What are the best-selling albums of all time? According to the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), Michael Jackson’s Thriller is back at number one with 33 million copies sold in the US alone. Here’s the rest.
(Note: these are US-based numbers. The RIAA counts an ‘album sale’ as either a direct album purchase, or the ‘album equivalent’ of 10 downloaded singles from the same album, or 1,500 streams from the same album.)
1. Michael Jackson, Thriller
(33 million certified units).
2. Eagles, Their Greatest Hits 1971-1975
(29 million).
3. Billy Joel, Greatest Hits Volume I & Volume II
(23 million)
4. Led Zeppelin, Led Zeppelin IV
(23 million)
5. Pink Floyd, The Wall
(23 million)
6. AC/DC, Back In Black
(22 million)
7. Garth Brooks, Double Live
(21 million)
8. Fleetwood Mac, Rumours
(20 million)
9. Shania Twain, Come On Over
(20 million)
10. The Beatles, The Beatles
(19 million)
11. Guns N’ Roses, Appetite for Destruction
(18 million)
12. Boston, Boston
(17 million).
13. Elton John, Greatest Hits
(17 million).
14. Garth Brooks, No Fences
(17 million)
15. The Beatles, The Beatles 1967-1970
(17 million)
16. Whitney Houston, The Bodyguard (Soundtrack)
(17 million)
17. Alanis Morissette, Jagged Little Pill
(16 million)
18. Eagles, Hotel California
(16 million)
19. Hootie & The Blowfish, Cracked Rear View
(16 million)
20. Led Zeppelin, Physical Graffiti
(16 million)
21. Metallica, Metallica
(16 million)
22. Bee Gees, Saturday Night Fever (Soundtrack)
(15 million)
23. Bob Marley & the Wailers, Legend
(15 million)
24. Bruce Springsteen, Born In the U.S.A.
(15 million)
25. Journey, Greatest Hits
(15 million)
26. Pink Floyd, Dark Side of the Moon
(15 million)
27. Santana, Supernatural
(15 million)
28. The Beatles, The Beatles 1962-1966
(15 million)
29. Adele, 21
(14 million)
30. Backstreet Boys, Backstreet Boys
(14 million)
31. Britney Spears, …Baby One More Time
(14 million)
32. Garth Brooks, Ropin’ the Wind
(14 million)
33. Meat Loaf, Bat Out of Hell
(14 million)
34. Simon & Garfunkel, Simon & Garfunkel’s Greatest Hits
(14 million)
35. Backstreet Boys, Millennium
(13 million)
36. Bruce Springsteen, Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band Live 1975-’85
(13 million)
37. Pearl Jam, Ten
(13 million)
38. Prince & the Revolution, Purple Rain (Soundtrack)
(13 million)
39. Steve Miller Band, Greatest Hits 1974-1978
(13 million)
40. Whitney Houston, Whitney Houston
(13 million)
41. Bon Jovi, Slippery When Wet 
(12 million)
42. Boyz II Men, II
(12 million)
43. Def Leppard, Hysteria
(12 million)
44. Dixie Chicks, Wide Open Spaces
(12 million)
45. Jewel, Pieces of You
(12 million)
46. Kenny G, Breathless
(12 million)
47. Kenny Rogers, Kenny Rogers’ Greatest Hits
(12 million)
48. Led Zeppelin, Led Zeppelin II
(12 million)
49. Matchbox Twenty, Yourself or Someone Like You
(12 million)
50. Phil Collins, No Jacket Required
(12 million)
51. Shania Twain, The Woman In Me 
(12 million)
52. Forest Gump (Soundtrack)
(12 million)
53. The Beatles, Abbey Road
(12 million)
54. The Rolling Stones, Hot Rocks
(12 million)
55. Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, Greatest Hits
(12 million)
56. ‘N Sync, No Strings Attached
(11 million)
57. Aerosmith, Aerosmith’s Greatest Hits
(11 million)
58. Celine Dion, Falling Into You
(11 million)
59. Creed, Human Clay
(11 million)
60. Eagles, Eagles Greatest Hits Volume II
(11 million)
61. James Taylor, James Taylor’s Greatest Hits 
(11 million)
62. Kid Rock, Devil Without a Cause
(11 million)
63. Led Zeppelin, Houses of the Holy
(11 million)
64. Outkast, Speakerboxxx/The Love Below
(11 million)
65. Shania Twain, Up!
(11 million)
66. Dirty Dancing (Soundtrack)
(11 million)
67. Titanic (Soundtrack)
(11 million)
68. The Beatles, 1
(11 milllion)
69. The Beatles, Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band
(11 million)
70. TLC, Crazysexycool
(11 million)
71. ‘N Sync, ‘N Sync 
(10 million)
72. 2 Pac, Greatest Hits
(10 million)
73. 2 Pac, All Eyez on Me
(10 million)
74. Adele, 25
(10 million)
75. Beastie Boys, Licensed to Ill
(10 million)
76. Billy Joel, The Stranger
(10 million)
77. Britney Spears, Oops!…I Did It Again
(10 million)
78. Carole King, Tapestry
(10 million)
79. Celine Dion, Let’s Talk About Love
(10 million)
80. Creedance Clearwater Revival, Chronicle: 20 Greatest Hits
(10 million)
81. Def Leppard, Pyromania 
(10 million)
82. Dixie Chicks, Fly
(10 million)
83. Doobie Brothers, Best of the Doobies
(10 million)
84. Elvis Presley, Elvis’ Christmas Album
(10 million)
85. Eminem, The Marshall Mathers EP
(10 million)
86. Eminem, The Eminem Show
(10 million)
87. Eric Clapton, Unplugged
(10 million)
88. Garth Brooks, The Ultimate Hits
(10 million)
89. Garth Brooks, Garth Brooks
(10 million)
90. Garth Brooks, The Hits
(10 million)
91. Garth Brooks, Sevens 
(10 million)
92. George Michael, Faith
(10 million)
93. Green Day, Dookie
(10 million)
94. Hammer, Please Hammer Don’t Hurt ‘Em
(10 million)
95. Led Zeppelin, Led Zeppelin
(10 million)
96. Linkin Park, Hybrid Theory
(10 million)
97. Lionel Richie, Can’t Slow Down
(10 million)
98. Madonna, The Immaculate Collection
(10 million)
99. Madonna, Like a Virgin
(10 million)
100. Mariah Carey, Daydream
(10 million)
Can someone answer a question for me?
Why do so many artists occupy adjacent spots on the list?
68 The Beatles
69 The Beatles
72 2 Pac
73 2 Pac
85 Eminem
86 Eminem
88 Garth Brooks
89 Garth Brooks
90 Garth Brooks
91 Garth Brooks
98 Madonna
99 Madonna
artists at 10 million are listed alphabetically
Yeah… I should have figured that.
For those who are interested in who has multiple albums in the Top 100 Best Selling Albums of All Time, Garth Brooks has 7, The Beatles have 6, Led Zeppelin has 5, The Eagles have 3 and Shania Twain has 3. (Fascinating that two of those five are country and another is country-ish.)
Here’s the complete list of artists with multiple albums on the list:
Garth Brooks #7 Double Live 21 million
Garth Brooks #14 No Fences 17 million
Garth Brooks #32 Ropin’ the Wind 14 million
Garth Brooks #88 The Ultimate Hits 10 million
Garth Brooks #89 Garth Brooks 10 million
Garth Brooks #90 The Hits 10 million
Garth Brooks #91 Sevens 10 million
The Beatles #10 The Beatles (White Album) 19 million
The Beatles #15 The Beatles 1967-1970 17 million
The Beatles #28 The Beatles 1962-1966 15 million
The Beatles #53 Abbey Road 12 million
The Beatles #68 1 11 million
The Beatles #69 Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band 11 million
Led Zeppelin #4 Led Zeppelin IV 23 million
Led Zeppelin #20 Physical Graffiti 16 million
Led Zeppelin #48 Led Zeppelin II 12 million
Led Zeppelin #63 Houses of the Holy 11 million
Led Zeppelin #95 Led Zeppelin 10 million
Eagles #2 Their Greatest Hits 1971-1975 29 million
Eagles #18 Hotel California 16 million
Eagles #60 Eagles Greatest Hits Volume II 11 million
Shania Twain #9 Come On Over 20 million
Shania Twain #51 The Woman In Me 12 million
Shania Twain #65 Up! 11 million
‘N Sync #56 No Strings Attached 11 million
‘N Sync #71 ‘N Sync 10 million
2 Pac #72 Greatest Hits 10 million
2 Pac #73 All Eyez on Me 10 million
Adele #29 21 14 million
Adele #74 25 10 million
Backstreet Boys #30 Backstreet Boys 14 million
Backstreet Boys #35 Millennium 13 million
Billy Joel #3 Greatest Hits Volume I & Volume II 23 million
Billy Joel #76 The Stranger 10 million
Britney Spears #31 …Baby One More Time 14 million
Britney Spears #77 Oops!…I Did It Again 10 million
Bruce Springsteen #24 Born In the U.S.A. 15 million
Bruce Springsteen #36 Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band Live 1975-’85 13 million
Celine Dion #58 Falling Into You 11 million
Celine Dion #79 Let’s Talk About Love 10 million
Def Leppard #43 Hysteria 12 million
Def Leppard #81 Pyromania 10 million
Dixie Chicks #44 Wide Open Spaces 12 million
Dixie Chicks #82 Fly 10 million
Eminem #85 The Marshall Mathers EP 10 million
Eminem #86 The Eminem Show 10 million
Madonna #98 The Immaculate Collection 10 million
Madonna #99 Like a Virgin 10 million
Pink Floyd #5 The Wall 23 million
Pink Floyd #26 Dark Side of the Moon 15 million
Whitney Houston #16 The Bodyguard (Soundtrack) 17 million
Whitney Houston #40 Whitney Houston 13 million
Whitney Houston’s the bodyguard Soundtrack was re certified on November 17th 2017 to 18 x platinum and Saturday Night Fever Soundtrack was also re certified to 16 x platinum on November 16th 2017 and some of those others need updating Journey Greatest Hits should be at minimum 17 x platinum Madonna’s Immaculate collection should be at least 11 x platinum Adele’s 21 should be 15 x platinum Eagles Greatest Hits 1971-1975 should be 30 x platinum and I’d guess Thriller is close to 34 x platinum also Metallica’s Metallica was re certified in December 17 x platinum though the RIAA haven’t officially announced the updated Metallica certifications yet as their album And Justice For All… was also certified 9 x platinum
Right. There isn’t more fine-tuned data, so 10.4 million is the same as 10.1 mm. The numbers can get a little fuzzy beyond that.
you also can mention that in most cases, those numbers are severely out of date.
They haven’t done a certification on many of those albums in over a decade.
As for Garth…I imagine it is the same (more or less) 10 million buying the album. Not to say he only has 10 million fans, but it is kind of like how the boy bands and Brittney Spears’ entries are in similar places. The same 11 million teens bought both N’sync albums. Also, notice the double live album by Garth…21 million, but 1/2 of that is 10.5 million (1 sale counts as 2 I think when you have a double CD) so, many of garths albums have similar sales could mean the same people are buying them.
Your argument is odd, as this could be said about any artist on the list. (And I think you’re wrong.) As of a decade or so ago, Brooks had sold 160 million albums worldwide and si the best selling solo artist in U.S. history. (that’s forsakes in the USA.)
??? Different records!!
These online ‘best album’s lists have TV singing show contest ‘artists’ and (c)rappers ranked higher than masterpieces like Steely Dan Aja, Ian Dury & The Blockheads, Icehouse (1981), etc etc. Yes, Dark Side of The Moon should probably be seen as ‘THE BAR’ as to what all else fall under, but obscure art from Lucinda Williams to Eric Johnson in terms of ENTIRE ALBUM of GREAT MUSIC should never be listed with crud like Garth Brooks and sorry, but rap isn’t for extensive listening unless you dropped out or enjoy streetcorner cardboard sign status (relevant to corresponding ‘taste’ on the objective merits…try comparing ANY rap to Motown. Motown will always be enjoyed as delicious appetizer and dessert to greats like Pink Floyd, Rush, SRC, etc etc). Sad that Justine Beavers and so much rap junk TV contest stuff has made it all a music agent marketing game instead of the music speaking for itself. Because so little of today’s music is with passion. Just formula and paychecks. Very weak since ‘Reality TV’ and this era of Drumpf spin dumbing us all down into counting yellow pee as ‘great lemonade, bigly!’
The Dark Side of the Moon has actually sold around 21 million copies in the U.S.
The 15x Platinum award is very outdated.
It’s an easy question, because they sold that many copies.
wow – nothing by The Who, U2 or Queen… crazy
Van Halen
Yes, that is surprising and disappointing.
And AIR SUPPLY
What about Nirvana Nevermind ?!
Nirvana nevermind has sold 30 million worldwide
This is great, thanks. But how about some worldwide figures?? Doesn’t the rest of the world count?
jn
hh
Here you go: http://chartmasters.org/2017/10/cspc-data-collector/6/
This list doesn’t include compilations is still a work in progress and is missing many huge albums:
• Shania Twain – Come on Over (37+ million)
• AC/DC – Back in Black (35+ million)
• Meat Loaf – Bat Out of Hell (30+ million)
• Alanis Morissette – Jagged Little Pill (30+ million)
• Metallica – Metallica (30+ million)
• Simon & Garfunkel – Simon & Garfunkel’s Greatest Hits (30+ million)
• James Horner – Titanic (28+ million)
• Dire Straits – Brothers in Arms (28+ million)
• Elton John – Elton John’s Greatest Hits (22+ million)
• Eric Clapton – Unplugged (20+ million)
• Elvis Presley – Elvis’ Christmas Album (16+ million)
This is another, outdated list made by the the same guy:
http://fanofmusic.free.fr/index.php?m=Charts&s=BestSellers&p=BestSellersWorldAlbums
#52. . . that’s “Forrest Gump”.
I just wonder why Peter Framptons, “Frampton Comes Alive” is not on the list with over 11 million copies sold…
This is a bullshit list that was obviously not looked into much. Blink 182’s “Enema of the State” sold over 15 million copies. Several other mistakes.
Faltan BREAKFAST IN AMERICA de SUPERTRAMP y GREASE
Grease ha vendido 16,5 millones en EE.UU. y 38,1 millones a nivel mundial. (http://chartmasters.org/2016/08/cspc-grease-popularity-analysis/2/)
Lamentablemente el álbum no tiene certificaciones actualizadas (en lo que se basa esta lista) en casi ningún mercado de música importante.
Sus ventas de 16,5 millones de copias en EE.UU. lo sitúan en el puesto 13, por debajo de The Bodyguard.
Sucede que Double Live, Greatest Hits I & II, The Wall, 1967-1970 y ‘The Beatles’ de The Beatles son álbumes dobles cuyas ventas reales son la mitad de lo detallado en esta lista. Por otra parte, The Dark Side of the Moon ha vendido más de 21 millones sólo en EE.UU. (http://chartmasters.org/2017/06/cspc-pink-floyd-popularity-analysis/11/) mientras que las ventas estadounidenses de ‘Elvis’ Christmas Album’ superan los 16 millones (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elvis%27_Christmas_Album#Certifications_and_sales)
Breakfast in America fue de lejos el álbum más exitoso de Supertramp, pero sólo en Francia se encuentra entre los más vendidos de la historia, dónde también sólo ha vendido 1,24 millones y no los 3,20 millones que alega Infodisc.fr (http://chartmasters.org/2016/03/france-best-selling-albums-ever-breakfast-in-america-by-supertramp-1979/)
Linkin Park Hybrid and Meteora?
where is Nelly?
What about Moody Blues, Cat Stevens, ZZ Top and Allman Brothers just to name a few. I have so many albums I can’t see straight. What do I do with them????
Mike Oldfield – Tubular Bells 15mil copies sold. Where is it?
This list is wrong. Carole King’s “Tapestry” sold 25 million albums and is not on this list. Others have also pointed out other artists who should be listed that weren’t.
Bad job Digital Music. Redo this list.
Carole King, Tapestry, is number 78 on the list.
These must be album sales only in the U.S. bc if we are talking international sales the King of Pop Michael Jackson would have at least 4 entries. Thriller of course, Bad, Dangerous and HIStory. Look up the numbers if you disagree.
This list is a joke. If “Billy Jean” was downloaded 10 times it’s counted as an album sale.
The Police?
Why don’t we see Bing Crosby and his “White Christmas” in any list?
this list has been written by someone who was under the effect of heavy drugs. how could you ever write such bullshit? it’s all false. and what I state can be easily proven
why this boycott against MARIAH CAREY???? Music Box and Daydream are at the top 50