Artists Ranking – Raw sales – All Albums
Please notice that music videos, EPs and singles are not considered here. Records included are studio albums, compilations, live albums and box sets. The figures given here are units sold.
Please keep in mind that some artists are missing, because their analysis has not been done yet. The complete list is available here. All figures reflect the value as collected at the time of the artist’s respective articles.
1. The Beatles – 333,145,000 (as of Mar 2017)
2. Elvis Presley – 244,475,000 (as of Sep 2018)
3. Michael Jackson – 235,440,000 (as of Sep 2017)
4. Pink Floyd – 203,010,000 (as of Jun 2017)
5. Madonna – 201,900,000 (as of Aug 2017)
6. The Rolling Stones – 201,100,000 (as of Dec 2016)
7. Queen – 192,564,000 (as of Jan 2020)
8. Led Zeppelin – 182,500,000 (as of Aug 2016)
9. Céline Dion – 171,625,000 (as of Sep 2016)
10. AC/DC – 169,670,000 (as of Feb 2018)
11. U2 – 169,000,000 (as of Aug 2016)
12. Elton John – 167,640,000 (as of Feb 2018)
13. Eagles – 153,885,000 (as of Dec 2017)
14. Rod Stewart – 153,339,000 (as of Nov 2019)
15. Mariah Carey – 144,375,000 (as of Apr 2017)
16. Barbra Streisand – 138,610,000 (as of Mar 2018)
17. Bruce Springsteen – 138,400,000 (as of Jul 2017)
18. Metallica – 133,775,000 (as of Feb 2019)
19. ABBA – 130,250,000 (as of Nov 2016)
20. Fleetwood Mac – 129,650,000 (as of Oct 2016)
21. Billy Joel – 129,075,000 (as of Oct 2016)
22. Whitney Houston – 128,600,000 (as of May 2017)
23. Bob Dylan – 128,375,000 (as of Oct 2016)
24. Santana – 128,086,000 (as of Aug 2020)
25. Phil Collins – 127,350,000 (as of Apr 2018)
26. Bee Gees – 125,795,000 (as of Apr 2017)
27. Eminem – 124,695,000 (as of Jul 2019)
28. Garth Brooks – 120,190,000 (as of Jan 2019)
29. Bob Marley – 120,150,000 (as of Nov 2017)
30. Aerosmith – 116,080,000 (as of Jun 2018)
31. Bon Jovi – 115,650,000 (as of Nov 2016)
32. Prince – 106,840,000 (as of Oct 2018)
33. Simon & Garfunkel – 106,565,000 (as of May 2018)
34. David Bowie – 103,910,000 (as of Jan 2017)
35. Guns N’ Roses – 102,770,000 (as of Mar 2018)
36. The Doors – 100,941,000 (as of Mar 2019)
37. Dire Straits – 100,350,000 (as of Mar 2018)
38. Stevie Wonder – 92,138,000 (as of Mar 2021)
39. Van Halen – 92,006,000 (as of Dec 2020)
40. Paul McCartney – 86,510,000 (as of Dec 2018)
41. George Michael & Wham! – 83,200,000 (as of May 2017)
42. Enya – 82,500,000 (as of Feb 2018)
43. Backstreet Boys – 79,850,000 (as of Feb 2017)
44. Nirvana – 79,800,000 (as of Jul 2017)
45. The Police – 77,460,000 (as of Jun 2020)
46. Red Hot Chili Peppers – 76,435,000 (as of Mar 2018)
47. Britney Spears – 76,425,000 (as of Apr 2019)
48. Creedence Clearwater Revival – 76,420,000 (as of Jan 2019)
49. Shania Twain – 71,750,000 (as of Dec 2016)
50. Sting – 71,682,000 (as of Jun 2020)
51. Bryan Adams – 71,510,000 (as of Mar 2019)
52. Green Day – 70,295,000 (as of Mar 2017)
53. Journey – 69,267,000 (as of Sep 2019)
54. Sade – 67,815,000 (as of Jul 2020)
55. Supertramp – 66,040,000 (as of Aug 2019)
56. Coldplay – 63,590,000 (as of Nov 2019)
57. Robbie Williams – 62,448,000 (as of Dec 2019)
58. Linkin Park – 62,100,000 (as of Jun 2017)
59. Black Sabbath – 61,252,000 (as of Mar 2020)
60. John Lennon – 60,800,000 (as of Oct 2018)
61. Janet Jackson – 59,650,000 (as of Apr 2017)
62. Adele – 59,110,000 (as of Mar 2018)
63. Meat Loaf – 58,350,000 (as of Jun 2018)
64. Ozzy Osbourne – 56,902,000 (as of Mar 2020)
65. Johnny Hallyday – 55,740,000 (as of Jan 2018)
66. Alanis Morissette – 53,380,000 (as of Jun 2018)
67. Cher – 53,350,000 (as of Aug 2017)
68. Michael Bublé – 52,995,000 (as of Dec 2016)
69. Taylor Swift – 49,220,000 (as of Oct 2020)
70. Oasis – 48,720,000 (as of Dec 2017)
71. Tracy Chapman – 47,230,000 (as of Jun 2019)
72. Boston – 45,760,000 (as of Jun 2019)
73. Norah Jones – 45,280,000 (as of Nov 2016)
74. Paul Simon – 44,880,000 (as of May 2018)
75. P!nk – 42,100,000 (as of Oct 2017)
76. Mannheim Steamroller – 41,735,000 (as of Dec 2020)
77. Nickelback – 41,300,000 (as of Jun 2017)
78. The Cranberries – 41,050,000 (as of Jan 2018)
79. Shakira – 39,420,000 (as of Jun 2018)
80. Enrique Iglesias – 39,200,000 (as of Sep 2016)
81. Jackson 5 & The Jacksons – 39,100,000 (as of Sep 2017)
82. NSYNC – 38,690,000 (as of Feb 2018)
83. Spice Girls – 38,400,000 (as of Mar 2017)
84. Destiny’s Child – 38,350,000 (as of Aug 2018)
85. Ayumi Hamasaki – 37,800,000 (as of Sep 2019)
86. Usher – 37,160,000 (as of Sep 2017)
87. Lady Gaga – 36,000,000 (as of Dec 2020)
88. Alicia Keys – 35,060,000 (as of Nov 2016)
89. TLC – 33,850,000 (as of Apr 2019)
90. Beyoncé – 33,700,000 (as of May 2018)
91. Christina Aguilera – 33,525,000 (as of Mar 2017)
92. Black Eyed Peas – 33,450,000 (as of Aug 2017)
93. Avril Lavigne – 33,140,000 (as of Feb 2018)
94. Rihanna – 33,100,000 (as of Nov 2017)
95. Foo Fighters – 31,700,000 (as of Oct 2017)
96. No Doubt – 31,546,000 (as of Mar 2020)
97. Take That – 30,590,000 (as of Dec 2019)
98. Jennifer Lopez – 29,800,000 (as of Jun 2018)
99. BTS – 27,990,000 (as of Sep 2020)
100. Maroon 5 – 27,975,000 (as of Dec 2019)
101. Dido – 27,050,000 (as of Feb 2019)
102. Miley Cyrus – 25,375,000 (as of Dec 2020)
103. Kylie Minogue – 25,330,000 (as of Apr 2018)
104. Evanescence – 25,155,000 (as of Jun 2019)
105. Amy Winehouse – 24,570,000 (as of Jul 2019)
106. One Direction – 24,050,000 (as of May 2017)
107. Justin Bieber – 24,030,000 (as of Nov 2020)
108. Justin Timberlake – 23,370,000 (as of Feb 2018)
109. Kelly Clarkson – 22,920,000 (as of May 2018)
110. Björk – 22,765,000 (as of Dec 2018)
111. James Blunt – 21,396,000 (as of Feb 2019)
112. Ed Sheeran – 21,320,000 (as of Oct 2019)
113. Renaud – 19,200,000 (as of Nov 2017)
114. Carrie Underwood – 18,800,000 (as of Sep 2018)
115. Fugees – 18,570,000 (as of Feb 2021)
116. Bruno Mars – 17,375,000 (as of Oct 2017)
117. Lauryn Hill – 17,335,000 (as of Feb 2021)
118. Katy Perry – 15,960,000 (as of Mar 2018)
119. Gorillaz – 15,770,000 (as of May 2017)
120. Aaliyah – 15,375,000 (as of Feb 2017)
121. Drake – 14,775,000 (as of Aug 2017)
122. Gwen Stefani – 12,060,000 (as of Apr 2020)
123. Arctic Monkeys – 10,140,000 (as of May 2018)
124. Lana Del Rey – 8,500,000 (as of Aug 2017)
125. Imagine Dragons – 8,190,000 (as of Sep 2018)
126. Sam Smith – 6,525,000 (as of Oct 2017)
127. Fergie – 6,450,000 (as of Jul 2017)
128. The Weeknd – 6,240,000 (as of Sep 2020)
129. Selena Gomez – 6,020,000 (as of Mar 2021)
130. Kendrick Lamar – 5,725,000 (as of Jan 2018)
131. Ariana Grande – 5,500,000 (as of Oct 2019)
132. Demi Lovato – 4,500,000 (as of Oct 2018)
133. Little Mix – 3,670,000 (as of Feb 2020)
134. Lorde – 3,300,000 (as of Jun 2017)
135. Macklemore (& Ryan Lewis) – 3,260,000 (as of Nov 2017)
136. Shawn Mendes – 2,820,000 (as of Oct 2019)
137. Billie Eilish – 2,271,000 (as of Jul 2020)
138. Avicii – 2,260,000 (as of Apr 2018)
139. Post Malone – 1,130,000 (as of Nov 2020)
140. Dua Lipa – 952,500 (as of Jan 2021)
141. Will.i.am – 950,000 (as of Jul 2017)
I don’t believe Metallica’s Black album has outsold Guns ‘n’ Roses Appetite for Destruction.
Thank you for your contribution.
Will Taylor‘s rerecordings make her the winner in the race for the 100 Million in the 21st century?
Nah eminem has sold more records
Eminem debuted in the 90s though
Bahaha what!? Taylor has sold more Albums & Digital Singles than Eminem just in the US ALONE!
RIAA Certified Albums:
Eminem – 64.5m
Taylor – 64m (and that’s not including Any Album sales from 2018 to Today, Big Machine refuses to have them audited or allow her to she’s been due to pass him for years they’ve been back to back unmoving)
RIAA Digital Singles:
Taylor – 134m (3rd most and again without any sales from 2018 to Today and she is due for more diamond certifications)
Eminem – 107.5m (6th he’s recieved certification in 2020 & 2021)
Eminem has 20m plus us albums yet to be certified
Certifications are out of date for most artists. Labels have to choose to update them, and most don’t. It’s not automatic like in some countries. So certifications only show the MINIMUM sales of an artists, not the total sales.
I think Coldplay and Rihanna were already over 100 Million before her
if you update the pure sales of the 3 of them Taylor Swift is already at 100m while Coldplay and Rihanna are around 99.5m currently
This is over 4yrs old so
Eminem obviously crushed everybody during the 21st century with 175 million EAS. Then you have Coldplay, Rihanna and Taylor with a respectable total of 100 million.
Is there any act who could break the top 5 best selling digital single artist? Maybe Kanye West?? In top 10 maybe Nicki Minaj?
If you have time, please update Blackpink’s! It’s been quite a while since the last update. Thank you!
I think they haven’t been studied since not that many album releases yet and there are obviously older acts who sold more and are in need to be studied more. It would be cool if they were added though, since they are pretty big when it comes to streaming
Shouldn’t Sting and The Police totals be combined ? Considering “Rod Stewart & Faces”, “George Michael & Wham”, Bon Jovi’s total including Jon’s solo album… I mean, Sting basically WAS The Police, writing the songs and singing them.
I disagree they are two distinct and separate acts, I also disagree with Rod Stewart & Faces being combined.
I think Bon Jovi is different because Jon’s album sold because he was in Bon Jovi and all they did was add three letter before the bands name.
And its impossible to split George Michael and Wham! because there are solo Michael works on Wham! albums and George Michael compilations that dont contain Wham! songs still contain those songs
Was wondering have you guys considered adding a devoted page to a running list of best-selling compilation albums for artists that have been studied? Would be nice to have as a reference since they get excluded out from the Studio Albums page.
And now Paul Simon has sold publishing rights to Sony’s for 200 $ million. Fleetwood Mac (Lyndsey Buckinham and Steve Nicks), Richie Sambora (Bon Jovis), Dylan, Neil Young, Ryan Tedder (200 $ million) and now P.Simon and many others songwrites have recieved hundres million dollars in compensation for their work. Biggest deal at this time Bob Dylan’s 400 $ millions. But i think that Madonna and many others pop singers finds difficult to sell her or his music, cause of the songwrites as many as ten. Beyonce Lemonades record had about 40 authors(! )said Hipgnosis founder Merck Mercuriadis. The authentic… Read more »
Business is changing. Hipgnosis founder Merck Mercuriadis has been great gift to songwriters, who are most important in the business. Spotify payment to artists and expecially the songwrites is non-existent. Now Dylan, Young, Paul Simon, Calvin Harris, Ryan Tedder, Fleerwood Mac, Shakira and dozens others got a decent reward for their work. 80-400 $ million ballpark. Spotify is rude and the most important thing for them is to make money. Founder Daniel Ek net worth 4,5 billion dollars and his friends in Spotify are billionaires too. This seam was struck by this Mr. Mercuradius. For him music is most important… Read more »
I would like do you all count/esitmate Apple Music US streaming data, because it’s A LOT of affect for US charts?
Hi Tommy!
There’s an article on them already. Of course it would be great to include them, but it’s their choice to hide their numbers.
i think Lana needs an update… she released two albums since her article was last updated