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.
According to Guinness, "White Christmas" sold over 50 million copies. The single is known as the "best-selling single of all time". It was released before music charts were created.
The Beatles have the most number one hits on the chart, with 20 songs having reached that position.
1 Billboard Hot 100 Song of All Time | Billboard News. The Weeknd's “Blinding Lights” is the new No. 1 song on Billboard's Greatest Songs of All Time Hot 100 Chart. It's replacing Chubby Checker's “The Twist”.
It was never a hit single and got almost no play on Top 40 radio. There's even a dispute over the exact title. Yet “It's a Small World,” also known as “It's a Small, Small World” and “It's a Small World (After All),” is very likely the most played song in music history — nearly 50 million times.
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.
Abel Tesfaye, more commonly known as The Weeknd, is statistically the most popular musician on the planet, and no one else even comes close. The 33-year-old Canadian singer's success has seen him set two new Guinness World Records titles: Most monthly listeners on Spotify – 111.4 million (as of 20 March 2023)
25 by Adele is the fastest-selling album of all time in the US with 3,378,000 copies sold in its first seven days.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, British rock band The Beatles are top of the list for best-selling artists worldwide, with 183 million units certified sales. Second is Garth Brooks with over 157 million units sales, followed by Elvis Presley with 139 million units.
The Rolling Stones are the highest-grossing live music act of all time, collecting over $2.5 billion according to Billboard Boxscore.
Elvis Presley tops the chart with combined sales of over 21.7 million singles.
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 Beatles
Comprised of John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr, The Beatles are globally recognized and are credited with inspiring many famous musicians to pursue music. The most influential band of all time, The Beatles are creative and innovative, and a deserving band at the top of this list.
When it comes to international album sales, Thriller reigns supreme, with an estimated 70 million copies sold. In the U.S., it remains No. 2, but still, from start to finish, it is one of the greatest pop-rock records ever released.
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. They are from St. Albans, England, and were formed in 1998.
Paul McCartney (32) and John Lennon (26), of The Beatles, rank first and second, respectively, for having written the most Hot 100 No. 1s, thanks to their respective group and solo outputs.
Cher's career as a recording artist spans seven decades and she is the only artist to have a number-one single on a Billboard chart in each of the past six decades.
The Weeknd's “Blinding Lights” shines brightest among the nearly 30,000 titles ever to hit the Billboard Hot 100 over the chart's 63-year history, as the single, released in November 2019, is the newly crowned No. 1 on Billboard's Greatest of All Time Hot 100 Songs recap.