Top artists over a period

It’s almost impossible to spend a day without hearing music. We hear music at the shop, on the radio, on TV ads, through a movie’s soundtrack, when we go to parties, to a pub, etc. and of course, when we play it directly. With that, songs and artists end up being deeply connected to a period of our life.

That’s why music is so generational, and why we are so attached to the ones that we loved during our teenage years.

The table below reflects the value of all the music released by an artist during a period that you can select. The figures are given in EAS (equivalent album sales).

By value, we mean the commercial value, with sales powered by the recorded material. There are plenty of lists online dealing with the greatest records of a period or another. Here, we don’t try to rank the artistical value of artists. We care only about the factual elements!

If you are interested in the technical details of the data, head to the bottom of the page as the Q&A section may address your questions.

How to exploit the data

By period

There are many ways to exploit the table below.

The first one relies on your personal experience. As music is so related to the generation you belong to, try filtering years when you were 12 to 18, and then 18 to 25. This will be an instant throwback, reading the names of the ones that felt so immensely popular back during those beloved periods of our lives.

Another way to see things relates to your favorite artist. Are you a fan of the Beatles? If yes, just filter 1963 to 1970. ABBA? Try 1973 to 1981. Nirvana? Check 1989 to 1994. Taylor Swift? Filter 2006 to 2023. With this view, you can get a better representation of how popular your favorite artist really is, and how it competes with others artists of the same generation.

Then, of course, we can filter the data on a fixed period, reflecting a decade (as we did in this post), half-decades, quarters of century, etc.

By gender

On top of the period filter, you can also focus on a single gender. Which female artists dominated the 90s? Which boy band were still there in the 00s?

The data can answer these questions and many more!

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:

1. 331 million, the Beatles, 1964-1969
2. 183 million, Michael Jackson, 1982-1987
3. 182 million, Elvis Presley, 1956-1961
4. 163 million, Led Zeppelin, 1966-1971
5. 155 million, Queen, 1975-1980
6. 149 million, the Eagles, 1971-1976
7. 143 million, Celine Dion, 1993-1998
8. 136 million, ABBA, 1975-1980
9. 134 million, AC/DC, 1975-1980
10. 134 million, Eminem, 1999-2004
11. 124 million, Elton John, 1970-1975
12. 123 million, Mariah Carey, 1990-1995
13. 122 million, the Beach Boys, 1962-1967
14. 117 million, Guns N’ Roses, 1986-1991
15. 115 million, Madonna, 1984-1989
16. 114 million, the Doors, 1967-1972
17. 113 million, the Rolling Stones, 1964-1969
18. 110 million, Pink Floyd, 1970-1975
19. 108 million, Garth Brooks, 1988-1993
20. 106 million, U2, 1983-1988
21. 105 million, BTS, 2015-2020
22. 103 million, Bob Marley, 1973-1978
23. 101 million, Jimi Hendrix, 1966-1971
24. 101 million, the Bee Gees, 1974-1979
25. 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).

Ready to fully enjoy our Top artists over a period of time? Here you go!

Top artists (EAS) over a period of time – Results

#	Pic	Artist	EAS
86		2Pac	16,607,000
7		Adele	108,146,000
48		Amy Winehouse	34,759,000
54		Arctic Monkeys	32,315,000
23		Ariana Grande	59,390,000
37		Ayumi Hamasaki	43,821,000
15		Bad Bunny	78,584,000
12		Beyonce	93,469,000
41		Billie Eilish	40,426,000
68		Blackpink	24,074,000
17		Britney Spears	77,555,000
19		Bruno Mars	69,264,000
4		BTS	116,204,000
83		Cardi B	18,264,000
102		Carly Rae Jepsen	12,215,000
71		Charlie Puth	22,439,000
6		Coldplay	110,921,000
88		AC/DC	15,702,000
31		Alicia Keys	51,779,000
73		Avicii	21,098,000
34		Avril Lavigne	47,425,000
75		Backstreet Boys	20,370,000
22		Black Eyed Peas	59,470,000
60		Bon Jovi	29,064,000
78		Bruce Springsteen	19,689,000
58		Carrie Underwood	30,204,000
66		Celine Dion	25,522,000
46		Christina Aguilera	36,924,000
56		Enrique Iglesias	31,422,000
63		Enya	27,584,000
91		Fergie	14,901,000
65		Foo Fighters	25,955,000
42		Green Day	40,150,000
44		Imagine Dragons	37,994,000
103		Janet Jackson	11,963,000
32		Justin Timberlake	51,724,000
43		Kelly Clarkson	39,042,000
76		Kylie Minogue	20,150,000
11		Linkin Park	93,942,000
94		Lorde	13,835,000
95		Macklemore	13,656,000
36		Madonna	43,924,000
67		Mariah Carey	24,710,000
20		Michael Bublé	68,352,000
84		Michael Jackson	18,026,000
27		Nickelback	55,711,000
30		Norah Jones	53,080,000
64		NSYNC	26,750,000
101		Oasis	12,218,000
21		One Direction	62,044,000
52		Red Hot Chili Peppers	33,491,000
26		Shakira	55,746,000
90		Shania Twain	15,080,000
39		U2	41,618,000
29		Usher	53,430,000
104		Will.i.am	11,867,000
69		Demi Lovato	23,375,000
100		Depeche Mode	12,413,000
62		Destiny's Child	27,929,000
87		Dido	16,120,000
79		Doja Cat	19,488,000
3		Drake	142,652,000
47		Dua Lipa	35,375,000
8		Ed Sheeran	104,006,000
1		Eminem	191,343,000
89		Eric Clapton	15,095,000
55		Evanescence	32,214,000
99		Garth Brooks	12,522,000
50		Gorillaz	33,965,000
74		Gwen Stefani	20,958,000
80		Harry Styles	19,427,000
59		James Blunt	29,809,000
49		Jennifer Lopez	34,568,000
61		Juice Wrld	28,577,000
9		Justin Bieber	102,980,000
10		Kanye West	98,347,000
25		Katy Perry	56,689,000
38		Kendrick Lamar	43,811,000
14		Lady Gaga	78,889,000
45		Lana Del Rey	37,017,000
97		Lewis Capaldi	13,160,000
96		Lil Nas X	13,274,000
70		Lin-Manuel Miranda	22,879,000
92		Little Mix	14,147,000
13		Maroon 5	79,878,000
82		Meghan Trainor	18,384,000
85		Metallica	17,307,000
33		Miley Cyrus	50,906,000
77		Morgan Wallen	19,956,000
81		Olivia Rodrigo	19,357,000
16		Pink	78,235,000
24		Post Malone	56,955,000
5		Rihanna	112,004,000
28		Robbie Williams	55,029,000
57		Rod Stewart & Faces	30,314,000
98		Sade	12,765,000
40		Sam Smith	40,527,000
105		Santana	10,933,000
51		Selena Gomez	33,740,000
53		Shawn Mendes	33,236,000
72		SZA	21,500,000
93		Take That	14,005,000
2		Taylor Swift	183,683,000
18		The Weeknd	77,304,000
35		Travis Scott	47,054,000

Top artists (EAS) over a period of time – 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.

Want to see your favorite artist covered? Did you know you could vote for artists to be analyzed next?
We keep a requests leaderboard and you can vote as soon as you’ve registered. Use your voice!

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.

We have more for you

…and all of our cross-format and pure sales tops