Hey, I’m Lita Love, and here are some of the latest Sludge Scans, or as they say in the business, Sound Scans.  Sound Scan only started in 1991, so some of these releases are only counting sales from 1991 till today.  
The bands listed below are some of the requests we’ve gotten.  Now for once, you can see what bands are selling and which bands are bombing!
SLUDGE SCAN NOTES – Read This Stuff First!
Some of you might see some numbers and say, "But so and so went Gold and you don’t have them listed as such."  Well certifications (such as Gold and Platinum) are based on shipments to retail accounts from the label, not actual over the counter sales.  The figures I get come from Soundscan, which is the recognized source for ACTUAL sales to consumers. 
Many of the stores that report to Soundscan are weighted in order to make up for those that don’t have Soundscan.  For example, let’s assume Tower Records Las Vegas is weighted 9 times.  That means that if some knucklehead walks in and buys 1 copy of Slaughter’s "Back To Reality", it counts for 9 albums sold in Soundscan.  I believe this more than makes up for the mom and pop stores that don’t report.  The system is not perfect, but it’s the recognized industry source for actual sales.  After all, this is what the Billboard charts are based on.
There is no website or magazine I’m getting this info from.  You can only get it if you have access to the Sludge Scan computer.  Basically, you have to be in the business.  And as far as I know, Metal Sludge is the only website spitting out Sound Scan numbers.  Worship us!
These figures are for the U.S. only.  
Send all requests or questions to SludgeScan@metal-sludge.com
Please be reasonable when asking for a request.  If you want a band’s album looked up, give me the title.  Don’t just say, "Hey, I want you to do some Metallica."  If you are too lazy to give me the title, I’m too lazy to look if up for you.  So give me the titles.  
SYMBOLS
* Means total is only counting since Soundscan went into affect in the middle / late part of 1991.