Scoring Big
Since 1994, the Recording Industry Assn. of America has awarded 14 gold and platinum albums to bands from the Orange County alterna-rock scene, certifying U.S. wholesale tallies of more than 500,000 for gold, and 1 million for platinum.
Multiple Platinum
* No Doubt, “Tragic Kingdom” (8 million)
* The Offspring, “Smash” (5 million)
* Sublime, “Sublime” (3 million)
* Sugar Ray, “Floored” (2 million)
Platinum
* Korn, “Korn”
* Korn, “Life Is Peachy”
* Korn, “Follow the Leader”
* The Offspring, “Ixnay on the Hombre,” “Americana”
* Sublime, “40oz. to Freedom”
Gold
* The Offspring, “Ignition”
* Reel Big Fish, “Turn the Radio Off”
* Social Distortion, “Social Distortion”
* Sublime, “Second-Hand Smoke”
SoundScan Figures
Nine Orange County alterna-rock bands have topped the 250,000 mark in U.S. retail album sales, as tallied by the Soundscan monitoring service.
Korn
“Korn” 1.3 million
“Life Is Peachy” 1.1 million
“Follow the Leader” 1.1 million
Total: 3.5 million
*
No Doubt
“No Doubt” 227,000
“Beacon Street Collection” 33,000
“Tragic Kingdom” 7.3 million
Total: 7.6 million
*
O.C. Supertones
“Supertones Strike Back” 255,236
Total: 255,236 ().25 million)
*
The Offspring
“The Offspring” 136,000
“Ignition” 462,000
“Smash” 5.2 million
“Ixnay on the Hombre” 996,000
“Americana” 957,000
Total: 7.7 million
*
Reel Big Fish
“Turn the Radio Off” 612,000
“Why Do They Rock So Hard?” 66,000
Total: 678,000
*
Save Ferris
“It Means Everything” 290,000
Total: 290,000
*
Social Distortion
“Mainliner” 43,000
“Mommy’s Little Monster” 60,000
“Prison Bound” 74,000
“Social Distortion” 322,000 (plus an estimated 200,000 sold pre-1991)
“Somewhere Between Heaven and Hell” 354,000
“White Light, White Heat, White Trash” 277,000
“Live at the Roxy” 79,000
Total: 1.4 million
*
Sublime
“40oz. to Freedom” 1.1 million
“Robbin’ the Hood” 336,000
“Sublime” 3.3 million
“Second-Hand Smoke” 644,000
“Sublime Acoustic: Bradley Nowell and Friends” 39,000
Total: 5.4 million
*
Sugar Ray
“Lemonade and Brownies” 69,000
“Floored” 1.7 million
Total: 1.8 million
Total: 28.4 million albums sold in the U.S. during the ‘90s by the eight top-selling O.C. alterna-rock bands (29 releases total).
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