current RIAA criteria 500,000 units: Gold album 1,000,000 units: Platinum album 2,000,000 or more units: Multi-Platinum album 10,000,000 units: Diamond album
According to Wikipedia, gold record certification varies by country. In the United States, an record must sell 500,000 copies to be certified gold.
It varies by country but in the United States...
To win a gold disc, an album needs to sell 100,000 copies in Britain, and 500,000 in the United States. (taken from http://www.didyouknow.cd/fastfacts/music.htm)