I guess what I've been saying is that there is no way to fairly compare eras because they weren't properly tested similarly to gauge Mariah's true "star power" given that there were severe restrictions/limitations imposed on her from 93-96 and practically no restrictions post-Sony. It's like stating how powerful a certain drug is in general due to its having been tested recently for a wide range of conditions but it wasn't really that potent before because it wasn't effective for as many conditions simply because it wasn't tested for those conditions. We also do not know how much her subsequent albums/eras during the Sony but post-Tommy years could have performed with the full backing she received prior to that. Bottomline is we do not really know her true "star power" during the Sony years and cannot compare fairly.