The 50 best-selling music artists of all time
Travis Clark
- The best-selling musicians of all time include pop sensations like Taylor Swift, rock legends like Metallica, and rap stars like Eminem.
- We ranked the best-selling musicians of all time based on their total certified album units sold in the US according to the Recording Industry Association of America.
Six weeks after Taylor Swift dropped her surprise album "Folklore," it's still No. 1 on the Billboard album chart. It's the longest streak for an album since Drake's "Views" in 2016.
It shows Swift's popularity with audiences, but the pop star isn't the highest-selling music artist ever. We turned to the Recording Industry Association of America's (RIAA) list to find out who is. The list is based on total certified album units sold in the US (including streaming figures).
Swift has, however, jumped ahead of Bob Seger and Guns n' Roses since "Folklore" debuted.
England's greatest rock band holds the top spot on this all-time ranking of best-selling artists by album sales, and it looks untouchable on a list filled with a number of surprising appearances.
It's somewhat shocking to find out, for instance, that smooth-jazz saxophonist Kenny G has sold more albums than Eminem, and that country star Garth Brooks has sold more than Elvis Presley and Michael Jackson.
John Lynch contributed to a previous version of this post.
Check out the 50 best-selling music artists of all time by album sales:
50. Dave Matthews Band — 34.5 million units
49. Britney Spears — 34.5 million units
48. Bon Jovi — 34.5 million units
47. Queen — 35 million units
46. Def Leppard — 35.5 million units
45. Bob Dylan — 36 million units
44. Tupac Shakur — 36.5 million units
43. Backstreet Boys — 37 million units
42. Tim McGraw — 37.5 million units
41. Rod Stewart — 38 million units
40. Foreigner — 38 million units
39. Simon & Garfunkel — 38.5 million units
38. Chicago — 38.5 million units
37. Eric Clapton — 40 million units
36. Reba McEntire — 41 million units
35. Santana — 43.5 million units
34. Alan Jackson — 43.5 million units
33. Guns N' Roses — 44.5 million units
32. Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band — 44.5 million units
31. Taylor Swift — 45 million units
30. Eminem — 46.5 million units
29. Alabama — 46.5 million units
28. Kenny Rogers — 47.5 million units
27. Shania Twain — 48 million units
26. Kenny G — 48 million units
25. Journey — 48 million units
24. Neil Diamond — 49.5 million units
23. Celine Dion — 50 million units
22. U2 — 52 million units
21. Fleetwood Mac — 54.5 million units
20. Van Halen — 56.5 million units
19. Whitney Houston — 59 million units
18. Metallica — 63 million units
17. Madonna — 64.5 million units
16. Bruce Springsteen — 65.5 million units
15. The Rolling Stones — 66.5 million units
14. Mariah Carey — 66.5 million units
13. Aerosmith — 66.5 million units
12. Barbra Streisand — 68.5 million units
11. George Strait — 69 million units
10. Pink Floyd — 75 million units
9. AC/DC — 75 million units
8. Elton John — 79 million units
7. Michael Jackson — 84 million units
6. Billy Joel — 84.5 million units
5. Led Zeppelin — 111.5 million units
4. Eagles — 120 million units
3. Elvis Presley — 146.5 million units
2. Garth Brooks — 156 million units
1. The Beatles — 183 million units
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