The top 50 bestselling musical artists of all time: can you guess who are in the top five?
- Artists are graded by the number of million selling platinum albums they have released
- The figures are based on data from the Recording Industry Association of America
In the decades before streaming-era rules and digital downloads inflated album sales, platinum certification was more difficult for artists to obtain.
When an artist achieved platinum status back then – selling a million or more physical copies of an album – it took a more fervent effort from fans (who had to drive to record stores, find an album, and spend their hard-earned cash on it), but many acts nonetheless reached platinum certification routinely.
50 bestselling albums of all time in the US – and the bands you would never guess made the list
Compiling data from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) data, we have ranked the bestselling artists of all time by the number of platinum albums they’ve sold in the US. Also included are the number of diamond albums, which sold more than 10 million copies.
Some of the results here are surprising, but the legendary acts at the top of the list are perhaps ones you’d expect to see.
Here are the 50 bestselling artists of all time, ranked by platinum albums sold:
50. Prince
Platinum albums: 11
Multi-platinum: 4
Diamond: 1
Bestselling album: Purple Rain (13 million copies)
49. Bon Jovi
Platinum albums: 11
Multi-platinum: 5
Diamond: 1
Bestselling album: Slippery When Wet (12 million copies)
48. Eric Clapton
Platinum albums: 11
Multi-platinum: 7
Diamond: 1
Bestselling album: Unplugged (10 million copies)
47. Kenny G
Platinum albums: 11
Multi-platinum: 8
Diamond: 1
Bestselling album: Breathless (12 million copies)
46. John Mellencamp
Platinum albums: 12
Multi-platinum: 5
Bestselling album: American Fool (5 million copies)
45. Toby Keith
Platinum albums: 12
Multi-platinum: 5
Bestselling album: Unleashed (4 million copies)
44. The Who
Platinum albums: 12
Multi-platinum: 5
Bestselling album: Who’s Next (3 million copies)
43. Queen
Platinum albums: 12
Multi-platinum: 7
Bestselling album: Greatest Hits (8 million copies)
42. Ozzy Osbourne
Platinum albums: 12
Multi-platinum: 8
Bestselling album: Blizzard of Ozz (4 million copies)
41. Barry Manilow
Platinum albums: 13
Multi-platinum: 6
Bestselling album: Even Now (3 million copies)
40. Linda Ronstadt
Platinum albums: 13
Multi-platinum: 7
Bestselling album: Greatest Hits (7 million copies)
39. Lynyrd Skynyrd
Platinum albums: 13
Multi-platinum: 7
Bestselling album: Skynyrd’s Innyrds (5 million copies)
38. John Denver
Platinum albums: 13
Multi-platinum: 7
Bestselling album: John Denver’s Greatest Hits (9 million copies)
37. Jay-Z
Platinum albums: 13
Multi-platinum: 8
Bestselling album: Vol. 2 … Hard Knock Life (5 million copies)
36. Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band
Platinum albums: 13
Multi-platinum: 7
Diamond: 1
Bestselling album: Greatest Hits (10 million copies)
35. Michael Jackson
Platinum albums: 13
Multi-platinum: 9
Diamond: 2
Bestselling album: Thriller (33 million copies)
34. Metallica
Platinum albums: 13
Multi-platinum: 11
Diamond: 1
Bestselling album: Metallica (16 million copies)
33. Van Halen
Platinum albums: 13
Multi-platinum: 12
Diamond: 2
Bestselling album: 1984 (MCMLXXXIV) (10 million copies)
32. The Eagles
Platinum albums: 13
Multi-platinum: 11
Diamond: 3
Bestselling album: Their Greatest Hits 1971-1975 (38 million copies)
31. Rush
Platinum albums: 14
Multi-platinum: 3
Bestselling album: Rush In Rio (7 million copies)
30. Kenny Chesney
Platinum albums: 14
Multi-platinum: 5
Bestselling album: When the Sun Goes Down (4 million copies)
29. Dave Matthews Band
Platinum albums: 14
Multi-platinum: 7
Bestselling album: Crash (7 million copies)
28. James Taylor
Platinum albums: 14
Multi-platinum: 5
Diamond: 1
Bestselling album: James Taylor’s Greatest Hits (11 million copies)
27. The Doors
Platinum albums: 14
Multi-platinum: 5
Diamond: 1
Bestselling album: The Best of The Doors (10 million copies)
26. Mariah Carey
Platinum albums: 14
Multi-platinum: 10
Diamond: 2
Bestselling album: Music Box (10 million copies)
25. Willie Nelson
Platinum albums: 15
Multi-platinum: 6
Bestselling album: Stardust (5 million copies)
24. Bob Dylan
Platinum albums: 15
Multi-platinum: 6
Bestselling album: Bob Dylan’s Greatest Hits (5 million copies)
23. Alan Jackson
Platinum albums: 15
Multi-platinum: 8
Bestselling album: The Greatest Hits Collection (6 million copies)
22. Pink Floyd
Platinum albums: 15
Multi-platinum: 12
Diamond: 2
Bestselling album: The Wall (23 million copies)
21. Luther Vandross
Platinum albums: 16
Multi-platinum: 7
Bestselling album: The Best of Luther Vandross (3 million copies)
20. Kenny Rogers
Platinum albums: 17
Multi-platinum: 7
Diamond: 1
Bestselling album: Kenny Rogers’ Greatest Hits (12 million copies)
19. U2
Platinum albums: 17
Multi-platinum: 11
Diamond: 1
Bestselling album: The Joshua Tree (10 million copies)
18. Bruce Springsteen
Platinum albums: 17
Multi-platinum: 11
Diamond: 2
Bestselling album: Born In The U.S.A. (15 million copies)
17. Billy Joel
Platinum albums: 17
Multi-platinum: 12
Diamond: 2
Bestselling album: Greatest Hits Volume I & Volume II (23 million copies)
16. Madonna
Platinum albums: 17
Multi-platinum: 12
Diamond: 2
Bestselling album: Like A Virgin (10 million copies)
15. Chicago
Platinum albums: 18
Multi-platinum: 8
Bestselling album: Chicago 17 (6 million copies)
14. Aerosmith
Platinum albums: 18
Multi-platinum: 12
Diamond: 1
Bestselling album: Aerosmith’s Greatest Hits (11 million copies)
13. Led Zeppelin
Platinum albums: 18
Multi-platinum: 14
Diamond: 5
Bestselling album: Led Zeppelin IV (23 million copies)
12. Reba McEntire
Platinum albums: 19
Multi-platinum: 9
Bestselling album: Greatest Hits, Volume II (5 million copies)
11. Rod Stewart
Platinum albums: 19
Multi-platinum: 10
Bestselling album: Foot Loose & Fancy Free (3 million copies)
10. Alabama
Platinum albums: 20
Multi-platinum: 10
Bestselling album: Mountain Music (5 million copies)
9. AC/DC
Platinum albums: 20
Multi-platinum: 12
Diamond: 1
Bestselling album: Back In Black (22 million copies)
8. Neil Diamond
Platinum albums: 21
Multi-platinum: 12
Bestselling album: The Jazz Singer (5 million copies)
7. Elton John
Platinum albums: 27
Multi-platinum: 14
Diamond: 1
Bestselling album: Greatest Hits (17 million copies)
6. The Rolling Stones
Platinum albums: 28
Multi-platinum: 11
Diamond: 1
Bestselling album: Four Flicks (19 million copies)
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5. Barbra Streisand
Platinum albums: 30
Multi-platinum: 12
Bestselling album: Greatest Hits Volume II (5 million copies)
4. Garth Brooks
Platinum albums: 30
Multi-platinum: 16
Diamond: 7
Bestselling album: Double Live (21 million copies)
3. George Strait
Platinum albums: 33
Multi-platinum: 13
Bestselling album: Strait Out Of The Box (8 million copies)
2. The Beatles
Platinum albums: 42
Multi-platinum: 26
Diamond: 6
Bestselling album: The Beatles (The White Album) (19 million copies)
1. Elvis Presley
Platinum albums: 67
Multi-platinum: 27
Diamond: 1
Bestselling album: Elvis’ Christmas Album (10 million copies)