Michael Jackson's Thriller, estimated to have sold 70 million copies worldwide, is the
Thriller – Michael Jackson – Best Selling Albums Of All Time. Finally, the King of Pop has held on to the top spot posthumously since 2009, selling over 66 million copies worldwide! As well as the title, track, the album was packed with best-selling singles from 'Billie Jean', to 'P.Y. T', to 'Beat It'.
Michael Jackson's Thriller is the best selling album of all time. The album is cited as selling as many as 110 million copies worldwide.
The Beatles' 1967 album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band topped the list, with Rolling Stone's editors describing it as "the most important rock 'n' roll album ever made". The Beach Boys' Pet Sounds (1966) was ranked second in recognition of its influence on Sgt.
Adele's 21 is the best selling album of the 21st century to date, with sales of over 31 million copies worldwide. Her third album 25, is also on the list with sales of over 23 million copies.
Michael Jackson, Paul McCartney and Phil Collins are the only musicians to have sold over 100 million albums as a solo artist and member of a group.
1. Thriller - Michael Jackson. Heading this list, we have one of the greatest albums of all time, and it's not hard to see why. The album, which was released in 1982, shows hues of post-disco and rock tunes and features a collection of timeless hits, including Beat It, Billie Jean, and the title track Thriller.
As of the issue dated July 29, 2023, the current number-one album on the chart is Speak Now (Taylor's Version) by Taylor Swift.
Top-selling artists worldwide as of 2022
Perhaps unsurprisingly, British rock band The Beatles are top of the list for best-selling artists worldwide, with 183 million units certified sales.
It is estimated that Elvis Presley sold over one billion records worldwide. His biggest selling single was " Suspicious Minds ," which was released in 1969. The single sold over two million copies in the United States alone and was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America.
The best-selling album in the United Kingdom is Greatest Hits, a compilation album by the British rock band Queen that was first released in 1981. As of July 2022, it has sold more than 7 million copies, of which approximately 124,000 have been from downloads.
According to Billboard, The Weeknd's “Blinding Lights” holds the title for the most famous song for the period 1960-2021. If you're interested in songs that appeared on "all-time top" lists compiled by well-known music publications, check this study from 2015 that resulted in 50 iconic songs of all time.
The Beatles have the most No. 1 hits of all time: 20.
However, one band didn't receive that memo when they crafted a record-breaking LP with an overwhelming 1000 tracks. The band in question are called The Pocket Gods.
Coincidentally, Michael Jackson's Bad and Katy's Teenage Dream are the only albums in US chart history to each score five Number 1s on the Billboard Hot 100.
The top three are all compilation albums, headed by Queen's Greatest Hits which has spent 1366 weeks in the top 100, ABBA Gold: Greatest Hits, with 1114 weeks on the chart, followed by Legend by Bob Marley and the Wailers with 1089 weeks.
As music sales increased with the introduction of compact discs, the RIAA created the Multi-Platinum award in 1984. Diamond awards, honoring those artists whose sales of singles or albums reached 10,000,000 copies, were introduced in 1999.
The only artists to have two different albums hit number one in the same year are Led Zeppelin, DMX, Jay-Z, Garth Brooks, 2Pac, and System of a Down.
Michael Jackson
As the King of Pop, it makes sense to begin the list with Michael Jackson. The legendary singer achieved fame at a young age through his musical family and their group the Jackson 5. This led him to regular studio work and performances across the Midwest, notably through Motown Records.
Reception. Calypso was the first LP record album to sell over one million copies. Several single records, including Glenn Miller's "Chattanooga Choo-Choo," Bing Crosby's "White Christmas," and Tennessee Ernie Ford's "Sixteen Tons" had surpassed 1 million copies previously.
Only 22 albums in history have sold 1 million copies in a single week — here they all are. Nielsen Music started tracking point-of-sales data for US music releases in 1991. In the 30+ years since, only 22 albums have sold at least 1 million copies in one week.