Billboard Magazine: 300 Best-selling Albums of All-Time

1. Michael Jackson Thriller 72,400,000
2. Pink Floyd Dark Side Of The Moon 41,800,000
3. Soundtrack Grease 40,400,000
4. Whitney Houston Bodyguard 39,600,000
5. Bee Gees Saturday Night Fever 37,200,000
6. 7Eagles Their Greatest Hits 1971-1975 36,700,000
7. Led Zeppelin IV 35,900,000
8. Shania Twain Come On Over 35,400,000
9. Michael Jackson Bad 33,200,000
10. Fleetwood Mac Rumours 32,700,000
11. Dire Straits Brother In Arms 32,600,000
12. Alanis Morissette Jagged Little Pill 32,200,000
13. AC/DC Back In Black 32,100,000
14. Bob Marley Legend 31,300,000
15. Beatles One 30,800,000
16. Pink Floyd The Wall 30,700,000
17. Mariah Carey Music Box 30,300,000
18. Celine Dion Let's Talk About Love 30,300,000
19. Celine Dion Falling Into You 30,200,000
20. Michael Jackson Dangerous 30,000,000
21. Guns N' Roses Appetite For Destruction 29,800,000
22. Eagles Hotel California 29,200,000
23. Soundtrack Dirty Dancing 29,000,000
24. Bruce Springsteen Born In The USA 28,900,000
25. ABBA Gold 28,800,000
26. Meat Loaf Bat Out Of Hell 28,700,000
27. Simon & Garfunkel Greatest Hits 28,600,000
28. U2 The Joshua Tree 28,300,000
29. Whitney Houston Whitney Houston 27,900,000
30. Queen Greatest Hits 27,600,000
31. Soundtrack Titanic 27,300,000
32. Beatles Abbey Road 26,400,000
33. Madonna The Immaculate Collection 26,300,000
34. Beatles Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band 26,200,000
35. Santana Supernatural 26,100,000
36. Backstreet Boys Millenium 25,900,000
37. Metallica Metallica 25,600,000
38. Mariah Carey Daydream 24,900,000
39. Beatles 1962-1966 24,600,000
40. Beatles 1967-1970 24,600,000
41. Nirvana Nevermind 24,600,000
42. Whitney Houston Whitney 24,300,000
43. Eric Clapton Unplugged 24,300,000
44. Phil Collins No Jacket Required 24,000,000
45. Britney Spears Baby One More Time 23,800,000
46. Spice Girls Spice 23,800,000
47. Elton John Elton John's Greatest Hits 23,200,000
48. Bon Jovi Slippery When Wet 23,200,000
49. Madonna True Blue 22,700,000
50. Backstreet Boys Backstreet Boys 22,600,000
51. Queen Greatest Hits II 22,300,000
52. Norah Jones Come Away With Me 22,300,000
53. Phil Collins But Seriously 22,200,000
54. Simon & Garfunkel Bridge Over Trouble Water 22,100,000
55. Boston Boston 21,800,000
56. Eminem The Marshall Mathers LP 21,800,000
57. Celine Dion All The Way… A Decade Of Song 21,700,000
59. Lionel Richie Can't Slow Down 21,600,000
60. Madonna Like A Virgin 21,400,000
61. Prince Purple Rain 21,400,000
62. Pink Floyd Wish You Were Here 21,300,000
63. Ace Of Base The Sign/Happy Nation 21,000,000
64. Britney Spears Oops! I Did It Again 20,800,000
65. Tracy Chapman Tracy Chapman 20,400,000
66. Led Zeppelin II 20,200,000
67. Bon Jovi Cross Road 20,200,000
68. Eminem The Eminem Show 20,100,000
69. Carole King Tapestry 19,700,000
70. Soundtrack Top Gun 19,600,000
71. Michael Jackson History 19,600,000
72. George Michael Faith 19,200,000
73. Beatles White Album 19,100,000
74. Def Leppard Hysteria 19,100,000
75. Michael Jackson Off The Wall 19,000,000
76. Hootie & The Blowfish Cracked Rear View Mirror 19,000,000
77. MC Hammer Please Hammer Don't Hurt 'em 18,700,000
78. Janet Jackson Janet 18,600,000
79. Guns N' Roses Use Your Illusion II 18,600,000
80. Billy Joel Greatest Hits I & II 18,500,000
81. U2 Best Of 1980-1990 18,500,000
82. Garth Brooks No Fences 18,400,000
83. Green Day Dookie 18,400,000
84. Tim Landen The Hits 18,300,000
85. Supertramp Breakfast In America 18,200,000
86. Guns N' Roses Use Your Illusion I 17,800,000
87. ZZ Top Eliminator 17,700,000
88. U2 Achtung Baby 17,600,000
89. Pearl Jam Ten 17,600,000
90. The Cranberries No Need To Argue 17,600,000
91. Linkin Park Hybryd Theory 17,600,000
92. Soundtrack Le Roi Lion 17,400,000
93. Andrea Bocelli Romanza 17,100,000
94. Led Zeppelin Houses Of the Holy 17,000,000
95. Soundtrack Footloose 16,900,000
96. James Taylor Greatest Hits 16,800,000
97. Journey Greatest Hits 16,800,000
98. Avril Lavigne Let Go 16,800,000
99. Fleetwood Mac Greatest Hits 1988 16,400,000
100. REM Out Of Time 16,400,000
101. The Police Synchronicity 16,300,000
102. Celine Dion The Colour Of My Love 16,300,000
103. Van Halen 1984 16,200,000
104. Oasis (What's The Story) Morning Glory? 16,100,000
105. Ricky Martin Ricky Martin 16,100,000
106. Bryan Adams So Far So Good 15,900,000
107. Shania Twain The Woman In Me 15,900,000
108. No Doubt Tragic Kingdom 15,900,000
109. Garth Brooks Ropin' In The Wind 15,800,000
110. Mariah Carey #1's 15,800,000
111. N Sync No String Attached 15,800,000
112. Christina Aguilera Christina Aguilera 15,700,000
113. Genesis We Can't Dance 15,700,000
114. Sade Promise 15,600,000
115. Kenny Rogers Greatest Hits 15,600,000
116. Phil Collins Face Value 15,600,000
117. Lauryn Hill The Miseducation Of Lauryn Hill 15,600,000
118. Kenny G Breathless 15,500,000
119. Boyz II Men II 15,500,000
120. Spice Girls Spice World 15,400,000
121. Steve Miller Band Greatest Hits 74-78 15,400,000
122. Sade Diamond Life 15,400,000
123. Beastie Boys License to Ill 15,400,000
124. Paul Simon Graceland 15,400,000
125. Jewel Pieces Of You 15,400,000
126. Red Hot Chili Peppers Californication 15,400,000
127. Janet Jackson Rhythm Nation 1814 15,300,000
128. New Kids On The Block Hangin' Tough 15,200,000
129. The Fugees The Score 15,100,000
130. Matchbox 20 Yourself Or Someone Like You 15,100,000
131. Madonna Ray Of Light 15,100,000
132. Bruce Springsteen Greatest Hits 14,900,000
133. Evanescence Fallen 14,900,000
134. Van Halen Van Halen 14,800,000
135. Tom Petty Greatest Hits 14,800,000
136. TLC CrazySexyCool 14,800,000
137. Dido No Angel 14,800,000
138. Billy Joel The Stranger 14,700,000
139. U2 Rattle & Hum 14,600,000
140. Usher Confessions 14,600,000
141. Elvis Presley Christmas Album 14,500,000
142. Bee Gees Spirits Having Flown 14,300,000
143. Whitney Houston I'm Your Baby Tonight 14,200,000
144. Meat Loaf Bat Out Of Hell II 14,200,000
145. Nirvana MTV Unplugged In New York 14,200,000
146. Enya A Day Without Rain 14,200,000
147. Madonna Like A Prayer 14,100,000
148. Mariah Carey Mariah Carey 14,100,000
149. Phil Collins Serious Hits Live 14,100,000
150. Backstreet Boys Black & Blue 14,100,000
151. Dixie Chicks Wide Open Spaces 14,000,000
152. Green Day American Idiot 14,000,000
153. Beatles Rubber Soul 13,900,000
154. Eagles Greatest Hits Vol 2 13,900,000
155. REM Automatic For The People 13,900,000
156. Creed Human Clay 13,900,000
157. Aerosmith Aerosmith's Greatest Hits 13,800,000
158. Red Hot Chili Peppers Blood Sugar *** Magic 13,800,000
159. Led Zeppelin I 13,700,000
160. Genesis Invisible Touch 13,700,000
161. Aerosmith Get A Trip 13,700,000
162. The Police Every Breath You Take 13,600,000
163. Enya Watermark 13,600,000
164. Janet Jackson Control 13,500,000
165. Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young Déjà Vu 13,500,000
166. Eric Clapton Time Pieces 13,400,000
167. Tina Turner Private Dancer 13,400,000
168. Metallica And Justice For All 13,400,000
169. Doobie Brothers Best Of 13,300,000
170. Toni Braxton Secrets 13,300,000
171. Elton John Goodbye Yellow Brick Road 13,200,000
172. Led Zeppelin Physical Graffiti 13,200,000
173. Billy Joel An Innocent Man 13,200,000
174. Bryan Adams Waking Up The Neighbours 13,200,000
175. Mariah Carey Merry Christmas 13,200,000
176. Will Smith Big Willie *** 13,200,000
177. Alicia Keys Songs In A Minor 13,200,000
178. Barbra Streisand Guilty 13,100,000
179. Michael Bolton Time, Love & Tenderness 13,100,000
180. Enya Paint The Sky With Stars 13,100,000
181. Bon Jovi New Jersey 13,000,000
182. Def Leppard Pyromania 12,900,000
183. Enya Shepherd Moons 12,900,000
184. Kid Rock Devil Without A Cause 12,900,000
185. Neil Young Harvest 12,800,000
186. Sade The Best Of 12,700,000
187. Santana Greatest Hits 12,600,000
188. AC/DC Highway To Hell 12,600,000
189. REO Speedwagon Hi Infidelity 12,600,000
190. Mariah Carey Butterfly 12,600,000
191. Janis Joplin Greatest Hits 12,500,000
192. The Doors Best Of The Doors 12,500,000
193. N Sync N Sync 12,500,000
194. The Doors The Doors 12,400,000
195. Peter Frampton Comes Alive 12,400,000
196. Pink Floyd Animals 12,400,000
197. Shakira Laundry Service 12,400,000
198. James Blunt Back To Bedlam 12,400,000
199. Destiny's Child The Writing's On The Wall 12,300,000
200. Led Zeppelin III 12,200,000
201. Shania Twain Up! 12,200,000
202. Coldplay A Rush Of Blood To The Head 12,200,000
203. 50 Cent Get Rich Or Die Tryin' 12,200,000
204. Eagles The Long Run 12,100,000
205. Barbra Streisand Memories 12,100,000
206. Journey Escape 12,100,000
207. U2 All That You Can't Leave Behind 12,100,000
208. Billy Joel 52nd Street 12,000,000
209. Offspring Smash 12,000,000
210. Billy Ray Cyrus Some Gave All 11,900,000
211. Backstreet Boys Backstreet's Back 11,900,000
212. Creedence Clearwater Revival Chronicle 11,800,000
213. Britney Spears Britney 11,800,000
214. Boyz II Men CooleyHighHarmony 11,800,000
215. Toni Braxton Toni Braxton 11,800,000
216. Dixie Chicks Fly 11,800,000
217. Bob Dylan Greatest Hits 11,700,000
218. Bryan Adams Reckless 11,700,000
219. Whitney Houston Waiting To Exhale 11,700,000
220. Simply Red Stars 11,700,000
221. Eagles Hell Freezes Over 11,700,000
222. Foreigner 4 11,600,000
223. Fleetwood Mac Tango In The Night 11,600,000
224. Offspring Americana 11,600,000
225. Garth Brooks Double Live 11,600,000
226. Celine Dion These Are Special Times 11,400,000
227. Phil Collins Hits 11,500,000
228. Dire Straits Money For Nothing 11,400,000
229. Aerosmith Pump 11,400,000
230. Cher Believe 11,400,000
231. Pink Missundazstood 11,400,000
232. Christina Aguilera Stripped 11,300,000
233. Beatles Revolver 11,300,000
234. Pink Floyd The Division Bell 11,300,000
235. TLC Fanmail 11,300,000
236. Linkin Park Meteora 11,300,000
237. John Denver Greatest Hits 11,200,000
238. Billy Joel Glass Houses 11,200,000
239. Elton John The Very Best Of 11,200,000
240. Lionel Richie Back To Front 11,200,000
241. Enya The Memory Of Trees 11,200,000
242. Garth Brooks Sevens 11,200,000
243. Elvis Presley 30 #1 Hits 11,200,000
244. Santana Abraxas 11,100,000
245. Dr Dre 2001 11,100,000
246. Soundtrack Pulp Fiction 11,000,000
247. Maroon 5 Songs About Jane 11,000,000
248. Patsy Cline Greatest Hits 10,900,000
249. AC/DC Live 10,900,000
250. Stevie Wonder Songs In The Key Of Life 10,800,000
251. Cyndi Lauper She's So Unusual 10,800,000
252. Garth Brooks Garth Brooks 10,800,000
253. Nirvana In Utero 10,800,000
254. Bob Seger Greatest Hits 10,800,000
255. Madonna Music 10,800,000
256. Kelly Clarkson Breakaway 10,800,000
257. Eminem Encore 10,800,000
258. Black Eyed Peas Monkey Business 10,800,000
259. David Bowie Let's Dance 10,700,000
260. Elton John Love Songs 10,700,000
261. Coldplay X&Y 10,700,000
262. ABBA Greatest Hits 10,600,000
263. Pearl Jam Vs 10,600,000
264. Nelly Country Grammar 10,600,000
265. Norah Jones Feels Like Home 10,600,000
266. The Rolling Stones Hot Rocks 1964-1971 10,500,000
267. ABBA Arrival 10,500,000
268. Metallica Master Of Puppets 10,500,000
269. Neil Diamond The Jazz Singer 10,400,000
270. Whitney Houston My Love Is Your Love 11,400,000
271. Lenny Kravitz Greatest Hits 10,400,000
272. Nickelback All The Right Reasons 10,400,000
273. Beatles Help! 10,300,000
274. Aerosmith Toys In The Attic 10,300,000
275. Boston Don't Look Back 10,300,000
275. Boston Don't Look Back 10,300,000
276. Dire Straits On Every Street 10,300,000
277. Phil Collins Hello, I Must Be Going! 10,300,000
278. Metallica Load 10,300,000
279. Soundtrack O Brother, Where Art Thou? 10,300,000
280. Nickelback Silver Side Up 10,300,000
281. Dido Life For Rent 10,300,000
282. Beatles A Hard Day's Night 10,200,000
283. Beatles Let It Be 10,200,000
284. Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young So Far 10,200,000
285. Led Zeppelin In Through The Out Door 10,200,000
286. U2 War 10,200,000
287. Genesis Genesis 10,200,000
288. Michael Bolton Soul Provider 10,200,000
289. REM Monster 10,200,000
290. U2 How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb 10,200,000
291. Mariah Carey The Emancipation of Mimi 10,200,000
292. Bruce Springsteen Born To Run 10,200,000
293. Dire Straits Dire Straits 10,200,000
294. Sting The Dream Of The Blue Turtles 10,100,000
295. Lionel Richie Dancing On The Ceiling 10,100,000
296. Guns N' Roses GNR Lies 10,100,000
297. Garth Brooks The Chase 10,100,000
298. Destiny's Child Survivor 10,100,000
299. Bruce Springsteen The River 10,000,000
300. Janet Jackson The Velvet Rope 10,000,000

had no idea norah's debut did that great worldwide. good for her

Michael killed that list.

PricelessHo said:

Shania Twain and Meatloaf shocked me

Actually on the list I saw it's 62,400,000, lol. Someone mistyped that.

DiamondGlove said:

So it's definitively false that Thriller sold 250 mio copies within it's first week on sale?

graecophilos said:

the first week of sale? where did you hear that?


Thriller debuted at #11

graecophilos said:

Huh, who said that?

Anyway here's the list:

http://fanofmusic.free.fr...sWorldActs

bboy87 said:

i know

and shania might as well release a 2 disk compilation for europe/japan with all those pop version remixes she's been releasing smartass

Timmy84 said:

I'm just exagerating. I'm always making jokes of the "100 mio copies" sold un til Dec 2006.

I never knew that the 'Grease' soundtrack sold more than 'Saturday Night Fever'.I love both of those albums.

DiamondGlove said:

i would argue that Garth Brooks prolly killed it first.

There is SOME hope in there, but generally speaking that is a depressing list..

I thought Back In Black was #2. I guess it got bumped down.

graecophilos said:

Oh.

PricelessHo said:

her second is on their also, and her third just is close to making this list.

only 1 prince album in the bunch? tsk, tsk. not surprised that narrow mindedness is a global phenomenon. what was the name of the Teenage Fanclub album years ago, Bandwagonesque ? This list reeks of that.

datdude said:

Prince has never been a big seller, im not sure where this fantasy started, but if you take out Purple Rain and 1999, and Prince has pretty much always been the type of artist that would get you a gold album, very loyal following, like Rem, Pearl Jam, but for the most part, the craze on him was for one album.

lastdecember said:

Right. People act like Prince was always this big seller but this is a guy who is a success when he hits gold or just platinum. "Purple Rain" and "1999" (and maybe "Sign O' the Times" also) are his only real BIG sellers.

Timmy84 said:

Yeah it should also be said that his early albums all went gold and platnum after Purple Rain came out and everyone went back and bought them, the only one that sold big before Purple Rain was 1999, but about half of its total came after PR came out.

lastdecember said:

Right. I remember hearing that that everyone who saw the movie bought all his music after that.

PricelessHo said:

Seriously I thought 'Bat Out Of Hell' would be higher.

bboy87 said:

Since when does Billboard posts lists like these?? Unless you can provide a link directly to Billboard I have to assume that some one other than Billboard typed that up and it's nothing more than guesswork and quoting other articles... as no one really has worldwide sales numbers other than record companies!

PatrickS77 said:

Did you see my post with the link from where it came from?

That is not a Billboard list

moussemaker said:

Sure isn't.

lastdecember said:

Yeah. Often very good numbers but besides those 2, nothing crazy. Although I thought "Batman" had insane sales?

lastdecember said:

http://www.8notes.com/bio...prince.asp
Discography
For You (1978) #163 US
Prince (1979) #22 US, US sales: 1,000,000
Dirty Mind (1980) #45 US, US sales: 500,000
Controversy (1981) #21 US, US sales: 1,000,000
1999 (1982) #9 US, #30 UK (1984 release), US sales: 4,000,000
Purple Rain (1984) #1 US, #7 UK, US sales: 13,000,000
Around The World In A Day (1985) #1 US, #5 UK, US sales: 2,000,000
Parade (1986) #3 US, #4 UK, US sales: 1,000,000
Sign O' The Times (1987) #6 US, #4 UK, US sales: 1,000,000
Lovesexy (1988) #11 US, #1 UK, US sales: 500,000
Batman (1989) #1 US, #1 UK, US sales: 2,000,000
Graffiti Bridge (1990) #6 US, #1 UK, US sales: 500,000
Diamonds and Pearls (1991) #3 US, #2 UK, US sales: 2,000,000
The Love Symbol Album (1992) #5 US, #1 UK, US sales: 1,000,000
The Hits/The B-Sides (1993) #19 US, #4 UK, US sales: 1,000,000
The Hits 1 (1993) #46 US, #5 UK, US sales: 1,000,000
The Hits 2 (1993) #54 US, #5 UK, US sales: 1,000,000
Goldnigga (1993)
Come (1994) #15 US, #1 UK
The Black Album (1994 - recorded 1987-1988) #47 US, #36 UK
The Gold Experience (1995) #6 US, #4 UK, US sales: 500,000
Exodus (1995)
Chaos & Disorder (1996) #26 US, #14 UK
Emancipation (1996) #11 US, #18 UK, US sales: 2,000,000
Crystal Ball (1997) #62 US
The Truth (1997)
Kamasutra (1997)
New Power Soul (1998) #22 US
The Vault: Old Friends 4 Sale (1999)
Rave Un2 The Joy Fantastic (1999) #18 US, US sales: 500,000
Rave In2 The Joy Fantastic (1999 NPG Music Club)
The Very Best Of Prince (2001) #66 US, #2 UK, US sales: 500,000
The Rainbow Children (2001) #109 US
One Nite Alone (2002 NPG Music Club)
One Nite Alone...Live! (2002)
Xpectation (2003 NPG Music Club)
N.E.W.S. (2003)
Musicology (2004) #3 US, #3 UK, US sales: 1,000,000
The Chocolate Invasion (2004 NPG Music Club)
The Slaughterhouse (2004 NPG Music Club)
C-Note (2004 NPG Music Club)

Hit singles
'I Wanna Be Your Lover' (1980) #11 US
'1999' (1983) #12 US; #25 UK
'Delirious' (1983) #8 US
'Little Red Corvette' (1983) #6 US
'Purple Rain' (1984) #2 US; #4 UK
'When Doves Cry' (1984) #1 US; #4 UK
'I Would Die 4 U' (1984) #8 US
'1999/Little Red Corvette' (re-issue) (1985) #2 UK
'Let's Go Crazy/Take Me with You' (1985) #1 US; #7 UK
'Pop Life' (1985) #7 US
'Paisley Park' (1985) #18 UK
'Raspberry Beret' (1985) #2 US; #25 UK
'Take Me with U' (1985) #25 US
'Kiss' (1986) #1 US; #6 UK
'Mountains' (1986) #23 US
'Girls and Boys' (1986) #11 UK
'Anotherloverholenyohead' (1986) #36 UK
'Sign 'O the Times' (1987) #3 US; #10 UK
'If I Was Your Girlfriend' (1987) #20 UK
'U Got the Look' (1987) #2 US; #11 UK
'I Could Never Take the Place of Your Man' (1987) #10 US; #29 UK
'Alphabet Street' (1988) #8 US; #9 UK
'Glam Slam' (1988) #29 UK
'I Wish U Heaven' (1988) #24 UK
'Batdance' (1989) #1 US; #2 UK
'Partyman' (1989) #18 US; #14 UK
'The Arms of Orion' (with Sheena Easton) (1989) #36 US; #27 UK
'Thieves in the Temple' (1990) #6 US; #7 UK
'New Power Generation' (1990) #26 UK
'Gett Off' (1991) #21 US; #4 UK
'Cream' (1991) #1 US; #15 UK
'Diamonds and Pearls' (1991) #3 US; #25 UK
'Money Don't Matter 2 Night' (1992) #23 US; #19 UK
'Thunder' (1992) #28 UK
'Sexy MF/Strollin'' (1992) #4 UK
'My Name is Prince' (1992) #36 US; #7 UK
'7' (1992) #7 US; #27 UK
'Peach' (1993) #14 UK
'Controversy' (1993) #5 UK
'Letitgo' (1994) #31 US; #30 UK
'The Most Beautiful Girl in the World' (1994) #3 US; #1 UK
'The Beautiful Experience' (1994) #18 UK
'Eye Hate U' (1995) #12 US; #20 UK
'Gold' (1995) #10 UK
'Purple Medley' (1995) #33 UK
'Dinner with Delores' (1996) #36 UK
'Betcha By Golly Wow' (1996) #11 UK
'The Holy River' (1997) #19 UK
'1999' (re-issue) (1999) #40 US; #10 UK

why in thee fuck is ace of base on that list?

all of their songs use the same drum beat over and over