List of best-selling music artists: Difference between revisions

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The world's best-selling music artists cannot be listed officially, as there is no organization that has recorded global music sales in the manner that the RIAA does in the United States. This page lists those artists who have had claims made to be among the top sellers. Within their sales brackets, artists are listed in alphabetical order, rather than by number of records sold. Equal weight is given to album and single sales, as well as paid downloads. Sources are typically fan sites, record labels, newspaper articles or manual addition of figures from various official sources. This means that these figures should be considered claims, not facts.

Possible biases of this page

Bias towards acts who have had success in the United States. The RIAA tracks and certifies sales for recordings sold in, or originating from, the United States, the world's largest single music market. While the RIAA's method and scope are exhaustive in this respect, figures for recordings produced and sold in other nations are not included, or at best are incomplete, in RIAA statistics. Since there are few authoritative or comprehensive counterparts to the RIAA which track the international music market, the RIAA's more certain sales figures tend to inflate the relative importance of the American market.

Bias towards modern artists. Comparatively less successful modern artists will have sold more records, as both global spending power and population have increased (even though most of the world reside in poorer countries that buy little or no music). In 1950, the world's population was 2.5 billion; by 2000 it had risen to 6 billion.[1] Also, older artists suffer from bias as their record sales are less likely to have been accurately tracked, and estimates of their early sales are likely to be more vague.

Bias towards older artists. Particularly, those artists who began their recording careers since 1990 may have suffered in sales from illegal downloading of tracks. However, the same can be said of artists who recorded before 1990, as their entire catalogs were then available through illegal downloading.

Fan sites, press articles, certification authorities and record companies have been known to inflate record sales claims.

Inflated claims for artists who performed in different acts during their careers. Sometimes all of the sales data is attributed to an individual artist. For the purposes of this list, an effort is made to separate the individual acts (e.g., the sales figures for The Beatles and Paul McCartney & Wings are mutually exclusive).

World's best seller

The best-selling musical act in history cannot and will probably never be known. U.S. sales data before 1952 are incomplete. International sales, particularly in the developing world, are still often poorly tracked, and much sales data before the 1980s are rare or dubious. The Beatles, Michael Jackson, and Elvis Presley have all been given the title by various sources. Less common claims are made for a number of other artists.

Artists claimed to have sold 250 million records or more

In alphabetical order

Artist	Country	Period	Genre	Source
ABBA	Sweden	70s-80s	Pop	^[1] ^[2]
Alla Pugacheva	Russia	70s-00s	Pop	^[3]
The Beatles	UK	60s-70s	Rock / Pop	^[4] ^[5]
Bing Crosby	U.S.	20s-70s	Pop	^[6]
Chubby Checker	U.S.	60s-00s	Pop / R&B	^[7]
Cliff Richard	UK	50s-00s	Pop	^[8]
Elton John	UK	60s-00s	Pop	^[9]
Elvis Presley	U.S.	50s-70s	Rock / Pop	^[10] ^[11]
Frank Sinatra	U.S.	30s-90s	Pop	^[12]
Julio Iglesias	Spain	70s-00s	Pop / Latin	^[13]
Led Zeppelin	UK	60s-80s	Hard Rock / Heavy Metal	^[14]
Madonna	U.S.	80s-00s	Pop / Dance	^[15] ^[16]
Michael Jackson	U.S.	60s-00s	Pop / R&B / Soul	^[17]
Nana Mouskouri	Greece	60s-00s	Pop	^[18]
Pink Floyd	UK	60s-90s	Psychedelic Rock / Progressive Rock	^[19]
Queen	UK	70s-00s	Hard Rock / Heavy metal / Progressive rock	^[20]
Rod Stewart	UK	60s-00s	Rock / Pop	^[21]
Tino Rossi	France	30s-80s	Pop	^[22]

Artists claimed to have sold 100 million records or more

Artist	Country	Period	Genre	Source
AC/DC	Australia	70s-00s	Hard Rock	[2][3]
Aerosmith	U.S.	70s-00s	Hard Rock	[4]
A. R. Rahman	India	90s-00s	Indian Soundtracks	[5]
Barbra Streisand	U.S.	60s-00s	Pop	[6]
Barry White	U.S.	70s-00s	Pop / R&B	[7]
The Beach Boys	U.S.	60s-90s	Rock / Pop	[8]
The Bee Gees	Australia/Isle of Man	60s-00s	Pop / Disco	[9]
Billy Joel	U.S.	70s-00s	Pop / Rock	[10] [11]
Bob Dylan	U.S.	60s-00s	Folk / Rock	[12]
Bon Jovi	U.S.	80s-00s	Hard Rock / Pop Metal	[13]
Boney M	Germany	70s-00s	Pop	[14] [15][16]
Brenda Lee	U.S.	50s-90s	Country / Pop	[17]
The Carpenters	U.S.	60s-80s	Pop	[18] [19][20]
Céline Dion	Canada	80s-00s	Pop	[21]
Charles Aznavour	France	50s-00s	Pop	[22]
Cher	U.S.	60s-00s	Pop	[23]
Chicago	U.S.	60s-00s	Rock / Pop	[24]
Creedence Clearwater Revival	U.S.	60s-70s	Rock	[25]
David Bowie	UK	60s-00s	Glam Rock / Pop	[26][27][28]
Deep Purple	UK	60s-00s	Hard Rock / Heavy Metal	[29]
Dionne Warwick	U.S.	60s-00s	Pop / R&B	[30]
Dire Straits	UK	70s-90s	Rock / Pop	[31]
Dolly Parton	U.S.	60s-00s	Country / Pop	[32][33]
Donna Summer	U.S.	70s-00s	Disco / Pop /	[34]
Duane Eddy	U.S.	50s-80s	Rock	[35]
Eagles	U.S.	70s-00s	Rock / Pop	[36]
Engelbert Humperdinck	UK	60s-00s	Pop	[37]
Fats Domino	U.S.	40s-00s	Rock / R&B	[38]
Fleetwood Mac	UK/U.S.	60s-00s	Rock / Pop	[39]
Frankie Laine	U.S.	40s-00s	Jazz / Pop / Gospel / Country	[40]
Garth Brooks	U.S.	80s-00s	Country	[41]
Gene Autry	U.S.	20s-90s	Country	[42]
Genesis	UK	70s-00s	Rock / Pop	[43]
Gheorghe Zamfir	Romania	70s-00s	Instrumental	[44] [45]
The Jackson 5	U.S.	60s-90s	Pop	[46]
Johnny Hallyday	France/Belgium	60s-00s	Pop	[47]
Johnny Mathis	U.S.	50s-00s	Pop	[48]
Joni James	U.S.	50s-60s	Pop	[49]
Kenny Rogers	U.S.	50s-00s	Country / Pop	[50][51]
Lionel Richie	U.S.	80s-00s	Pop / R&B	[52]
Luciano Pavarotti	Italy	60s-00s	Opera	[53] [54]
Mariah Carey	U.S.	90s-00s	Pop / R&B	[55][56]
Mireille Mathieu	France	60s-00s	Pop	[57]
Modern Talking	Germany	80s-00s	Pop / Dance	[58]
Patti Page	U.S.	40s-00s	Country / Pop	[59] [60]
Perry Como	U.S.	30s-00s	Pop	[61]
Phil Collins	UK	80s-00s	Pop	[62]
Prince	U.S	70s-00s	R&B / Rock / Pop	[63]
Ricky Nelson	U.S.	50s-80s	Pop	[64]
Roberto Carlos	Brazil	60s-00s	Pop / Latin	[65]
The Rolling Stones	UK	60s-00s	Rock	[66]
The Royal Canadians	Canada	30s-50s	Pop / Big Band	[67]
Stevie Wonder	U.S.	60s-00s	R&B / Pop	[68][69]
Status Quo	UK	60s-00s	Rock	[70]
Tommy James	U.S.	60s-00s	Pop / Rock	[71]
U2	Ireland	70s-00s	Rock	[72]
Wei Wei	China	80s-00s	Pop	[73]
Whitney Houston	U.S.	80s-00s	Pop	[74]
The Who	UK	60s-00s	Rock	[75]

Artists claimed to have sold 75 million records or more

Artist	Country	Period	Genre	Source
Adamo	Belgium	60s-00s	Pop	[76] [77]
Alabama	U.S.	70s-00s	Country	[78]
The Andrews Sisters	U.S.	30s-50s	Pop / Swing	[79]
Backstreet Boys	U.S.	90s-00s	Pop	[80][81]
B'z	Japan	80s-00s	Rock / Pop	[82]
Barry Manilow	U.S.	70s-00s	Pop	[83]
Bobby Vinton	U.S.	60s-90s	Pop	[84]
Britney Spears	U.S.	90s-00s	Pop	[85]
Dalida	France/Italy	50s-80s	Pop	[86][87]
Donny Osmond	U.S.	70s-00s	Pop	[88]
Earth, Wind & Fire	U.S.	70s-00s	R&B / Disco / Pop / Funk	[89]
Eddy Arnold	U.S.	40s-90s	Country	[90]
Eminem	U.S.	90s-00s	Rap	[91]or[92]
Eurythmics	UK	80s-90s	Pop	[93]
Gene Austin	U.S.	20s-30s	Country / Pop	[94]
George Michael	UK	80s-00s	Pop	[95]
Guns N' Roses	U.S.	80s-00s	Hard Rock	[96]
Hank Snow	Canada	30s-90s	Country	[97]
Janet Jackson	U.S.	80s-00s	Pop	[98]
Jean Michel Jarre	France	70s-00s	New Age	[99]
Journey	U.S.	70s-00s	Rock / Pop	[100]
Iron Maiden	UK	70s-00s	Classic Metal	^[23]
Kenny G	U.S.	80s-00s	Instrumental / Pop Jazz	[101]
KISS	U.S.	70s-00s	Hard Rock / Heavy Metal	[102]
Metallica	U.S.	80s-00s	Heavy Metal / Thrash Metal	[103]
Linda Ronstadt	U.S.	60s-00s	Country / Pop	[104]
The Osmonds	U.S.	70s-00s	Pop	[105]
R.E.M.	U.S.	80s-00s	Rock / Pop	[106]
Roxette	Sweden	80s-00s	Pop	[107]
Santana	Mexico/U.S.	60s-00s	Rock / Blues / Pop	[108]
Sonny & Cher	U.S.	60s-70s	Pop	[109]
Van Halen	U.S.	70s-00s	Hard Rock / Heavy Metal	[110] [111]
The Ventures	U.S.	50s-00s	Instrumental Rock	[112]
Tupac Shakur	U.S.	90s-00s	Rap	XXL Magazine October 2006
Victor Silvester	UK	30s-80s	Dance / Pop	[113]
Willie Nelson	U.S.	50s-00s	Country / Pop	[114]

Artists claimed to have sold 50 million records or more

Artist	Country	Period	Genre	Source
Adriano Celentano	Italy	60s-00s	Pop	[115]
a-ha	Norway	80s-00s	Pop/Rock	[116] [117]
Alanis Morissette	Canada	90s-00s	Rock / Pop	[118]
Alice Cooper	U.S.	60s-00s	Hard Rock / Heavy Metal / Shock Rock	[119]
Andre Kostelanetz	U.S.	40s-70s	Easy Listening	[120]
Andrea Bocelli	Italy	90s-00s	Opera / Classical	[121]
Anne Murray	Canada	60s-00s	Pop / Country	[122]
Annie Lennox	UK	90s-00s	Pop	[123]
Bay City Rollers	UK	70s	Pop	[124]
B.J. Thomas	U.S.	60s-00s	Country / Pop	[125]
Blondie	U.S.	70s-00s	Pop / New Wave	[126]
Bob Marley	Jamaica	70s-80s	Reggae	[127]
Bob Seger	U.S.	60s-00s	Rock / Pop	[128]
Boyz II Men	U.S.	80s-00s	R&B / Pop / Soul	[129]
Bruce Springsteen	U.S.	70s-00s	Rock	[130]
Bryan Adams	Canada	80s-00s	Pop / Rock	[131]
Cat Stevens	UK	60s-00s	Pop / Folk	[132]
Charlie Daniels	U.S.	70s-00s	Country / Rock	[133]
The Corrs	Ireland	90s-00s	Pop	[134]
Def Leppard	UK	70s-00s	Hard Rock	[135]
Depeche Mode	UK	80s-00s	New Wave / Synth	[136]
Destiny's Child	U.S.	90s-00s	R&B / Pop /Hip Hop	[137]
The Diamonds	Canada	50s-70s	Pop / R&B	[138]
The Doobie Brothers	U.S.	70s-00s	Rock	[139]
The Doors	U.S.	60s-70s	Psychedelic Rock / Pop	[140]
Don Cornell	U.S.	50s-90s	Pop	[141]
Duran Duran	UK	80s-00s	Pop	[142]
Enya	Ireland	80s-00s	New Age / Celtic	[143]
Foreigner	U.S./UK	70s-00s	Rock / Pop	[144]
Four Tops	U.S.	50s-00s	R&B	[145]
George Strait	U.S.	70s-00s	Country	[146]
Gloria Estefan	U.S.	80s-00s	Pop / Latin	[147]
Green Day	U.S.	80s-00s	Punk / Alternative Rock / Pop	[148][149]
Hank Thompson	U.S.	40s-00s	Country	[150]
Herb Alpert	U.S.	50s-90s	Instrumental Pop / Easy Listening	[151]
James Last	Germany	60s-00s	Instrumental / Classical / Pop	[152]
Jethro Tull	UK	60s-00s	Rock	[153]
John Denver	U.S.	60s-90s	Folk / Pop	[154] [155]
Johnny Cash	U.S.	50s-00s	Country	[156]
Kylie Minogue	Australia	80s-00s	Dance / Pop	[157]
Luis Miguel	Mexico / Puerto Rico	80s-00s	Pop / Latin	[158]
Meat Loaf	U.S.	70s-00s	Rock / Pop	[159]
Michael Bolton	U.S.	80s-00s	Pop	[160]
Mills Brothers	U.S.	30s-70s	Pop	[161]
Mina	Italy	50s-00s	Pop	[162]
The Monkees	U.S.	60s-90s	Pop / Rock	[163]
Nat King Cole	U.S.	30s-60s	Jazz / Pop	[164]
Nirvana	U.S.	80s-90s	Grunge Rock	[165]
Oasis	UK	90s-00s	Pop / Rock	[166]
Olivia Newton-John	Australia	70s-00s	Country / Pop	[167]
Orhan Gencebay	Turkey	60s-00s (1967-)	Folk	[168]
Ozzy Osbourne	UK	70s-00s	Heavy Metal	[169]
Paul Anka	Canada	50s-00s	Pop	[170]
Pearl Jam	U.S.	90s-00s	Grunge Rock	[171]
Petula Clark	UK	50s-00s	Pop	[172]
The Police	UK	70s-80s	New Wave / Rock / Pop	[173] [174]
Ray Conniff	U.S.	50s-00s	Pop / Easy Listening	[175]
Reba McEntire	U.S.	70s-00s	Country	[176]
Red Hot Chili Peppers	U.S.	80s-00s	Funk Rock	[177]
Richard Clayderman	France	60s-00s	Easy Listening / Instrumental Pop	[178]
Ricky Martin	Puerto Rico	90s-00s	Pop / Latin	[179]
Robbie Williams	UK	90s-00s	Pop / Rock	[180]
Sade	UK	80s-00s	Pop / R&B	[181]
The Seekers	Australia	60s, 90s-00s	Pop / Folk / Rock	[182]
Shania Twain	Canada	90s-00s	Country / Pop	[183]
Simon & Garfunkel	US	60s-70s	Folk / Pop	[184] [185]
Simply Red	UK	80s-00s	Pop	[186]
Spice Girls	UK	90s-00s	Pop	[187]
Supertramp	UK	60s-00s	Pop/Rock	[188]
Three Dog Night	U.S.	60s-70s	Pop / Rock	[189]
Tina Turner	U.S.	60s-00s	R&B / Rock / Pop	[190]
Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers	U.S.	70s-00s	Rock / Pop	[191]
Tony Bennett	U.S.	50s-00s	Pop	[192]
Tupac Shakur	U.S.	90s	Rap	[193]
The Turtles	U.S.	60s	Pop / Rock	[194]
UB40	UK	80s-00s	Reggae	[195]
Vernon Dalhart	U.S.	10s-40s	Country	[196]
Vicky Leandros	Greece	60s-00s	Pop	[197]
ZZ Top	U.S.	70s-00s	Rock	[198]

References

^ Abba, The Book Potiez, Jean-Marie; 15 August 2005; accessed December 2006; claims 350 million records sold as of 2000
^ It's Abba on the phone making a lot more money, money, money Sherwin, Adam; The Times; April 19 2006; accessed December 2006; claims 370 million
^ Pugacheva, Alla Borisovna Enyclopedia Britannica Online; accessed December 2006; claims 250 million records in 1997
^ 1968-1970 Records beatlemoney.com; accessed December 2006; claims 500 million records by 1970
^ First there was Beatlemania, now there's Googlemania Maney, Kevin; USA Today; 10 May, 2004; accessed December 2006; claims 1 billion records
^ The Elvis Presley-Bing Crosby Comparison Page Schmidt, Wayne; accessed December 2006; estimates 900 million, based on 500 million in 1977
^ Chubby Checker coming to Dearborn Press and Guide; 12 January, 2005; accessed December 2006; claims 250 million
^ Life and Times; Cliff Richard.com; accessed December 2006; claims 250 million; (Primary source)
^ Sanctuary for Elton Yahoo Music; accessed December 2006; claims 250 million
^ Elvis Presley Biography. Comprehensive history of Elvis Presley's dynamic life Elvis Presley Australia; January 2004; accessed December 2006; claims 1 billion
^ Singer who sold 1 billion records and defined an era died August 16, 1977 The Student Operated Press; 16 August, 2006; accessed December 2006; claims 1 billion
^ Frank Sinatra tele.at; accessed December 2006; claims 600 million; in German
^ The Iglesias dynasty Hello!; accessed December 2006; claims 250 million records
^ Led Zeppelin wins Polar Prize The Local; 7 November 2005; accessed December 2006; claims more than 300 million
^ How Madonna Got Her Groove Back Rolling Stone; accessed December 2005; claims 250 million records
^ Some of Madonna's Achievements AbsoluteMadonna.com; accessed December 2006; claims 250 million; (fan-site)
^ Michael Jackson's partial comeback is no thriller Reuters; November 15 2006; accessed December 2--6; claims 750 million, inclusive of Jackson 5 sales
^ 20th Century Masters - The Millennium Collection: The Best of Nana Mouskouri CD Yahoo Shopping; accessed December 2006; claims 300 million
^ Pink Floyd American Royal Arts Corp.; accessed December 2006; claims 250 million
^ Queen Proves There's Life After Freddie Ohmy News; January 25 2006; accessed December 2006; claims 300 million
^ Rod Stewart Barry's Tickets; Accessed December 2006; Claims 250 million
^ Tino Rossi Ajaccio Tourist Information; accessed December 2006; claims 300 million
^ Iron Maiden BBC News Official Website; accessed February 24, 2007; claims 80 million records sold

[1] Abba, The Book Potiez, Jean-Marie; 15 August 2005; accessed December 2006; claims 350 million records sold as of 2000

[2] It's Abba on the phone making a lot more money, money, money Sherwin, Adam; The Times; April 19 2006; accessed December 2006; claims 370 million

[3] Pugacheva, Alla Borisovna Enyclopedia Britannica Online; accessed December 2006; claims 250 million records in 1997

[4] 1968-1970 Records beatlemoney.com; accessed December 2006; claims 500 million records by 1970

[5] First there was Beatlemania, now there's Googlemania Maney, Kevin; USA Today; 10 May, 2004; accessed December 2006; claims 1 billion records

[6] The Elvis Presley-Bing Crosby Comparison Page Schmidt, Wayne; accessed December 2006; estimates 900 million, based on 500 million in 1977

[7] Chubby Checker coming to Dearborn Press and Guide; 12 January, 2005; accessed December 2006; claims 250 million

[8] Life and Times; Cliff Richard.com; accessed December 2006; claims 250 million; (Primary source)

[9] Sanctuary for Elton Yahoo Music; accessed December 2006; claims 250 million

[10] Elvis Presley Biography. Comprehensive history of Elvis Presley's dynamic life Elvis Presley Australia; January 2004; accessed December 2006; claims 1 billion

[11] Singer who sold 1 billion records and defined an era died August 16, 1977 The Student Operated Press; 16 August, 2006; accessed December 2006; claims 1 billion

[12] Frank Sinatra tele.at; accessed December 2006; claims 600 million; in German

[13] The Iglesias dynasty Hello!; accessed December 2006; claims 250 million records

[14] Led Zeppelin wins Polar Prize The Local; 7 November 2005; accessed December 2006; claims more than 300 million

[15] How Madonna Got Her Groove Back Rolling Stone; accessed December 2005; claims 250 million records

[16] Some of Madonna's Achievements AbsoluteMadonna.com; accessed December 2006; claims 250 million; (fan-site)

[17] Michael Jackson's partial comeback is no thriller Reuters; November 15 2006; accessed December 2--6; claims 750 million, inclusive of Jackson 5 sales

[18] 20th Century Masters - The Millennium Collection: The Best of Nana Mouskouri CD Yahoo Shopping; accessed December 2006; claims 300 million

[19] Pink Floyd American Royal Arts Corp.; accessed December 2006; claims 250 million

[20] Queen Proves There's Life After Freddie Ohmy News; January 25 2006; accessed December 2006; claims 300 million

[21] Rod Stewart Barry's Tickets; Accessed December 2006; Claims 250 million

[22] Tino Rossi Ajaccio Tourist Information; accessed December 2006; claims 300 million

[23] Iron Maiden BBC News Official Website; accessed February 24, 2007; claims 80 million records sold

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