Best selling artists, albums and singles of all-time

1983 - Thriller

Albums Ranking – CSPC – Overall sales

This list is about the most successful albums of all time (understand “which have generated the most sales”). The figures are given in EAS (equivalent album sales).

Please keep in mind that some artists are missing, because their analysis has not been done yet. The complete list is available here. Sales figures reflect the value as collected at the time of the artist’s respective articles while streams are updated daily. Albums from unstudied artists which gained significant streams are listed but miss the sales component.

 

 

 

 

Available Lists

All-Time
1940s1940194119421943194419451946194719481949
1950s1950195119521953195419551956195719581959
1960s1960196119621963196419651966196719681969
1970s1970197119721973197419751976197719781979
1980s1980198119821983198419851986198719881989
1990s1990199119921993199419951996199719981999
2000s2000200120022003200420052006200720082009
2010s2010201120122013201420152016201720182019
2020s2020202120222023

In the following results table, all categories display figures in equivalent album sales. If different, pure sales are listed between parentheses.

If you are on mobile, be aware that detailed sales by format are displayed on larger devices.

#CoverAlbumSales*StreamsTotal CSPC
Studio AlbumsOther LPsPhysical SinglesDigital SinglesEASDaily Increase
1BackBack To Black
Amy Winehouse
15,940,000
(07/19/19)
1,731,000281,000
(565,000)
2,744,000
(18,300,000)
4,091,000
(03/29/23)
Av.: 1,640
LD: 3,840
24,787,000
2FutureSex/LoveSoundsFutureSex/LoveSounds
Justin Timberlake
9,340,000
(02/09/18)
337,000401,000
(1,035,000)
4,260,000
(28,400,000)
2,110,000
(03/29/23)
Av.: 770
LD: 1,920
16,448,000
3B'DayB'Day
Beyoncé
6,405,000
(07/16/22)
1,301,000600,000
(1,098,000)
3,900,000
(26,000,000)
1,918,000
(03/29/23)
Av.: 810
LD: 1,360
14,124,000
4TheThe Dutchess
Fergie
6,450,000
(07/12/17)
25,000726,000
(695,000)
4,425,000
(29,500,000)
1,972,000
(03/29/23)
Av.: 790
LD: 1,060
13,598,000
5HighHigh School Musical
High School Musical
9,000,000
(09/06/17)
1,718,00067,000
(140,000)
950,000
(6,330,000)
972,000
(03/29/23)
Av.: 390
LD: 890
12,707,000
6StadiumStadium Arcadium
Red Hot Chili Peppers
7,130,000
(03/29/18)
11,000442,000
(290,000)
2,099,000
(13,990,000)
2,691,000
(03/29/23)
Av.: 1,010
LD: 1,310
12,372,000
7I'mI'm Not Dead
P!nk
6,460,000
(06/23/22)
1,834,000446,000
(783,000)
1,520,000
(10,130,000)
758,000
(03/29/23)
Av.: 350
LD: 550
11,017,000
8TaylorTaylor Swift
Taylor Swift
6,630,000
(11/01/22)
498,000447,000
(20,000)
2,187,000
(14,580,000)
1,162,000
(03/29/23)
Av.: 970
LD: 1,790
10,924,000
9AA Girl Like Me
Rihanna
3,770,000
(06/02/21)
126,000560,000
(955,000)
1,586,000
(10,570,000)
1,000,000
(03/29/23)
Av.: 520
LD: 740
7,041,000
10BackBack to Basics
Christina Aguilera
4,000,000
(03/18/17)
469,000423,000
(800,000)
1,275,000
(8,500,000)
531,000
(03/29/23)
Av.: 180
LD: 290
6,698,000
11WhateverWhatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not
Arctic Monkeys
3,750,000
(10/24/22)
181,000-131,000
(595,000)
690,000
(4,600,000)
2,023,000
(03/29/23)
Av.: 1,090
LD: 1,510
6,513,000
12HannahHannah Montana
Miley Cyrus
4,705,000
(12/07/20)
651,0000
(0)
224,000
(1,490,000)
225,000
(03/29/23)
Av.: 110
LD: 170
5,980,000
13TheThe Sweet Escape
Gwen Stefani
3,620,000
(04/12/20)
6,000279,000
(480,000)
1,287,000
(8,580,000)
620,000
(03/29/23)
Av.: 320
LD: 790
5,812,000
14TheThe Open Door
Evanescence
4,560,000
(06/30/19)
30,000154,000
(160,000)
500,000
(3,330,000)
433,000
(03/29/23)
Av.: 180
LD: 330
5,676,000
15BeautifulBeautiful World
Take That
3,770,000
(12/15/19)
793,000228,000
(660,000)
495,000
(3,300,000)
268,000
(03/29/23)
Av.: 120
LD: 140
5,554,000
16DreamgirlsDreamgirls
Various Artists
2,465,000
(07/16/22)
181,00024,000
(80,000)
1,167,000
(7,780,000)
394,000
(03/29/23)
Av.: 90
LD: 140
4,231,000
17TheThe Black Parade / Living with Ghosts (The 10th Anniversary Edition)
My Chemical Romance
0
(N/A)
00
(0)
0
(0)
3,208,000
(03/29/23)
Av.: 0
LD: 0
3,208,000
18(Miss)understood(Miss)understood
Ayumi Hamasaki
1,140,000
(09/27/19)
443,000991,000
(859,000)
462,000
(3,080,000)
43,000
(03/29/23)
Av.: 30
LD: 40
3,079,000
19RudeboxRudebox
Robbie Williams
2,600,000
(12/15/19)
49,000124,000
(360,000)
120,000
(800,000)
39,000
(03/29/23)
Av.: 10
LD: 20
2,932,000
20ModernModern Times
Bob Dylan
2,450,000
(12/14/21)
64,0000
(0)
68,000
(450,000)
25,000
(03/29/23)
Av.: 10
LD: 10
2,607,000
21WeWe Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions
Bruce Springsteen
2,050,000
(07/07/17)
313,0000
(0)
60,000
(400,000)
61,000
(03/29/23)
Av.: 10
LD: 10
2,484,000
22StillStill the Same... Great Rock Classics of Our Time
Rod Stewart
2,080,000
(11/23/19)
01,000
(3,000)
60,000
(400,000)
173,000
(03/29/23)
Av.: 100
LD: 110
2,314,000
23SecretSecret
Ayumi Hamasaki
860,000
(09/27/19)
247,000719,000
(276,000)
234,000
(1,560,000)
96,000
(03/29/23)
Av.: 60
LD: 90
2,156,000
24LooseLoose (Expanded Edition)
Nelly Furtado
0
(N/A)
00
(0)
0
(0)
2,137,000
(03/29/23)
Av.: 0
LD: 0
2,137,000
*Pure sales figures updated on date below studio album sales.
'Av.' stands for Average, 'LD' for Last Day.

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Mikko

Looks like Elvis has passed Michael Jackson on UK All Time List 1956-2022 (albums).
3. Elvis Presley 26.8 million
4. Michael Jackson 26.6 million.

Analord

Adding other formats (singles…etc.), Elvis might be about 2m EAS above MJ, so I guess he was always above him.

Clockingbell

It’s 26.6 vs 26.3 on here. How did you get your numbers?

Mikko

UK best selling album artists 7/ 1956-12/2022 1. Beatles 35.7 m 2. Queen 28.7 m 3. Elvis Presley 26.8 m 4. Michael Jackson 26.6 m 5. Madonna 22.9 m 6. Abba 21.8 m 7. Rod Stewart 21.7 m 8. Robbie Williams 20.8 m 9. U2 20.7 m 10. Elton John 20 m 11. David Bowie 19.9 m 12. Oasis 18.7 m 13. Pink Floyd 17.9 m 14. Rolling Stones 17.6 m 15. Fleetwood Mac 16.3 m 16. Take That 15.9 m 17. Bob Dylan 15.3 m 18. Coldplay 14.8 m 19. Dire Straits 14.6 m 20. Phil Collins 14.4 m… Read more »

AlanWill

Only top 30?

Martin

The numbers are from the Haven forum, where a poster Shireblogger had a shot at detailing the top selling album artists in the UK. It’s not anything official, as nothing is, with all time sales.

Mikko

Is someone say it’s official?

Martin

No, someone say nothing, just post random list with no link, no explanation etc

Mikko

Did i step on toes? But anyway the trend is that Elvis is on the rise. David Bowie sold almost 5 million albums (EAS) period 01/2016-12/2022.

Clockingbell

Thanks! I’d like to see the trends this website will post to see how much artists are increasing as of now

Mikko

There is list from 1956 to 12/2015. ie. Uk album sales. I can tap it tomorrow.

MJD

Hi Mikko!

These are not “trends”, this is a completely different set of estimates, that I don’t agree with at all. The work put on by Shireblogger is respectable, but very poorly done, based loosely on charts only. He doesn’t even consider certifications, doesn’t use discogs, doesn’t check existing releases that failed to chart, is rarely aware of music series, clubs, budget versions, etc. Just to take an example, his “estimates” on Sinatra are 10m including streams, while he sold 25m pure.

Mikko

Uhh! Very negative tone from a colleague. Collegiality! Were it Elvis again who had passed by MJ? I knew. But i’m about to tap Uk album list from 1956-12/2015 .

Mikko

Here it is. Uk album artists from 1956-12/2015. Old list and unofficial. Top 40 1. Beatles 31.5 m 2. Queen 23.8 m 3. Michael Jackson 23.5 m 4. Elvis Presley 22 m 5. Madonna 19.8 m 6. Robbie Williams 19.4 m 7. Rod Stewart 19.3 m 8. Abba 18.4 m 9. U2 17.8 m 10. Elton John 16.5 m 11. Oasis 16.3 m 12. David Bowie 15.7 m 13. Pink Floyd 15.4 m 14. Take That 15.1 m 15. Rolling Stones 15 m 16. Simply Red 13.3 m 17. Phil Collins 13 m 18. Dire Straits 12.850 m 19. Fleetwood… Read more »

MJD

Well Mikko, let’s just say that I understand and know figures well enough to spot when people disregard accuracy and instead prefer to manipulate people for their personal interests, and I don’t rate very high people behaving this way nor do I see them as colleagues of mine.

Mikko

These guys are completely unknown to me. I just saw this list or lists. Yes, i know you are pro, otherwise i wouldn’t be on this site year after year. You have been in this case so-called game-changer.

Dtew

1989 just did 13k today.. I remember when it was doing 3k in 2021, her longevity is unreal

Lag

Hello. We cannot log in in the website anymore ?

MJD

Hello Lag & everyone who got/reported the issue,

It should be fixed now. Somewhat the automatic update of wordpress went wrong and half of our plugins got deactivated, including those used for login, pagination, mailing, etc.

It’s all activated back, I can’t be sure that settings got retrieved 100% correctly so let me know if anything weird happens. Sorry for the inconvenience!

Jonasl91

Hey. On Billie Eilish’s streams page would it be possible to remove the Prime Day version of All the good girls go to hell that’s on there? On Spotify it’s part of a random Various artists album, and even though it links to Billie’s page it’s not on there. I just feel like it shouldn’t be counted for her streams

fred

You forgot Just Dance (14M according to you) and Poker Face (20M) by Lady Gaga.

matt

Please add Morgan Wallen’s ‘One Thing At A Time’ to the 2023 top albums list, only Karol G’s album is there. Morgan’s has topped 1.7M units in the US, as per HDD.

Trya

Please create an article on Melanie Martinez! Her album called ‘Crybaby’ sold more than 2 million copies in the US. The album will soon cross 4 BILLION streams. Crybaby has 4,617,000 CSPC without counting the physical sales which is amazing and deserves to be on the list, since Zara Larsson also made it here…

skkywill

page3, Celine actually had SM article

Tim Gutekunst

You’ve done a great thing here. i don’t know if very many peopleunderstand how cool this is.

césar

abba is missing from the lists by country

Al

Hi césar!

The oldest studies aren’t added yet.

Antonio

during these new updates, I noticed that the various CSPC articles are not in order of release of the various albums of an artist, then I noticed that there is also discrepancy between physical singles of that page and physical singles which are in the CSPC article of an artist for example U2 and Metallica; for example on one side it brings The Joshua Tree (1987) – 1,215,000 equivalent albums and instead in the article CSPC reports 1,470,000 EAS.
The same happens for physical singles of Metallica.
I hope you will answer me.

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