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Several of 1997's top 10 sellers -- including Pieces of You -- were actually 1996 releases. Conversely, Flaming Pie crashed just weeks after its late May release. Proving that sometimes slow and steady wins the race -- or that Jewel has legs and Sir Paul doesn't.
THE TOP 10 SELLERS UNITS SOLD (1997)
1 SPICE Spice Girls 5.3 million 2 PIECES OF YOU Jewel 4.3 million 3 NO WAY OUT Puff Daddy 3.4 million 4 SEVENS Garth Brooks 3.4 million 5 MIDDLE OF NOWHERE Hanson 3.2 million 6 LIFE AFTER DEATH The Notorious B.I.G. 3.2 million 7 BRINGING DOWN THE HORSE The Wallflowers 3.1 million 8 FALLING INTO YOU Celine Dion 3.0 million 9 SPACE JAM Soundtrack 2.9 million 10 YOU LIGHT UP MY LIFE LeAnn Rimes 2.9 million
WINNERS UNITS SOLD (1997)
LET'S TALK ABOUT LOVE Celine Dion 2.8 million BLUE LeAnn Rimes 2.7 million THE DANCE Fleetwood Mac 2.3 million HIGHER GROUND Barbra Streisand 2.2 million UNCHAINED MELODY/THE EARLY YEARS LeAnn Rimes 2.0 million BADUIZM Erykah Badu 2.0 million TUBTHUMPER Chumbawamba 2.0 million SURFACING Sarah McLachlan 1.7 million THE FAT OF THE LAND Prodigy 1.7 million TIDAL Fiona Apple 1.5 million GOD'S PROPERTY 1.3 million God's Property From Kirk Franklin's Nu Nation
DISAPPOINTMENTS UNITS SOLD (1997)
POP U2 1.3 million* NINE LIVES Aerosmith 1.2 million* BRIDGES TO BABYLON The Rolling Stones 867,000 BE HERE NOW Oasis 650,000* FLAMING PIE Paul McCartney 593,000 STRAIGHT ON TILL MORNING Blues Traveler 570,000 THE BIG PICTURE Elton John 548,000 TRANSISTOR 311 505,000*
BETTER THAN EXPECTED UNITS SOLD (1997)
OK COMPUTER Radiohead 472,000 TIME OUT OF MIND Bob Dylan 445,000
LOSERS UNITS SOLD (1997)
EV3 En Vogue 487,000* ULTRA Depeche Mode 483,000* GENERATION SWINE Motley Crue 261,000 BRAND NEW Salt-N-Pepa 205,000 BLOOD ON THE DANCE FLOOR Michael Jackson 180,000* DESTINATION ANYWHERE Jon Bon Jovi 168,000* FOREVER Bobby Brown 53,000* SOURCE: SOUNDSCAN; (*) DENOTES SALES FIGURES THROUGH DEC. 24, 1997
