album and artists sales figures from blabbermouth

[buster65]

Here is a list of the all-time top selling albums (number in perenthesis indicates total U.S. sales in millions):

THE EAGLES - "Eagles/Their Greatest Hits: 1971-75" (29)
MICHAEL JACKSON - "Thriller" (27)
LED ZEPPELIN - "Led Zeppelin IV" (23)
PINK FLOYD - "The Wall" (23)
AC/DC - "Back in Black" (21)
BILLY JOEL - "Greatest Hits Vol. I & II" (21)
GARTH BROOKS - "Double Live" (20)
SHANIA TWAIN - "Come On Over" (20)
THE BEATLES - "The Beatles" (19)
FLEETWOOD MAC - "Rumours" (19)
BOSTON - "Boston" (17)
WHITNEY HOUSTON - "The Bodyguard" (soundtrack) (17)
THE BEATLES - "The Beatles 1967-70" (16)
GARTH BROOKS - "No Fences" (16)
THE EAGLES - "Hotel California" (16)
HOOTIE & THE BLOWFISH - "Cracked Rear View" (16)
ELTON JOHN - "Greatest Hits" (16)
LED ZEPPELIN - "Physical Graffiti" (16)
ALANIS MORISSETTE - "Jagged Little Pill" (16)
THE BEATLES - "The Beatles 1962-66" (15)
BEE GEES - "Saturday Night Fever" (soundtrack) (15)
GUNS N' ROSES - "Appetite for Destruction" (15)
PINK FLOYD - "Dark Side of the Moon" (15)
SANTANA - "Supernatural" (15)
BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN - "Born in the U.S.A." (15)
BACKSTREET BOYS - "Backstreet Boys" (14)
GARTH BROOKS - "Ropin' the Wind" (14)
JOURNEY - "Greatest Hits" (14)
MEAT LOAF - "Bat Out of Hell" (14)
METALLICA - "Metallica" (14)
SIMON & GARFUNKEL - "Simon & Garfunkel's Greatest Hits" (14)
BRITNEY SPEARS - "... Baby One More Time" (14)

The 20 top-selling artists in millions of albums/CDs (number in perenthesis indicates total U.S. sales in millions):

01. THE BEATLES (168.5)
02. ELVIS PRESLEY (118.5)
03. GARTH BROOKS (116)
04. LED ZEPPELIN (109.5)
05. EAGLES (91)
06. BILLY JOEL (79.5)
07. PINK FLOYD (73.5)
08. BARBRA STREISAND (71)
09. ELTON JOHN (69)
10. AC/DC (66)
11. THE ROLLING STONES (65.5)
12. AEROSMITH (65.5)
13. MADONNA (63)
14. GEORGE STRAIT (62.5)
15. BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN (62)
16. MARIAH CAREY (61.5)
17. MICHAEL JACKSON (60.5)
18. METALLICA (57)
19. VAN HALEN (56.5)
20. WHITNEY HOUSTON (54)

(Thanks: DenverPost.com)

[billy007]

Here is a list of the all-time top selling albums (number in perenthesis indicates total U.S. sales in millions):

BILLY JOEL - "Greatest Hits Vol. I & II" (21)
GARTH BROOKS - "Double Live" (20)
THE BEATLES - "The Beatles" (19)
THE BEATLES - "The Beatles 1967-70" (16)
LED ZEPPELIN - "Physical Graffiti" (16)
THE BEATLES - "The Beatles 1962-66" (15)

Now I wonder if these only sold half as many listed, because I know in some counts, they count a double-album as two albums sold! Also, in counts like that, I wonder how they count something like the "Saturday Night Fever" soundtrack, which in it's vinyl days was two discs, but fits nicely on 1 CD.

[Little Dreamer]

Garth Brooks 3rd biggest seller of all time????
Wow.
Makes me wanna puke.
That's like one out of every 3 person owning an record of his. I don't know ANYONE who owns a garth brooks CD. I know he's popular with country music fans, but 115 millions!!!

[buster65]

Garth Brooks 3rd biggest seller of all time????
Wow.
Makes me wanna puke.
That's like one out of every 3 person owning an record of his. I don't know ANYONE who owns a garth brooks CD. I know he's popular with country music fans, but 115 millions!!!

well to me it is clear that a third of the people in this country don't judge music by genre only. in other words there are a third of the people in this country that think good music is good music, no matter what.

i personally happen to enjoy all but maybe 2 on the list of album sales and enjoy all of the ones on the artists list.

and as far as mr. brooks goes...............it is an amazing thing about him is he did this all in a span of 10 years or so,no one else on the list COMES CLOSE.
sorry to make you puke,but facts are facts and when he decides to" unretire" he will beat the others handily

[LLFHS]

I'm diggin' how many times Floyd and Zep are mentioned. Excellente!

[buster65]

he 20 top-selling artists in millions of albums/CDs (number in perenthesis indicates total U.S. sales in millions):

01. THE BEATLES (168.5) 30 YEARS ON MR.BROOKS
02. ELVIS PRESLEY (118.5) 35 YEARS ON MR. BROOKS
03. GARTH BROOKS (116)
04. LED ZEPPELIN (109.5) 20 YEARS ON MR. BROOKS
05. EAGLES (91) 20 YEARS ON MR. BROOKS
06. BILLY JOEL (79.5) 15 YEARS ON MR. BROOKS
07. PINK FLOYD (73.5) 20 YEARS ON MR. BROOKS
08. BARBRA STREISAND (71) 25 YEARS ON MR. BROOKS
09. ELTON JOHN (69) 20 YEARS ON MR. BROOKS
10. AC/DC (66) 15 YEARS ON MR. BROOKS
11. THE ROLLING STONES (65.5) 25 YEARS ON MR. BROOKS
12. AEROSMITH (65.5) 15 YEARS ON MR. BROOKS
13. MADONNA (63) 10 YEARS ON MR. BROOKS
14. GEORGE STRAIT (62.5) 10 YEARS ON MR. BROOKS
15. BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN (62) 15 YEARS ON MR. BROOKS
16. MARIAH CAREY (61.5) SAME TIME FRAME
17. MICHAEL JACKSON (60.5) 10 YEARS ON MR. BROOKS
18. METALLICA (57) 10 YEARS ON MR. BROOKS
19. VAN HALEN (56.5) 15 YEARS ON MR. BROOKS
20. WHITNEY HOUSTON (54) 5 YEARS ON MR. BROOKS


all timeframes are estimates based on mr. brooks being around 1990 or so

[gradyvanhyman]

Yes But See Country Folk are the majority of people who buy albums in the first place.... thats why country music is so big...80% of the country is back ass woods... think about it.. lots of country boys and girls out their.... tHIS IS WHY gARTH SOLD SO WELL....

[ChargerDave]

You'll never get an accurate total for KISS since the original albums haven't been scanned since the 1970s. It's anyone's guess how much "Alive" or "Destroyer" have really sold.

Additionally, there is the theory that Gene didn't want Vinnie Vincent albums scanned again because of Vinnie's lawsuits demanding royalty payments.

[ChargerDave]

I'm always amazed at how much Pink Floyd has sold because the mainstream is not into prog. Do these consumers just stop at them, and have no interest in exploring progressive music?

[billy007]

Pink Floyd gets played on the radio. Other "progressive" acts may get some play, but I don't think as much as Pink Floyd. Having those laser shows at the planetariums with Pink Floyd music probably doesn't hurt either.

Where's Sammy Roy on that list? I thought he's sold billions and billions of albums?

[ZORBA5150]

I thought VH has sold over 75 million, and Bon Jovi more than that even?

[Wickett]

Yes But See Country Folk are the majority of people who buy albums in the first place.... thats why country music is so big...80% of the country is back ass woods... think about it.. lots of country boys and girls out their.... tHIS IS WHY gARTH SOLD SO WELL....

Much of Garth's success came from cross over success. People who would not otherwise follow country music would buy his CD. I own a couple, and I'm neither country or back ass woods

[Wickett]

I thought VH has sold over 75 million, and Bon Jovi more than that even?

I was looking at the numbers on the "official" site a couple of weeks back, and the number listed seemed to be pretty close to 54-55.

[chefcraig]

I thought VH has sold over 75 million, and Bon Jovi more than that even?

Hint: U.S. sales, like it says. Due to the rather arbitrary nature of accounting practiced world-wide, one will more than likely never get a true total.

Kind of difficult to get sales figures from before the Berlin Wall fell.

[jimmy812]

When VH was on the MTV music awards playing "Poundcake" back in '91, Arsenio Hall introduced them as having sold 70 or 75 million albums worldwide (I can't remember exactly). I remember thinking at the time that it seemed like a high number, but I'll take it!
Hell, I had VH II, WACF, FW, '84, and 5150 on vinyl; II, WACF, FW, DD, & '84 on cassette; all of them on CD; and then all the remasters!
Breakdown:
2 copies of VH I
4 copies of VH II
4 copies of WACF
4 copies of FW
3 copies of DD
4 copies of 1984
2 copies of 5150
1 copy of the each of the rest.
So they've released a total of 14 CD's and I've bought a total of 30 of them!
Kinda sad actually...