Shania Twain is the only artist with three consecutive Diamond-certified albums by the RIAA, with Come On Over, Up!, and her self-titled album, making her unique for achieving this feat without holiday or movie soundtracks. Other artists like Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston also have multiple Diamond albums, but Twain holds the specific record for three in a row.
Nevertheless, as Twain's third diamond album, it made her the only artist to have three consecutive diamond RIAA certified albums.
Today is the 10th anniversary of “Thriller” becoming the first album in history to achieve Triple Diamond status from the RIAA. That's the equivalent of being 30x Platinum — 30 million in album sales in the US. It's currently certified 34x Platinum and counting... Trish Hansen right.
Garth Brooks is the artist with nine diamond-certified albums, a record for album sales (10 million+ units each), though Drake now leads in total Diamond certifications (albums and singles combined) with over 10, followed by Post Malone for singles. Brooks' nine diamond albums include classics like Double Live, The Ultimate Hits, and In Pieces, making him the sole artist with this many album awards from the RIAA.
Who is the most successful artist of all time?
Music historians cite Whitney's record-setting achievements: the only artist to chart seven consecutive #1 Billboard Hot 100 hits (“Saving All My Love For You,” “How Will I Know,” “Greatest Love Of All,” “I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me),” “Didn't We Almost Have It All,” “So Emotional,” and “Where Do Broken ...
Taylor Swift has surpassed Madonna to claim the title of best-selling female artist of all time in ChartMasters' global all-time ranking. The update places Swift fifth overall among all artists, just behind The Beatles, Michael Jackson, Elvis Presley, and Queen.
There's no single "number 1 artist of all time" as it's subjective, but Leonardo da Vinci often tops lists for visual art due to masterpieces like the Mona Lisa, while The Beatles are frequently cited as the best-selling music group ever, and Michael Jackson or Elvis Presley are often named as top solo music artists by sales and influence. Modern metrics like Spotify streams point to artists like Bad Bunny or Taylor Swift for recent dominance.
According to ChartMasters, Taylor Swift has now become the 6th best-selling artist of all time, surpassing The Rolling Stones. She has just sold 248 million units in only 19 years of her career.
George Strait holds the record for the most platinum albums, with 33 certified by the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America) for selling over one million copies each in the USA, a feat that cements his status as the "King of Country" and leads all artists across genres. He is followed by Elvis Presley and The Beatles in overall platinum awards, but Strait leads the pack specifically for platinum albums.
Sales: Off the Wall has sold over 30 million copies worldwide and was certified Diamond by the RIAA in 2025. Billboard Year-End Awards (1980): Jackson was recognized as Top Black Artist and the album as Top Black Album. Major Awards and Nominations.
Taylor Swift's album, 1989, has been certified 14x Platinum by the RIAA, officially tying it with Adele's 21 and Usher's Confessions as the highest-certified albums of this century. This milestone also makes 1989 her second RIAA Diamond album, joining Fearless. 1989 — 14x Platinum Fearless — 11x Platinum.
Its single "Bad Guy" became the first by an artist born in the 21st century to top the US Billboard Hot 100 and be certified Diamond by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).
Michael Jackson's Thriller, estimated to have sold 70 million copies worldwide, is the best-selling album ever.
While Oasis was a massive phenomenon in the 90s, especially in the UK, Taylor Swift is currently considered bigger globally, demonstrating greater overall popularity and digital presence, though Oasis's recent reunion generated colossal spending and fan fervor in the UK, rivaling Swift's economic impact. Data shows higher fan searches and spending for Swift, but Oasis's return sparked immense demand, with fans predicting huge spending and experts calling it the biggest music event ever, challenging Swift's records.
👑🔝 Our girl runs the world! Taylor Swift has officially been ranked the #1 biggest female artist of the 21st century by Billboard.
The calculation of Swift's wealth put her at #2,117 on the Forbes list of the world's billionaires, ahead of such fellow female icons as Dolly Parton ($450 million), Barbra Streisand ($460 M), Celine Dion ($550 M), Beyoncé ($760 M), Madonna ($850 M) and Rihanna ($1.4 billion).
One of the best-selling music artists in history, Cher has sold over 100 million records and is the only solo artist with number-one singles on the US Billboard charts in seven consecutive decades (1960s–2020s).
As today is 11/11, let's take a look back at Whitney Houston's ELEVEN #1 singles and what they achieved! 🗓️1️⃣
Taylor Swift is the highest-grossing live music artist of all time, collecting $3 billion according to Pollstar. U2, Coldplay, Bruce Springsteen, and Elton John also passed two-billion mark in concert revenue.
Top 100 Greatest Music Artists of All-Time (Ranked)
Over the course of Elvis' life, he achieved some of the highest accolades in music and film. It is estimated that more than one billion Elvis records have been sold worldwide, more than anyone in record industry history.