Most successful artists by decade

You can’t go far without bumping into music. We hear it at the grocery store, on the radio, in commercials, movie soundtracks, parties, pubs… and, of course, when we hit play ourselves.

And then, music sticks. Certain songs end up tangled with moments — the soundtrack to summer road trips, heartbreaks, first loves, or wild nights out. That’s why the artists we grew up with feel like more than just voices. They’re part of who we were.

This page is your time machine. A trip through the biggest names of each decade: the ones you’ve never let go of, and the ones you forgot you knew every word to. Ready to press play on the past?

Table of Contents

Most successful artists by decade

Our method: weighting sales and streams fairly

The rankings shown here reflect the most successful artists of each decade, based on our proprietary CSPC approach. This concept combines sales and streams across all formats — physical, digital, and streaming — for every song recorded during the relevant period, with data kept fully up to date.

Take the Beatles, for example. Their total for the 1960s includes their entire catalog from that decade, but excludes material from Let It Be (released in 1970) and the few singles that followed.

While it might seem surprising, using cumulative sales and streams to date actually offers a more accurate picture of which artists had the biggest long-term impact during a given era, rather than just looking at how many records they sold at the time.

The CSPC method also applies proper weightings to each format, ensuring fair comparisons and avoiding the kind of inconsistent, inflated claims you often find on pages like Wikipedia’s best-selling artists — where the very definition of a “record” has shifted dramatically over the years and between labels.

Note that some artists with strong results across multiple decades haven’t been studied yet. All figures shown reflect data from each artist’s published CSPC article, combined with the most recent available streaming numbers.
You can find the full list of analyzed artists here.

Rock’n’roll invade the 1950s, Elvis Presley steals the show

The king of the 50s is undoubtedly Elvis Presley. In a decade when selling 500,000 copies of an album was a miracle, the rock legend created a body of work which moved over 128 million units through the years.

Under normal circumstances, this would have been enough to destroy everyone else. While he has a comfortable lead, Frank Sinatra is an impressively strong runner up still.

The Voice, who debuted at the end of the 30s, is widely seen as the inventor of the album as we know it, with every song intended to be listened to as an ensemble, rather than a box of individual singles.

He did so with his 50s classic LPs like In the Wee Small Hours or Songs for Swingin’ Lovers!, the latter being the first UK #1 album ever.

So far, we studied only 2 artists with sales exceeding 10 million based on their 50s output, although arguably these pair would remain easily the top 2. Contenders for the top 10 spots, in no particular order, would be artists like Johnny Cash, Miles Davis, Ray Charles, Bill Haley & His Comets, Nat King Cole, Bing Crosby, The Kingston Trio, Johnny Mathis, Doris Day, Mario Lanza, Mantovani, Harry Belafonte, Jackie Gleason, Brenda Lee, Glenn Miller and more.

#	Pic	Artist	EAS
1		Elvis Presley	129,460,000
2		Frank Sinatra	85,898,000

If you would like to look for the most successful artists over a specific period that you can choose, rather than by decades, it’s possible! Just head to the dedicated page and enter your period of interest:

The Beatles make the 1960s their own

Elvis Presley, the Beach Boys, and the Rolling Stones all recorded outstanding 60s success, with a catalog responsible for north of 100 million equivalent album sales each. Yet, they almost look weak compared to the Beatles.

This highlights how insanely popular they have been. They are the definition of the most successful artist in a decade.

Scoring nearly 400 million worth of sales with their 60s songs, they aren’t only leaders of the 60s, as they would lead any decade with this tally, actually, they would lead every decade with half of these sales!

Nearly all big ones have been scanned, with usual suspects hitting the top 10 like Simon & Garfunkel and Bob Dylan.

#	Artist	EAS
14	Aretha Franklin	46,197,000
30	Blind Faith	10,150,000
15	Cream	42,685,000
13	Creedence Clearwater Revival	57,624,000
16	Barbra Streisand	31,370,000
17	Bee Gees	28,168,000
9	Bob Dylan	75,107,000
25	Cher	15,098,000
2	Elvis Presley	134,318,000
26	Fleetwood Mac	14,922,000
27	Jackson 5 & The Jacksons	14,477,000
18	Johnny Hallyday	27,450,000
11	Led Zeppelin	60,435,000
20	Pink Floyd	22,056,000
5	Simon & Garfunkel	94,186,000
4	Rolling Stones	114,099,000
31	Deep Purple	10,028,000
7	Frank Sinatra	82,165,000
23	Ike & Tina Turner	16,311,000
6	Jimi Hendrix	82,846,000
12	Neil Diamond	60,134,000
29	Buffalo Springfield	11,697,000
24	Crosby, Stills, Nash (& Young)	15,662,000
28	Roberto Carlos	12,464,000
21	Santana	16,993,000
19	Stevie Wonder	24,401,000
3	The Beach Boys	127,929,000
1	The Beatles	476,526,000
8	The Doors	75,196,000
10	The Supremes	71,806,000
22	The Yardbirds	16,576,000

Classic rock continues to thrive through the 1970s

Hands down the most stacked decade, the 70s see their entire top 10 crack the 100 million barrier.

These years featured some amazing artists, most notably bands, from Pink Floyd to Led Zeppelin to Queen to the Eagles to ABBA.

Each of them secure more than 130 million equivalent album sales, with the former leading the way, although with a minimal lead towards the Eagles. Of course, Pink Floyd enjoyed some of the biggest albums of all-time during this decade, especially Dark Side of the Moon and The Wall.

Among solo acts Elton John was an unparalleled hit maker, and a very active one too, ultimately putting himself strongly among these legends. He claims the biggest selling decade up to that point among solo artists.

#	Artist	EAS
50	Aretha Franklin	18,013,000
20	Black Sabbath	65,114,000
35	Boston	41,541,000
12	Carpenters	96,519,000
34	Creedence Clearwater Revival	41,781,000
6	Abba	132,697,000
16	AC/DC	73,818,000
21	Aerosmith	64,142,000
26	Barbra Streisand	57,564,000
9	Bee Gees	110,272,000
14	Billy Joel	76,171,000
30	Bob Dylan	46,412,000
7	Bob Marley	119,037,000
36	Bruce Springsteen	38,871,000
54	Cher	11,272,000
17	David Bowie	72,756,000
43	Dire Straits	32,995,000
2	Eagles	169,402,000
5	Elton John	137,568,000
27	Elvis Presley	55,541,000
11	Fleetwood Mac	101,389,000
44	Jackson 5 & The Jacksons	30,677,000
51	Johnny Hallyday	17,641,000
3	Led Zeppelin	144,461,000
39	Meat Loaf	36,099,000
29	Michael Jackson	48,562,000
47	Paul Simon	20,962,000
1	Pink Floyd	176,939,000
41	Simon & Garfunkel	34,638,000
15	Rolling Stones	75,064,000
18	Deep Purple	71,424,000
46	Diana Ross	26,516,000
10	Eric Clapton	102,176,000
40	Foreigner	34,987,000
53	Frank Sinatra	12,375,000
32	Genesis	42,861,000
49	Ike & Tina Turner	18,090,000
48	Jimi Hendrix	20,911,000
25	John Lennon	58,033,000
52	Journey	15,475,000
22	Neil Diamond	62,436,000
37	Crosby, Stills, Nash (& Young)	37,839,000
28	Neil Young	54,303,000
19	Paul McCartney	69,299,000
4	Queen	140,890,000
33	Roberto Carlos	42,260,000
8	Rod Stewart & Faces	110,697,000
13	Santana	76,324,000
24	Stevie Wonder	58,410,000
23	Supertramp	61,002,000
55	The Beach Boys	10,224,000
38	The Beatles	36,495,000
31	The Doors	43,531,000
42	The Police	34,081,000
45	Van Halen	28,453,000

The 1980s summed up by Michael Jackson

Michael Jackson is a clear winner as the most successful artist of the 80s decade, with the second largest decade of all-time, only behind the Beatles‘ 60s total.

It is an almost natural conclusion as the American artist perfectly resumes everything related to this decade. No matter if we look at economics with the globalization, at social aspects with the empowerment of minorities, or the music industry itself with the explosion of MTV, Michael Jackson combines it all.

While productivity is a key factor to feature high on these lists, the US Pop legend is unique, amassing this monumental total of 185 million on the back of a mere 2 studio albums. Thriller and Bad stand as the #1 and #4 best selling albums ever, respectively.

The 80s is a pivotal decade as we see the list switching from rock legends to superstars.

All the big ones are there, with one more stacked top 10 featuring Madonna, up to that point the first female to feature that high, but also Phil Collins, Prince, Bruce Springsteen, George Michael, and more like Billy Joel or Whitney Houston in the top 20.

Rock stars weren’t completely gone just yet with a new generation getting big. These included U2, AC/DC, Bon Jovi in the top 10 and a bit below others like Metallica, Iron Maiden or Guns N’ Roses.

Kudos to Queen, who top 100 million sales just like they did from their 70s material. They are only the second – after Elvis Presley -, and still the last to date, to record over 100 million sales off their catalog from two distinct decades.

#	Artist	EAS
56	Aretha Franklin	14,176,000
58	Black Sabbath	11,835,000
24	Bryan Adams	49,774,000
37	Abba	32,974,000
7	AC/DC	90,780,000
41	Aerosmith	29,542,000
28	Barbra Streisand	43,896,000
59	Bee Gees	11,383,000
15	Billy Joel	65,195,000
45	Bob Marley	27,454,000
9	Bon Jovi	84,294,000
8	Bruce Springsteen	86,269,000
54	Cher	16,909,000
31	David Bowie	37,822,000
12	Dire Straits	70,781,000
29	Elton John	40,461,000
42	Enya	28,902,000
39	Fleetwood Mac	32,295,000
10	George Michael & Wham!	75,603,000
14	Guns N' Roses	65,280,000
36	Janet Jackson	33,896,000
55	Johnny Hallyday	14,537,000
57	Kylie Minogue	13,077,000
2	Madonna	135,448,000
1	Michael Jackson	187,828,000
63	Nirvana	10,251,000
49	Paul Simon	23,162,000
3	Phil Collins	123,019,000
52	Pink Floyd	20,297,000
6	Prince	95,848,000
61	Renaud	11,299,000
30	Rolling Stones	38,466,000
4	U2	116,147,000
20	Whitney Houston	59,570,000
21	Def Leppard	58,563,000
22	Depeche Mode	57,826,000
38	Diana Ross	32,341,000
51	Eric Clapton	21,043,000
27	Foreigner	45,832,000
48	Garth Brooks	23,468,000
23	Genesis	50,148,000
17	Iron Maiden	64,341,000
26	John Lennon	47,574,000
16	Journey	64,656,000
50	Mannheim Steamroller	23,136,000
11	Metallica	71,858,000
47	Neil Diamond	23,914,000
64	Neil Young	10,233,000
35	Ozzy Osbourne	33,951,000
44	Paul McCartney	27,809,000
5	Queen	115,301,000
46	R.E.M.	26,111,000
43	Roberto Carlos	28,387,000
40	Rod Stewart & Faces	30,603,000
25	Sade	48,295,000
32	Stevie Wonder	37,589,000
34	Sting	34,006,000
62	Supertramp	10,906,000
13	The Police	68,642,000
18	Tina Turner	63,815,000
33	Tracy Chapman	36,526,000
60	Traveling Wilburys	11,346,000
19	Van Halen	61,756,000
53	Xuxa	18,640,000

Females’ big 4 overwhelm the 1990s

The superstars era was in full force during the 90s, especially divas, with Celine Dion, Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston ranking at 1, 2 and 4, respectively. Their figures are also very high as decades from the first two are the strongest decades ever for solo artists after Michael Jackson‘s 80s.

They completed the big 4 of female singers, along with Madonna, who was also selling tremendous amounts, here listed at 10 despite selling a lot of albums off her 80s material during that decade.

On top of the 5 female artists top 10, the 90s also saw new music genres explode. Country is represented by Garth Brooks at 3 and Shania Twain at 9, while rap music almost made it for the first time with 2Pac at 11.

Another 90s phenomenon were boy bands, the Backstreet Boys couldn’t miss from this top 10.

Then, rock music also embarked into new ways as highlighted by a Grunge artist at 5 with Nirvana, metal kings Metallica at 7, Alternative pioneers R.E.M. at 14 and Britpop icons Oasis at 15.

#	Artist	EAS
11	2Pac	67,905,000
27	Ace Of Base	36,685,000
54	Ayumi Hamasaki	18,257,000
50	Björk	19,740,000
29	Britney Spears	33,572,000
25	Bryan Adams	37,725,000
39	AC/DC	26,301,000
26	Aerosmith	37,125,000
17	Alanis Morissette	52,063,000
8	Backstreet Boys	79,805,000
63	Barbra Streisand	14,180,000
74	Billy Joel	11,528,000
24	Bon Jovi	38,845,000
57	Bruce Springsteen	17,667,000
2	Celine Dion	164,028,000
34	Cher	28,467,000
55	Christina Aguilera	17,910,000
20	Cranberries	48,424,000
76	Dire Straits	10,463,000
45	Elton John	22,663,000
41	Enrique Iglesias	25,020,000
31	Enya	32,568,000
48	Foo Fighters	20,830,000
32	George Michael & Wham!	31,890,000
19	Green Day	49,653,000
14	Guns N' Roses	62,137,000
30	Janet Jackson	32,781,000
12	Madonna	67,611,000
51	Meat Loaf	19,568,000
7	Michael Jackson	82,893,000
5	Nirvana	92,253,000
52	NSYNC	19,553,000
16	Oasis	53,587,000
47	Phil Collins	21,085,000
64	Pink Floyd	14,110,000
35	Prince	27,270,000
13	Red Hot Chili Peppers	63,594,000
10	Shania Twain	68,680,000
18	Spice Girls	49,906,000
71	Rolling Stones	11,920,000
21	U2	43,384,000
70	Usher	12,187,000
4	Whitney Houston	92,446,000
65	Def Leppard	13,909,000
33	Depeche Mode	29,136,000
43	Destiny's Child	23,593,000
60	Dido	16,404,000
61	Eminem	15,251,000
36	Eric Clapton	27,111,000
42	Fugees	23,795,000
3	Garth Brooks	108,309,000
49	Genesis	20,418,000
62	Iron Maiden	14,201,000
46	Jay-Z	21,852,000
69	Jennifer Lopez	12,484,000
53	Lauryn Hill	19,371,000
73	Mannheim Steamroller	11,589,000
1	Mariah Carey	165,247,000
6	Metallica	83,824,000
66	Neil Young	13,288,000
38	No Doubt	26,357,000
68	Ozzy Osbourne	12,559,000
9	Pearl Jam	73,400,000
37	Queen	26,486,000
15	R.E.M.	59,673,000
44	Robbie Williams	22,775,000
75	Roberto Carlos	11,181,000
58	Rod Stewart & Faces	16,760,000
59	Sade	16,444,000
28	Santana	34,189,000
56	Shakira	17,709,000
23	Sting	39,466,000
40	Take That	25,627,000
22	TLC	40,661,000
72	Tracy Chapman	11,918,000
67	Van Halen	12,702,000

The 2000s reshuffle the cards

While rap was knocking at the door in the 90s, it completely revamped the house in the 00s. Eminem crushed the decade with a total approaching 140 million. It’s worth noting that from there the totals are still increasing pretty fast, as they had less time to build up so far and as most of these artists are streamed a lot still.

The lack of time to amass high sales, and the stronger pure sales of the first half of the decade, shot artists huge early on to the first positions, with Linkin Park, Coldplay and Britney Spears filling the top 4.

This also means that positions are subject to change in the future. Kanye West, listed at 11 with 48 million as I’m writing these lines, is likely to climb all the way to #6 in upcoming years as his 00s catalog is hotter than the 5 artists ahead of him.

With no female artist in the top 3, we are left believing they weren’t doing as well as in the 90s. In truth, the density was much stronger, with 25 of them inside the top 50 against 14 in the previous decade.

Even more special to the 00s is the complete absence of leftovers. Each the 60s, the 70s, the 80s, and the 90s have artists in their top 10 who were already top 10 in the prior decade.

The most successful artists of the 00s decade are all new at this level, but most are even quite simply new. Out of the top 10, 5 artists released their debut in the 00s, 2 debuted earlier but got their commercial break through in the 00s (Black Eyed Peas and Nickelback), 2 got their real first one out in 1999 (Eminem and Britney Spears), leaving Robbie Williams as the dinosaur, with a debut in late 1997.

This situation continues all the way down to the top 16, with the biggest non-novelty acts being ironically Madonna and U2, who weren’t in their second but in their third decade!

#	Artist	EAS
50	2Pac	16,889,000
53	Adele	15,943,000
29	Amy Winehouse	32,290,000
51	Arctic Monkeys	16,647,000
19	Ayumi Hamasaki	41,386,000
5	Beyonce	63,722,000
4	Britney Spears	70,435,000
3	Coldplay	80,151,000
59	AC/DC	12,514,000
13	Alicia Keys	48,427,000
18	Avril Lavigne	42,426,000
46	Backstreet Boys	19,802,000
6	Black Eyed Peas	55,226,000
36	Bon Jovi	27,274,000
52	Bruce Springsteen	16,397,000
44	Carrie Underwood	22,980,000
43	Celine Dion	23,014,000
39	Christina Aguilera	26,350,000
48	Enrique Iglesias	18,112,000
38	Enya	26,483,000
56	Fergie	14,579,000
47	Foo Fighters	19,463,000
25	Green Day	36,936,000
62	Janet Jackson	11,575,000
24	Justin Timberlake	37,224,000
32	Kelly Clarkson	28,771,000
49	Kylie Minogue	18,016,000
2	Linkin Park	86,564,000
21	Madonna	40,198,000
15	Michael Bublé	45,717,000
63	Michael Jackson	11,471,000
10	Nickelback	52,842,000
11	Norah Jones	51,141,000
35	NSYNC	27,792,000
61	Oasis	12,333,000
31	Red Hot Chili Peppers	29,488,000
55	Shania Twain	15,034,000
23	U2	39,754,000
20	Usher	40,961,000
33	Destiny's Child	28,470,000
54	Dido	15,587,000
1	Eminem	145,521,000
60	Eric Clapton	12,373,000
30	Evanescence	31,986,000
37	Gorillaz	26,628,000
45	Gwen Stefani	19,842,000
41	James Blunt	24,493,000
9	Jay-Z	53,947,000
40	Jennifer Lopez	26,024,000
7	Kanye West	55,125,000
57	Katy Perry	13,432,000
16	Lady Gaga	43,541,000
34	Mariah Carey	28,061,000
27	Maroon 5	33,182,000
58	Metallica	12,691,000
28	Miley Cyrus	32,794,000
8	Pink	54,756,000
14	Rihanna	48,235,000
12	Robbie Williams	49,393,000
42	Rod Stewart & Faces	24,024,000
17	Shakira	43,129,000
26	System of a Down	34,196,000
22	Taylor Swift	40,092,000

Clash of the titans in the 2010s

So far, the 10s are marked by the terrific battle between Taylor Swift and Drake, claiming almost the exact same total on very high waters, both are still candidates to the throne among the most successful artists of the 10s decade.

At first, Adele looked like a surefire #1 for the decade, but her lack of productivity saw artists like Ed Sheeran move ahead. Then, BTS seemed poised to climb higher and higher. Each of the top 5 artists would have ranked at 2 in the 00s, which shows how strong they have all been.

Ultimately, Taylor Swift and Drake prevailed thanks to their dense and highly successful catalog, which is still doing wonders week after week. Right now the former seems likely to create a gap over Drake, but don’t rule out the Canadian star just yet as he is impressively strong himself.

Speaking about Canada, they improve the 90s madness that saw 3 of their stars in the top 20, by appearing 3 times in the top 10 thanks to Justin Bieber and The Weeknd on top of aforementioned Drake.

And then, we need to come back to South Korean legends BTS as they are the very first non-English speaking artist to feature in a top 10, which is no small achievement.

#	Artist	EAS
4	Adele	91,126,000
36	Arctic Monkeys	22,695,000
12	Ariana Grande	59,212,000
26	Bad Bunny	37,085,000
27	Beyonce	34,822,000
25	Billie Eilish	39,162,000
45	Blackpink	17,775,000
60	Britney Spears	10,468,000
7	Bruno Mars	78,306,000
5	BTS	89,230,000
43	Cardi B	18,601,000
57	Carly Rae Jepsen	13,024,000
39	Charlie Puth	22,443,000
22	Coldplay	40,921,000
34	Avicii	23,829,000
59	Christina Aguilera	11,093,000
54	Enrique Iglesias	14,998,000
21	Imagine Dragons	43,100,000
47	Justin Timberlake	16,782,000
58	Kelly Clarkson	11,856,000
49	Linkin Park	15,905,000
51	Lorde	15,595,000
53	Macklemore	15,232,000
33	Michael Bublé	25,118,000
9	One Direction	69,502,000
50	Usher	15,725,000
42	Demi Lovato	20,122,000
2	Drake	119,594,000
32	Dua Lipa	25,775,000
3	Ed Sheeran	98,580,000
16	Eminem	51,012,000
29	EXO	30,017,000
37	Harry Styles	22,643,000
40	Jay-Z	20,803,000
35	Juice Wrld	22,834,000
6	Justin Bieber	82,754,000
15	Kanye West	53,551,000
18	Katy Perry	50,402,000
11	Kendrick Lamar	61,193,000
24	Lady Gaga	39,293,000
20	Lana Del Rey	46,724,000
55	Lewis Capaldi	14,717,000
38	Lin-Manuel Miranda	22,594,000
52	Little Mix	15,293,000
14	Maroon 5	54,934,000
44	Meghan Trainor	18,484,000
46	Miley Cyrus	16,971,000
17	Nicki Minaj	50,519,000
31	Pink	26,100,000
13	Post Malone	57,458,000
8	Rihanna	76,224,000
23	Sam Smith	39,796,000
30	Selena Gomez	29,334,000
48	Seventeen	16,707,000
41	Shakira	20,409,000
28	Shawn Mendes	34,237,000
56	SZA	14,211,000
1	Taylor Swift	136,634,000
10	The Weeknd	63,561,000
19	Travis Scott	47,119,000

You can also read our ranking for best-selling artists of the 2010s right here.

The 2020s, a new world in the making

The 2020s are still very young, with no artist reaching 50 million so far, a threshold that would be a minimum to be inside the top 10 in the long run. The top 10 at the moment is mostly made of artists benefitting from their ongoing traction from the previous decade, so it’s strongly subject to change.

With two non-English speaking artists in the top 3, we can notice how streaming is making the music industry more global than it has ever been.

What’s also pretty safe to say is that both Bad Bunny and Taylor Swift will remain in the top 10 even when all is said and done.

The Puerto Rican king has been smashing like crazy since 2020, claiming the most streamed album ever on Spotify with a Latin record!

As for Taylor Swift, sky is the limit for her as she seems bigger and bigger as time pass, putting her name in the conversation not among today’s top stars, but among all-time biggest ones along with the Beatles, Elvis Presley, Michael Jackson or Madonna.

#	Artist	EAS
12	Ariana Grande	15,222,000
1	Bad Bunny	57,230,000
18	Billie Eilish	10,354,000
20	Blackpink	10,061,000
4	BTS	35,982,000
17	Doja Cat	14,030,000
5	Drake	35,300,000
11	Dua Lipa	15,684,000
16	Ed Sheeran	14,490,000
19	Juice Wrld	10,142,000
8	Justin Bieber	23,462,000
13	Kendrick Lamar	14,820,000
9	Morgan Wallen	21,576,000
7	Olivia Rodrigo	28,239,000
15	Sabrina Carpenter	14,601,000
3	Seventeen	44,749,000
10	SZA	17,884,000
2	Taylor Swift	51,618,000
6	The Weeknd	30,924,000
14	Travis Scott	14,815,000

Most successful artists – select your own period of time

#	Artist	EAS
91	2Pac	16,994,000
7	Adele	115,886,000
54	Amy Winehouse	36,837,000
50	Arctic Monkeys	40,100,000
24	Ariana Grande	68,131,000
44	Ayumi Hamasaki	44,254,000
14	Bad Bunny	94,315,000
12	Beyonce	99,107,000
41	Billie Eilish	49,516,000
73	Blackpink	27,836,000
17	Britney Spears	80,903,000
19	Bruno Mars	79,771,000
4	BTS	125,212,000
86	Cardi B	20,591,000
103	Carly Rae Jepsen	13,590,000
77	Charlie Puth	26,338,000
6	Coldplay	121,108,000
94	AC/DC	15,952,000
38	Alicia Keys	53,434,000
80	Avicii	23,847,000
40	Avril Lavigne	49,719,000
85	Backstreet Boys	20,669,000
28	Black Eyed Peas	63,146,000
69	Bon Jovi	29,639,000
88	Bruce Springsteen	19,766,000
66	Carrie Underwood	30,767,000
78	Celine Dion	25,853,000
53	Christina Aguilera	37,443,000
61	Enrique Iglesias	33,110,000
72	Enya	28,015,000
96	Fergie	15,567,000
76	Foo Fighters	26,862,000
47	Green Day	41,613,000
45	Imagine Dragons	43,156,000
109	Janet Jackson	12,094,000
37	Justin Timberlake	54,006,000
49	Kelly Clarkson	40,627,000
84	Kylie Minogue	20,810,000
11	Linkin Park	102,469,000
95	Lorde	15,595,000
98	Macklemore	15,232,000
43	Madonna	44,295,000
21	Michael Bublé	70,835,000
89	Michael Jackson	18,887,000
31	Nickelback	58,297,000
36	Norah Jones	54,006,000
74	NSYNC	27,792,000
106	Oasis	12,659,000
23	One Direction	69,502,000
57	Red Hot Chili Peppers	35,691,000
100	Shania Twain	15,171,000
46	U2	42,023,000
32	Usher	56,686,000
108	Will.i.am	12,289,000
79	Demi Lovato	25,053,000
105	Depeche Mode	12,762,000
71	Destiny's Child	28,514,000
93	Dido	16,141,000
81	Doja Cat	23,592,000
3	Drake	163,623,000
48	Dua Lipa	41,459,000
8	Ed Sheeran	114,571,000
2	Eminem	202,892,000
99	Eric Clapton	15,203,000
60	Evanescence	33,808,000
58	EXO	34,455,000
107	Garth Brooks	12,522,000
51	Gorillaz	38,185,000
83	Gwen Stefani	22,031,000
82	Harry Styles	23,236,000
67	James Blunt	30,625,000
20	Jay-Z	75,047,000
56	Jennifer Lopez	35,930,000
62	Juice Wrld	32,976,000
10	Justin Bieber	113,742,000
9	Kanye West	114,469,000
27	Katy Perry	63,834,000
25	Kendrick Lamar	67,982,000
16	Lady Gaga	86,946,000
39	Lana Del Rey	49,816,000
92	Lewis Capaldi	16,518,000
101	Lil Nas X	14,739,000
75	Lin-Manuel Miranda	26,884,000
97	Little Mix	15,293,000
64	Mariah Carey	31,500,000
15	Maroon 5	88,116,000
87	Meghan Trainor	20,469,000
90	Metallica	17,617,000
35	Miley Cyrus	54,118,000
65	Morgan Wallen	30,824,000
30	Nicki Minaj	58,865,000
113	No Doubt	10,134,000
70	Olivia Rodrigo	29,466,000
114	Paul McCartney	10,114,000
110	Pearl Jam	11,307,000
18	Pink	80,856,000
26	Post Malone	65,966,000
5	Rihanna	124,716,000
34	Robbie Williams	55,714,000
68	Rod Stewart & Faces	30,481,000
104	Sade	12,973,000
42	Sam Smith	45,195,000
111	Santana	11,030,000
55	Selena Gomez	35,984,000
33	Seventeen	56,344,000
22	Shakira	70,490,000
52	Shawn Mendes	37,722,000
59	System of a Down	34,315,000
63	SZA	32,095,000
102	Take That	14,254,000
1	Taylor Swift	228,344,000
13	The Weeknd	94,485,000
29	Travis Scott	61,934,000
112	Xuxa	10,242,000

Play with the data

There’s no single way to dive into this data, and that’s what makes it fun.

Start with the years that shaped your taste. Music hits differently when you’re a teenager, so try filtering the years when you were 12 to 18, then 18 to 25. You’ll instantly be back in the middle of it all — school dances, summer break, mixtapes, and those artists who felt absolutely everywhere.

Or take the fan route. Got a soft spot for the Beatles? Set the filter from 1963 to 1970. Love ABBA? Try 1973 to 1981. Nirvana? Look at 1989 to 1994. More into Taylor Swift? Go from 2006 to today. This way, you’ll get a clearer picture of how your favorite holds up against others from the same era.

You can also take a broader view. Break it down by decades (just as we did before), five-year spans, or even quarter-centuries… It all depends on how deep you want to go.

And if you’re curious about trends, there’s more to explore. Want to see which women ruled the charts in the ‘90s? Or which boy bands stuck around in the 2000s? Set your filters, and see for yourself.

No matter where you start, the numbers have stories to tell.

Record breaking eras

Below are record holders for the biggest sales generated in a N-years rolling period.

1 year: 119 million, Michael Jackson, 1982
2 years: 120 million, Michael Jackson, 1982-1983
3 years: 179 million, the Beatles, 1963-1965
4 years: 223 million, the Beatles, 1964-1967
5 years: 284 million, the Beatles, 1963-1967
6 years: 331 million, the Beatles, 1964-1969
7 years: 392 million, the Beatles, 1963-1969
8 years: 420 million, the Beatles, 1963-1970

As nobody else ever sold over 400 million equivalent album sales, no matter how many years we look for over a rolling period, the Beatles‘ 8 years spell from 1963 to 1970 will remain unmatched.

Among solo artists, big hitters obviously involve Michael Jackson, who generated 183 million sales over a 6-years span from 1982 to 1987.

The 6-years span is an interesting view as, due to generations, it tends to be how long hey-days of artists last. Below are the owners of the most successful 6-years spans, with 25 of them topping 100 million:

331 million, the Beatles, 1964-1969
183 million, Michael Jackson, 1982-1987
182 million, Elvis Presley, 1956-1961
163 million, Led Zeppelin, 1966-1971
155 million, Queen, 1975-1980
149 million, the Eagles, 1971-1976
143 million, Celine Dion, 1993-1998
136 million, ABBA, 1975-1980
134 million, AC/DC, 1975-1980
134 million, Eminem, 1999-2004
124 million, Elton John, 1970-1975
123 million, Mariah Carey, 1990-1995
122 million, the Beach Boys, 1962-1967
117 million, Guns N’ Roses, 1986-1991
115 million, Madonna, 1984-1989
114 million, the Doors, 1967-1972
113 million, the Rolling Stones, 1964-1969
110 million, Pink Floyd, 1970-1975
108 million, Garth Brooks, 1988-1993
106 million, U2, 1983-1988
105 million, BTS, 2015-2020
103 million, Bob Marley, 1973-1978
101 million, Jimi Hendrix, 1966-1971
101 million, the Bee Gees, 1974-1979
100 million, the Police, 1978-1983

Fun fact: the only artist to generate over 100 million in sales from two completely distinct 6-years spans is Michael Jackson. He did it in 1979-1984 (154 million) and then again in 1986-1991 (110 million).

Q&A

I can’t find my artist, why?

Some artists are missing because their analysis has not been done yet. The complete list is available here.

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My artist’s total EAS is different here from the Top artists (EAS) list. Why?

Minor songs’ metadata like year or feature status can be wrong, which leads to slight differences with the overall top selling artists list. In this case, the latter has the valid information.

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Most successful artists by decade