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This lists documents the world's best-selling music artists categorically and alphabetically. This information cannot be listed officially, as there is no organization that has recorded global music sales. This page lists those artists who have had claims made to be among the top sellers. Within their sales brackets, artists are listed in alphabetical order, rather than by number of records sold. Equal weight is given to album and single sales, as well as paid downloads. Sources are record labels, newspaper articles or manual addition of figures from various official sources. This means that these figures should be considered claims, not facts.

Constraints

Although the criteria for the following list are intended to be expansive (including comparisons for total sales for all recording artists) there are certain limitations and constraints that may limit the conclusions that can be derived from this data.

Such constraints include:

• Bias towards acts who have had success in a specific country or region.

• Bias towards older artists. There is now a broader genre spectrum of music to listen to now which limits the number of listeners.

• Bias towards modern artists. Comparatively fewer successful modern artists will have sold more records, as both global spending power and population have increased. In 1950, the world's population was 2.5 billion; by 2000 it had risen to 6 billion. Also, older artists suffer from bias as their record sales are less likely to have been accurately tracked, and estimates of their early sales are likely to be more vague.

• Bias towards older artists. Particularly, those artists who began their recording careers since 1990 may have experienced some loss in sales from illegal downloading of tracks.

• Fan sites, press articles, certification authorities and record companies have been known to inflate record sales claims.

• Inflated claims for artists who performed in different acts during their careers. Sometimes all of the sales data is attributed to an individual artist. For the purposes of this list, an effort is made to separate the individual acts (e.g., the sales figures for The Beatles and Paul McCartney & Wings are mutually exclusive).

• Inconsistencies between the sources of the various statistics. For example in some cases world sales are compared to US (RIAA certifies US sales only).

Artists by reputed sales

500 million records or more

200 million to 499 million records

100 million to 199 million records

75 million to 99 million records

50 million to 74 million records

References

1. Beatles Timeline - The End of The Beatles and Beyond 1969-present
2. Billboard.com - Biography - Bing Crosby
3. http://www.worldrecordsacademy.org/arts/most_successful_solo_artist_world_record_set_by_Elvis_Presley_70812.htm
4. "Pop Icon Looks Back At A "Thriller" Of A Career In New Interview". CBS News. 2007-11-06. Retrieved 2008-02-14. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
5. "Back to roots for AC/DC". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 2008-05-02.
6. rediff.com: A R Rahman: Composing a winning score
7. Former ABBA drummer found dead in garden Amol Rajan; msnbc; accessed 18 July 2008; claims 370 million
8. ABBA, The Book Potiez, Jean-Marie; 15 August 2005; accessed December 2006; claims 410 million records sold as of 2000
9. It's ABBA on the phone making a lot more money, money, money Sherwin, Adam; The Times; April 19, 2006; accessed December 2006; claims over 750 million
10. Britannica on Alla Pugacheva
11. D'elles. Sony BMG. Retrieved May 7 2007.
12. ITN - Cher gets ready to Turn Back Time
13. The Times on Cliff Richard
14. The Times on The Drifters
15. The Telegraph on Elton John
17. HELLO! The Iglesias dynasty
18. "Led Zeppelin brings down the house". CNN. December 10, 2007. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
19. "VH1 Welcomes the Return of the 'Third Annual UK Music Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony'". vh1.com. September 14, 2006. Retrieved 2006-09-21. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
20. The Local
21. The Telegraph
22. The Mail & Guardian
23. Bowman, Edith (2007-05-26). "BBC World Visionaries: Madonna Vs. Mozart". BBC News. Retrieved 2008-05-12. In 2000, Guinness World Records listed Madonna as the most successful female recording artist of all time.
24. "Queen of Pop Madonna crowned highest earning female singer on earth". Daily Mail. Forbes. 2006-09-28. Retrieved 2007-12-28.
25. "IFPI Platinum Europe Awards: July & August 2006". IFPI News. 2006-09-13. Retrieved 2007-12-14.
26. Biographie de Nana Mouskouri
27. The Times-July 2006
28. BBC News release 2006
29. PR-Inside.com Entertainment News » ROYAL HONOUR FOR ROD STEWART
30. "Everything is turning to gold", Record sales of the Rolling Stones.
32. ]
33. Adriano Celentano wird 70 Auf der Straße zum Gluck - Kultur - sueddeutsche.de
35. (BEAT) : Backstreet Boys live at Rod Laver Arena
36. BBC NEWS | Entertainment | Obituary: Barry White
37. BBC NEWS | Entertainment | Billy Joel in Walk of Fame honour
38. Ozzy Osbourne, Prince of Darkness, Sharon Osbourne, Kelly Osbourne, Jack Osbourne, Amy Osbourne
39. http://www6.islandrecords.com/bonjovi/theband_bonjovi_bio.php - BonJovi.com: official band profile
40. Brenda Lee
41. BBC News | MUSIC | Aznavour leaves on high note
42. CNN.com - Review: Chicago box set captures band - Aug. 22, 2003
43. Une voix en or - Paris.fr
44. Lost in the Sixties » Dave Clark Five hurt by bad timing
45. David Bowie profile - biography of David Bowie
46. With Dire Straits no more, Knopfler sails solo, October 13, 2000
47. Mark Knopfler news, Terry Kilburn, August 31, 2000
48. To The Troops, From Dolly, Parton Pushes Patriotism To The Fore With Songs Old And New - CBS News
49. Hour on Donna Summer
50. Duane Eddy
51. The Eagles : Rolling Stone
53. The Times on Engelbert Humperdinck
54. BBC NEWS | Entertainment | Domino 'shaken' by storm ordeal
55. Fleetwood Mac: Biography : Rolling Stone
56. AFP on Frankie Vallie and the Four Seasons
57. RIAA
58. Songwriters Hall of Fame
59. BBC.com Michael seeking 'a quieter life'
61. BBC NEWS | Entertainment | Profile: Johnny Hallyday
62. ADVISORY/Recording Academy's Florida Chapter Honors Chris Blackwell, Harry Wayne Casey, Mack Emerman and Olga Guillot; 2001 Heroes Awards Takes Place in Miami Beach on June 11 | Business Wire | Find Articles at BNET.com
63. CNN - Kenny Rogers, gambling again - October 7, 1999
64. The Times on Lionel Richie
65. BBC NEWS | Entertainment | Music | Pavarotti recovers from surgery
66. | Mariah Carey | music
67. JRT Shikoku Broadcasting
68. Oricon
69. goo
70. Shuichi Maruyama WEBSITE
71. Mon Credo - The Israeli Mireille Mathieu fansite
72. DSDS Neues ''Modern Talking'' mit Medlock und Bohlen - Panorama - sueddeutsche.de
73. Billboard.com - Biography - Neil Diamond
74. The Malaysia Star on The Osmonds
75. At 71, Patti Page still is a 'Singing Rage': 2/17/99
76. BBC News | AMERICAS | Crooner Perry Como dies
78. Songwriters Hall of Fame
80. CNN.com - Transcripts
81. The Times on Status Quo
82. The LA Times on Stevie Wonder
83. SOHU.com May 6, 2003
84. Cher and Tina Turner to Tape a Special Oprah Show in Las Vegas
85. Nyet! The Madonna of Moscow says our pop stars are rubbish - Europe, News - Independent.co.uk
86. Seattle Times on The Ventures
87. Watertown Daily Times on Village People
88. The New York Times on The Who
89. M, Peter (2008-04-27). "Morten Harket - new album by the a-ha singer". Berlinista. Retrieved 2008-06-10.
90. The Scotsman on Annie Lennox
91. The Andrews Sisters - Inductees - The Vocal Group Hall of Fame Foundation
92. { . . f a v o r e d . n a t i o n s . . }
93. Barry Manilow News on Yahoo! Music
94. Bobby Vinton Blue Velvet Theatre: About Bobby
95. Zomba Label Group - Jive Records - LaFace Records - News
96. BBC NEWS | Entertainment | Latin honours for Carlos Santana
98. The Doors Target Digital Generation - Technology News by TechWeb
99. allmusic ((( Larry Dunn > Overview )))
100. allmusic ((( Eddy Arnold > Overview )))
101. The Independent on Eurythmics
103. [http://www.90millas.com/ ]
104. Axl Rose shoots for a Guns N' Roses comeback
105. Country Music Roots: Hank Snow
106. 詳細情報 (図書)
107. What Records - Sales
108. Dreyfus Records - News - The Jean Michel Jarre Collection
109. Smooth Jazz News Cover Story
111. Tarabu Music Store México, EsMas.com property of Televisa
112. Metallica
113. MSNBC on Mötley Crüe
114. Mina la camaleontica, Mina la solitaria Arcobaleno
115. Peter Wolf
116. "75 million sold copies". popmatters.com. Retrieved 2007-10-29.
117. Cher's biography
119. Alanis Morisette Sales Number
120. Alice Cooper - Bio of Alice Cooper - Alice Cooper Lives in Phoenix
121. allmusic ((( André Kostelanetz > Biography )))
122. The Times on Andrea Bocelli
123. Calendar of Events - do toledo
124. Sports Hochi April 9, 2008
125. RIAA
126. Lamar State College - Port Arthur
127. Richard Move :: Move-It Productions
128. Bob Dylan - Britannica Online Encyclopedia
129. GRANHOLM - Bob Seger Day
130. Boston Biography
131. Save The Music 2002 , Foreigner Performs To Save The Music - CBS News
132. "Top Selling Artists", RIAA website. Date uncertain. Accessed 2008-09-04.
133. Bryan Adams
134. Knx - *
136. Vail Colorado-Todays information & news from Vail Daily - Arts and Entertainment
137. BLABBERMOUTH.NET - DEF LEPPARD: Upcoming TV Appearances Detailed
138. Sports Hochi July 7,2007
139. BARKS
140. Yahoo! Japan
141. About the Diamonds 50's and 60's Golden Oldies from Little Darlin's Music Works
142. The Doobie Brothers - Greatest Hits - Release Date: 19th July 2004
143. Duran Duran To Get Brit Award Honor
144. Eminem Strikes Worldwide Publishing DealArticle Date: 11/16/2007
145. Payton, Lawrence - Britannica Online Encyclopedia
146. SPURS: It's "True": George Strait To Perform First Concert At New SBC Center
148. The Times on Jay-Z
149. BBC NEWS | Entertainment | Cash musical heading for Broadway
150. 森進一公式ホームページ
151. The Times on Kylie Minogue
152. Meatloaf
153. The Ledger Independent on Michael Bolton
154. Piqua's Mills Brothers sold 50 million records
156. ミスチル、シングル＆アルバム総売上枚数5,000万枚突破！ ニュース-ORICON STYLE
157. BBC - Radio 2 - Sold On Song - Song Library - Let There Be Love
158. Dictionary Cravo Albin of the Brazilian Popular Music
159. LiveDaily] on New Kids On The Block
160. Nirvana News on Yahoo! Music
161. Pearlman's Money Woes Follow Him Downtown
162. Self-Titled Pearl Jam Album Gets Release Date
163. ABS CBN News on Petula Clark
164. Britt, Bruce (October 5, 2006). ""Stadium Set Keeps Chili Peppers Red Hot"". BMI.com. Retrieved 2007-10-02. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
165. "Red Hot Chili Peppers Release Double Album Stadium Arcadium". Contact Music. Retrieved 2007-10-03.
166. "Red Hot Chili Peppers' "Stadium Arcadium," a 28-Song Double CD, to Be Released May 9". News Blaze. Retrieved 2007-10-08.
167. BBC NEWS | Entertainment | Police fan bands go on patrol
168. allmusic ((( Ray Conniff > Overview )))
169. Reba McEntire
170. "Ricky Martin: Artist Bio". myplay.com.
171. Th Times on Robbie Williams
173. Shakira’s Songs Are the Heart of Her Success
174. BBC News | ENTERTAINMENT | Radio star Whale recovering
175. BBC NEWS | Entertainment | Spice Girls announce reunion tour
176. : Ask Professor Flo :
177. The death of a glam rock idol, Sep 15 2007
178. The Times on UB40

• Best sellers
• Lists of musicians