Purple Rain

18 million copies sold 2 date!

Gotta source? Not that i don't blieve u, but i'm kinda interested in the top50

Source: dotmusic

Best-selling Albums in The World Ever

Last update: May 23, 2003

(rank, estimated world sales in millions, RIAA Certified Platinum level,
Soundscan sales 1991-now (if known), TITLE, Artist (year).


001 52 26 00.0 THRILLER Michael Jackson (1983)
002 42 19 00.0 BACK IN BLACK AC/DC (1980)
003 41 27 00.0 GREATEST HITS 1971-75 The Eagles (1976)
004 40 15 00.0 SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER Soundtrack (197
005 37 17 11.7 THE BODYGUARD Soundtrack (1992)
006 37 14 00.0 BAT OUT OF HELL Meat Loaf (197
007 35 19 14.5 COME ON OVER Shania Twain (1997)
008 34 15 06.3 THE DARK SIDE OF THE MOON Pink Floyd (1973)
009 32 11 02.8 SGT.PEPPER'S LONELY HEARTS CLUB BAND The Beatles (1967)
010 32 11 00.0 DIRTY DANCING Soundtrack (1987)
011 30 22 00.0 LED ZEPPELIN IV Led Zeppelin (1971)
012 30 19 00.0 RUMOURS Fleetwood Mac (1977)
013 30 13 12.0 MILLENNIUM Backstreet Boys (1999)
014 30 10 09.2 LET'S TALK ABOUT LOVE Celine Dion (1997)
015 29 12 02.6 ABBEY ROAD The Beatles (1969)
016 29 11 10.5 FALLING INTO YOU Celine Dion (1996)
017 29 11 10.0 TITANIC Soundtrack (199
018 28 16 14.1 JAGGED LITTLE PILL Alanis Morissette (1995)
019 27 10 07.1 MUSIC BOX Mariah Carey (1993)
020 27 08 08.7 1 The Beatles (2000)
021 27 08 06.2 BAD Michael Jackson (1987)
022 27 08 04.6 GREASE Soundtrack (197
023 27 07 05.8 DANGEROUS Michael Jackson (1991)
024 26 16 00.0 HOTEL CALIFORNIA The Eagles (1976)
025 25 15 02.1 APPETITE FOR DESTRUCTION Guns & Roses (198
026 25 14 11.2 SUPERNATURAL Santana (1999)
027 25 14 10.0 BACKSTREET BOYS Backstreet Boys (199
028 25 09 00.0 BROTHERS IN ARMS Dire Straits (1985)
029 25 08 00.0 BRIDGE OVER TROUBLED WATER Simon & Garfunkel (1970)
030 24 15 00.0 BORN IN THE USA Bruce Springsteen (1984)
031 24 13 10.4 ... BABY ONE MORE TIME Britney Spears (1999)
032 24 12 00.0 SLIPPERY WHEN WET Bon Jovi (1986)
033 23 12 00.0 WHITNEY HOUSTON Whitney Houston (1985)
034 23 10 04.8 THE IMMACULATE COLLECTION Madonna (1990)
035 23 07 07.3 SPICE Spice Girls (1996)
036 23 06 05.0 GOLD - GREATEST HITS Abba (1992)
037 22 13 13.3 METALLICA Metallica (1991)
038 22 12 00.0 TAPESTRY Carole King (1971)
039 22 10 07.5 DAYDREAM Mariah Carey (1995)
040 22 10 00.0 CAN'T SLOW DOWN Lionel Richie (1983)
041 22 07 00.0 TRUE BLUE Madonna (1986)
042 21 13 00.0 GREATEST HITS Simon & Garfunkel (1972)
043 21 09 04.9 THE SIGN/HAPPY NATION Ace Of Base (1994)
044 21 08 00.0 SOUND OF MUSIC Soundtrack (1965)
045 21 04 03.6 NO ANGEL Dido (2001)
046 20 11 00.0 THE WALL Pink Floyd (1979)
047 20 10 00.0 PLEASE HAMMER DON'T HURT 'EM MC Hammer (1990)
048 20 10 00.0 LIKE A VIRGIN Madonna (1984)
049 20 08 01.8 1967-1970 The Beatles (1973)
050 20 07 06.9 RICKY MARTIN Ricky Martin (1999)
051 20 00 00.0 SPIRITS HAVING FLOWN The Bee Gees (1979)
052 19 15 00.0 GREATEST HITS Elton John (1974)
053 19 09 08.9 OOPS! ...I DID IT AGAIN Britney Spears (2000)
054 19 09 00.0 WHITNEY Whitney Houston (1987)
055 19 07 01.6 1962-1966 The Beatles (1973)
056 18 16 00.0 BOSTON Boston (1976)
057 18 13 00.0 PURPLE RAIN Prince (1984)
058 18 12 07.5 THE WOMAN IN ME Shania Twain (1995)
059 18 10 02.2 THE BEATLES (WHITE ALBUM) The Beatles (196
060 18 10 01.0 THE JOSHUA TREE U2 (1987)
061 18 06 06.1 ALL THE WAY...A DECADE OF SONG Celine Dion (1999)
062 18 06 05.4 THE SCORE Fugees (1996)
063 18 04 03.5 (WHAT'S THE STORY) MORNING GLORY Oasis (1995)
064 18 04 00.0 BREAKFAST IN AMERICA Supertramp (1979)
065 17 16 10.0 CRACKED REAR VIEW Hootie & The Blowfish (1995)
066 17 12 01.9 HYSTERIA Def Leppard (1987)
067 17 09 04.8 MARIAH CAREY Mariah Carey (1990)
068 17 08 08.9 THE MARSHALL MATHERS LP Eminem (2000)
069 17 06 00.0 COMES ALIVE Peter Frampton (1976)
070 17 04 04.3 SPICE WORLD Spice Girls (1997)
071 17 04 02.5 HISTORY Michael Jackson (1995)
072 17 02 03.4 ROMANZA Andrea Bocelli (1997)
073 16 16 08.8 NO FENCES Garth Brooks (1991)
074 16 11 11.0 NO STRINGS ATTACHED 'N Sync (2000)
075 16 10 07.3 UNPLUGGED Eric Clapton (1992)
076 16 10 00.0 FAITH George Michael (1987)
077 16 07 05.2 USE YOUR ILLUSION I Guns & Roses (1991)
078 16 07 00.0 OFF THE WALL Michael Jackson (1979)
079 16 06 06.7 JANET. Janet Jackson (1993)
080 16 05 03.6 BUTTERFLY Mariah Carey (1997)
081 16 00 00.0 TUBULAR BELLS Mike Oldfield (1973)
082 16 00 00.0 MERRY CHRISTMAS Mariah Carey (1994)
083 15 01 03.5 GREATEST HITS Queen (1981)
084 15 12 07.7 YOURSELF OR SOMEONE LIKE YOU Matchbox 20 (1997)
085 15 12 00.0 NO JACKET REQUIRED Phil Collins (1985)
086 15 12 00.0 II Led Zeppelin (1969)
087 15 12 00.0 GREATEST HITS Kenny Rogers (1980)
088 15 10 07.2 LEGEND Bob Marley & The Wailers (1984)
089 15 10 00.0 GREATEST HITS VOL.2 The Eagles (1982)
090 15 10 00.0 GREATEST HITS VOL.1& 2 Billy Joel (1985)
091 15 08 07.8 TRAGIC KINGDOM No Doubt (1996)
092 15 08 07.5 THE LION KING Soundtrack (1994)
093 15 08 05.0 ACHTUNG BABY U2 (1991)
094 15 08 00.0 PHYSICAL GRAFITTI Led Zeppelin (1975)
095 15 07 06.1 THE MISEDUCATION OF LAURYN HILL Lauryn Hill (199
096 15 07 05.3 USE YOUR ILLUSION II Guns & Roses (1991)
097 15 07 00.0 TO THE EXTREME Vanilla Ice (1990)
098 15 06 04.2 THE COLOUR OF MY LOVE Celine Dion (1994)
099 15 05 03.9 BAT OUT OF HELL II - BACK INTO HELL Meat Loaf (1993)
100 15 04 03.7 RAY OF LIGHT Madonna (199
101 15 04 03.1 AUTOMATIC FOR THE PEOPLE REM (1992)
102 15 04 00.0 ...BUT SERIOUSLY Phil Collins (1989)
103 15 04 00.0 #1'S Mariah Carey (1999)
104 15 03 03.0 LAUNDRY SERVICE Shakira (2001)
105 15 00 00.0 MERRY CHRISTMAS Bing Crosby (1957)
106 14 14 09.4 ROPIN' THE WIND Garth Brooks (1991)
107 14 11 08.8 TEN Pearl Jam (1992)
108 14 11 00.0 HOUSES OF THE HOLY Led Zeppelin (1973)
109 14 10 07.7 NEVER MIND Nirvana (1991)
110 14 10 07.1 CRAZYSEXYCOOL TLC (1995)
111 14 09 06.0 DOOKIE Green Day (1994)
112 14 09 04.8 SOME GAVE ALL Billy Ray Cyrus (1992)
113 14 08 08.4 THE EMINEM SHOW Eminem (2002)
114 14 08 06.7 LOVE AND TENDERNESS TIME Michael Bolton (1991)
115 14 07 06.0 UNFORGETTABLE Natalie Cole (1991)
116 14 06 00.0 RHYTHM NATION 1814 Janet Jackson (1989)
117 14 05 00.0 NICK OF TIME Bonnie Raitt (1990)
118 14 05 00.0 CONTROL Janet Jackson (1986)
119 14 04 02.6 CROSSROAD - BEST OF BON JOVI Bon Jovi (1994)
120 14 04 00.5 LIKE A PRAYER Madonna (1989)
121 14 02 02.7 AQUARIUM Aqua (1997)
122 14 00 00.0 LITTLE DRUMMER BOY Harry Simeone Chorale (195
123 13 12 08.5 II Boyz II Men (1994)
124 13 12 07.6 BREATHLESS Kenny G (1992)
125 13 11 07.0 PIECES OF YOU Jewel (1996)
126 13 10 00.0 I Led Zeppelin (1969)
127 13 10 00.0 GREATEST HITS Aerosmith (1980)
128 13 09 00.0 FOOTLOOSE Soundtrack (1984)
129 13 07 04.9 SAVAGE GARDEN Savage Garden (199
130 13 05 05.7 COME AWAY WITH ME Norah Jones (2002)
131 13 05 04.9 CALIFORNICATION Red Hot Chili Peppers (1999)
132 13 05 03.1 SO FAR SO GOOD Bryan Adams (1993)
133 13 02 02.9 MUSIC Madonna (2000)
134 13 00 00.0 MONEY FOR NOTHING Dire Straits (198
135 12 12 07.8 WIDE OPEN SPACES Dixie Chicks (199
136 12 11 00.0 GREATEST HITS James Taylor (1976)
137 12 10 08.7 'N SYNC 'N Sync (199
138 12 10 01.3 VAN HALEN Van Halen (197
139 12 08 07.9 CHRISTINA AGUILERA Christina Aguilera (1999)
140 12 08 06.0 BIG WILLIE STYLE Will Smith (199
141 12 08 04.7 SECRETS Toni Braxton (1996)
142 12 08 00.0 WHITESNAKE Whitesnake (1987)
143 12 07 04.6 GET A GRIP Aerosmith (1993)
144 12 07 04.2 NO NEED TO ARGUE Cranberries (1994)
145 12 06 05.4 SURFACING Sarah McLachlan (1997)
146 12 06 01.5 RUBBER SOUL The Beatles (1965)
147 12 06 00.0 WISH YOU WERE HERE Pink Floyd (1975)
148 12 06 00.0 KICK Inxs (198
149 12 05 00.0 PRIVATE DANCER Tina Turner (1984)
150 12 04 04.2 OUT OF TIME REM (1991)
151 12 04 00.0 I'M YOUR BABY TONIGHT Whitney Houston (1990)
152 12 04 00.0 FACE VALUE Phil Collins (1981)
153 12 03 03.4 J.LO Jennifer Lopez (2001)
154 12 03 00.0 IN CONCERT Pavarotti-Domingo-Carreras (1990)
155 12 00 00.0 WORLD POWER Snap! (1990)
156 12 00 00.0 EMOTIONS Mariah Carey (1991)

Just 2 Let u know that some of these figures r already inaccurate, since, 4 example, MJ's back catalogue hasnt been recertified since 1997 i think. As u all know, many of his albums have recharted around the world since then with the rerelease of OTW,Thriller,BAD, Dangerous, they also recharted with Living with MJ! i would say thriller is up at 58-60million now!

FunkyBrotha said:

While i agree the numbers are inaccurate, sales in America are actual sales, and worldwide sales outside the US are shipped copies. And even if u count shipped copies u'll never get 58 million for Thriller.
But i am truly amazed by some of these numbers. AC/DC? Shania Twain?? Backstreet Boys???

Shakira's album sold 15 million copies?!

FunkyBrotha said:

Oh, and call me stupid, but i can't seem to find this online. Care to help me out with a url? Cheers!

The scariest has to be "Ace Of Base" 21 Million copies sold worldwide!! And MC Hammer!

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[This message was edited Thu Jul 17 8:35:56 PDT 2003 by Cloudbuster]

Led Zeppelin!
[This message was edited Thu Jul 17 7:09:33 PDT 2003 by Sandra]

Please Hammer Don't Hurt em-how did that get in there?

Any album that sold after 1991 you will question its ranking because a new computerized system was used.Its validity has been questioned several times.

Madonna sold 13 million copies of Music???

:O

Damn, looking at this list, seeing how many
units Madonna and MJ still manage to shift
through the 90's up to now pfff.

I mean, Music sold more copies than Prince's
last 5 albums put together.

IstenSzek said:

More like Prince's last 10 albums put together!

DavidEye said:

Yuck...uck...she's just gross.

This is truly messed up. Britney Spears, The Spice Whores, and Ricky Martin among others have higher sales figures then "Purple Rain"?

If record sales are any kind of reflection on society, we're fucked.

Cloudbuster said:

Well, if we're gonna be totally honest, let's just go
full out and admit that "Music" sold more copies than
all the Prince albums from 1993-2003.

I think it's about time for us to realise that Prince is
a cult artist



You know, like right now Prince is even more underground
than Weezer used to be, or TheBoneRidinSkatePunks.

, I guess. Heheh.

I just noticed that the Bee Gees sold 20 million of 'Spirits Having Flown'!

Excellent. I thought it had only sold half of that!

LittlePill said:

If u really want to find good music today, don't go looking 4 it in the charts.

familygroove said:

U ain't kiddin'.

Wow!

Spice Girls
Ricky Martin
B. Boys
Mariah C
Brittany &
Mc Hammer

Sold
More!!

JC said:

Frightening, isn't it!

muleFunk said:

very true. the top 10 have been debated a lot

slm4m said:

I agree.And her music is horrible.Are there really 15 million people around the world playing that crap??

Dont believe the hype .

They reflect units sold to outlets such as Wal-Mart and Target.These are not actual sales to individuals.

Go to any store like I mentioned and look through their cds .The newer cds like Music & Brittney they will have more copies of those albums because the outlet has bought cases of them.

When you go to Tower or a record store those will refect true unit sales.

muleFunk said:

Actually, no. US sales are actual sales. The rest of the world is mostly shipped copies.

DavidEye said:

I would rather listen to the Bay City Rollers albums with headphones at high volume then listening to her music.

slm4m said:

Mmmm...Shakiiiraaa...

She makes music?

SpcMs said:

You better check again.

Cloudbuster said:

Actually, none of these bozos achieved a simultaneous combo of number one album/single/movie.

Which brings matters into perspective.

.