Most successful artists by decade

No matter how familiar one is to the music industry, he will still easily link the most successful artists to their decade, like the Beatles to the 60s or Michael Jackson and Madonna to the 80s.

Then, depending on your own age, artists from a certain moment in history will bring you an awful lot of memories – and others absolutely nothing.

This page enables you to relive the hottest artists of every decade, to go back to your teenage years and remember all these stars, the ones you continued to listen to, and the ones that will have you think “oh, I had forgotten about them!”. Let’s go!

Most successful artists by decade – how do we do

The figures written here to display the most successful artists by decade are based on the CSPC process, meaning that they embed together sales and streams of every format, up to date, of all the songs that were recorded during the related period.

For example, the Beatles‘ 60s figure is indeed their comprehensive career sales, minus Let It Be (the 1970 album) material and the subsequent ‘final’ singles.

In fact, while it may sound counter-intuitive, cumulative sales to date are way more representative of biggest artists from a period than sales during that period.

Also, the CSPC method makes sure to apply appropriate weightings to every format, avoiding fanciful lists like Wikipedia’s top selling artists page which mixes together claims in records sales when the very own definition of a record evolved quite a lot through the years and between the labels.

Please keep in mind some artists with strong results in several decades haven’t been studied so far, e.g. Neil Diamond or Kenny Rogers. All figures reflect the value as collected at the time of the artist’s respective articles plus up to date streaming data. The list of studied artists is available here.

Most successful artists by decade – the results

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	128,761,000
2		Frank Sinatra	85,473,000

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.

#	Pic	Artist	EAS
14		Aretha Franklin	45,916,000
30		Blind Faith	10,136,000
15		Cream	42,580,000
13		Creedence Clearwater Revival	57,029,000
16		Barbra Streisand	31,361,000
17		Bee Gees	28,089,000
9		Bob Dylan	74,733,000
25		Cher	15,070,000
2		Elvis Presley	133,952,000
26		Fleetwood Mac	14,912,000
27		Jackson 5 & The Jacksons	14,386,000
18		Johnny Hallyday	27,436,000
11		Led Zeppelin	60,226,000
20		Pink Floyd	22,037,000
5		Simon & Garfunkel	93,984,000
4		Rolling Stones	113,637,000
31		Deep Purple	10,019,000
7		Frank Sinatra	81,465,000
23		Ike & Tina Turner	16,297,000
6		Jimi Hendrix	82,664,000
12		Neil Diamond	59,964,000
29		Buffalo Springfield	11,592,000
24		Crosby, Stills, Nash (& Young)	15,634,000
28		Roberto Carlos	12,417,000
21		Santana	16,970,000
19		Stevie Wonder	24,215,000
3		The Beach Boys	127,515,000
1		The Beatles	474,427,000
8		The Doors	74,911,000
10		The Supremes	71,604,000
22		The Yardbirds	16,562,000

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.

#	Pic	Artist	EAS
48		Aretha Franklin	17,962,000
19		Black Sabbath	64,694,000
33		Boston	41,418,000
34		Creedence Clearwater Revival	41,248,000
6		Abba	131,900,000
16		AC/DC	73,190,000
20		Aerosmith	63,789,000
25		Barbra Streisand	57,535,000
9		Bee Gees	109,643,000
14		Billy Joel	75,583,000
29		Bob Dylan	46,173,000
7		Bob Marley	117,773,000
35		Bruce Springsteen	38,780,000
52		Cher	11,262,000
17		David Bowie	72,414,000
41		Dire Straits	32,611,000
2		Eagles	168,802,000
5		Elton John	136,706,000
26		Elvis Presley	55,381,000
11		Fleetwood Mac	97,972,000
42		Jackson 5 & The Jacksons	30,487,000
49		Johnny Hallyday	17,618,000
3		Led Zeppelin	143,927,000
38		Meat Loaf	36,050,000
28		Michael Jackson	48,242,000
46		Paul Simon	20,850,000
1		Pink Floyd	175,897,000
39		Simon & Garfunkel	34,552,000
15		Rolling Stones	74,794,000
18		Deep Purple	71,291,000
44		Diana Ross	26,470,000
10		Eric Clapton	101,908,000
51		Frank Sinatra	12,302,000
31		Genesis	42,816,000
47		Ike & Tina Turner	18,060,000
45		Jimi Hendrix	20,896,000
24		John Lennon	57,851,000
50		Journey	15,430,000
21		Neil Diamond	62,322,000
36		Crosby, Stills, Nash (& Young)	37,778,000
27		Neil Young	54,135,000
12		Paul McCartney	80,775,000
4		Queen	139,673,000
32		Roberto Carlos	42,022,000
8		Rod Stewart & Faces	110,460,000
13		Santana	76,234,000
23		Stevie Wonder	58,256,000
22		Supertramp	60,760,000
53		The Beach Boys	10,187,000
37		The Beatles	36,300,000
30		The Doors	43,340,000
40		The Police	33,830,000
43		Van Halen	28,343,000

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.

#	Pic	Artist	EAS
55		Aretha Franklin	14,143,000
57		Black Sabbath	11,799,000
24		Bryan Adams	49,306,000
36		Abba	32,633,000
7		AC/DC	90,168,000
40		Aerosmith	29,463,000
27		Barbra Streisand	43,832,000
58		Bee Gees	11,305,000
14		Billy Joel	64,872,000
44		Bob Marley	27,066,000
9		Bon Jovi	83,743,000
8		Bruce Springsteen	85,807,000
53		Cher	16,838,000
30		David Bowie	37,719,000
12		Dire Straits	70,394,000
28		Elton John	40,100,000
41		Enya	28,825,000
38		Fleetwood Mac	31,992,000
10		George Michael & Wham!	74,782,000
15		Guns N' Roses	64,518,000
34		Janet Jackson	33,867,000
54		Johnny Hallyday	14,487,000
56		Kylie Minogue	13,046,000
2		Madonna	134,916,000
1		Michael Jackson	186,594,000
63		Nirvana	10,020,000
49		Paul Simon	23,050,000
3		Phil Collins	122,511,000
51		Pink Floyd	20,223,000
6		Prince	95,575,000
60		Renaud	11,235,000
29		Rolling Stones	38,371,000
4		U2	115,747,000
20		Whitney Houston	59,256,000
21		Def Leppard	58,133,000
22		Depeche Mode	57,639,000
37		Diana Ross	32,201,000
50		Eric Clapton	21,022,000
47		Garth Brooks	23,468,000
23		Genesis	50,019,000
17		Iron Maiden	64,036,000
26		John Lennon	47,350,000
16		Journey	64,142,000
48		Mannheim Steamroller	23,116,000
11		Metallica	70,901,000
46		Neil Diamond	23,888,000
62		Neil Young	10,222,000
35		Ozzy Osbourne	33,807,000
43		Paul McCartney	27,749,000
5		Queen	114,344,000
45		R.E.M.	26,047,000
42		Roberto Carlos	28,284,000
39		Rod Stewart & Faces	30,534,000
25		Sade	48,033,000
31		Stevie Wonder	37,454,000
33		Sting	33,903,000
61		Supertramp	10,887,000
13		The Police	67,955,000
18		Tina Turner	63,474,000
32		Tracy Chapman	36,304,000
59		Traveling Wilburys	11,258,000
19		Van Halen	61,523,000
52		Xuxa	18,612,000

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.

#	Pic	Artist	EAS
11		2Pac	67,102,000
26		Ace Of Base	36,376,000
53		Ayumi Hamasaki	18,206,000
49		Björk	19,642,000
28		Britney Spears	33,281,000
24		Bryan Adams	37,516,000
38		AC/DC	25,971,000
25		Aerosmith	36,910,000
16		Alanis Morissette	51,843,000
8		Backstreet Boys	79,195,000
61		Barbra Streisand	14,160,000
73		Billy Joel	11,509,000
23		Bon Jovi	38,708,000
55		Bruce Springsteen	17,651,000
2		Celine Dion	163,360,000
33		Cher	28,276,000
54		Christina Aguilera	17,762,000
19		Cranberries	47,577,000
75		Dire Straits	10,415,000
43		Elton John	22,633,000
40		Enrique Iglesias	24,858,000
30		Enya	32,474,000
47		Foo Fighters	20,419,000
31		George Michael & Wham!	31,787,000
18		Green Day	49,046,000
13		Guns N' Roses	61,476,000
29		Janet Jackson	32,714,000
10		Madonna	67,501,000
50		Meat Loaf	19,520,000
7		Michael Jackson	82,395,000
5		Nirvana	90,652,000
51		NSYNC	19,453,000
15		Oasis	52,869,000
46		Phil Collins	20,960,000
63		Pink Floyd	14,023,000
34		Prince	27,235,000
12		Red Hot Chili Peppers	62,686,000
9		Shania Twain	68,361,000
17		Spice Girls	49,669,000
70		Rolling Stones	11,900,000
20		U2	43,271,000
69		Usher	12,139,000
4		Whitney Houston	92,095,000
64		Def Leppard	13,872,000
32		Depeche Mode	29,038,000
42		Destiny's Child	23,415,000
58		Dido	16,255,000
60		Eminem	15,113,000
35		Eric Clapton	27,100,000
41		Fugees	23,631,000
3		Garth Brooks	108,309,000
48		Genesis	20,379,000
62		Iron Maiden	14,125,000
45		Jay-Z	21,749,000
68		Jennifer Lopez	12,358,000
52		Lauryn Hill	19,159,000
72		Mannheim Steamroller	11,586,000
1		Mariah Carey	164,115,000
6		Metallica	82,614,000
65		Neil Young	13,238,000
37		No Doubt	26,162,000
67		Ozzy Osbourne	12,475,000
36		Queen	26,390,000
14		R.E.M.	59,285,000
44		Robbie Williams	22,613,000
74		Roberto Carlos	11,137,000
57		Rod Stewart & Faces	16,730,000
59		Sade	16,162,000
27		Santana	34,022,000
56		Shakira	17,145,000
22		Sting	39,206,000
39		Take That	25,571,000
21		TLC	40,387,000
71		Tracy Chapman	11,869,000
66		Van Halen	12,671,000

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!

#	Pic	Artist	EAS
50		2Pac	16,742,000
53		Adele	15,573,000
29		Amy Winehouse	31,598,000
52		Arctic Monkeys	15,721,000
19		Ayumi Hamasaki	41,210,000
5		Beyonce	62,253,000
4		Britney Spears	69,307,000
3		Coldplay	77,661,000
59		AC/DC	12,443,000
13		Alicia Keys	47,893,000
18		Avril Lavigne	41,751,000
45		Backstreet Boys	19,695,000
7		Black Eyed Peas	53,967,000
36		Bon Jovi	27,063,000
51		Bruce Springsteen	16,374,000
44		Carrie Underwood	22,840,000
43		Celine Dion	22,906,000
38		Christina Aguilera	26,204,000
48		Enrique Iglesias	17,969,000
37		Enya	26,351,000
56		Fergie	14,321,000
47		Foo Fighters	19,227,000
25		Green Day	36,396,000
62		Janet Jackson	11,497,000
24		Justin Timberlake	36,525,000
32		Kelly Clarkson	28,467,000
49		Kylie Minogue	17,806,000
2		Linkin Park	83,760,000
20		Madonna	40,342,000
15		Michael Bublé	45,372,000
63		Michael Jackson	11,323,000
10		Nickelback	51,910,000
11		Norah Jones	50,840,000
35		NSYNC	27,433,000
61		Oasis	12,184,000
31		Red Hot Chili Peppers	28,778,000
55		Shania Twain	15,001,000
22		U2	39,628,000
21		Usher	40,190,000
33		Destiny's Child	28,256,000
54		Dido	15,452,000
1		Eminem	142,985,000
60		Eric Clapton	12,353,000
30		Evanescence	31,351,000
40		Gorillaz	25,642,000
46		Gwen Stefani	19,468,000
41		James Blunt	24,258,000
8		Jay-Z	53,413,000
39		Jennifer Lopez	25,855,000
9		Kanye West	52,544,000
57		Katy Perry	12,987,000
17		Lady Gaga	41,918,000
34		Mariah Carey	27,436,000
27		Maroon 5	32,329,000
58		Metallica	12,618,000
28		Miley Cyrus	32,296,000
6		Pink	54,403,000
14		Rihanna	46,363,000
12		Robbie Williams	49,120,000
42		Rod Stewart & Faces	23,978,000
16		Shakira	42,123,000
26		System of a Down	32,533,000
23		Taylor Swift	38,921,000

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.

#	Pic	Artist	EAS
4		Adele	89,157,000
38		Arctic Monkeys	20,686,000
11		Ariana Grande	55,976,000
26		Bad Bunny	35,868,000
27		Beyonce	34,042,000
25		Billie Eilish	36,674,000
43		Blackpink	16,941,000
58		Britney Spears	10,285,000
7		Bruno Mars	74,195,000
5		BTS	86,590,000
44		Cardi B	16,656,000
55		Carly Rae Jepsen	12,545,000
36		Charlie Puth	21,293,000
24		Coldplay	37,732,000
33		Avicii	22,774,000
57		Christina Aguilera	11,042,000
52		Enrique Iglesias	14,452,000
21		Imagine Dragons	41,377,000
46		Justin Timberlake	16,535,000
56		Kelly Clarkson	11,526,000
47		Linkin Park	15,391,000
50		Lorde	14,825,000
51		Macklemore	14,672,000
32		Michael Bublé	24,374,000
9		One Direction	66,827,000
48		Usher	15,318,000
40		Demi Lovato	19,581,000
2		Drake	115,283,000
31		Dua Lipa	24,436,000
3		Ed Sheeran	95,490,000
15		Eminem	49,945,000
35		Harry Styles	21,545,000
39		Jay-Z	20,280,000
34		Juice Wrld	21,560,000
6		Justin Bieber	80,000,000
14		Kanye West	50,981,000
17		Katy Perry	48,128,000
18		Kendrick Lamar	45,769,000
23		Lady Gaga	37,747,000
20		Lana Del Rey	42,927,000
53		Lewis Capaldi	13,890,000
37		Lin-Manuel Miranda	21,126,000
49		Little Mix	14,868,000
13		Maroon 5	52,683,000
42		Meghan Trainor	17,893,000
45		Miley Cyrus	16,570,000
16		Nicki Minaj	49,381,000
30		Pink	25,479,000
12		Post Malone	55,225,000
8		Rihanna	73,268,000
22		Sam Smith	38,398,000
29		Selena Gomez	28,612,000
41		Shakira	19,345,000
28		Shawn Mendes	32,747,000
54		SZA	13,216,000
1		Taylor Swift	129,344,000
10		The Weeknd	59,873,000
19		Travis Scott	44,156,000

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.

#	Pic	Artist	EAS
14		Ariana Grande	12,679,000
1		Bad Bunny	53,178,000
3		BTS	35,274,000
13		Doja Cat	13,256,000
4		Drake	32,667,000
10		Dua Lipa	14,899,000
11		Ed Sheeran	13,697,000
7		Justin Bieber	22,483,000
8		Morgan Wallen	19,060,000
6		Olivia Rodrigo	25,215,000
9		SZA	15,149,000
2		Taylor Swift	47,810,000
5		The Weeknd	28,792,000
12		Travis Scott	13,375,000

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