You must add a |reason= parameter to this Cleanup template – replace it with {{Cleanup|November 2005|reason=<Fill reason here>}}, or remove the Cleanup template.
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. In reality, building such a list from a neutral point of view and based on facts, is quite difficult. However, a group of Wikipedia editors are working hard to make sure this list is as accurate as possible.
See also: Discussion #1| # | Name | Albums | Worldwide Sales | Nationality | Years Active | Genre | Source | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Beatles | 1,000,000,000 | UK | 60s (1962-1970) | Rock | EMI estimation | ||
| 2 | Elvis Presley | 1,000,000,000 | US | 50-70s (1956-1977) | Rock | Elvis fans estimation | ||
| 3 | Ken Dodd | 14 | ~300,000,000 | UK | 70s-00s (1979-) | Pop/Rock | KD Stats
Albums Discography Singles Discography See also: Discussion #1 | |
| 4 | Nana Mouskouri | 450 | ~250,000,000 | Greece | 60s-00s (1959-) | Pop | [1] | |
| 5 | Cliff Richard | 60+ | 250,000,000 | UK | 50s-00s (1959-2005) | Rock/Pop | [3] | |
| 6 | Madonna | 16 | ~250,000,000 | US | 80s-00s (1983-) | Rock/Pop | WBR 2005 | |
| 7 | Mariah Carey | 14 | ~230,000,000 | US | 90s-00s (1990-) | R&B/Pop | Albums Discography | |
| 8 | The Rolling Stones | 54 | ~230,000,000 | UK | 60s-00s (1964-1981) | Rock | 60.5 million in the US [5] | |
| 9 | Celine Dion | 21 | ~220,000,000 | Canada | 80s-00s (1981-) | Rock/Pop | Discography| | |
| 10 | Elton John | 43 | ~230,000,000 | UK | 70s-00s (1972-1976,1989-1991,1997-) | Rock/Pop | [6]
See also: Discussion #1 | |
| 11 | Pink Floyd | 21 | ~200,000,000 | UK | 60s-00s (1970-1983,1994-1995) | Rock | 73 Mil US | |
| 12 | Led Zeppelin | 19 | 200,000,000+ | UK | 60s-70s (1969-1979) | Rock | MSNBC | |
| 13 | Metallica | 10 | ~200,000,000 | US | 80's-00's (1991-1997) | Metal | 57 mil US | |
| 14 | Julio Iglesias | 80 | ~200,000,000 | Spain | 70s-00s (1969-) | Latino Pop | [7] [8] | |
| 15 | Queen | 26 | 190,000,000 | UK | 70s-00s (1973-2005) | Rock | R&R HoF, 20011995 source
Queen (band) See also: discussion #11 [9] | |
| 16 | Whitney Houston | 10 | ~180,000,000 | US | 80s-00s (1985-2000) | R&B/Pop | [10]Whitney Houston Discography | |
| 17 | AC/DC | 30 | ~160,000,000 | Australia/UK | 70s-00s (1980-1992) | Rock | AC/DC | |
| 18 | ABBA | 26 | 160,000,000 | Sweden | 70s-80s (1974-1982) | Rock | ABBA discography | |
| 19 | U2 | 11 | ~150,000,000 | Ireland | 80s-00s (1983-) | Rock | 50.5m.US [11] | |
| 20 | The Jacksons | 28 | 150,000,000 | US | 60s-80s (1969-1980) | R&B/Pop | 71m.US | |
| 21 | Garth Brooks | 16 | ~145,000,000 | US | 80s-00s (1989-2001) | Country | 105m.US | |
| 22 | David Bowie | 38 | 136,000,000 | UK | 60s-00s (1967-2003) | Rock | src. | |
| 23 | Janet Jackson | 11 | 130,000,000 | US | 80s-00s (1986-) | R&B/Pop | Janet Jackson Discography | |
| 24 | The Eagles | 15 | ~120,000,000 | US | 70s-00s (1974-1979) | Rock | 89 million in US [12] | |
| 25 | Wei Wei (韦唯) | ~120,000,000 | China | 80s-00s (1986-) | Pop | [13] [14] | ||
| 26 | The Bee Gees | 29 | 110,000,000 | UK/Australia | 60s-00s (1975-1979) | Rock | src.1 [15] | |
| 27 | Bon Jovi | 13 | ~110,000,000 | US | 80s-00s (1986-2000) | Rock | (100m.alb.) | |
| 28 | R.E.M. | 17 | ~110,000,000 | US | 80s-00s (1991-) | Rock | Wikipedia source | |
| 29 | Kenny Rogers | 43 | 105,000,000+ | US | 60s-00s (1977-1983) | Rock | [16] | |
| 30 | Black Sabbath | 27 | 100,000,000+ | UK | 70s-00s | Metal | [18] | |
| 31 | Barbra Streisand | 56 | 100,000,000+ | US | 60s-00s (1963-1980) | popular | 70.5 million in US [19] | |
| 32 | Britney Spears | 5 | ~100,000,000 | US | 90s-00s (1999 - ) | Pop | ||
| 33 | Alla Pugacheva | 15 | ~100,000,000 | Russia | 70s-00s (1976-) | Rock/Pop | *(10m.US) [20] | |
| 34 | Johnny Mathis | ~100,000,000 | US | 50s-00s | Pop/Standards | src. source 2 | ||
| 35 | Ricky Nelson | ~100,000,000 | US | 50s-80s (1958-1961) | Pop/Country/Rock | Note: no references given here | ||
| 36 | Luciano Pavarotti | ~100,000,000 | Italy | 60s-00s (1972-) | Opera | [21] [22] | ||
| 37 | Brenda Lee | ~100,000,000 | US | 50s-60s (1958-1963) | Pop/Country | Note: No references given here | ||
| 38 | Illayaraja | 750+ | ~100,000,000 | India | 70s-00s (1982-) | Classical | [23] | |
| 39 | A. R. Rahman | 92 | ~100,000,000 | India | 90s-00s (1992-) | Classical | [24] | |
| 40 | Deep Purple | 45 | ~150,000,000 | UK | 60s-00s (1971-1972) | Rock | [25] | |
| 41 | Lionel Richie | 8 | ~100,000,000 | US | 80s-00s (1981-1985) | R&B | [26] 21.0 mililion in US | |
| 42 | Dolly Parton | ~100,000,000 | US | 60s-00s (1981-1983) | Country | [28] Note: this artist is not listed by RIAA as one of the 200 best selling artists in US [29]See also: discussion #15 | ||
| 43 | Donna Summer | 29 | ~100,000,000 | US | 70s-90s (1977-1983) | Disco | Wikipedia source | |
| 44 | Aerosmith | 28 | ~100,000,000 | US | 70s-00s (1993-1998) | Rock | [30] [31] | |
| 45 | Billy Joel | 24 | ~100,000,000 | US | 70s-00s (1978-1983,1989-1993) | Rock | 78 mil.US, [32] [33] | |
| 46 | Fleetwood Mac | 43 | ~100,000,000 | UK/US | 60s-00s (1975-1990) | Rock | 2 | |
| 47 | Johnny Hallyday | ~100,000,000 | France | 50s-00s | Pop | src.1 [34] | ||
| 48 | Charles Aznavour | ~100,000,000 | France | 50s-00s | Pop | [35] | ||
| 49 | Backstreet Boys | 6 | ~90,000,000+ | US | 90s-00s (1999-2000) | Rock | src.1 [36] | |
| 50 | Bruce Springsteen | 21 | ~90,000,000 | US | 70s-00s (1980-1995,2002-) | Rock | *(61 mil. albums US) | |
| 51 | Def Leppard | 14 | ~90,000,000 | UK | 80s-00s (1987-1988) | Rock | 55.5mil.US | |
| 52 | Bob Dylan | 50 | ~90,000,000 | US | 60s-00s (1965-1976) | Rock | *35m.US, | |
| 53 | Earth, Wind & Fire | 30 | 90,000,000 | US | 70s-00s (1975) | R&B/Funk/Disco/Pop | *(23 mil.US) [37] Note: No references given here for 90 million WW figure | |
| 54 | KISS | 30 | ~90,000,000 | US | 70s-00s | Rock | source | |
| 55 | B'z | 14 | ~86,000,000 | Japan | 90s-00s (1989-) | Rock | See also: discussion #22 | |
| 56 | Eddy Arnold | 85,000,000 | US | 40s-90s | Country | source | ||
| 57 | Iron Maiden | 24 | ~85,000,000 | UK | 70s-00s (1988-1992) | Metal | *(32 mil. US), src. | |
| 58 | Modern Talking | ~80,000,000 | Germany | 80s-00s (1984-1986,1998-) | Eurodance | |||
| 59 | Jean-Michel Jarre | 19 | ~80,000,000 | France | 70s-00s (1976-1978) | Synth Pop | sourceSee also: discussion #19 | |
| 60 | Santana | 54 | ~80,000,000 | US | 60s-00s (1970-1972,1999-) | Rock | src.1 [38] | |
| 61 | Dalida | ~80,000,000 | France | 50s-80s (1956-1987) | as of 1981 See also: discussion #19 | |||
| 62 | Salvatore Adamo | ~80,000,000 | Italy | 60s-00s | [39] | |||
| 63 | Fairouz | ~80,000,000 | Lebanon | 60s-00s | Traditional Arab, Modern, Pop | *(35 mil. US) | ||
| 64 | Eric Clapton | 41 | ~80,000,000 | UK | 80s-00s (1992-1995) | Rock | *(38 mil. US) | |
| 65 | Stevie Wonder | 25 | ~80,000,000 | US | 60s-00s (1972-1985) | R&B | [40] | |
| 66 | Hank Snow | ~80,000,000 | Canada | 30's-90's | Folk | [41] | ||
| 67 | Mireille Mathieu | 37 | 76,000,000 | France | 60s-00s | Pop | ||
| 68 | Spice Girls | 3 | ~76,000,000 | UK | 90s-00s (1996-2000) | Pop | source | |
| 69 | Journey | 27 | ~75,000,000 | US | 70s-00s (1981) | Rock/Pop | 40mil.US, [42] | |
| 70 | Paul McCartney | 41 | ~75,000,000+ | UK | 60s-00s (1970-1989) | Rock | Note: no reference given here | |
| 71 | Duran Duran | 13 | 74,000,000 | UK | 80s-00s (1983-1985) | Pop/Rock | ||
| 72 | Shania Twain | 6 | ~73,000,000 | Canada | 90s-00s (1999-) | Country/Pop | Note: No references given here | |
| 73 | Depeche Mode | 28 | ~70,000,000 | UK | 80s-00s (1993-1997) | Rock | Note: No references given here | |
| 74 | A-ha | 10 | 70,000,000 | Norway | 80s-00s (1985-1993,2000-) | Pop | [43] [44] | |
| 75 | The Carpenters | 70,000,000 | US | 60s-80s (1970-1975) | Pop/Rock | reference needed | ||
| 76 | Gloria Estefan | ~70,000,000 | US | 80s-00s (1988-1991) | Latino Pop | src.1, [45] | ||
| 77 | Enya | 5 | 70,000,000 | Ireland | 80s-00s (1988-1991) | New Age/Celtic | Note: No references given here for WW figure | |
| 78 | Roberto Carlos | ~70,000,000 | Brazil | 60s-00s | [46] [47] | |||
| 79 | Charley Pride | ~70,000,000 | US | 60s-00s | Country | source | ||
| 80 | Bay City Rollers | ~70,000,000 | UK | 70s-00s (1974-1976) | Pop/Rock | [48] | ||
| 81 | Van Halen | 14 | ~70,000,000 | US | 70s-00s (1984-1996) | Rock | [49] | |
| 82 | Kylie Minogue | 65,000,000 | Australia | 80s-00s (1987-1994,2000-) | Pop | source | ||
| 83 | George Strait | ~65,000,000 | US | 70s-00s | Country | *54 mil. US | ||
| 84 | Eminem | 65,000,000 | US | 90s-00s (2000-) | Rap | *(22 mil. US) | ||
| 85 | Tupac | 60,000,000+ | US | 90s-00s (1994-) | Rap | [50] | ||
| 86 | Genesis | 60,000,000 | UK | 70s-00s (1980-1997) | Rock | src. | ||
| 87 | Phil Collins | ~60,000,000 | UK | 80s-00s (1981-1998) | Rock | src. | ||
| 88 | Guns N' Roses | 8 | ~60,000,000 | US | 80s-90s (1987-1991) | Rock | 71mil. albums | |
| 89 | Chicago | 30 | ~60,000,000 | US | 60s-80s (1972-1975) | Rock | [51] | |
| 90 | Vicky Leandros | 400+ | ~150,000,000+ | Greece | 60s-00s | Pop | Greek gvt,official culture award 2003. | |
| 91 | Bryan Adams | ~60,000,000 | Canada | 80s-00s (1984-1985,1991-2000) | Pop/Rock | [52] | ||
| 92 | The Doors | ~60,000,000 | US | 60s-70s (1967-1968) | Rock | *(30 mil. US) | ||
| 93 | Tina Turner | ~60,000,000 | US | 70s-00s (1984-1993) | R&B | [53] | ||
| 94 | Perry Como | ~60,000,000 | US | 30s-00s (1953-1958) | Vocal | [54] [55] | ||
| 95 | Frank Sinatra | ~60,000,000 | US | 40s-90s (1954-1957, 1965-1973) | Vocal | *(25 mil.US) | ||
| 96 | Simon and Garfunkel | ~60,000,000 | US | 60s (1965-1970) | Rock | *(36mil.US) | ||
| 97 | Pearl Jam | ~60,000,000 | US | 90s-00s (1993-1996) | Alternative | *(29 mil. US) | ||
| 98 | John Denver | ~60,000,000 | US | 60s-00s (1969-1975) | Rock | [56] | ||
| 99 | The Monkees | ~60,000,000 | US | 60s-90s (1966-1967) | Pop/Rock | [57] | ||
| 100 | Hank Thompson | ~60,000,000 | US | 40s-00s | Country | Note: no reference provided | ||
| 101 | Barry Manilow | 60,000,000+ | US | 70s-00s (1974-1985) | Pop/Standards | [58] | ||
| 102 | Boyz II Men | ~60,000,000 | US | 80s-00s (1992-1997) | R&B/Pop | *(27mil.US), [59] | ||
| 103 | Paul Anka | ~60,000,000 | Canada | 50s-00s (1957-1961, 1974-1975) | Pop | [60] | ||
| 104 | Alanis Morissette | ~55,000,000 | Canada | 90s-00s (1995-) | Rock | src.1 [61] | ||
| 105 | TLC | 4 | 55,000,000+ | USA | 90s-00s (1994-1999) | R&B | BMG | |
| 106 | The Police | *53,000,000 | UK | 70s-80s (1979-1983) | Rock | 22m.US, [62] | ||
| 107 | Nirvana | *52,000,000 | US | 80s-90s (1991-1996) | Rock | 24m.US | ||
| 108 | Michael Bolton | 52,000,000 | US | 80s-00s (1990-1992) | Pop | [63] | ||
| 109 | Luis Miguel | 55,000,000 | Mexico | 80s-00s (1986-) | Latin Pop | [64] | ||
| 110 | Andre Kostelanetz | 52,000,000 | US | 70s-00s | Classic | src.1 [65] | ||
| 111 | Tony Bennett | ~51,000,000 | US | 50s-00s (1951-1955) | Standards/Jazz | [66] | ||
| 112 | Alabama | *~50,000,000 | US | 70s-00s | Country | 46m.US | ||
| 113 | Johnny Cash | 4 | ~50,000,000 | US | 50s-00s (1957-1963,1967-1969,1994-1996) | Country | [67] | |
| 114 | Motley Crue | *~50,000,000 | US | 80s-00s (1989) | Rock | 22m.US, [68] | ||
| 115 | Destiny's Child | *~55,000,000 | UK | 1999-) | Rock/Pop | 45m USA | ||
| 116 | Oasis | ~57,000,000 | UK | 90s-00s (1994-) | Rock | ~50m.albums | ||
| 117 | Meat Loaf | ~50,000,000 | US | 70s-00s (1977-1981,1993) | Rock | [69] src.2 | ||
| 118 | Olivia Newton-John | ~50,000,000 | Australia | 70s-00s (1974-1982) | Country/Pop | [70] | ||
| 119 | Bjork | ~50,000,000 | Iceland | 80s-00s | Alternative | Note: this artist is NOT listed as one of the 200 best-selling artists by RIAA [71] | ||
| 120 | Gene Autry | ~50,000,000 | US | Country | [72] | |||
| 121 | Nat King Cole | ~50,000,000 | US | 30s-60s (1945-1962) | Jazz | [73] | ||
| 122 | The Seekers | ~50,000,000 | Australia | 60s, 90s-00s (1964-1967) | Rock/Pop/Folk | [74] | ||
| 123 | The Doobie Brothers | ~50,000,000 | US | 70s-00s (1978) | Rock | 50mil.US | ||
| 124 | Three Dog Night | ~50,000,000 | US | 60s-70s (1970-1972) | Rock | [75] [76] src.3 | ||
| 125 | Bob Seger | ~50,000,000 | US | 70s-00s (1980) | Rock | [77] | ||
| 126 | Roger Whittaker | ~50,000,000 | UK | 70s-90s | src.1 [78] | |||
| 127 | Annie Lennox | ~50,000,000 | UK | 90s-00s (1992-1995) | src.1 [79] | |||
| 128 | Ace Of Base | ~50,000,000 | Sweden | 90s-00s (1993-1998) | Pop/Dance | source | ||
| 129 | Reba McEntire | 48,000,000 | US | 70s-00s | Country | [80] | ||
| 130 | Andy Lau (劉德華) | 48,000,000 | Hong Kong | 80s-00s | Country | [81] [82] | ||
| 131 | Ayumi Hamasaki | 46,000,000 | Japan | 90s-00s | J-Pop | src. | ||
| 132 | Willie Nelson | 46,000,000 | US | 50s-00s | IRS | |||
| 133 | George Michael | 45,000,000 | UK | 80s-00s | Pop | source [83] | ||
| 134 | Biggie Smalls | ~48,000,000 | US | 90s | Rap | *(38mil.US) | ||
| 135 | Bananarama | ~45,000,000 | UK | 80s-00s | Pop/Rock/Dance | 40mil albums | ||
| 136 | Chris de Burgh | 45,000,000 | Ireland | 70s-00s | Pop/Rock | src.1 [84] | ||
| 137 | Red Hot Chili Peppers | 44,000,000 | US | 80s-00s | Rock | |||
| 138 | Milli Vanilli | 44,000,000 | Germany | 80s-90s | Pop | [85] | ||
| 139 | Alan Jackson | 43,000,000 | US | 90s-00s | Country | source | ||
| 140 | *NSYNC | 42,000,000 | US | 90s-00s | Rock | *(30 mil. US) | ||
| 141 | Christina Aguilera | 4 | ~40,000,000 | US | 90s-00s | Rock | 34m.albums | |
| 142 | Vicente Fernandez | 40,000,000 | Mexico | 70s-00s | Mexican | |||
| 143 | Waylon Jennings | +40,000,000 | US | Country | [86] | |||
| 144 | Jose Feliciano | 40,000,000 | Puerto Rico | 60s-00s | Pop | source | ||
| 145 | Judas Priest | 15 | ~40,000,000 | UK | 70s-00s | Metal | source | |
| 146 | The Who | ~40,000,000 | UK | 60s-00s | Rock | *(20mil.US) | ||
| 147 | Ozzy Osbourne | ~40,000,000 |
