The Independent, Business Insider, Digital Music News, they all published “Best Selling Artists Ever” lists that placed Garth Brooks as the second best selling artist ever, number one among solo acts. One would expect these sources to be reliable. It sounds very hard to believe the country giant outsold the likes Elvis Presley and Michael Jackson yet. So, where is the truth?
The success of Paul McCartney as part of the Beatles has been out of this world for 55 years and counting. What about his solo career through? At 76, he is still able to shot to the top of the US album chart as shown by his last effort Egypt Station. He also landed at #1 multiple times with both albums and singles during the 70s and the 80s. Will that be enough to crack the 73 million equivalent album sales registered by his former band partner John Lennon?
From local newcomers to selling millions of albums globally and topping the Billboard 200 twice! It’s safe to say that K-pop group BTS is the hottest boyband in the world at the moment. But have they really hit mainstream status everywhere?
Of course, the elitist press will think it’s outrageous to call the most streamed albums from the 90s the greatest ones. Some artists are arguably critics darlings, but some others are favored by the general public and we are left wondering who are we to contradict them. Surely, nearly 20 years after the end of this era, to belong to the most remembered music that came out of it tells something. It tells they are regarded as the greatest by a lot of people. So which are these albums that continue to appeal the masses so many years after their release?
During the 80s everything got bigger. Arena rock, heavy metal, power ballads, dancefloor anthems, kings & queens of pop, existing genres got louder, heavier. The scene also became more diverse with rap and electronic music breaking the main audience. Are the flagships of this generation, Michael Jackson and Madonna, still the most popular artists from this era?
On a global scale, Avril Lavigne was one of the biggest names of the 2000s decade. Her debut album moved nearly 20 million equivalent album sales. She has huge sales all over Asia, but how does the Canadian superstar perform all around the world?
The career of Taylor Swift is pretty unique. For many years, she was seen as a pure US star from the country family. She then moved to pop music, trying to make her success global. Her sales are undoubtedly massive, but has she managed to turn her popularity as big abroad as stateside?
The decade-old streaming service Spotify is now close to 200 million active monthly users. While new music is always preferred, these subscribers still show plenty of love to 70s classics. If the Beatles were inevitable during the 60s, one can wonder who takes over the throne of the decade of hard rock music and disco?
Beyoncé is one of the best selling artists to debut in the last 25 years. Her solo career has been going strong for 15 years now and she recently celebrated 20 years in the music industry as part of Destiny’s Child. She’s obviously seen huge amounts of success in the US, but what about the rest of the world? We’ll find out shortly!
