List of best-selling albums worldwide
This is a list of the world's best-selling albums. The criteria are that the figure must have been published by a reliable source and the album must have sold at least 20 million copies worldwide. Most albums have different estimates of sales. In this list, the highest sales reported for an album is added to the list. Groupings are based on different sales benchmarks. The highest benchmark is for claims of at least 100 million copies, and the lowest are for claims of 20–29 million copies. Albums are listed in order of number of copies sold and by the artist's first name. This list contains all types of albums, including studio, greatest hits, compilation, various artists, soundtrack and remix.
A number of issues make exact figures difficult to calculate, as historical data before the 1980s and from developing countries is incomplete. Also, fans, record companies and the media are prone to making the sales figures higher than they actually are to boost the image of the act. The list also does not take into account the resale of used albums or as the emergence of illegal downloading of digital music.
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.[1]
Legend
[change | change source]Colors | |
---|---|
Studio Albums | |
Greatest Hits & Compilations | |
Soundtracks |
Over 50 million copies
[change | change source]Artist | Album | Released | Genre | Sales (millions) | Source | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Michael Jackson | Thriller | 1982 | Pop / R&B / Rock | 130 | [1]|[2] | |
Himesh Reshammiya | Aap Kaa Surroor | 2006 | Indipop | 55 | [1][2][3][4] |
40–49 million copies
[change | change source]Artist | Album | Released | Genre | Sales (millions) | Source |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Pink Floyd | The Dark Side of the Moon | 1973 | Progressive rock | 50 | [3] |
AC/DC | Back in Black | 1980 | Hard rock / Heavy metal | 49 | [4] |
Whitney Houston / Various artists | The Bodyguard | 1992 | Soundtrack | 44 | [5] |
Meat Loaf | Bat Out of Hell | 1977 | Rock | 43 | [6] |
Eagles | Their Greatest Hits (1971–1975) | 1976 | Rock | 42 | [1] |
Various artists | Dirty Dancing | 1987 | Dance / Pop | 42 | [7] |
Backstreet Boys | Millennium | 1999 | Pop | 40 | [8] |
Bee Gees / Various artists | Saturday Night Fever | 1977 | Disco | 40 | [9] |
Fleetwood Mac | Rumours | 1977 | Rock | 40 | [10] |
30–39 million copies
[change | change source]20–29 million copies
[change | change source]Related pages
[change | change source]References
[change | change source]- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Anderson, Kyle (July 20, 2009). "Michael Jackson's Thriller Set To Become Top-Selling Album Of All Time". MTV. MTV Network. Archived from the original on June 27, 2012. Retrieved December 29, 2009.
- ↑ "Michael Jackson Photo Gallery 迈克•杰克逊影集". BBC China. Retrieved July 16, 2009.
- ↑ Beech, Mark (27 September 2011). "Pink Floyd Money Machine Leads Elvis, Nirvana, U2 in CD Battle". London: www.bloomberg.com. Retrieved 2011-12-31.
- ↑ Levine, Robert (2008-10-12). "Ageless and Defiant, AC/DC Stays on Top Without Going Digital". The New York Times. Retrieved 2009-07-18.
- ↑ Harris, Lew (31 August 2009). "Is It Too Late for Whitney's Comeback?".
- ↑ "DAS Communications' Artists Dominate Global Music Charts". Reuters. 2009-06-16. Archived from the original on 2012-07-28. Retrieved 2009-08-07.
- ↑ Lee, Veronica (2006-09-22). "'There's a secret dancer inside us all'". The Daily Telegraph. London. Retrieved 2009-05-03.
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- ↑ Reporter, Staff (2003-12-01). "Bee Gees' Maurice Gibb dies". USA Today. Gannett Company. Retrieved 2010-03-23.
- ↑ "Stars Salute 'Rumours'". Billboard Bulletin, page 7. 6 February 1998. Archived from the original on 2009-05-22. Retrieved 2009-05-03.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 Montgomery, James (2009-07-06). "Jackson earns nickname "Wacko Jacko" while still releasing #1 albums". MTV. MTV Networks. Archived from the original on 2012-06-25. Retrieved 2010-03-25.
- ↑ Harris, Bill (2005-11-07). "Biopic looks at Twain's early years". Jam!. Canadian Online Explorer. Retrieved 2010-03-23.
- ↑ "Led Zeppelin: A complete guide to the band's studio albums". The Independent. London. 2007-12-07. Archived from the original on 2009-05-22. Retrieved 2007-12-07.
- ↑ Montgomery, James (2010-02-01). "'You Oughta Know': The Story Behind Beyonce's Grammy Cover". MTV. MTV Network. Archived from the original on 2012-02-14. Retrieved 2008-05-03.
- ↑ Parker, Al (2009-08-09). "10 Things You Probably Don't Know About Best-Selling Albums". Jam!. Canadian Online Explorer. Retrieved 2010-03-23.
- ↑ Reporter, Metro (2010-03-08). "Oscars 2010 special: Avatar v The Hurt Locker v Inglourious Basterds v Up In The Air". Metro.co.uk. Associated Newspapers. Archived from the original on 2010-02-14. Retrieved 2010-03-23.
- ↑ 17.0 17.1 "Eminem music to hit stock exchange in deal offered by his producers". 25 September 2017.
- ↑ https://movies.yahoo.com/movie/contributor/1800019644/bio%7C
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- ↑ 30.0 30.1 "Taking It Back". Daily Record. 26 Oct 2007. Archived from the original on 2008-05-01. Retrieved 4 Dec 2009.
- ↑ Thompson, Bronwyn (2008-01-29). "On a steel horse Bon Jovi rides to top of the charts". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 2012-12-05. Retrieved 2008-06-04.
- ↑ "Guns N' Roses New Album Looms". Sky News. 23 October 2008. Retrieved 2008-10-30.
- ↑ "Pete Ganbarg Named Atlantic Executive VP of A&R". Warner Music Group. 2008-11-24. Archived from the original on 2015-06-26. Retrieved 2009-07-27.
- ↑ Thomas, Lou (23 April 2007). "Nirvana, Nevermind". BBC. Retrieved 2008-05-03.
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- ↑ Stetz, Michael (2006-04-02). "Iron Butterfly's in an IRA ad? Bummer". Sign on Sandiego. Retrieved 2008-05-30.
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- ↑ "Photo Gallary - 50 years of pop". BBC. 2002. Retrieved 2008-05-18.
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- ↑ Sandall, Robert (2009-04-05). "Why Madonna's still a material girl". The Times. London: News Corporation. Archived from the original on 2009-05-08. Retrieved 2009-04-16.
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- ↑ "Contrasting fortunes as Madonna, Jacko turn 50". ABC. 15 August 2008. Retrieved 2008-11-30.
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- ↑ "Billy Ray Cyrus appeals to a whole new crowd". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. 2009-04-10. Archived from the original on 2012-10-15. Retrieved 2009-04-24.
- ↑ "Top Earners for 2004". Forbes. Retrieved 2008-11-30.
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- ↑ Neil Daniels (2008). Bon Jovi Bon Jovi Encyclopaedia. Chrome Dreams, UK. ISBN 9-7818-424-0464-5.
- ↑ "Don't Call it a Comeback". Rolling Stone. 23 January 2007. Archived from the original on 2009-05-16. Retrieved 2008-05-03.
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- ↑ "Janet Jackson set for return to form". ABC News. 2008-01-22. Retrieved 2009-05-05.
- ↑ Reporter, BBC (2008-08-15). "Madonna: mad for fame at 40". BBC. BBC Online. Retrieved 2009-11-16.
- ↑ Shapiro, Marc. Mariah Carey (2001). pg. 117. UK: ECW Press, Canada. ISBN 1-55022-444-1.
- ↑ 63.0 63.1 "Michael Jackson: list of his records". The Daily Telegraph. London. 2009-06-26. Retrieved 2010-03-25.
- ↑ "EMI Music Publishing extends its publishing partnership with Norah Jones". EMI Music. 7 January 2008. Archived from the original on 2008-01-11. Retrieved 2008-11-30.
- ↑ Sinclair, David (2007-06-28). "The Prefab Five are back. Are you ready?". The Times. London. Archived from the original on 2008-08-30. Retrieved 2008-07-17.
- ↑ Gannon, Louise (2008-10-19). "Free CD of Tina Turner's Private Dancer in today's Mail on Sunday". Daily Mail. Associated Newspapers. Retrieved 2010-03-25.
- ↑ "Usher". EMI Music Publishing. Archived from the original on 2008-08-04. Retrieved 2008-11-30.