Here's the offical list of bestselling artists since Soundscan started in 1991 through last week.
Note it doesn't take collaborations or name changes (eg P Diddy and Snoop Dogg) into account.
It doesn't take into account sales on record clubs (BMG, Columbia House,...) and single sales.



TOP 100 BESTSELLING ALBUM ARTISTS OF THE SOUNDSCAN ERA

(rank, units in 1000s, artist)

1. 66,119 Garth Brooks
2. 51,202 The Beatles
3. 47,607 Metallica
4. 46,920 Celine Dion
5. 46,317 Mariah Carey
6. 35,504 George Strait
7. 32,727 Shania Twain
8. 31,729 Alan Jackson
9. 31,717 Kenny G
10. 31,516 Pink Floyd
11. 30,849 Tim McGraw
12. 30,187 Backstreet Boys
13. 29,572 U2
14. 29,167 Eminem
15. 28,231 Britney Spears
16. 27,890 Pearl Jam
17. 27,639 N Sync
18. 27,047 Aerosmith
19. 26,929 Dave Matthews Band
20. 26,823 Eric Clapton
21. 26,371 Elvis Presley
22. 25,243 Reba Mcentire
23. 24,987 Creed
24. 23,977 Elton John
25. 23,741 The Eagles
26. 23,420 Frank Sinatra
27. 23,414 Dixie Chicks
28. 23,312 Rod Stewart
29. 23,072 Santana
30. 23,045 Enya
31. 22,963 Nirvana
32. 22,805 Madonna
33. 22,749 Boyz II Men
34. 22,624 AC/DC
35. 22,573 Jimmy Buffett
36. 21,778 Jay-Z
37. 21,561 Guns & Roses
38. 21,427 Michael Bolton
39. 21,022 Toby Keith
40. 21,017 The Rolling Stones
41. 19,892 Nelly
42. 19,542 R Kelly
43. 19,472 Alanis Morissette
44. 19,462 Led Zeppelin
45. 19,396 Green Day
46. 19,390 Tupac
47. 19,080 Brooks & Dunn
48. 19,040 Barbra Steisand
49. 18,881 Limp Bizkit
50. 18,449 Leann Rimes
51. 18,486 Usher
52. 18,457 Mannheim Steamroller
53. 18,388 Janet Jackson
54. 18,212 Red Hot Chili Peppers
55. 17,939 Beastie Boys
56. 17,926 Michael Jackson
57. 17,836 REM
58. 17,508 Gill Vince
59. 17,387 Kid Rock
60. 17,024 Van Halen
61. 16,852 Luther Vandross
62. 16,843 Faith Hill
63. 16,618 Alabama
64. 16,508 Billy Joel
65. 16,472 Yanni
66. 16,432 Linkin Park
67. 16,419 Queen
68. 16,397 Sarah Mclachlan
69. 16,310 Outkast
70. 15,826 Bob Seger
71. 15,708 DMX
72. 15,659 Kenny Chesney
73. 15,649 Sade
74. 15,464 Mary J. Blige
75. 15,413 Fleetwood Mac
76. 15,284 TLC
77. 15,271 Offspring
78. 15,226 Smashing Pumpkins
79. 15,224 Bruce Springsteen
80. 15,143 No Doubt
81. 15,026 Destiny's Child
82. 14,983 Korn
83. 14,914 Van Morrison
84. 14,787 Bob Dylan
85. 14,643 Sting
86. 14,601 Ozzy Osbourne
87. 14,597 Prince
88. 14,436 Sheryl Crow
89. 14,412 Bone Thugs-N-Harmony
90. 14,386 Matchbox Twenty
91. 14,378 Lynryd Skynyrd
92. 14,293 Def Leppard
93. 14,270 Jewel
94. 14,190 James Taylor
95. 14,080 Doors
96. 14,014 Neil Diamond
97. 13,974 Lenny Kravitz
98. 13,908 Hootie & The Blowfish
99. 13,778 Grateful Dead
100.13,761 Bon Jovi

A couple of interesting entries below 100:

Jimi Hendrix scanned 13,383,000 copies (not bad for a man who is dead for 35 years!);
The Beach Boys did 11.5 million; Marvin Gaye 11 million; Johnny Cash 10.8; Miles Davis 9.5; Whitney Houston 9.1 million (doesn't include the 11+ million sales of the Bodyguard, the 2+ million of The Preacher's Wife); Creedence Clearwater Revival 8.5 mil; Simon & Garfunkel and also Radiohead 8 million.

speeddemon said:

Shame on you America

Kenny Who? G?

Shit, The Beatles sold over 50 MILLION CDs in the US alone???

I just can't get past the fact that Mannheim Steamroller is on this list.

I don't own anything from the following top 10 artists:

1. 66,119 Garth Brooks

3. 47,607 Metallica
4. 46,920 Celine Dion

6. 35,504 George Strait
7. 32,727 Shania Twain
8. 31,729 Alan Jackson
9. 31,717 Kenny G
10. 31,516 Pink Floyd - this must be an oversight.

CinisterCee said:

It must be.

PANDURITO said:

calldapplwondery83 said:

In the soundscan era, which I think started in 1991. I was shocked to see Madonna so low, but in the ninties and noughties (or whatever) her sales weren't as strong as they were in the eighties.

minneapolisgenius said:

So we still have to pretend to like Pink Floyd? Fine, then....

VinnyM27 said:

I don't have to pretend at all. I love them.

80. 15,143 No Doubt
81. 15,026 Destiny's Child


isnt that kinda low its they had thier best yrs after 1991


1.Garth Brooks
not only was he sellin shit loads he also got the high royalties somewhere around $5 for his later releases

20. 26,823 Eric Clapton

how can he sell so much??
[Edited 9/18/05 19:05pm]

asg said:

Keep in mind these are only American record sales. Figure these numbers for No Doubt which are just guesses

7M of their "Tragic Kingdom"
2M of "Return To Saturn"
4M of "RockSteady"
The rest...."Greatest HIts", B-side set, boxed set and their really early CDs.

As for Destiny's Child, I think they sold album well but they were really big singles artists. And they only released 4 studio albums, 3 which sold well.

Eric Clapton might be explained by the fact that his back catalog probably still sells well and that his career got kind of a boost after "Tears In Heaven" and the "Unplugged" CD, which I think both came out in the early ninties (or very late eighties).
[Edited 9/18/05 20:16pm]

VinnyM27 said:

you also have to take into account that No Doubt and DC don't have pre-Soundscan back catalog that's going to continue to sell for decades, figuring into their post-SS numbers. Clapton Does.

Tessa said:

VERY astute observation.

CinisterCee said:

I don't have anything by any artists in the top 10, and I'm not ashamed one bit!

Moonbeam said:

hehe actually that makes me feel better.

53. 18,388 Janet Jackson

thats kinda low considering she was so big since the 90s


56. 17,926 Michael Jackson

quite low i thought he was sellin his back cataloges


97. 13,974 Lenny Kravitz


i never thought lenny was sellin so much

asg said:

Actually, selling 18 million albums for MJ is quite huge considering that he 's released far less albums than the Beatles, Elvis or Madonna during these last 15 years. His back catalogue sold well.

One thing is Soundscan doesn't take into account record club sales, where the Beatles and most country acts don't have shipped items. However, most pop acts did very well on it.

Consider also that single sales are not included on these totals. Classic rock acts and country acts don't sell singles. On the other hand, Mariah Carey sold around 20 million scanned singles, Madonna about 9 million and MJ about 6 million.

Take a look at Soundscan best selling singles:

SOUNDSCAN BEST-SELLING SINGLES 1991 - 2003

(sales in million units, artist - title)

8.8 Elton John - Candle in the Wind 1997
4.6 Whitney Houston - I Will Always Love You
4.2 Los Del Rio - Macarena (Bayside Boys Mix)
4.1 Bryan Adams - (Everything I Do) I Do It For You
3.5 Tag Team - Whoomp! (There It Is)
3.5 Leann Rimes - How Do I Live
3.2 Puff Daddy I'll Be Missing You
3.0 Coolio - Gangsta's Paradise
2.7 Puff Daddy - Can't Nobody Hold Me Down
2.6 Brandy & Monica - The Boy Is Mine
2.3 Usher - You Make Me Wanna ...
2.3 Toni Braxton - Un-break My Heart
2.3 Deborah Cox - Nobody's Supposed To Be Here
2.3 Mariah Carey/Boyz II Men - One Sweet Day
2.2 Next - Too Close
2.1 Bone Thugs 'N Harmony - Tha Crossroads
1.9 Boyz II Men - End of the Road
1.9 Shania Twain - Still The One
1.9 R-Kelly - I Believe I Can Fly
1.8 Spice Girls - Wannabe
1.8 Cher - Believe
1.8 Mariah Carey - Fantasy
1.7 2 Pac - How Do U Want It/California Love
1.7 Boyz II Men - I'Ll Make Love To You
1.6 Keith Sweat - Twisted
1.6 Blackstreet - No Diggity
1.6 Ace of Base - All that She Wants

VinnyM27 said:

Yes, forgot to write that. Considering they've been selling since the 60s, that's a whole damn bunch!

asg said:

Not that surprising. "janet" sold 6 million in America and I think that was her biggest selling ever. The follow ups weren't that popular in comparison. I don't think TVR sold well. It charted at number one but fell quickly since people never got into "Got 'Til It's Gone" and "Together Again" only sold as a single. AFY did very well intially but also fell off....and we all know about DJ.

The first MJ allegations happened in 1991....so it's not that surprising. He's also only released two full studio albums, and "Invicible" only sold about 2 million here.

Lenny's numbers aren't that suprising considering most of his material came out after 1991. "Five" was on the charts for a while even though when it first came out it didn't do well based on the first two singles ("If You Can't Say No" and"THinking Of You"....both which I loved).
[Edited 9/19/05 15:27pm]

speeddemon said:

I think most country acts are included record club sales (BTW, Columbia House went out of business....how crazy is that!). The Beatles aren't sold through there tough. I think Madonna probably does really well through music clubs as do many other pop artists as you said.

calldapplwondery83 said:

The most suprising number I think is this one.

21. 26,371 Elvis Presley

Yeah, it's Elvis and he's been dead for years but look at the Beatles! They've sold nearly twice as much as Elvis....and we are in America! I think the reason for this is the fact that Elvis is spread very thin and there are far too many incomplete hits sets out there. Also, his stuff is available on compliations (like TimeLife comps). "#1s" looks like the first really well promoted hits set by the king while most of his stuff is just released on a whim and almost weekly. Now the Beatles don't release that many collections but when they do, it's a damn event! Remember the craziness for "The Beatles Anthology" or "The Beatles 1". Not to mention that their albums are classics where I'm not sure if I can name an actual Elvis studio album off the top of my head and I consider myself an Elvis person. Paul McCartney really knows what he's doing....I guess Lisa Marie and Pricilla don't.

speeddemon said:

man...just reading this list makes one's head hurt..imagine having to listen to each song back to back?

sosgemini said:

WTF? Tagteam sold that many? Damn.....they must be set up for life.

That song got so old so quickly. Even my mum started saying it

VinnyM27 said:

Never mind that, check Jimi Hendrix's sales during the Soundscan era! Nearly 14 million since 1991! He's been dead longer than Elvis. He's African-American! Plus, he only "officially" released four albums during his lifetime. At least the Beatles and Elvis had fairly decent careers. Paul McCartney, Eric Clapton, and Pete Townsend still revel how he blew them away musically in late 1966! Been dead for over 35 years and still selling like crazy! His legacy continues!

Bad taste runs like water. If this is how people entertain themselves, no wonder we have such a sad world.