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This is a list of the best-selling music artists of all time. The measure is the total number of singles and albums sold world-wide (singles and albums weighted equally, paid digital downloads included too).
Warning: The claims made on this page are only as reliable as the references given. In certain cases on this list, sources are not given at all. Furthermore, the references themselves may be based on estimates made by non-reliable sources such as news articles, fan sites, record label statements (not worldwide), etc. You are therefore advised not to take this list too seriously. In reality, building such a list from a neutral point of view and based on facts, is quite impossible.
| # | Name | Albums | Worldwide Sales | Nationality | Years Active | Genre | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | The Beatles | 40+ | 450,000,000 | UK | 60s | Rock/Pop | Guinness/EMI
See also: Discussion #36 |
| 3 | Elvis Presley | 150+ | 400,000,000 | US | 50s-70s | Country/Rock | Elvis.com
See also: Discussion #1 |
| 4 | Michael Jackson | 14 | 350,000,000 | US | 70s-00s | Pop/R&B | MJ Stats
Albums Discography Singles Discography See also: Discussion #1 |
| 5 | Madonna | 16 | 275,000,000 | US | 80s-00s | Pop | WBR 2005 |
| 6 | Nana Mouskouri | 450 | 250,000,000 | Greece | 60s-00s | Pop | |
| 7 | Mariah Carey | 14 | 230,000,000 | US | 90s-00s | R&B | Albums Discography |
| 8 | Elton John | 43 | ~220,000,000 | UK | 70s-00s | Pop | |
| 9 | Celine Dion | 21 | 220,000,000 | Canada | 80s-00s | Pop Music/Pop | |
| Julio Iglesias | 80 | ~200,000,000 | Spain | 70s-00s | Latino Pop | ||
| Queen | 22 | 180,000,000 | UK | 70s-00s | Rock | R&R HoF, 2001 1995 source
Queen (band) See also: discussion #11 | |
| AC/DC | ~180,000,000 | Australia/UK | 70s-00s | Hard Rock | AC/DC | ||
| Whitney Houston | 10 | ~180,000,000 | US | 80s-00s | R&B/Pop | Discography | |
| ABBA | 160,000,000 | Sweden | 70s-80s | Disco/Pop | ABBA discography | ||
| Garth Brooks | ~145,000,000 | US | 80s-00s | Country | 105m.US | ||
| Pink Floyd | ~145,000,000 | UK | 60s-00s | Prog Rock | See also: discussion #27 | ||
| Janet Jackson | 130,000,000 | US | 80s-00s | R&B/pop | Janet Jackson Discography | ||
| The Eagles | ~120,000,000 | US | 70s-00s | Country/Rock | |||
| Wei Wei (韦唯) | ~120,000,000 | China | 80s-00s | Pop | |||
| 20 | The Rolling Stones | ~110,000,000 | UK | 60s-00s | Rock | ||
| The Bee Gees | 110,000,000 | UK/Australia | 60s-00s | Pop/Disco | src.1 | ||
| Bon Jovi | ~110,000,000 | US | 80s-00s | Rock/Hard Rock | (100m.alb.) | ||
| R.E.M. | ~110,000,000 | US | 80s-00s | Rock | Note: source is from Misplaced Pages itself, i.e. it cannot be verified(106m.alb.) | ||
| Kenny Rogers | 105,000,000+ | US | 60s-00s | Country/Pop/Rock | |||
| U2 | 11 | ~105,000,000 | Ireland | 80s-00s | Rock/Pop | 50m.US | |
| Barbra Streisand | 100,000,000+ | US | 60s-00s | Standards/Pop | 71m.US | ||
| Rod Stewart | 100,000,000+ | UK | 60s-00s | Rock/Standards | |||
| Mireille Mathieu | 37 | ~100,000,000 | France | 60s-00s | Pop | src. | |
| Alla Pugacheva | 15 | ~100,000,000 | Russia | 70s-00s | Rock/Pop | *(10m.US) | |
| 30 | Johnny Mathis | ~100,000,000 | US | 50s-00s | Pop/Standards | src. source 2 | |
| Ricky Nelson | ~100,000,000 | US | 50s-80s | Pop/Country/Rock | Note: no references given here | ||
| Luciano Pavarotti | ~100,000,000 | Italy | 60s-00s | Opera | |||
| Brenda Lee | ~100,000,000 | US | 50s-60s | Pop/Country | Note: No references given here | ||
| A. R. Rahman | ~100,000,000 | India | 90s-00s | ||||
| OmPrakash | ~100,000,000 | India | 90s-00s | ||||
| Illayaraja | ~100,000,000 | India | 70s-00s | ||||
| Deep Purple | ~100,000,000 | UK | 60s-00s | Hard Rock | |||
| Lionel Richie | ~100,000,000 | US | 80s-00s | Pop/R&B | 21.0 mililion in US | ||
| 40 | Dolly Parton | ~100,000,000 | US | 60s-00s | Country | Note: this artist is not listed by RIAA as one of the 200 best selling artists in US See also: discussion #15 | |
| Donna Summer | ~100,000,000 | US | 70s-90s | Disco | Note: reference is from Misplaced Pages itself! src. | ||
| Aerosmith | ~100,000,000 | US | 70s-00s | Hard Rock | |||
| Billy Joel | ~100,000,000 | US | 70s-00s | Pop / Rock | 78 mil.US, | ||
| Fleetwood Mac | ~100,000,000 | UK/US | 60s-00s | Pop/Rock | 2 | ||
| Johnny Hallyday | ~100,000,000 | France | 50s-00s | Pop | src.1 | ||
| Charles Aznavour | ~100,000,000 | France | 50s-00s | Pop | |||
| Bruce Springsteen | ~90,000,000 | US | 70s-00s | Rock/Pop | *(61 mil. albums US) | ||
| Def Leppard | ~90,000,000 | UK | 80s-00s | Hard Rock | 55.5mil.US | ||
| Bob Dylan | ~90,000,000 | US | 60s-00s | Folk-Rock | *35m.US, | ||
| Earth, Wind & Fire | 90,000,000 | US | 70s-00s | R&B/Funk/Disco/Pop | *(23 mil.US) Note: No references given here for 90 million WW figure | ||
| 50 | KISS | 30 | ~90,000,000 | US | 70s-00s | Hard Rock | source |
| B'z | 14 | ~86,000,000 | Japan | 90s-00s | Rock | See also: discussion #22 | |
| Eddy Arnold | 85,000,000 | US | 40s-90s | Country | source | ||
| Britney Spears | ~85,000,000 | US | 90s-00s | Pop | *(32 mil. US), src. | ||
| Celine Dion | 21 | ~80,000,000 | Canada | 80s-00s | Pop Music/Pop | ||
| Jean-Michel Jarre | 19 | ~80,000,000 | France | 70s-00s | Synth Pop | sourceSee also: discussion #19 | |
| Santana | ~80,000,000 | US | 60s-00s | Rock | src.1 | ||
| Dalida | ~80,000,000 | France | 50s-80s | as of 1981 See also: discussion #19 | |||
| Metallica | 10 | ~80,000,000 | US | 80's-00's | |||
| 60 | Salvatore Adamo | ~80,000,000 | Belgium | 60s-00s | |||
| 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) | ||
| Dream Theater | ~80,000,000 | US | 80s-00s | Metal, Progressive | *(14 mil. US) | ||
| Stevie Wonder | ~80,000,000 | US | 60s-00s | Soul/R&B/Pop,Disco | |||
| Hank Snow | ~80,000,000 | Canada | 30's-90's | ||||
| Spice Girls | 3 | ~76,000,000 | UK | 90s-00s | Pop | source | |
| Backstreet Boys | ~75,000,000 | US | 90s-00s | Pop | src.1 | ||
| Journey | ~75,000,000 | US | 70s-00s | Rock/Pop | 40mil.US, | ||
| 70 | Paul McCartney | ~75,000,000+ | UK | 60s-00s | Rock | Note: no reference given here | |
| Dire Straits | 74,000,000 | UK | 70s-90s | Rock | |||
| Shania Twain | 4 | ~73,000,000 | Canada | 90s-00s | Country/Rock/Pop | Note: No references given here | |
| A-ha | 10 | 70,000,000 | Norway | 80s-00s | Pop | ||
| The Carpenters | 70,000,000 | US | 60s-80s | Pop | reference needed | ||
| Gloria Estefan | ~70,000,000 | US | 80s-00s | Latino Pop | src.1, | ||
| Enya | 5 | 70,000,000 | Ireland | 80s-00s | New Age/Celtic | Note: No references given here for WW figure | |
| Roberto Carlos | ~70,000,000 | Brazil | 60s-00s | ||||
| Charley Pride | ~70,000,000 | US | 60s-00s | Country | source | ||
| Bay City Rollers | ~70,000,000 | UK | 70s-00s | Rock | |||
| 80 | Van Halen | ~70,000,000 | US | 70s-00s | Hard Rock | ||
| Adriano Celentano | ~70,000,000 | Italy | 60s-00s | Pop | |||
| Kylie Minogue | 65,000,000 | Australia | 80s-00s | Synth Pop | source | ||
| George Strait | ~65,000,000 | US | 70s-00s | Country | *54 mil. US | ||
| Eminem | 65,000,000 | US | 90s-00s | Rap | *(22 mil. US) | ||
| Genesis | 60,000,000 | UK | 70s-00s | Rock/Pop | src. | ||
| Phil Collins | ~60,000,000 | UK | Rock/Pop | src. | |||
| Guns N' Roses | ~60,000,000 | US | 80s-90s | Hard Rock | 71mil. albumsNote: No references given here | ||
| Chicago | ~60,000,000 | US | 60s-80s | Jazz/Rock | |||
| 90 | Vicky Leandros | 400+ | ~60,000,000+ | Greece | 60s-00s | Pop | No reference given |
| Bryan Adams | ~60,000,000 | Canada | 80s-00s | Pop/Rock | 1 | ||
| The Doors | ~60,000,000 | US | 60s-70s | Rock | *(30 mil. US) | ||
| Tina Turner | ~60,000,000 | US | 70s-00s | Rock/Pop | |||
| Perry Como | ~60,000,000 | US | 30s-00s | Standards | |||
| 110 | Frank Sinatra | ~60,000,000 | US | 40s-90s | Standards | *(25 mil.US) | |
| Simon and Garfunkel | ~60,000,000 | US | 60s | Folk-Rock | *(36mil.US) | ||
| Pearl Jam | ~60,000,000 | US | 90s-00s | Alternative | *(29 mil. US) | ||
| John Denver | ~60,000,000 | US | 60s-00s | Folk/Rock/Country | |||
| The Monkees | ~60,000,000 | US | 60s-90s | Rock | |||
| 100 | Hank Thompson | ~60,000,000 | US | 40s-00s | Country | Note: no reference provided | |
| Barry Manilow | 60,000,000+ | US | 70s-00s | Pop/Standards | |||
| Boyz II Men | ~60,000,000 | US | 80s-00s | R&B/Pop | *(27mil.US), | ||
| Paul Anka | ~60,000,000 | Canada | 50s-00s | Pop | |||
| Alanis Morissette | ~55,000,000 | Canada | 90s-00s | Rock/Pop | src.1 | ||
| The Police | *53,000,000 | UK | 70s-80s | Rock/Pop | 22m.US, | ||
| Nirvana | *52,000,000 | US | 80s-90s | Alternative | 24m.US | ||
| Michael Bolton | 52,000,000 | US | 80s-00s | Pop | |||
| Luis Miguel | 55,000,000 | Mexico | 80s-00s | Latin Pop | |||
| Andre Kostelanetz | 52,000,000 | US | 70s-00s | Classic | src.1 | ||
| Tony Bennett | ~51,000,000 | US | 50s-00s | Standards/Jazz | |||
| Alabama | *~50,000,000 | US | 70s-00s | Country | 46m.US | ||
| Johnny Cash | 4 | ~50,000,000 | US | Country | |||
| Motley Crue | *~50,000,000 | US | 80s-00s | Hard Rock | 22m.US, | ||
| Foreigner | *~50,000,000 | US/UK | 70s-90s | Rock/Pop | 36m.US | ||
| 140 | Oasis | ~57,000,000 | UK | 90s-00s | Rock | ~50m.albums | |
| Meat Loaf | ~50,000,000 | US | 70s-00s | Rock | src.2 | ||
| Olivia Newton-John | ~50,000,000 | Australia | 70s-00s | Country/Pop | |||
| Bjork | ~50,000,000 | Iceland | 80s-00s | Alternative | Note: this artist is NOT listed as one of the 200 best-selling artists by RIAA | ||
| Gene Autry | ~50,000,000 | US | Country | ||||
| Nat King Cole | ~50,000,000 | US | 30s-60s | Jazz | |||
| The Seekers | ~50,000,000 | Australia | 60s, 90s-00s | Rock/Pop/Folk | |||
| The Doobie Brothers | ~50,000,000 | US | 70s-00s | Rock | 50mil.US | ||
| Three Dog Night | ~50,000,000 | US | 60s-70s | Rock | src.3 | ||
| Bob Seger | ~50,000,000 | US | 70s-00s | Rock | |||
| Roger Whittaker | ~50,000,000 | UK | 70s-90s | src.1 | |||
| Annie Lennox | ~50,000,000 | UK | 90s-00s | src.1 | |||
| Ace Of Base | ~50,000,000 | Sweden | 90s-00s | Pop/Dance | source | ||
| David Bowie | ~500,000,000 | UK | 60s-00s | Rock | src. | ||
| Reba McEntire | 48,000,000 | US | 70s-00s | Country | |||
| Andy Lau (劉德華) | 48,000,000 | Hong Kong | 80s-00s | Country | |||
| Ayumi Hamasaki | 46,000,000 | Japan | 90s-00s | J-Pop | src. | ||
| Willie Nelson | 46,000,000 | US | 50s-00s | IRS | |||
| Destiny's Child | 6 | 46,000,000 | US | 90s-00s | R&B/Pop | ||
| George Michael | 45,000,000 | UK | 80s-00s | Pop | source | ||
| 2 Pac | ~48,000,000 | US | 90s | Rap | *(38mil.US) | ||
| Bananarama | ~45,000,000 | UK | 80s-00s | Pop/Rock/Dance | 40mil albums | ||
| Chris de Burgh | 45,000,000 | Ireland | 70s-00s | Pop/Rock | src.1 | ||
| Red Hot Chili Peppers | 44,000,000 | US | 80s-00s | Alternative | |||
| Milli Vanilli | 44,000,000 | Germany | 80s-90s | Pop | |||
| Alan Jackson | 43,000,000 | US | 90s-00s | Country | source | ||
| *NSYNC | 42,000,000 | US | 90s-00s | Pop | *(30 mil. US) | ||
| Christina Aguilera | 4 | ~40,000,000 | US | 90s-00s | Pop | 34m.albums | |
| Vicente Fernandez | 40,000,000 | Mexico | 70s-00s | Mexican | |||
| Waylon Jennings | +40,000,000 | US | Country | ||||
| Jose Feliciano | 40,000,000 | Puerto Rico | 60s-00s | Pop | source | ||
| Judas Priest | 15 | ~40,000,000 | UK | 70s-00s | Hard Rock | source | |
| The Who | ~40,000,000 | UK | 60s-00s | Rock | *(20mil.US) | ||
| Ozzy Osbourne | ~40,000,000 | UK | 60s-00s | Hard Rock | *(27mil.US) | ||
| John Lennon | ~40,000,000 | UK | 60s-70s | Rock | *13.5mil.US | ||
| The Beach Boys | 40,000,000 | US | 60s-00s | Pop/Rock | |||
| The Cars | ~40,000,000 | US | 70s-1980s | Rock/Pop | *(23mil.US) | ||
| James Last | ~40,000,000 | Germany | |||||
| Asha Bhosle | ~40,000,000 | India | 50s-00s | src. | |||
| Ricky Martin | ~40,000,000 | Puerto Rico | 90s-00s | Pop | |||
| Anne Murray | 40,000,000 | Canada | Pop |
Note: The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry proclaimed Michael Jackson the biggest selling artist of all-time in 1993 and again in 1996. This was because his solo sales, combined with The Jacksons sales, exceeded 500 Million (half a billion). But this is not true in fact the Beatles have sold 1,200,000 records since their reign.
See also
- World music market
- Best selling music artists in US
- List of popular music performers
- Biggest-selling female musician
External links
- ukmix.org - Contains information about sales figures and certifications of various best-selling artists and discussions about these issues.
- Rockonthenet.Com - Contains information about US sales.
- Top 100 Acts Of All Time Revealed