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.
Michael Jackson's Thriller, estimated to have sold 70 million copies worldwide, is the best-selling album ever. Jackson also currently has the highest number of albums on the list with five, Celine Dion has four, while the Beatles, Pink Floyd, Madonna and Whitney Houston each have three.
The Beatles have the most No. 1 hits of all time: 20.
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.
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)
Taylor Swift has once again made music history by claiming every single top 10 spot on Billboard's Hot 100 chart at once. No other artist has ever held all 10 spots at the same time, according to Billboard.
This is according to "The Summertime Connection", a group of fans from around the world with a shared passion for the aria, written by Gershwin in 1933–34 for the 1935 opera Porgy and Bess. As of the same date, the group had collected 57,316 full recordings of "Summertime".
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.
Currently, the South Korean boy band BTS is the biggest group at the moment. As of the week of July 24th, 2021, they are number one in the Billboard Artist 100 and have remained on the chart for an incredible 249 weeks.
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.
1. Aretha Franklin. Aretha Franklin is often credited as one of the greatest female vocalists of all time. Her ability to transcend genres and styles, such as rock, gospel, soul and jazz, has earned her the title of “Queen of Soul” and the number one spot on this list.
Madonna is recognized by Guinness World Records as the "Best-selling female recording artist of all time".
The Rolling Stones
“The Rolling Stones were hailed as the greatest rock and roll band in the world in the 1970s, a title they have battled other famous bands to keep. Having sold over 200 million records worldwide, the band is one of the best-selling bands of all time,” mentions Hello Music Theory.
As of June 22, 2023, The Beatles have the highest total certified albums and Drake has the highest total certified digital singles.
Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Known as the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century.
The United States, United Kingdom, and Canada rank highly on the list of the 12 countries that produce the best music in the world, being home to many of the most iconic music acts of all time. If the world has a single universal language, it is music, which is produced and enjoyed in every corner of the planet.
Hip-hop/Rap is the leading genre in the United States and Canada, followed by Pop and Rock.
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.
1. Pink Floyd – Dark Side of the Moon (1973) Since its upgrade from an initial weekly top 10 ranking to its iconic top 200 list in May 1967, the Billboard 200 has remained the definitive barometer for chart success in the music world.