Amazon says 2011’s has been a record-breaking holiday season for businesses that sell on Amazon.

Third-party sellers experienced record holiday growth, the company says, with the number of sellers who exceeded $5,000 in sales during the holiday season increasing 44% year-over-year.

That’s pretty significant considering the small business-related controversy Amazon has been the subject of in recent months due to the Internet tax and its Price Check mobile app.

For the year, businesses on Amazon sold hundreds of millions of units worth billions of dollars worldwide, Amazon says.

The company points to Scharf Industries, as a leading example. This is an office supply/electronics vendor, which increased its sales on Amazon by over 500% during the holiday season compared to last year.

“We greatly value the cooperation that we have developed with Amazon,” said Andrew D. Scharf, CMO of Scharf Industries. “They have provided us with the tools necessary to grow our business in a rapid and efficient manner.”

Again, it’s worth noting that this is the example that Amazon chose to share in its announcement. I’m sure not all businesses selling on Amazon are so happy with their results, but you can’t ignore that 44% increase.

Amazon says its third-party sellers sold enough cameras for every fan at the next 10 Super Bowls, ,enough toys in 2011 to give a toy to every resident of Chicago, and as many Lalaloopsy Dolls alone as there are lights on the Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree in New York City.

Of course Amazon has been selling its own stuff pretty well too.

Here’s a look at Amazon’s top selling products across numerous categories.