HIGHEST SELLING MUSIC ARTISTS
Added on: 1st Aug 2015
EAGLES – 130+ MILLION
Despite what Aerosmith might claim, according to the official numbers
the Eagles are the biggest-selling American band of all time, with an
estimated total of over 150 million records worldwide, which seems to
be realistic if one takes into account that their certified album sales are
over 130 million with a little more than 100 million of those in the US alone.
Their Greatest Hits (1971–1975) shares the top spot with Michael Jackson’s
Thriller as the best-selling album ever in the US with 29 million copies sold
and is one of the highest-selling albums globally with 45 million copies
sold worldwide.
LED ZEPPELIN – 140 MILLION
According to various sources, Led Zeppelin’s official record sales are
supposed to be somewhere between 200 and 300 million units worldwide.
With RIAA-certified sales of 111.5 million, they are the second best-selling
band in the United States behind the Beatles and one of the most
commercially successful music acts in history.
GARTH BROOKS – 145 MILLION
Garth Brooks is statistically the biggest-selling music artist in US
history and overall third behind the Beatles and Elvis Presley.
He’s the solo artist with the most diamond albums in RIAA’s history, with
six of his albums achieving sales of over 10 million copies. As of now
his albums continue to break records and according to Nielsen
Soundscan, his albums sales up to 2014 are about 70 million, which
makes him the best-selling artist in the United States since the advent of
the SoundScan era (1991 to the present). Simply put, Garth is
Country’s absolute king.
ELTON JOHN – 162 MILLION
Elton John ruled the pop and rock airwaves throughout the ‘70s,
allowing him to attain superstar status around the world by the time he
was thirty. The 1997 version of “Candle in the Wind,” which was
rewritten to celebrate the life of Princess Diana, sold over 33 million
copies worldwide and is considered to be the best-selling single of all time.
With estimated sales of more than 250 million records worldwide, Elton John
is the biggest-selling British solo artist ever, and the second best-selling
British musical act of all time, surpassed only by the Beatles.
MADONNA – 166 MILLION
Madonna is one of the very few artists in history who was inducted into
the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in her first year of eligibility.
Her record company claims that the phenomenal artist has sold more
than 300 million records worldwide. She has also been recognized as
the best-selling female recording artist of all time by the Guinness Book
of World Records and knowing Madonna’s global impact in the music
world we have no reason to doubt any of these facts. However, her
certified sales via the available official markets hardly reach 170 million.
MICHAEL JACKSON – 175 MILLION
Despite Michael Jackson and his record labels always exaggerating
to a great extent about their sales and achievements, there’s no
doubt that the “King of Pop” set numerous records during the course
of his epic career including the best-selling album of all time (Thriller),
the best-selling music video of all time, and winning more music awards
than any other musician or band in history. However, his claim of
750 million records sold is inaccurate and his certified sales don’t
Surpass 175 million at the moment, while his fans make claims of
estimated total sales of about 350–400 million globally.
ELVIS PRESLEY – 210 MILLION
“The King” is the only solo artist in history who has broken the
200 million barrier, and the scariest part is that the Recording Industry
Association of America (RIAA) first began tracking sales of Elvis
Presley’s music in 1958, which means that they don’t include many of the
successful recordings he released before that year. Even under these
circumstances, Elvis has more gold (90), platinum (52) and multi-platinum
(25) album awards than any artist and is the best-selling solo artist of
all time in the US. However, RCA’s claims that Elvis has sold more than
one billion records are ridiculous and it’s believed that Elvis hasn’t sold
more than 600 million records worldwide.
THE BEATLES – 265 MILLION
The Beatles hold pretty much every music record there is and that’s
not an exaggeration whatsoever: They have the most number one
albums on the US charts with 19; the most number one singles in the
US with 20; the most number one albums on the British charts, and
have sold more singles in the UK than any other act. According to the
RIAA, the Beatles are the best-selling music act in the United States, with
178 million certified units sold and they hold the same honour in the
UK, Germany, and the rest of Europe as well. Despite all the records
they have broken and being the most famous music band of the
twentieth-century, their claims of 1.5 billion records worldwide has
proved to be false even though it seems very possible for them to
become the first music act to soon break the 300 million barrier
of certified sales if their albums continue to sell as well as they
have for the past two decades.
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