List of best-selling music artists
This is a non-definitive list of best selling recording artists, embracing worldwide single and album sales.
Note
In general there is no organization that certifies worldwide record sales (such as the RIAA does for U.S. record sales). Thus, there are few if any reliable figures to go into this list. Fans, biographers, and record lables may grossly overestimate sales figures for publicity purposes. Many of bestselling artists from Asia, Africa and Latin America are still not included because of the lack of data. Thus, the list cannot be considered definitive, and must be taken with a grain of salt.
Volume (Total Albums and Singles)
1-49
| # | Name | Albums | Worldwide Sales | Nationality | Years Active | Genre | Estimate based on |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Beatles | 12/39 | ~500,000,000 | UK | 60s | Rock and roll/Rock | *168.5 mil. albums US |
| Elvis Presley | 31/39 | ~500,000,000 | US | 50s-70s | Rock and roll | source | |
| Led Zeppelin | 9/11 | ~320,000,000 | UK | 60s-80s | Hard rock | *106 mil. albums US | |
| Alla Pugacheva | ~260,000,000 | Russia | 70s-00s | Disco/Pop | source 1997 | ||
| Madonna | 9/10 | 250,000,000 | US/UK | 80s-00s | Pop | WBR 2004 source 2 | |
| Nana Mouskouri | 450 | ~250,000,000 | Greece | 60s-00s | 1 2 | ||
| Julio Iglesias | 80 | ~250,000,000 | Spain | 70s-00s | Latino Pop | source 1 source 2 | |
| Cliff Richard | ~250,000,000 | UK | 50s-00s | Pop | source 1 source 2 | ||
| Mariah Carey | 13 | 247,000,000 | US | 80s-00s | R&B/Pop | source | |
| Elton John | ~210,000,000 | UK | 70s-00s | Rock,Pop | *(70 mil. US) | ||
| Garth Brooks | ~210,000,000 | US | 80s-00s | Country | (US albums. 105mil) | ||
| Pink Floyd | ~210,000,000 | UK | 60s-00s | Rock | *73 mil. US | ||
| 10 | The Rolling Stones | ~210,000,000 | UK | 60s-00s | Rock | *63 mil. US | |
| Céline Dion | 20 | ~210,000,000 | Canada | 80s-00s | Pop | 195 mil. albums | |
| Michael Jackson | 14 | ~210,000,000 | US | 70s-00s | R&B/soul/Pop | 170 mil. albums | |
| Johnny Mathis | ~180,000,000 | US | 50s-00s | Pop | source | ||
| Metallica | ~170,000,000 | US | 80s-00s | Hard Rock | *(57 mil. US) | ||
| ABBA | 16 | ~160,000,000 | Sweden | 70s-80s | Disco | ||
| Whitney Houston | 10 | ~150,000,000 | US | 80s-00s | R&B/Pop | 129 mil. albums | |
| U2 | 11 | ~150,000,000 | Ireland | 80s-00s | Rock/Pop | *(50mil. US) | |
| Mireille Mathieu | 37 | ~150,000,000 | France | 60s-00s | Pop | source | |
| 20 | David Bowie | 136,000,000 | UK | 60s-00s | Rock | source | |
| E. Humperdinck | ~130,000,000 | UK/US | 50s-00s | Rock/Pop | source 1 source 2 | ||
| Neil Diamond | 120,000,000 | US | 60s-00s | Pop | source | ||
| Modern Talking | 13 | 120,000,000 | Germany | 80s-00s | Disco/Dance | BMG June 2003 | |
| AC/DC | ~120,000,000 | Australia/UK | 70s-00s | Hard Rock | source | ||
| The Bee Gees | 110,000,000 | UK/Australia | 60s-00s | Pop/Disco | source 1 source 2 | ||
| Bon Jovi | ~110,000,000 | US | 80s-00s | Rock/Hard Rock | (100mil.albums) | ||
| R.E.M. | ~110,000,000 | US | 80s-00s | Rock | (106mil.albums) | ||
| Kenny Rogers | 105,000,000 | US | |||||
| Black Sabbath | ~100,000,000 | UK | 70s-00s | Hard Rock | |||
| 30 | Ricky Nelson | ~100,000,000 | US | 50s-80s | Pop | source | |
| Status Quo | ~100,000,000 | UK | 60s-00s | Rock | source | ||
| Luciano Pavarotti | ~100,000,000 | Italia | 60s-00s | Opera | |||
| Brenda Lee | ~100,000,000 | US | 50s-60s | Pop | |||
| A. R. Rahman | ~100,000,000 | India | 90s-00s | BBC news | |||
| Janet Jackson | ~100,000,000 | US | 80s-00s | R&B/Pop | (76mil.albums) | ||
| Barry White | ~100,000,000 | US | 70s-00s | Pop | |||
| Deep Purple | ~100,000,000 | US | 60s-00s | Hard Rock | source | ||
| Lionel Richie | ~100,000,000 | US | 80s-00s | Pop | source | ||
| Dolly Parton | ~100,000,000 | US | 70s-00s | Country | CBS news | ||
| 40 | Donna Summer | ~100,000,000 | US | 70s-90s | Disco | source | |
| Queen | ~100,000,000 | UK | 70s-90s | Rock | *(30 mil. US) | ||
| The Jackson 5 | ~100,000,000 | US | 60s-90s | Soul/Disco/R&B | source | ||
| Vicky Leandros | ~100,000,000 | Greece | 60s-00s | source | |||
| Rod Stewart | ~100,000,000 | UK | 60s-00s | Rock/Standards | [1] | ||
| Aerosmith | ~100,000,000 | US | 80s-00s | Hard Rock | source | ||
| Billy Joel | ~100,000,000 | US | 70s-00s | Pop \ Rock | (78 mil. albums US) | ||
| Fleetwood Mac | ~100,000,000 | UK/US | 2 | ||||
| Shania Twain | 4 | ~95,000,000 | Canada | 90s-00s | Country/Rock/Pop | (82mil. albums) | |
| 49 | The Eagles | ~90,000,000 | US | 70s-00s | Country/Rock | *(80 mil. US) |
50-99
| # | Name | Albums | Worldwide Sales | Nationality | Years Active | Genre | Estimation on |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 50 | KISS | 30 | ~80,000,000 | US | 70s-00s | Hard Rock | source |
| Santana | ~80,000,000 | US | source | ||||
| Dalida | ~80,000,000 | France | 50s-80s | source | |||
| Prince | 24 | ~80,000,000 | US | 80s-00s | Pop/Funk/Rock | *(40 mil. US) | |
| Phil Collins | ~80,000,000 | UK | |||||
| Barbara Streisand | ~80,000,000 | US | 60s-00s | Standards/Pop | 71mil. albums US | ||
| Bruce Springsteen | ~80,000,000 | US | 70s-00s | Rock/Pop | *(61 mil. albums US) | ||
| Fairouz | ~80,000,000 | Lebanon | 60s-00s | Traditional Arab, Modern, Pop | *(35 mil. US) | ||
| Eric Clapton | ~80,000,000 | UK | 80s-00s | Rock, Blues | *(38 mil. US) | ||
| Stevie Wonder | ~80,000,000 | US | 60s-00s | Soul/R&B/Pop,Disco | |||
| Britney Spears | 5 | ~80,000,000 | US | 90s-00s | Pop | 63mil. albums | |
| Spice Girls | 3 | 76,000,000 | UK | 90s-00s | Pop | source | |
| 60 | Backstreet Boys | 75,000,000 | US | 90s-00s | Pop | source | |
| Bobby Vinton | 75,000,000 | US | 60's | Pop | source | ||
| Sade | 75,000,000 | UK | 80s-00s | Jazz/Soul/Pop | *(22mil.US) | ||
| Gloria Estefan | ~70,000,000 | US | 80s-00s | Latino Pop | source | ||
| Paul McCartney | ~75,000,000 | UK | 60s-00s | Rock | *(25mil.US) | ||
| Duran Duran | 16 | ~70,000,000 | UK | 80s-00s | Pop | source | |
| Enya | 5 | 70,000,000 | Ireland | 80s-00s | Classic | *(22mil.US) | |
| Kenny G | 5 | ~70,000,000 | US | 90s-00s | Jazz | *(50mil. US) | |
| Kylie Minogue | 65,000,000 | Australia | 80s-00s | Synth Pop | source | ||
| 70 | Bryan Adams | ~60,000,000 | Canada | 80s-00s | Pop | 1 | |
| George Strait | ~60,000,000 | US | 70s-00s | Country | *(54 mil. US) | ||
| The Doors | ~60,000,000 | US | 60s-70s | Rock | *(30 mil. US) | ||
| Boney M | ~60,000,000 | Germany | 70s-80s | Disco | |||
| Perry Como | ~60,000,000 | US | 30s-00s | Standards | Source | ||
| Van Halen | ~60,000,000 | US | 70s-00s | Hard Rock | *(50 mil. US) | ||
| Frank Sinatra | ~60,000,000 | US | 40s-90s | Standards | *(25 mil.US) | ||
| Iron Maiden | 22 | ~60,000,000 | UK | 70s-00s | source | ||
| Def Leppard | ~60,000,000 | UK | *(32 mil. US) | ||||
| Eminem | ~60,000,000 | US | *(22 mil. US) | ||||
| Pearl Jam | ~60,000,000 | US | *(29 mil. US) | ||||
| 80 | N*SYNC | ~60,000,000 | US | *(30 mil. US) | |||
| Enrique Iglesias | ~60,000,000 | US | 51 mil. albums | ||||
| Alanis Morissette | ~55,000,000 | Canada | |||||
| Ozzy Osbourne | ~55,000,000 | UK | *(27mil.US) | ||||
| Boyz II Men | ~55,000,000 | US | 80s-00s | *(27mil.US) | |||
| George Michael | ~50,000,000 | UK | 80s-00s | source | |||
| Rush | ~50,000,000 | Canada | 70s-00s | *(25 mil.US) | |||
| Alabama | ~50,000,000 | US | 70s-00s | *(46mil. US) | |||
| Michael Bolton | 50,000,000 | US | |||||
| The Police | ~50,000,000 | UK | 70s-80s | *(22mil.US) | |||
| Nirvana | ~50,000,000 | US | *(24mil.US) | ||||
| 90 | Mötley Crüe | ~50,000,000 | US | *(22mil.US) | |||
| Chicago | ~50,000,000 | US | *(37mil.US) | ||||
| Foreigner | ~50,000,000 | US/UK | *(36mil.US) | ||||
| Guns N' Roses | 50,000,000 | US | |||||
| Dire Straits | ~50,000,000 | UK | *(15.5mil US) | ||||
| Oasis | ~50,000,000 | UK | (46mil albums) | ||||
| UB40 | ~50,000,000 | UK | 80s-00s | BBC | |||
| Meat Loaf | ~50,000,000 | US | 70s-00s | source 1 source 2 | |||
| Ace of Base | >45,000,000 | Sweden | source | ||||
| 2 Pac | ~45,000,000 | US | *(36mil.US) | ||||
| Bananarama | ~45,000,000 | UK | 80s-00s | ||||
| Destiny's Child | 4 | 43,000,000 | US | 90s-00s | |||
| Journey | (US)~40,000,000 | US | |||||
| 99 | Judas Priest | ~40,000,000 | UK | 70s-00s | Hard Rock | source |
100-140
| # | Name | Albums | Worldwide Sales | Nationality | Years Active | Genre | Estimation on |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 100 | The Who | ~40,000,000 | UK | *(20mil.US) | |||
| Willie Nelson | ~40,000,000 | US | |||||
| The Cars | ~40,000,000 | US | *(23mil.US) | ||||
| Simon and Garfunkel | ~40,000,000 | US | *(36mil.US) | ||||
| R. Kelly | ~40,000,000 | US | *(28mil.US) | ||||
| Christina Aguilera | 4 | ~36,000,000 | US | 90s-00s | 34mil. albums | ||
| Reba McEntire | ~36,000,000 | US | Country | ||||
| Alan Jackson | ~36,000,000 | US | Country | ||||
| Bob Dylan | ~36,000,000 | US | 60s-00s | ||||
| Dixie Chicks | ~35,000,000 | US | 80s-00s | Country | *28 mil US | ||
| John Denver | ~35,000,000 | US | |||||
| Linda Ronstadt | ~30,000,000 | US | |||||
| Boston | ~30,000,000 | US | |||||
| James Taylor | ~30,000,000 | US | |||||
| Dave Matthews Band | ~30,000,000 | US | |||||
| John Mellencamp | ~30,000,000 | US | |||||
| Lynyrd Skynyrd | ~30,000,000 | US | |||||
| ZZ Top | ~30,000,000 | US | |||||
| Steve Miller Band | ~30,000,000 | US | |||||
| Earth, Wind & Fire | ~30,000,000 | US | *(23 mil.US) | ||||
| 120 | Sarah McLachlan | 30,000,000 | Canada | 80s-00s | source | ||
| Barry Manilow | ~30,000,000 | US | |||||
| The Cure | 12 | 27,000,000 | UK | 70s-00s | Rock | source | |
| Karel Gott | 100+ | 27,000,000 | Czech Republic | 50s-00s | source | ||
| Melissa Etheridge | 8 | 27,000,000 | US | 80s-00s | Rock | source | |
| Amy Grant | 19 | 26,000,000 | US | 70s-00s | Gospel/Christian | *(25mil.US) | |
| Norah Jones | 3 | 25,000,000 | US | 00s | Jazz | source | |
| Avril Lavigne | 2 | 24,000,000 | Canada | 00s | Pop/Rock | source | |
| The Carpenters | (US)24,000,000 | US | |||||
| Brooks & Dunn | (US)23,000,000 | US | |||||
| Creed | (US)23,000,000 | US | |||||
| Faith Hill | (US)23,000,000 | US | |||||
| 130 | Vince Gill | (US)23,000,000 | US | ||||
| Luther Vandross | (US)23,000,000 | US | |||||
| Mannheim Steamroller | (US)23,000,000 | US | |||||
| TLC | (US)22,000,000 | US | |||||
| The Doobie Brothers | (US)22,000,000 | US | |||||
| Creedence Clearwater Revival | (US)22,000,000 | US | |||||
| Genesis | (US)22,000,000 | UK | |||||
| Jimi Hendrix | (US)20,000,000 | US | |||||
| The Beach Boys | (US)20,000,000 | US | |||||
| Jay-Z | (US)20,000,000 | US | |||||
| Eros Ramazzotti | ~20,000,000 | Italy | 80s-00s | source | |||
| 140 | Kim Wilde | 20,000,000 | UK | 80s-00s | Rock/Synth Pop | source |
Notes
- In albums column: left number is a number of studio albums, right number other albums.
- The sign "~" represents that the total sales are not specific. Even if it reads "50 million", the total sales could actually be 60 million. Also note to the above "grain of salt" method.
- * - sales projected from US album sales data based on "popularity" in the world and based on US/World sales ratio of similar artists that already have both US and World sales data. (US sales data provided on RIAA.Com).
- About ABBA, Beatles and Elvis sales see link here and here.
- For "Standards" music style see article Pop Standards.
Estimation Table
According to the RIAA, the World music market is estimated at $40 billion annually, and the U.S. recording industry accounts for one-third of the world market.
This table represents the album sales of artists that are popular both in the USA and in the world. The ratio between their US and worldwide album sales can be helpful in estimating the worlwide sales of artists that are similar in their US and worldwide exposure but only have US sales figures. However, this estimation technique cannot be used to estimate the US sales of non-English-singing artists, as their US figures will likely be very low. This technique may also undercount artists who sometimes record in other languages in addition to English, since they will likely have a larger worldwide audience. Also since this technique is based on album sales, it will tend to undercount those artists popular in the 1960s and before, when singles were much more popular relative to albums than they have been since then.
| Artist | US Album Sales | Worldwide Album Sales | Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mariah Carey | 67 mil. | 196 mil. | 3.26 |
| Madonna | 67 mil. | 175 mil. | 2.92 |
| Céline Dion | 45.5 mil. | 185 mil. | 4.07 |
| Michael Jackson | 58.5 mil. | 160 mil. | 2.73 |
| Whitney Houston | 54 mil. | 129 mil. | 2.38 |
| Janet Jackson | 24 mil. | 76 mil. | 3.16 |
| Bon Jovi | 33.5 mil. | 100 mil. | 2.98 |
| Gloria Estefan | 22 mil. | 70 mil. | 3.18 |
Average US/Worldwide album sales ratio = 2.99.
Chart Statistics
Number of best sellers: 140.
By Country
| Genre | #N of bestsellers |
|---|---|
| United States | 76 |
| United Kingdom | 22 |
| Canada | 5 |
| Australia | 3 |
| Sweden | 2 |
| Ireland | 2 |
| Russia | 1 |
| Spain | 1 |
| Greece | 1 |
| France | 1 |
| Germany | 1 |
| Total | 115 |
By Genre
| Genre | #N of bestsellers |
|---|---|
| Synth Pop | 20 |
| Rock | 12 |
| Hard Rock | 5 |
| Latino Pop | 2 |
| Rock and Roll | 2 |
| Country | 2 |
| Instrumental | 1 |
| Gospel/Christian | 1 |
| Classic | 1 |
| Disco | 4 |
| Dance | 1 |
| Total | 51 |
See also
- World music market
- Best selling music artists in US
- List of popular music performers
- Biggest-selling female musician
External links
- Rockonthenet.Com - Contains information about US sales.
- http://www.xfm.co.uk/Article.asp?b=news&id=86590