How can something be a higher position than something else in one chart but lower in another?

Look at this weeks dance charts - Anthems Of Trance is at #3 and Clubmix 2004 is at #5. So AoT must have sold more than Clubmix, right?
So how come in the compilation chatrs Clubmix is at #1 and Anthems of Trance is at #6?!?!
Which is correct? Compare all the charts and you'll see other differences too.

It'll depend on which stores they're surveying. For example, the dance chart could possibly be made up just from sales at specialist dance shops, which the main compilation chart taking into account Woolworths, HMV etc.

I didn't think it was done via survey stores anymore, still I might be wrong.

Whichever, it does highlight the ludicrous way the charts are compiled in this country.

Some of the specialist "genre" charts are compiled from specialist shops, as someone mentioned, so that can create inconsistencies.

Also, The Official Charts Company can compile a chart on a "non-standard" day, for whoever publishes it. This is what happens with the Official Classic FM (classical) chart. It seems to be done on sales upto Thursday evening, for their Saturday morning chart show. So last week, Duel went in at number one in the Music Week Classical Artist chart - but did not appear in at all in the top 50 Classic FM Chart that was published only one day earlier!

Not to mention other discrepancies with compilations, film sound tracks etc. LOTR Return of the King was included in the Music Week Official "pop" Artist chart but was excluded from the Music Week Official Classical Artist Chart. How crazy is THAT?

With the offical top 40, it is secret which stores they use?

It used to be a secret when they only had a few. But now, they use over 5,000 retailers (all the big ones - online too). The chances are that the store you use is included (which is good!).

That's just stupid though, as many, or more, people must by the lastest Ferry Corsten album or whatever from HMV/Virgin/WHS etc as from dance music stores - so you get a dance music chart for only half the sales.
FFS, it's nearly as bad as BARB's dodgy ratings system.
Not that I'm that bothered anyway as most of the albums I buy aren't counted anyway as they come from offshore sources.