by Michael Frissore

Created on: July 08, 2008

With the advent of MP3 technology, compact discs, when purchased at all, are now being used merely as coasters on the coffee tables of hipsters everywhere. So it is highly unlikely that future artists will ever join the elite in terms of record sales. But who could ever touch the five legendary acts that have sold more than 500 million albums? The five acts in question would be of no surprise to anyone. You could probably name them: The Beatles, only the greatest band in the history of the planet; Elvis Presley, indeed, there are some who call him "The King of Rock and Roll"; Frank Sinatra, who had a few hits in his day; Bing Crosby, who, uhwell, I liked him in those "Road" pictures with Bob Hope; and Michael Jackson, who is, of course, "The King of Pop," and nothing has ever tarnished his legacy. Nothing.

If you've ever glanced at a list of those who have sold between 200 and 500 records, however, that's when the surprises and unrecognizing begin. There are the expected bands and artists, like Elton John, Madonna, Led Zeppelin, and the Rolling Stones, and even some not-so-expected, such as Cher, Celine Dion, ABBA, and AC/DC.

Then you have Cliff Richard, Julio Ingelias and T. Rex, and you have to go down to the 100-200 million sellers to say, "They sold more albums than Billy Joel and Perry Como? How is this even possible?" But it's true. Sir Cliff Richard, who I only know from the British television series "The Young Ones," is practically Elvis in the U.K. Spain's Ingelias is more than just the father of Enrique and the guy who did that duet with Willie Nelson back in the 80s. He is the Spanish Whitney Houston. Or Cher or Madonna, since those are the only three U.S. artists to sell this many records. But who cares, really? We have four of the top five.

And then T. Rex? Maybe you did, but I, for one, had no idea they had sold more records than The Who, The Eagles, and KC and the Sunshine Band. I was singing "Bang a Gong" for someone just the other day, and they had never even heard of it. But these guys are somehow right alongside Zeppelin and the Stones.

Anyway, then the list gets really crazy, especially if you're an American/British-centric individual when it comes to music:

A.R. Rahman

Ever heard of him? Not me. I thought maybe he wrote the Harry Potter series, but this guy is a huge Indian movie soundtrack composer. No less an authority than Time Magazine listed his debut soundtrack, "Roja," as the planet's 10th greatest soundtrack ever. Better than the "Legally

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