!!!!!!!!!!!!!!WORLDWIDE ESTIMATIONS for 2006/2007/2008 albums !!!!!!!!!!!!
the worldwide estimations for albums released in 2006, 2007 and 2008 are updated until the week of 29/01/2010. After that week they will updated no more, so they will remains the same (but obviously albums continue to sell). Only these 2008 albums will be estimate: Beyoncé - I Am... Sasha Fierce Kings Of Leon - Only By The Night Lady Antebellum - Lady Antebellum Lady Gaga -The Fame (Monster) Michael - Jackson King Of Pop Michael -Jackson Thriller (25th Anniversary Reissue) Pink - Funhouse Taylor Swift - Fearless Sorry but i've less time now. I will try to continue with newest albums (2009 and 2010 releases)

General Methods
For albums in www.mediatraffic.de Top 40 (So also for first week and highest week data) use their selling data (Thanks!!!). When an album go out from Mediatraffic chart i try to estimate data looking all the charts in the world with the help of some sales data like Soundscan for USA, Musicweek for UK or Oricon for Japan, ChartsInFrance for France ond other sources from forums like UKMix. If the positions around the world remains +- the same i use a quickly method: for example if in the previous week, an album selling for 50% in USA, and this week Soundscan data say 5.000, i estimate the worldwide data in 10.000. For other countries i use the charts and i look if and how much the position increase or decrease. For Xmas time increase all data.For have a comparison sometimes i use http://fanofmusic.free.fr/Site.htm expecialy for French Data.

Pre-2006 albums
In the lists there are only albums released from the first week charting considered 2006 ( January 14 on Mediatraffic), So there aren't albums released before that data like James Blunt album that is the album that have sell more copies DURING 2006.

The first and the second data
the first data should indicate a "minimun", the second (at the right) a "maximum" (made adding 4% at the first data, with a max of 300k between the two numbers).
UPDATE 06/09/08: Mediatraffic said to me that since last year they already count (with a bonus-sales method) in their weekly chart the sales of unknown markets like russia, china, india. But i can't delete all the second data from the database. From next week the first data and the second data of new entries will be equal and for the other albums the difference between first data and second data will remain the same of this date (06/09/08).

Japanese Acts
In the list there aren't Japanese acts,sorry.

When we must correct some data
Sometimes labels release some sales data, when we see, it we compare that data with estimations, usually the two data is really similar, but sometimes the difference is too big. If you have an article released by label with a data really different from my estimations please contact me.

Digital Sales??
As in almost all the charts over the worlds, In the estimations are already considered the sales from digital supports (legal downloads).Obviously is impossible to know illegal downloads data.

!REMEMBER!:
- Are only ESTIMATIONS not "real" data, is impossible to have the real sales data, so there might be some mistakes.The data want to give a "general" view of the worldwide sales.
- Is better consider them as POINTS not real sales data - Double albums are counted as single albums : a double album with a sales data of 1.000.000 simply means that the whole album sold 1.000.000 copies (1.000.000 of cd 1 and 1.000.000 of cd 2).
- None of the data are "definitive", all data could be modified.