We're Alone Now" and Billy took over the top spot with a Tommy James hit "Mony Mony". A great piece of trivia! NOV 30: Sad day today, Christine McVie of Fleetwood Mac has passed away at...
Awards Just In From A&R Exec Who Signed Mötley Crüe, GNR (updated)Tom Zutaut arrived as a record label A&R (Artists & Repertoire) man in an unlikely way. Given an entry-level job at Elektra Records at the beginning of the 80s, he felt that the label's current artist roster was weak and that they needed to sign new artists. He first suggested Joan Jett. No, they said. Jett would soon hit it big in her post-Runaways life with a smash cover of The Arrows "I Love Rock 'n' Roll." After that he pegged The Human League as future hitmak...
Latest RIAA Top 10 All-Time: Zeppelin AscendsOver the last year the best performer on the RIAA’s all-time U.S. best-selling album sales chart was Led Zeppelin IV, moving up two spots to #5 while passing the Beatles "white album" and Billy Joel’s Greatest Hits Vol I & II. Meanwhile the Beatles "white album" also made a move, pipping Joel by one spot to move up to #6. The major move up the chart made last year by AC/DC’s venerable Back In Black remains intact, however, keeping them at #4 and the Eagles still hold the...
This Week In Music History Oct 10-23The week in music history brought to you by MusicGoldmine.com. Just a couple of highlights from this week in music history! OCT 12: Today in 1974, the group Blondie performed for the first time as Blondie at CBGB's in NYC! Originally, they were billed as Angel and the Snake before renaming themselves Blondie - supposedly derived from the catcalls of truck drivers directed at Debbie Harry of "Hey, Blondie!" OCT 15: Today in 1988, UB40 was at #1 with "Red Red Wine". The so...
This Week In Music History Sept 26-Oct 9The week in music history brought to you by MusicGoldmine.com. Just a couple of highlights from this week in music history! OCT 7: Today in 1995, Alanis Morrissette was at the top of the U.S. album charts with one of the best-selling albums of all-time, Jagged Little Pill. The album has sold over 33 million copies worldwide and won five of the nine Grammys that it was nominated for in 1996! SEPT 28: Today, rapper Coolio passed away at the age of 59. Coolio gained prominence with the theme s...
This Week In Music History Aug 15-28The week in music history brought to you by MusicGoldmine.com. Just a couple of highlights from this week in music history! AUG 18: Today in 1962, Ringo Starr made his debut with the Beatles at a gig in Birkenhead, England! This is the quartet that would soon become known around the world: George Harrison, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, and Ringo Starr. AUG 27: Happy birthday to Alex Lifeson of Rush, born today in 1953! Lifeson co-founded the band that would become Rush in 1968. The guitarist...
The Hardest Diamonds: 10M+ Selling Hard Rock Albums
Here's an interesting chart showing the biggest selling hard rock/metal albums of all time, as measured by RIAA certified U.S. sales figures. AC/DC continues to reign supreme in the genre with their brilliant 1980 release Back In Black. Already a double diamond RIAA award winner, can it go for the triple? You will find more infographics at Statista For more content like this, updates on our latest arrivals plus a discount code, subscribe to our MusicGoldmine bi-weekly newsletter here.
Authenticity: 5 Tips For Autograph Buyers
When we began MusicGoldmine.com, we thought how great it would be to bring joy to our own and other people's lives by finding and selling cool music memorabilia. And of course we envisioned that a good portion of our items would be autographed by the artists we love and are inspired by. Early on though, we discovered some stark realities about what is out there in the marketplace. As we searched for genuine autographed memorabilia, we were shocked to find that some items being sold throu...
10 Highest RIAA Gold/Platinum Record Sales: $91K Anyone? + Next 20: Updated Nov. 2025
RIAA awards have proven to be great performers in auctions in recent years and continue to set records. Case in point: The highest priced sale is for a Beatles Hey Jude white matte RIAA Gold Album award, sold for $91,000 in May 2023. Notably it was owned by Julian Lennon giving it extra special provenance and meaning given he is John Lennon's son and the namesake of the album. The award came with a NFT as well. The second spot is held by a Beatles Abbey Road album RIAA white matte award, ...
New To Collecting Gold & Platinum Records?
New to collecting record awards, popularly known as "gold" or "platinum" records? Or have some knowledge and just want to know more about these fascinating pieces of music history? Learn about RIAA awards and what makes them great to add to your collection. Subscribe to our free bi-weekly newsletter and get our 55-page MusicGoldmine RIAA and Record Award Guide FREE plus a 15% off discount code here.
This Week In Music History Dec 19-Jan 1
The week in music history brought to you by MusicGoldmine.com. Just a couple of highlights from this week in music history! DEC 26: Happy birthday to Lars Ulrich of Metallica, born today in 1963! In 1981, he met James Hetfield and the two formed Metallica. They are the two sole remaining original members. Ulrich along with his bandmates was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2009. Photo courtesy: Raph_PH [https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/deed.en] DEC 31: Happy 8...
This Week In Music History Oct 24-Nov 6
The week in music history brought to you by MusicGoldmine.com. Just a couple of highlights from this week in music history! OCT 26: Happy birthday to Natalie Merchant, born today in 1963! Best known as the original lead singer of the indie-pop band 10,000 Maniacs, Merchant left in 1993 to pursue a solo career. Photo courtesy: Justin Higuchi [https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/deed.en] NOV 3: Happy Birthday to Adam Ant, born today in 1954! Stuart Leslie Goddard's first band wa...
This Week In Music History Nov 21-Dec 4
The week in music history brought to you by MusicGoldmine.com. Just a couple of highlights from this week in music history! NOV 21: Today in 1987, Tiffany was knocked out of the #1 spot by Billy Idol - why is this noteworthy? Well, Tiffany had been at #1 with the Tommy James hit "I Think We're Alone Now" and Billy took over the top spot with a Tommy James hit "Mony Mony". A great piece of trivia! NOV 30: Sad day today, Christine McVie of Fleetwood Mac has passed away at...
Awards Just In From A&R Exec Who Signed Mötley Crüe, GNR (updated)
Tom Zutaut arrived as a record label A&R (Artists & Repertoire) man in an unlikely way. Given an entry-level job at Elektra Records at the beginning of the 80s, he felt that the label's current artist roster was weak and that they needed to sign new artists. He first suggested Joan Jett. No, they said. Jett would soon hit it big in her post-Runaways life with a smash cover of The Arrows "I Love Rock 'n' Roll." After that he pegged The Human League as future hitmak...
Latest RIAA Top 10 All-Time: Zeppelin Ascends
Over the last year the best performer on the RIAA’s all-time U.S. best-selling album sales chart was Led Zeppelin IV, moving up two spots to #5 while passing the Beatles "white album" and Billy Joel’s Greatest Hits Vol I & II. Meanwhile the Beatles "white album" also made a move, pipping Joel by one spot to move up to #6. The major move up the chart made last year by AC/DC’s venerable Back In Black remains intact, however, keeping them at #4 and the Eagles still hold the...
This Week In Music History Oct 10-23
The week in music history brought to you by MusicGoldmine.com. Just a couple of highlights from this week in music history! OCT 12: Today in 1974, the group Blondie performed for the first time as Blondie at CBGB's in NYC! Originally, they were billed as Angel and the Snake before renaming themselves Blondie - supposedly derived from the catcalls of truck drivers directed at Debbie Harry of "Hey, Blondie!" OCT 15: Today in 1988, UB40 was at #1 with "Red Red Wine". The so...
This Week In Music History Sept 26-Oct 9
The week in music history brought to you by MusicGoldmine.com. Just a couple of highlights from this week in music history! OCT 7: Today in 1995, Alanis Morrissette was at the top of the U.S. album charts with one of the best-selling albums of all-time, Jagged Little Pill. The album has sold over 33 million copies worldwide and won five of the nine Grammys that it was nominated for in 1996! SEPT 28: Today, rapper Coolio passed away at the age of 59. Coolio gained prominence with the theme s...
This Week In Music History Aug 15-28
The week in music history brought to you by MusicGoldmine.com. Just a couple of highlights from this week in music history! AUG 18: Today in 1962, Ringo Starr made his debut with the Beatles at a gig in Birkenhead, England! This is the quartet that would soon become known around the world: George Harrison, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, and Ringo Starr. AUG 27: Happy birthday to Alex Lifeson of Rush, born today in 1953! Lifeson co-founded the band that would become Rush in 1968. The guitarist...
