| Number (%) | |
| Albums | 1000 (100.00) |
| Excluded | |
| Compilation albums | 2 (0.20) |
| Soundtracks | 9 (0.90) |
| Additional albums by artists already included* | 222 (22.20) |
| Included | 767 (76.70) |
| Individuals (from 767 albums) | 1285 (100.00) |
| Excluded | |
| Excluded genre† | 78 (6.07) |
| Not from North America or Europe | 40 (3.11) |
| Classed as a missing person | 1 (0.08) |
| Included | 1166 (90.74) |
| Missing data (from 1166 individuals) | |
| No nationality and date of birth | 36 (3.09) |
| No nationality | 2 (0.17) |
| No date of birth | 64 (5.49) |
| Included (final sample) | 1064 (91.25) |
*Where additional albums included new band members such individuals were also included in the final dataset.
†Genres: R&B (rhythm and blues), rock, electronica, new age, punk and rap were included and bluegrass, blues, vocal, celtic, country, folk, jazz and spoken word were excluded.