Best-Selling Artists of All Time
Here you will find our up-to-date list of all-time best-selling artists.
Table of Contents
ToggleBest-selling artists of all time
This ranking aggregates performance across multiple formats — physical sales, downloads, and streams — each assigned a specific weight to reflect its relative contribution to an artist’s success.
This approach is driven by our CSPC method. The ranking is refreshed daily.
The ranking
| # | artist_spotify_id | g# | Pic | Artist | Studio Albums (EAS) | sales_update_date | Other LPs (EAS) | Physical Singles (units sold) | Digital Singles (units sold) | Streams (EAS) | Total EAS | streams_updated_value | Gender | Genre | country | Language |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3WrFJ7ztbogyGnTHbHJFl2 | 1 |  |
The Beatles  |
181,842,000 | 22.06.25 | 268,996,000 | 127,280,000 | 39,120,000 | 26,160,000 (06/21/25) | 521,088,000 | 26,160,000 | Group - Male | Rock | United Kingdom | English | |
| 3fMbdgg4jU18AjLCKBhRSm | 2 |  |
Michael Jackson |
182,600,000 | 27.09.17 | 101,997,000 | 79,350,000 | 79,930,000 | 25,431,000 (06/21/25) | 345,824,000 | 25,431,000 | Solo - Male | Pop | United States of America | English | |
| 43ZHCT0cAZBISjO8DG9PnE | 3 |  |
Elvis Presley |
53,150,000 | 01.09.18 | 212,309,000 | 135,210,000 | 37,470,000 | 13,435,000 (06/20/25) | 325,076,000 | 13,435,000 | Solo - Male | Rock | United States of America | English | |
| 1dfeR4HaWDbWqFHLkxsg1d | 4 |  |
Queen |
90,230,000 | 25.01.20 | 139,348,000 | 49,960,000 | 59,650,000 | 34,417,000 (06/21/25) | 287,934,000 | 34,417,000 | Group - Male | Rock | United Kingdom | English | |
| 6tbjWDEIzxoDsBA1FuhfPW | 5 |  |
Madonna |
146,450,000 | 13.08.17 | 64,420,000 | 75,210,000 | 42,100,000 | 12,673,000 (06/21/25) | 252,421,000 | 12,673,000 | Solo - Female | Pop | United States of America | English | |
| 22bE4uQ6baNwSHPVcDxLCe | 6 |  |
The Rolling Stones |
113,800,000 | 03.12.16 | 92,495,000 | 72,770,000 | 46,200,000 | 12,572,000 (06/21/25) | 247,629,000 | 12,572,000 | Group - Male | Rock | United Kingdom | English | |
| 06HL4z0CvFAxyc27GXpf02 | 7 |  |
Taylor Swift |
65,322,000 | 22.06.25 | 16,083,000 | 320,000 | 165,330,000 | 137,090,000 (06/21/25) | 242,699,000 | 137,090,000 | Solo - Female | Pop | United States of America | English | |
| 0k17h0D3J5VfsdmQ1iZtE9 | 8 |  |
Pink Floyd |
169,600,000 | 18.06.17 | 52,025,000 | 8,800,000 | 23,360,000 | 14,137,000 (06/21/25) | 241,906,000 | 14,137,000 | Group - Male | Rock | United Kingdom | English | |
| 1Mxqyy3pSjf8kZZL4QVxS0 | 9 |  |
Frank Sinatra |
49,876,000 | 22.06.25 | 140,098,000 | 95,250,000 | 26,210,000 | 12,295,000 (06/20/25) | 233,942,000 | 12,295,000 | Solo - Male | Jazz / Swing | United States of America | English | |
| 7dGJo4pcD2V6oG8kP0tJRR | 10 |  |
Eminem |
99,112,000 | 22.06.25 | 26,757,000 | 14,320,000 | 204,920,000 | 68,148,000 (06/21/25) | 225,608,000 | 68,148,000 | Solo - Male | Hip-hop | United States of America | English | |
| 3PhoLpVuITZKcymswpck5b | 11 |  |
Elton John |
88,630,000 | 05.02.18 | 82,400,000 | 65,340,000 | 26,250,000 | 19,788,000 (06/21/25) | 214,358,000 | 19,788,000 | Solo - Male | Rock | United Kingdom | English | |
| 36QJpDe2go2KgaRleHCDTp | 12 |  |
Led Zeppelin |
141,500,000 | 08.08.16 | 51,200,000 | 6,350,000 | 32,030,000 | 10,051,000 (06/20/25) | 209,464,000 | 10,051,000 | Group - Male | Hard Rock / Metal | United Kingdom | English | |
| 711MCceyCBcFnzjGY4Q7Un | 13 |  |
AC/DC |
133,870,000 | 22.06.25 | 49,349,000 | 7,200,000 | 33,450,000 | 18,226,000 (06/21/25) | 208,623,000 | 18,226,000 | Group - Male | Hard Rock / Metal | Australia | English | |
| 51Blml2LZPmy7TTiAg47vQ | 14 |  |
U2 |
127,100,000 | 31.08.16 | 53,051,000 | 22,550,000 | 40,500,000 | 10,349,000 (06/21/25) | 203,340,000 | 10,349,000 | Group - Male | Rock | Ireland | English | |
| 4S9EykWXhStSc15wEx8QFK | 15 |  |
Céline Dion |
136,200,000 | 28.09.21 | 40,424,000 | 39,290,000 | 26,660,000 | 9,778,000 (06/21/25) | 202,187,000 | 9,778,000 | Solo - Female | Pop | Canada | English | |
| 4iHNK0tOyZPYnBU7nGAgpQ | 16 |  |
Mariah Carey |
122,030,000 | 22.06.25 | 34,267,000 | 40,640,000 | 81,490,000 | 16,269,000 (06/21/25) | 196,984,000 | 16,269,000 | Solo - Female | R&B | United States of America | English | |
| 2y8Jo9CKhJvtfeKOsYzRdT | 17 |  |
Rod Stewart |
100,150,000 | 23.11.19 | 66,819,000 | 55,220,000 | 17,420,000 | 6,939,000 (06/21/25) | 193,096,000 | 6,939,000 | Solo - Male | Rock | United Kingdom | English | |
| 0ECwFtbIWEVNwjlrfc6xoL | 18 |  |
Eagles |
65,425,000 | 20.12.17 | 96,732,000 | 16,630,000 | 20,440,000 | 8,391,000 (06/20/25) | 178,601,000 | 8,391,000 | Group - Male | Rock | United States of America | English | |
| 6PAt558ZEZl0DmdXlnjMgD | 19 |  |
Eric Clapton |
73,510,000 | 21.09.22 | 85,088,000 | 29,940,000 | 31,980,000 | 6,874,000 (06/20/25) | 177,125,000 | 6,874,000 | Solo - Male | Rock | United Kingdom | English | |
| 2ye2Wgw4gimLv2eAKyk1NB | 20 |  |
Metallica |
121,260,000 | 13.02.19 | 20,164,000 | 15,480,000 | 40,770,000 | 21,587,000 (06/21/25) | 173,771,000 | 21,587,000 | Group - Male | Hard Rock / Metal | United States of America | English | |
| 3TVXtAsR1Inumwj472S9r4 | 21 |  |
Drake |
15,842,000 | 22.06.25 | 299,000 | 40,000 | 172,070,000 | 136,378,000 (06/21/25) | 172,361,000 | 136,378,000 | Solo - Male | Hip-hop | Canada | English | |
| 0LcJLqbBmaGUft1e9Mm8HV | 22 |  |
ABBA |
47,400,000 | 22.06.25 | 91,491,000 | 54,400,000 | 17,870,000 | 12,833,000 (06/21/25) | 170,724,000 | 12,833,000 | Group - Mixed | Pop | Sweden | English | |
| 3eqjTLE0HfPfh78zjh6TqT | 23 |  |
Bruce Springsteen |
103,400,000 | 07.07.17 | 42,176,000 | 21,010,000 | 25,420,000 | 8,679,000 (06/20/25) | 164,370,000 | 8,679,000 | Solo - Male | Rock | United States of America | English | |
| 1LZEQNv7sE11VDY3SdxQeN | 24 |  |
Bee Gees |
75,525,000 | 09.04.17 | 56,477,000 | 72,790,000 | 17,230,000 | 7,839,000 (06/20/25) | 164,263,000 | 7,839,000 | Group - Male | Pop | United Kingdom | English | |
| 6XpaIBNiVzIetEPCWDvAFP | 25 |  |
Whitney Houston |
113,600,000 | 04.05.17 | 17,175,000 | 49,520,000 | 34,250,000 | 10,857,000 (06/21/25) | 161,627,000 | 10,857,000 | Solo - Female | Pop | United States of America | English | |
| Gender | Genre | Language |
Want to see your favorite artist covered?
Vote for them in our requests leaderboard!
Why do we assign weights to different formats?
What ratios do we use here?
The table above shows the top artists of all time using the following ratios:
How do we get accurate best-selling artists lists?
View moreFor decades, marketing tricks from labels and a lack of education from the media led to various myths about the best-selling artists of all time getting repeated so often that the general public assumed it was true.
Today, the same lack of education on the matter continues to be a pain for accuracy lovers. Most of these lists floating around online are either flat lists of RIAA certifications or a mere sum of all certifications from all countries. The first are given only on request, sparsely for many artists, and relate to the US only. The latter are adding together apples and oranges by mixing distinct formats and different national streaming conversion methods.
Our home-made solution: the CSPC and equivalent album sales
To solve these flaws, we introduced several years ago the Commensurate Sales to Popularity Concept (CSPC).
If you are not familiar with this concept, it consists of retrieving sales figures from every format and weighting them on par with album sales. That’s what we call equivalent album sales (EAS), or simply CSPC units.
In doing so, we grant that comparisons between artists from different periods make sense, unlike lists based on raw record totals.
The method also ensures that the same formula applies to all artists. So we are avoiding issues related to the varying conversion rate used for streaming in different markets, as well as by most labels in their communications.
The sales compilation process
When applying this concept to an artist, our team goes into the tank. We analyze all data available, from charts, certifications, internal reports, and official scanning systems. Through the years, we developed various methods to fill the holes, backing all numbers with meaningful indicators. In between, we have also discovered thousands of receipts.
To make everything as transparent as it gets, all figures for sales have been detailed on each artist’s article, available through the link under their name. We also show dates of updates, both for sales and for streams.
The column ‘Other LPs’ includes long formats made of already released material like greatest hits compilations, box sets, live records, bootlegs, and music videos.
Digital singles include both downloads and ringtones. Streaming units include both audio and video streams.
An ongoing process
View moreObviously, digging into the catalog of an artist takes time. It would be easy to simply copy/paste the RIAA’s most certified artists list in a minute. Given our ambition, the largest discographies require several weeks of study, with several people involved.
Most top artists have been studied by now, but some are still missing. The main ones are Neil Diamond and the Beach Boys.
These omissions are listed on this page, which enables users to vote for the next pick. As soon as a CSPC article is released, we treat the new leader of the requests list. You can vote too!
The automatic update of streams
View moreAs part of our process to get all artists treated at the same time, we have been implementing tools to automatically keep numbers up to date every day, whenever it is possible.
We also developed a tool to retrieve updated Spotify streams by artist. Thus, we are able to increase accordingly the streaming units of artists part of our all-time top artists leaderboard.
For further details, feel free to use the comment section.
Bonus: best-selling artists by era
The most successful artists ever. Numbers in equivalent album sales through all formats. Based on the original recordings’ release dates. Video created with Flourish.
Best selling artists by pure album sales
To answer the question “Who’s the best-selling artist today?”, the table above includes all formats. But the more traditional way to understand that question is to focus on pure sales instead.
If that’s what you wonder about, here is our ranking of best-selling artists in terms of pure album sales. The records we consider are studio albums, compilations, live albums, and box sets. Music videos, EPs, and singles are not considered.
| # | Country | Artist | Units sold |
|---|---|---|---|
| World | The Beatles | 384,209,000 | |
| World | Elvis Presley | 244,475,000 | |
| World | Michael Jackson | 235,440,000 | |
| World | Pink Floyd | 203,010,000 | |
| World | Madonna | 201,900,000 | |
| World | The Rolling Stones | 201,100,000 | |
| World | Queen | 192,564,000 | |
| World | Frank Sinatra | 186,187,000 | |
| World | Led Zeppelin | 182,500,000 | |
| USA | The Beatles | 179,312,000 | |
| World | Celine Dion | 171,625,000 | |
| World | AC/DC | 169,670,000 | |
| World | U2 | 169,000,000 | |
| World | Elton John | 167,640,000 | |
| World | Eric Clapton | 154,987,500 | |
| USA | Elvis Presley | 154,985,000 | |
| World | Eagles | 153,885,000 | |
| World | Rod Stewart | 153,338,500 | |
| World | Mariah Carey | 152,773,000 | |
| World | Neil Diamond | 138,976,000 | |
| World | Barbra Streisand | 138,610,000 | |
| World | Bruce Springsteen | 138,400,000 | |
| World | Metallica | 133,775,000 | |
| World | ABBA | 130,250,000 | |
| World | Fleetwood Mac | 129,650,000 | |
| World | Billy Joel | 129,075,000 | |
| World | Whitney Houston | 128,600,000 | |
| World | Bob Dylan | 128,375,000 | |
| World | Santana | 128,085,500 | |
| World | Phil Collins | 127,350,000 | |
| World | Bee Gees | 125,795,000 | |
| World | Eminem | 125,735,000 | |
| World | Garth Brooks | 120,190,000 | |
| World | Bob Marley | 120,150,000 | |
| World | Aerosmith | 116,080,000 | |
| World | Bon Jovi | 115,650,000 | |
| World | The Beach Boys | 115,046,750 | |
| Europe | The Beatles | 107,506,000 | |
| USA | Garth Brooks | 107,235,000 | |
| World | Prince | 106,840,000 | |
| World | Simon & Garfunkel | 106,565,000 | |
| World | David Bowie | 103,910,000 | |
| World | Guns N' Roses | 102,770,000 | |
| World | Genesis | 101,366,250 | |
| World | The Doors | 100,941,000 | |
| World | Dire Straits | 100,350,000 | |
| USA | Eagles | 98,205,000 | |
| USA | Frank Sinatra | 96,241,500 | |
| World | Paul McCartney | 93,654,000 | |
| World | Stevie Wonder | 92,138,000 | |
| Country | Artist |
Some artists are missing because their analysis has not been done yet, or their breakdown by country isn’t available for now. Here is the complete list of covered artists.
Want to see your favorite artist covered?
Vote for them in our requests leaderboard!
Best selling artists by physical single sales
Want to focus on success driven by physical singles? Here you go! The table below ranks all artists by their physical single sales.
| # | Artist | Units sold | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | |
Elvis Presley | 135,207,000 |
| 2 | |
The Beatles | 127,282,000 |
| 3 | |
Frank Sinatra | 95,253,000 |
| 4 | |
Michael Jackson | 79,350,000 |
| 5 | |
Madonna | 75,210,000 |
| 6 |  |
Paul McCartney | 72,978,000 |
| 7 | |
Bee Gees | 72,790,000 |
| 8 | |
The Rolling Stones | 72,773,000 |
| 9 | |
Elton John | 65,340,000 |
| 10 |  |
Stevie Wonder | 65,317,500 |
| 11 | |
Rod Stewart | 55,217,000 |
| 12 | |
ABBA | 54,400,000 |
| 13 |  |
Aretha Franklin | 51,323,000 |
| 14 | |
Queen | 49,960,000 |
| 15 |  |
George Michael | 49,880,000 |
| 16 | |
Whitney Houston | 49,523,000 |
| 17 |  |
The Supremes | 47,391,000 |
| 18 |  |
Cher | 46,220,000 |
| 19 |  |
David Bowie | 44,203,000 |
| 20 |  |
Johnny Hallyday | 43,737,000 |
| 21 |  |
Prince | 42,910,000 |
| 22 | |
Mariah Carey | 40,640,000 |
| 23 |  |
Janet Jackson | 40,637,000 |
| 24 |  |
Carpenters | 40,497,000 |
| 25 | |
Celine Dion | 39,290,000 |
| 26 |  |
Diana Ross | 38,882,000 |
| 27 |  |
Neil Diamond | 37,212,000 |
| 28 |  |
Billy Joel | 36,900,000 |
| 29 |  |
Barbra Streisand | 35,253,000 |
| 30 |  |
John Lennon | 34,026,000 |
| 31 |  |
The Beach Boys | 33,043,000 |
| 32 |  |
Bryan Adams | 32,090,000 |
| 33 |  |
Jackson 5 & The Jacksons | 31,160,000 |
| 34 | |
Eric Clapton | 29,940,000 |
| 35 |  |
Phil Collins | 29,907,000 |
| 36 |  |
Bon Jovi | 27,980,000 |
| 37 |  |
Fleetwood Mac | 26,057,000 |
| 38 |  |
Ayumi Hamasaki | 25,984,000 |
| 39 |  |
Depeche Mode | 25,556,000 |
| 40 |  |
Simon & Garfunkel | 23,830,000 |
| 41 |  |
The Police | 23,807,000 |
| 42 |  |
Creedence Clearwater Revival | 22,567,000 |
| 43 | |
U2 | 22,550,000 |
| 44 |  |
Tina Turner | 21,463,000 |
| 45 | |
Bruce Springsteen | 21,007,000 |
| 46 |  |
George Harrison | 20,560,000 |
| 47 |  |
Spice Girls | 20,020,000 |
| 48 |  |
Kylie Minogue | 19,723,000 |
| 49 |  |
Foreigner | 19,357,000 |
| 50 |  |
Britney Spears | 18,600,000 |
Best selling artists by digital single sales
Want to know who are the best-selling artists in terms of digital singles? Here you are! Figures here include both downloads and ringtones.
| # | Artist | Units sold | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  |
Rihanna | 257,560,000 |
| 2 | |
Eminem | 204,920,000 |
| 3 | |
Drake | 172,065,000 |
| 4 |  |
Jay-Z | 170,545,000 |
| 5 |  |
Kanye West | 165,825,000 |
| 6 |  |
Beyoncé | 164,000,000 |
| 7 | |
Taylor Swift | 162,000,000 |
| 8 |  |
Bruno Mars | 149,580,000 |
| 9 |  |
Maroon 5 | 149,190,000 |
| 10 |  |
Katy Perry | 135,427,000 |
| 11 |  |
Nicki Minaj | 133,355,000 |
| 12 |  |
Lady Gaga | 128,860,000 |
| 13 |  |
Justin Bieber | 113,570,000 |
| 14 |  |
Black Eyed Peas | 103,960,000 |
| 15 |  |
Justin Timberlake | 102,093,000 |
| 16 |  |
Adele | 100,380,000 |
| 17 |  |
Coldplay | 95,110,000 |
| 18 |  |
Usher | 93,607,000 |
| 19 |  |
Ed Sheeran | 88,675,000 |
| 20 |  |
P!nk | 85,620,000 |
| 21 | |
Britney Spears | 83,027,000 |
| 22 | |
Mariah Carey | 81,490,000 |
| 23 | |
Michael Jackson | 79,933,000 |
| 24 |  |
Linkin Park | 73,707,000 |
| 25 |  |
Miley Cyrus | 70,530,000 |
| 26 |  |
Christina Aguilera | 69,953,000 |
| 27 |  |
Shakira | 62,360,000 |
| 28 |  |
Kelly Clarkson | 62,013,000 |
| 29 | |
Queen | 59,650,000 |
| 30 |  |
Alicia Keys | 57,753,000 |
| 31 |  |
Ariana Grande | 57,520,000 |
| 32 |  |
Nickelback | 57,280,000 |
| 33 |  |
One Direction | 57,000,000 |
| 34 |  |
Carrie Underwood | 54,407,000 |
| 35 |  |
Will.i.am | 53,300,000 |
| 36 |  |
Enrique Iglesias | 50,113,000 |
| 37 |  |
The Weeknd | 48,710,000 |
| 38 | |
Ayumi Hamasaki | 46,480,000 |
| 39 | |
The Rolling Stones | 46,200,000 |
| 40 |  |
Avril Lavigne | 46,160,000 |
| 41 |  |
Imagine Dragons | 45,413,000 |
| 42 |  |
Green Day | 44,600,000 |
| 43 |  |
Red Hot Chili Peppers | 44,400,000 |
| 44 |  |
Kendrick Lamar | 43,630,000 |
| 45 |  |
Sam Smith | 42,685,000 |
| 46 | |
Madonna | 42,100,000 |
| 47 |  |
Selena Gomez | 41,610,000 |
| 48 | |
Metallica | 40,767,000 |
| 49 | |
U2 | 40,500,000 |
| 50 |  |
Macklemore | 39,273,000 |
Most successful artists of all-time
Sales numbers – even carefully weighted sales numbers – don’t always tell the full story. That’s why we’ve created the ASR score, a smarter way to look at musical success. Let’s take a different look at success.
Best-selling doesn’t always mean most successful
The following ranking doesn’t just show the best-selling artists: it highlights the most successful ones overall.
What’s the difference?
Success isn’t only about how much music is sold. It’s also about how an artist’s discography is built and presented.
Some artists release mostly studio albums, meaning fans have to buy many of them to get all the hits. Others release well-curated compilations, like Greatest hits, that deliver everything in one go.
To reflect this, we created a new way to measure success: the ASR (Artist Success Rating).
This score (out of 1000) combines:
- EAS (Equivalent Album Sales) – which shows how many sales the artist’s catalog has generated;
- EDS (Equivalent Discography Sales) – which reflects how often the catalog is consumed as a whole.
In short, ASR rewards both impact and efficiency. Here’s the ranking of the most successful artists, according to this unique approach!
The ranking
Please keep in mind that some artists are missing, because their analysis has not been done yet. Here is the complete list of covered artists.
| # | Pic | Artist | EAS | EDS | ASR | Gender |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | |
The Beatles | 518,303,000 | 117,248,831 | 1,000 | Group - Male |
| 2 | |
Michael Jackson | 336,792,000 | 102,007,256 | 752 | Solo - Male |
| 3 | |
Queen | 277,668,000 | 84,091,841 | 620 | Group - Male |
| 4 | |
Elvis Presley | 320,372,000 | 51,966,768 | 523 | Solo - Male |
| 5 | |
Eagles | 175,625,000 | 77,476,219 | 473 | Group - Male |
| 6 | |
Neil Diamond | 157,925,000 | 78,602,452 | 452 | Solo - Male |
| 7 | |
ABBA | 163,071,000 | 71,508,419 | 438 | Group - Mixed |
| 8 | |
Mariah Carey | 193,860,000 | 58,286,842 | 431 | Solo - Female |
| 9 | |
Led Zeppelin | 206,524,000 | 54,099,835 | 429 | Group - Male |
| 10 | |
Elton John | 222,249,000 | 49,836,975 | 427 | Solo - Male |
| 11 | |
The Rolling Stones | 243,517,000 | 44,143,593 | 421 | Group - Male |
| 12 | |
Madonna | 246,892,000 | 43,535,455 | 421 | Solo - Female |
| 13 | |
Simon & Garfunkel | 126,365,000 | 79,716,664 | 407 | Group - Male |
| 14 | |
Pink Floyd | 237,154,000 | 41,960,654 | 405 | Group - Male |
| 15 | |
Bee Gees | 161,950,000 | 57,490,781 | 391 | Group - Male |
| 16 | |
Celine Dion | 198,699,000 | 44,239,016 | 380 | Solo - Female |
| 17 | |
AC/DC | 200,651,000 | 42,180,357 | 373 | Group - Male |
| 18 | |
U2 | 200,655,000 | 41,887,801 | 372 | Group - Male |
| 19 | |
Whitney Houston | 158,051,000 | 52,074,776 | 368 | Solo - Female |
| 20 | |
Eric Clapton | 175,204,000 | 43,897,845 | 356 | Solo - Male |
| 21 | |
Frank Sinatra | 228,913,000 | 32,536,030 | 350 | Solo - Male |
| 22 | |
Phil Collins | 151,881,000 | 47,209,173 | 343 | Solo - Male |
| 23 | |
Fleetwood Mac | 151,752,000 | 46,583,974 | 341 | Group - Mixed |
| 24 | |
Bon Jovi | 151,202,000 | 46,830,188 | 341 | Group - Male |
| 25 | |
Rod Stewart | 190,822,000 | 34,838,159 | 331 | Solo - Male |
| 26 |  |
Bob Marley | 142,719,000 | 45,066,302 | 325 | Solo - Male |
| 27 | |
The Beach Boys | 146,212,000 | 42,816,916 | 321 | Group - Male |
| 28 | |
Eminem | 202,839,000 | 29,561,016 | 314 | Solo - Male |
| 29 | |
Billy Joel | 150,967,000 | 39,002,664 | 311 | Solo - Male |
| 30 |  |
Guns N' Roses | 125,736,000 | 45,110,771 | 306 | Group - Male |
| 31 | |
The Police | 99,892,000 | 56,238,454 | 304 | Group - Male |
| 32 | |
Bruce Springsteen | 161,401,000 | 33,482,746 | 298 | Solo - Male |
| 33 |  |
Garth Brooks | 144,494,000 | 36,116,769 | 293 | Solo - Male |
| 34 |  |
The Doors | 117,324,000 | 42,607,586 | 287 | Group - Male |
| 35 | |
Metallica | 169,970,000 | 29,292,139 | 286 | Group - Male |
| 36 |  |
Dire Straits | 112,036,000 | 42,246,484 | 279 | Group - Male |
| 37 | |
Adele | 104,854,000 | 45,097,772 | 279 | Solo - Female |
| 38 |  |
Aerosmith | 134,001,000 | 33,436,546 | 272 | Group - Male |
| 39 |  |
Santana | 146,383,000 | 30,448,599 | 271 | Group - Male |
| 40 |  |
Nirvana | 97,440,000 | 44,426,836 | 267 | Group - Male |
| 41 | |
Carpenters | 103,562,000 | 40,654,685 | 263 | Group - Mixed |
| 42 | |
Barbra Streisand | 153,502,000 | 25,938,236 | 256 | Solo - Female |
| 43 |  |
Backstreet Boys | 99,240,000 | 38,260,729 | 250 | Group - Male |
| 44 | |
Bryan Adams | 89,858,000 | 41,208,660 | 247 | Solo - Male |
| 45 |  |
Jimi Hendrix | 105,789,000 | 34,542,740 | 245 | Solo - Male |
| 46 | |
George Michael | 110,122,000 | 32,306,760 | 242 | Solo - Male |
| 47 | |
Britney Spears | 113,249,000 | 30,149,443 | 237 | Solo - Female |
| 48 |  |
Journey | 82,698,000 | 40,449,014 | 235 | Group - Male |
| 49 | |
Taylor Swift | 171,080,000 | 19,600,057 | 235 | Solo - Female |
| 50 | |
Prince | 134,160,000 | 25,025,092 | 235 | Solo - Male |
| 51 |  |
Shania Twain | 83,111,000 | 38,958,281 | 231 | Solo - Female |
| 52 | |
Ed Sheeran | 99,931,000 | 31,756,126 | 229 | Solo - Male |
| 53 | |
David Bowie | 131,336,000 | 24,199,222 | 229 | Solo - Male |
| 54 | |
Stevie Wonder | 124,378,000 | 25,412,873 | 228 | Solo - Male |
| 55 | |
Drake | 140,645,000 | 22,428,479 | 228 | Solo - Male |
| 56 | |
Foreigner | 82,528,000 | 36,715,133 | 223 | Group - Male |
| 57 |  |
Bob Dylan | 145,084,000 | 20,187,932 | 220 | Solo - Male |
| 58 |  |
Pearl Jam | 84,539,000 | 30,483,907 | 206 | Group - Male |
| 59 | |
Coldplay | 113,577,000 | 22,005,871 | 203 | Group - Male |
| 60 |  |
Deep Purple | 93,132,000 | 27,017,267 | 203 | Group - Male |
| 61 | |
The Supremes | 76,228,000 | 32,306,443 | 201 | Group - Female |
| 62 | |
Depeche Mode | 98,589,000 | 23,900,776 | 197 | Group - Male |
| 63 |  |
Def Leppard | 74,661,000 | 31,738,821 | 197 | Group - Male |
| 64 |  |
Van Halen | 102,523,000 | 22,464,330 | 195 | Group - Male |
| 65 |  |
Genesis | 113,956,000 | 19,121,142 | 189 | Group - Male |
| 66 |  |
BTS | 116,051,000 | 17,100,233 | 181 | Group - Male |
| 67 |  |
Alanis Morissette | 58,249,000 | 33,826,492 | 180 | Solo - Female |
| 68 |  |
Sade | 76,072,000 | 25,961,768 | 180 | Group - Mixed |
| 69 | |
Tina Turner | 74,502,000 | 26,526,112 | 180 | Solo - Female |
| 70 | |
Justin Bieber | 99,511,000 | 19,834,038 | 180 | Solo - Male |
| 71 | |
Linkin Park | 93,526,000 | 20,759,873 | 179 | Group - Mixed |
| 72 | |
Ariana Grande | 78,521,000 | 24,573,638 | 178 | Solo - Female |
| 73 |  |
Enya | 88,870,000 | 21,582,135 | 178 | Solo - Female |
| 74 |  |
Meat Loaf | 62,696,000 | 30,503,804 | 177 | Solo - Male |
| 75 | |
Cher | 74,095,000 | 25,287,705 | 176 | Solo - Female |
| 76 | |
Jay-Z | 97,889,000 | 19,173,713 | 176 | Solo - Male |
| 77 |  |
Supertramp | 72,474,000 | 25,602,074 | 175 | Group - Male |
| 78 | |
Shakira | 82,644,000 | 22,226,619 | 174 | Solo - Female |
| 79 |  |
R.E.M. | 90,868,000 | 20,197,027 | 174 | Group - Male |
| 80 | |
Rihanna | 106,631,000 | 17,208,132 | 174 | Solo - Female |
| 81 |  |
Black Sabbath | 79,878,000 | 22,885,797 | 173 | Group - Male |
| 82 | |
Kendrick Lamar | 73,199,000 | 24,655,995 | 172 | Solo - Male |
| 83 | |
Lady Gaga | 79,508,000 | 22,564,882 | 172 | Solo - Female |
| 84 | |
Green Day | 90,387,000 | 19,614,912 | 171 | Group - Male |
| 85 | |
Beyoncé | 94,073,000 | 18,036,805 | 167 | Solo - Female |
| 86 | |
Kanye West | 92,922,000 | 18,017,226 | 166 | Solo - Male |
| 87 | |
Spice Girls | 50,153,000 | 33,485,470 | 166 | Group - Female |
| 88 |  |
Iron Maiden | 89,126,000 | 18,742,982 | 166 | Group - Male |
| 89 |  |
Cream | 42,262,000 | 38,921,651 | 165 | Group - Male |
| 90 |  |
Sting | 81,632,000 | 20,226,867 | 165 | Solo - Male |
| 91 | |
Janet Jackson | 78,418,000 | 19,977,418 | 161 | Solo - Female |
| 92 | |
Maroon 5 | 82,773,000 | 18,520,900 | 159 | Group - Male |
| 93 |  |
Robbie Williams | 77,556,000 | 19,411,411 | 157 | Solo - Male |
| 94 | |
Bruno Mars | 77,113,000 | 19,197,672 | 156 | Solo - Male |
| 95 | |
P!nk | 80,645,000 | 17,992,234 | 155 | Solo - Female |
| 96 |  |
Crosby, Stills & Nash | 61,015,000 | 23,255,287 | 153 | Group - Male |
| 97 |  |
Neil Young | 99,113,000 | 13,955,846 | 151 | Solo - Male |
| 98 |  |
Oasis | 63,766,000 | 20,866,829 | 148 | Group - Male |
| 99 |  |
2pac | 82,720,000 | 16,011,615 | 148 | Solo - Male |
| 100 |  |
Boston | 50,701,000 | 26,073,392 | 147 | Group - Male |
| 101 |  |
Tracy Chapman | 52,402,000 | 22,938,699 | 141 | Solo - Female |
| 102 | |
Aretha Franklin | 81,566,000 | 14,795,353 | 141 | Solo - Female |
| 103 |  |
Destiny's Child | 50,453,000 | 23,180,688 | 139 | Group - Female |
| 104 |  |
Paul Simon | 52,690,000 | 21,667,004 | 137 | Solo - Male |
| 105 | |
Black Eyed Peas | 60,729,000 | 18,499,537 | 136 | Group - Male |
| 106 |  |
Post Malone | 54,918,000 | 19,826,171 | 134 | Solo - Male |
| 107 |  |
Norah Jones | 53,152,000 | 19,246,482 | 130 | Solo - Female |
| 108 | |
Katy Perry | 62,778,000 | 16,038,625 | 129 | Solo - Female |
| 109 | |
The Weeknd | 70,464,000 | 14,401,858 | 129 | Solo - Male |
| 110 | |
Usher | 69,312,000 | 14,303,725 | 128 | Solo - Male |
| 111 | |
Diana Ross | 64,251,000 | 14,798,208 | 125 | Solo - Female |
| 112 |  |
Cranberries | 47,146,000 | 19,990,989 | 125 | Group - Mixed |
| 113 |  |
No Doubt | 35,898,000 | 26,076,829 | 124 | Group - Mixed |
| 114 |  |
TLC | 41,644,000 | 21,910,561 | 123 | Group - Female |
| 115 | |
Christina Aguilera | 57,107,000 | 15,737,571 | 122 | Solo - Female |
| 116 |  |
Travis Scott | 43,586,000 | 20,179,583 | 120 | Solo - Male |
| 117 | |
Alicia Keys | 53,738,000 | 16,379,872 | 120 | Solo - Female |
| 118 | |
Sam Smith | 40,697,000 | 21,094,062 | 119 | Solo - Non-Binary |
| 119 | |
Nickelback | 57,745,000 | 14,672,634 | 118 | Group - Male |
| 120 |  |
Ace of Base | 36,127,000 | 23,581,536 | 118 | Group - Mixed |
| 121 |  |
Michael Bublé | 69,175,000 | 11,630,919 | 115 | Solo - Male |
| 122 |  |
NSYNC | 45,642,000 | 16,540,588 | 111 | Group - Male |
| 123 | |
Avril Lavigne | 47,942,000 | 14,985,010 | 109 | Solo - Female |
| 124 |  |
Evanescence | 32,430,000 | 22,284,106 | 109 | Group - Mixed |
| 125 |  |
Ozzy Osbourne | 53,294,000 | 13,498,163 | 109 | Solo - Male |
| 126 | |
Ayumi Hamasaki | 61,863,000 | 11,313,478 | 107 | Solo - Female |
| 127 | |
Nicki Minaj | 53,832,000 | 12,791,279 | 106 | Solo - Female |
| 128 | |
Justin Timberlake | 55,981,000 | 12,245,296 | 106 | Solo - Male |
| 129 |  |
Bad Bunny | 76,854,000 | 8,484,148 | 104 | Solo - Male |
| 130 |  |
Fugees | 23,106,000 | 27,602,211 | 102 | Group - Mixed |
| 131 |  |
Amy Winehouse | 35,066,000 | 17,507,072 | 101 | Solo - Female |
| 132 |  |
Jennifer Lopez | 47,296,000 | 12,530,579 | 99 | Solo - Female |
| 133 | |
One Direction | 61,670,000 | 9,618,386 | 99 | Group - Male |
| 134 |  |
Take That | 39,485,000 | 15,039,081 | 99 | Group - Male |
| 135 |  |
Gorillaz | 32,616,000 | 18,303,809 | 99 | Group - Male |
| 136 | |
Enrique Iglesias | 61,387,000 | 9,546,917 | 98 | Solo - Male |
| 137 | |
Johnny Hallyday | 76,299,000 | 7,596,313 | 98 | Solo - Male |
| 138 |  |
Billie Eilish | 37,918,000 | 14,777,938 | 96 | Solo - Female |
| 139 | |
Imagine Dragons | 45,899,000 | 11,392,835 | 93 | Group - Male |
| 140 |  |
James Blunt | 29,877,000 | 17,613,289 | 93 | Solo - Male |
| 141 |  |
Dido | 32,028,000 | 16,015,911 | 92 | Solo - Female |
| 142 |  |
Dua Lipa | 32,962,000 | 15,164,957 | 91 | Solo - Female |
| 143 | |
Kelly Clarkson | 39,105,000 | 12,707,409 | 90 | Solo - Female |
| 144 | |
John Lennon | 82,893,000 | 5,922,705 | 90 | Solo - Male |
| 145 |  |
Shawn Mendes | 31,498,000 | 15,727,434 | 90 | Solo - Male |
| 146 |  |
SEVENTEEN | 60,170,000 | 8,031,968 | 89 | Group - Male |
| 147 | |
Kylie Minogue | 37,683,000 | 12,519,302 | 88 | Solo - Female |
| 148 |  |
System Of A Down | 35,703,000 | 12,929,569 | 87 | Group - Male |
| 149 |  |
Foo Fighters | 44,775,000 | 9,782,915 | 85 | Group - Male |
| 150 | |
Paul McCartney | 114,847,000 | 3,706,069 | 84 | Solo - Male |
| 151 | |
Miley Cyrus | 55,716,000 | 7,749,452 | 84 | Solo - Female |
| 152 |  |
Ms. Lauryn Hill | 22,738,000 | 17,068,596 | 80 | Solo - Female |
| 153 |  |
Charlie Puth | 20,439,000 | 16,877,379 | 75 | Solo - Male |
| 154 | |
Selena Gomez | 38,387,000 | 8,813,410 | 75 | Solo - Female |
| 155 |  |
Lana Del Rey | 33,728,000 | 9,226,786 | 72 | Solo - Female |
| 156 |  |
Roberto Carlos | 98,500,000 | 3,171,456 | 72 | Solo - Male |
| 157 |  |
Olivia Rodrigo | 18,453,000 | 15,907,251 | 70 | Solo - Female |
| 158 |  |
Ike & Tina Turner | 35,081,000 | 8,064,301 | 68 | Group - Mixed |
| 159 |  |
Arctic Monkeys | 30,948,000 | 9,108,433 | 68 | Group - Male |
| 160 |  |
Lewis Capaldi | 12,874,000 | 21,873,389 | 68 | Solo - Male |
| 161 | |
Carrie Underwood | 30,828,000 | 8,805,331 | 67 | Solo - Female |
| 162 |  |
Harry Styles | 22,997,000 | 11,571,151 | 66 | Solo - Male |
| 163 |  |
Gwen Stefani | 21,496,000 | 11,820,072 | 65 | Solo - Female |
| 164 |  |
Lil Nas X | 12,721,000 | 19,948,910 | 65 | Solo - Male |
| 165 | |
Macklemore | 19,478,000 | 12,964,232 | 64 | Solo - Male |
| 166 |  |
Blackpink | 27,186,000 | 8,856,168 | 63 | Group - Female |
| 167 |  |
Carly Rae Jepsen | 11,609,000 | 19,609,200 | 61 | Solo - Female |
| 168 |  |
Meghan Trainor | 16,847,000 | 12,666,267 | 59 | Solo - Female |
| 169 |  |
Cardi B | 23,365,000 | 8,668,978 | 58 | Solo - Female |
| 170 |  |
Fergie | 14,946,000 | 12,382,342 | 55 | Solo - Female |
| 171 |  |
Avicii | 26,147,000 | 6,809,293 | 54 | Solo - Male |
| 172 |  |
Juice WRLD | 35,777,000 | 4,748,646 | 53 | Solo - Male |
| 173 |  |
Traveling Wilburys | 16,099,000 | 10,045,660 | 52 | Group - Male |
| 174 |  |
Buffalo Springfield | 11,320,000 | 14,208,538 | 51 | Group - Male |
| 175 |  |
Björk | 26,305,000 | 5,860,629 | 50 | Solo - Female |
| 176 |  |
Lorde | 14,341,000 | 9,720,259 | 48 | Solo - Female |
| 177 |  |
Xuxa | 36,061,000 | 3,845,193 | 48 | Solo - Female |
| 178 |  |
Aaliyah | 18,679,000 | 7,221,436 | 47 | Solo - Female |
| 179 |  |
Blind Faith | 10,097,000 | 13,447,685 | 47 | Group - Male |
| 180 |  |
Doja Cat | 19,381,000 | 7,037,213 | 47 | Solo - Female |
| 181 |  |
The Yardbirds | 16,792,000 | 8,006,528 | 47 | Group - Male |
| 182 |  |
Lin-Manuel Miranda | 19,951,000 | 6,101,427 | 45 | Solo - Male |
| 183 |  |
SZA | 16,511,000 | 6,983,142 | 44 | Solo - Female |
| 184 | |
Will.i.am | 14,160,000 | 6,300,320 | 38 | Solo - Male |
| 185 |  |
Demi Lovato | 26,716,000 | 3,225,769 | 38 | Solo - Non-Binary |
| 186 |  |
Renaud | 22,558,000 | 3,496,635 | 36 | Solo - Male |
| 187 |  |
EXO | 35,007,000 | 2,245,991 | 36 | Group - Male |
| 188 |  |
Sabrina Carpenter | 11,385,000 | 6,220,221 | 34 | Solo - Female |
| 189 |  |
Morgan Wallen | 19,433,000 | 3,438,557 | 33 | Solo - Male |
| 190 |  |
Little Mix | 16,640,000 | 3,163,154 | 29 | Group - Female |
| 191 | |
George Harrison | 33,907,000 | 901,535 | 22 | Solo - Male |
| 192 |  |
Ringo Starr | 15,767,000 | 168,525 | 7 | Solo - Male |
| Artist | Gender |
Frequently Asked Questions
The Beatles are the best-selling artists of all time with over 520 million equivalent album sales. More than 175 million sales behind, Michael Jackson is the runner-up ahead of Elvis Presley.
Michael Jackson is the best-selling solo artist of all time with over 340 million equivalent album sales. Elvis Presley is a close runner-up, with Madonna completing the top 3 lower down.
Madonna is the best-selling solo artist of all time with over 250 million equivalent album sales. Taylor Swift is quickly catching up, while Celine Dion is third.
With over 135m copies sold, Elvis Presley is the best-selling artist for physical singles.
With over 257m copies sold, Rihanna is the best-selling artist for digital singles.
As revealed by our most-streamed artists on digital streaming platforms list, Drake, Taylor Swift, and Bad Bunny are the biggest artists worldwide in recent years, with the addition of BTS thanks to their heavy album sales.
No. While their success is indeed outstanding as they rank 1st and 3rd among all-time top-sellers, the billion claims made in the early 80s were based on an old accounting method using singles equivalent, where each album sale was valued as 6 units.Under this method, each of the 22 artists with over 167 million equivalent album sales on this page would be over 1 billion “records” sold.
We have more for you
Artists
SPS – Best-selling artists ever | by decade | by period | by discography strength
Tools: Artist dashboard | Compare artists
Sales – Albums | Physical singles | Digital singles
Streams – Most streamed on Spotify | all audio DSPs
Tools: Playcounts | Royalties | Global reach | Stats history
Others KPIs – Top Spotify | Monthly listeners | Followers | Popularity | Virality | Top money makers
Albums
SPS – Top albums | #1 each year
Sales – Best-selling albums
Streams – Most streamed | Top debuts
Songs
SPS – Top songs | #1 each year
Sales – Physical | Digital
Streams – Most streamed | Trending
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