Thy Name Is Garth: Only One Country Artist Earned an RIAA-Certified Platinum Album Released in 2016, But Two Others Earned Gold

Recording industry trade organization RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) released its final numbers for 2016, and, as you can imagine, it’s good to be Garth.

The reigning CMA Entertainer of the Year released a nine-album bundle set at Target in November, and each album has been certified platinum by RIAA for 1 million certified units, including Garth’s new studio album, Gunslinger, as well as the eight other albums that were part of the bundle: Cowboys, Midnight Fire, Old School, RPMs, The Covers, The Road, Turn It Up and Anthems.

The RIAA bases its gold (500,000 units) and platinum (1 million units) designations on album sales, song sales, on-demand audio/video song streams, physical album shipments to online and physical retailers and more.

Blake Shelton’s If I’m Honest and Joey + Rory’s Hymns That Are Important to Us are the only two other albums released in 2016 that earned RIAA gold designations for 500,000 units sold.

RIAA Platinum Country Albums of 2016

  • Gunslinger – Garth Brooks
  • Cowboys
  • Midnight Fire
  • Old School
  • RPMs
  • The Covers
  • The Road
  • Turn It Up
  • Anthems

RIAA Gold Country Albums of 2016

  • If I’m Honest – Blake Shelton
  • Hymns That Are Important to Us – Joey + Rory

Blogs

FRIDAY, JULY 25, 2025

A new “Air Bud” movie is in the works, and expected to hit theaters next summer.  It’s called “Air Bud Returns”. New in Theaters:  “The Fantastic Four: First Steps” TV This Weekend:  “Happy Gilmore 2” he world lost an ’80s icon yesterday when Hulk Hogan passed away.  But did you know that he and Dolly…

WEDNESDAY, JULY 23, 2025

75-year-old Stevie Wonder isn’t going anywhere.  He says, quote, “For as long as you breathe, for as long as your heart beats, there’s more for you to do . . . as long as you let your mind work, you don’t have to retire.” Riley Green played the York State Fair in Pennsylvania on Sunday…