Year In Review: "Meteora"

Since it's release in March nearly nine months ago, Linkin Park's sophomore release "Meteora" has enjoyed many thrills. In it's first week of release the album sold over 830,000 copies to become 2003's second-highest first-week seller behind 50 Cent's "Get Rich or Die Trying". The next week, sales decreased by a miniscule 20,000 copies to 810,000 units sold, propelling "Meteora" to platinum-status within only two weeks of it's release, and keeping the album atop the Billboard Albums charts for a second-straight week. "Meteora" was later certified two-times platinum in May and three-times platinum in September. All three US-released singles from "Meteora", 'Somewhere I Belong', 'Faint' and 'Numb', went to the top of Billboard's Modern Rock singles charts, a feat which has never been accomplished in the fifteen-year history of the charts. Recently, the Recording Industry Association of America, also known as the RIAA, named "Meteora" as the third-highest selling album of 2003, in terms of platinum certifications. Accompanying them at third is Evanescence's "Fallen", as they both trail 50 Cent and Outkast for top spot. "Meteora" is averaging a sales-rate of 350,000 copies per month in the United States. Although the album has not been as critically-acclaimed and nominated for as many awards as their debut "Hybrid Theory" was, the album can still be treated as a success, and with the upcoming 2004 release of "Breaking The Habit", the album will no doubt receive more platinum certifications and award nominations in the new year. Congratulations to Linkin Park on another successful album!