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The 50 best-selling music artists of all time

Sep 16, 2016, 18:00 IST

Business Insider

The Beatles perform in November 1963.Getty Images

England's greatest rock band holds the top spot on the all-time ranking of best-selling artists by album sales, and it looks untouchable on a bizarre 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 Garth Brooks has sold more than Elvis Presley and Michael Jackson.

We compiled this list by ranking the most successful acts in music history according to their total certified album units sold in the US, as provided by the RIAA.

Check out the 50 best-selling music artists of all time by album sales:

CORRECTION: A previous version of this article ranked artists by "total certified units" of worldwide sales for albums, singles, and music videos. The information included was outdated and inaccurate, so we've updated with proper certified RIAA numbers.