From Billboard Magazine's Decade/Year End Review Issue:

01 Eminem 32,241,000
02 The Beatles 30,182,000
03 Tim McGraw 24,769,000
04 Toby Keith 24,469,000
05 Britney Spears 22,969,000
06 Kenny Chesney 22,034,000
07 Linkin Park 21,421,000
08 Nelly 21,232,000
09 Creed 20,594,000
10 Jay-Z 20,424,000
11 Nickelback 19,817,000
12 Rascal Flatts 19,408,000
13 Josh Groban 19,348,000
14 Alan Jackson 18,857,000
15 N'Sync 18,303,000
16 Dixie Chicks 18,178,000
17 Johnny Cash 18,143,000
18 Kid Rock 17,614,000
19 Metallica 17,403,000
20 Celine Dion 17,363,000
21 George Strait 17,275,000
22 Michael Jackson 17,261,000
23 Norah Jones 17,087,000
24 U2 16,817,000
25 Elvis Presley 16,486,000
26 Usher 16,329,000
27 Dave Matthews Band 16,025,000
28 AC/DC 15,935,000
29 50 Cent 15,868,000
30 Alicia Keys 15,561,000
31 Rod Stewart 15,561,000
32 Santana 14,975,000
33 Destiny's Child 14,878,000
34 Coldplay 14,604,000
35 Mariah Carey 14,341,000
36 Pink Floyd 14,164,000
37 Shania Twain 13,850,000
38 Ludacris 13,442,000
39 Enya 13,422,000
40 Green Day 13,363,000
41 Andrea Boccelli 13,353,000
42 Outkast 13,277,000
43 R. Kelly 13,234,000
44 Faith Hill 12,899,000
45 Mary J. Blige 12,614,000
46 3 Doors Down 12,551,000
47 Christina Aguilera 12,380,000
48 Limp Bizkit 12,378,000
49 Bon Jovi 12,378,00
50 Frank Sinatra 12,221,000

Source: Nielsen Soundscan for the period of January 2000 through the week ending Nov. 29, 2009.

musicjunky318 said:

Seriously, I could only erase 4 of those artists from the puke list!

jesus.....7 of the top 20 are COUNTRY artists!!

wtf?

hmmm, someone is missing

BklynBabe said:

he's missing, but is he?

bboy87 said:

yes he is

japanrocks said:

Who?

That list is shameful.

bboy87 said:

well actually....I was talking about her

you know....the Artist of the Decade

not the Artist.

Music comes in many flavors. But the most popular is usually Vanilla Ice.

BklynBabe said:

I knew you meant Beyonce... I was thinking the samething

Top selling album of the decade is Nsync, artist is Eminem

WORST DECADE OF MUSIC EVER!!!!

I wish I can go back to the 80s, hell I'll take the early 90s

AGAIN I WILL ASK, WHY IS BEYONCE THE 'ARTIST OF THE DECADE', WHEN SHE IS NOWHERE NEAR THE TOP IN SALES,OR CONCERTS...BUT THERE YOU HAVE BRITNEY SPEARS WHO WAS HUGE THIS DECADE IN BOTH CATEGORIES. AND HOW IN SAM HELL HAS BEYONCE/DESTINY CHILD SOLD OVER 100 MILLION RECORDS, AS THEIR PRESS RELEASES CLAIM, WHEN THE GROUP DIDNT REACH 15 MILLION AND HER SOLO EFFORTS ARE EVEN LESS?

^Daddy Knowles probably paid for the title like he does everything else.

BklynBabe said:

You would think that so many of those reissues and repackagings, she'd make it in the top 10

musicjunky318 said:

it just shows how easy it is to manipulate and distort facts, i have always said beyonce is a good performer and singer, but her hype is greater than her actual accomplishments.

lowkey said:

I agree with everything you said, However those sales for Destiny's Child is only for the 2 cd's that came out on this decade

This is why i still say Norah Jones is the artist of the decade. Beyonce may have had the "covers" and been everywhere, but artistically she doesnt come to close to Norah Jones. No one has worked with the "diverse" roster of artists that NORAH has, and better yet NO ONE has been requested like her in the decade to be on their recordings. Beyonce has chased down people to work with them, where as Norah, has been chased after. And once again, if its about sales, then Britney is the artist of the decade, if we wanna go that route. But just for sake of things, if its really about being the "Artist" of the decade it goes to Norah.

Norah's varied list of collabos

Outkast
Q tip
Wille Nelson
Dolly Parton
Ryan Adams
Chuck D
Dirty Dozen Brass Band
El Madmo (side rock project)
Jessie Harris
Richard Julian
Alison Krauss
Charlie Hunter Trio
Hank Williams Jr.
Gary Louris
Wax Poetic
Peter Malick
Herbie Hancock

banks said:

Well if Beyonce claims the DC sales as all for her, then the artist of the decade is Paul McCartney, i mean he is one of two of the survivng Beatles, so those sales are his for the most part. And early in the decade that ANTHOLOGY took over the charts, and now their cds are all over the top 200 again.

BklynBabe said:

Damn right!

WHERE IS NIGHT RANGER?!?

the thing is that no one wants to say Britney Spears is the logical "choice" because of everything that went on, or the lack of singing ability etc.. But honestly "artists of the decade" type talk really only began recently anyway, i mean at the end of the 50's was everyone going "elvis is the artist of the decade" and then The Beatles in the 60's and Elton or Stevie or Billy in the 70's and then MJ or Madonna in the 80's and then Mariah or Pearl Jam in the 90's and now .....People need to make up their mind what criteria they use when slapping the title on, "Artist" is a broad term.

Gotta say it. only one new album this decade, and MJ is still right there, i'm assuming this doesn't take into account all his sales post-MJ.

Consistantly massive seller, 70s, 80s, 90s and Noughties. The shit didn't stick, even in the States it seems.

God bless him.

lastdecember said:

If it was based on sales then the person at number one would be the Artist of the decade... don't know what it's based on and i don't care... I just found it odd that she get's that title but she's not even in the top 50 sales list..

Here is the list put out by the RIAA.COM in December of 2008 of sales till that point.

Number Name Nationality Years Active Genre Certification
in millions
1 The Beatles U.K. 60s-70s Rock / Pop Rock / Psychedelic rock/ Rock and Roll 170
2 Garth Brooks U.S. 80s-00s Country 128
3 Elvis Presley U.S. 50s-70s Rock'n roll / Rock / Pop / Country / Gospel 120
4 Led Zeppelin UK 60s-80s Hard rock / Blues rock 111.5
5 Eagles U.S. 70s-00s Rock / Country rock 100
6 Billy Joel U.S. 60s-00s Rock 79.5
7 Pink Floyd UK 60s-90s Psychedelic rock / Space rock / Progressive rock 74.5
8 Barbra Streisand U.S. 60s-00s Pop 71.5
9 AC/DC AUS 70s-00s Hard rock 71
10 Elton John UK 60s-00s Pop / Rock 70
11 George Strait U.S. 80s-00s Country 68.5
12 Michael Jackson U.S. 60s-00s Pop / R&B 67.5
13 Aerosmith U.S. 70s-00s Hard rock 66.5
14 The Rolling Stones UK 60s-00s Rock / Blues rock 66
15 Bruce Springsteen U.S. 70s-00s Rock / Folk 64
16 Madonna U.S. 80s-00s Pop / Dance 64
17 Mariah Carey U.S. 90s-00s Pop / R&B 62.5
18 Metallica U.S. 80s-00s Heavy metal 59
19 Van Halen U.S. 70s-00s Hard rock 56.5
20 Whitney Houston U.S. 80s-00s Pop/ R&B 55
21 U2 Ireland 80s-00s Rock 51.5
22 Kenny Rogers U.S. 50s-00s Pop/ Rock/ Country 51
23 Celine Dion Canada 80s-00s Pop 50
24 Neil Diamond U.S. 60s-00s Pop 48.5
25 Fleetwood Mac UK./U.S. 60s-00s Rock 48.5
26 Shania Twain Canada 90s-00s Pop country 48
27 Kenny G U.S. 80s-00s Jazz 48
28 Journey U.S. 70s-00s Pop / Rock 47
29 Alabama U.S. 70s-00s Country rock 46
30 Guns N' Roses U.S. 80s-00s Hard rock / Heavy Metal 43.5
31 Santana Mexico 60s-00s Latin / Rock 43
32 Alan Jackson U.S. 80s-00s Country 42.5
33 Eric Clapton UK 60s-00s Blues / Blues rock / Rock 42.5
34 Bob Seger U.S. 60s-00s Rock 41
35 Reba McEntire U.S. 70s-00s Country 40.5
36 Prince U.S. 70s-00s R&B / Rock / Funk 39.5
37 Simon and Garfunkel U.S. 60s-80s Folk / Pop 38.5
38 Chicago U.S. 60s-00s Pop / Rock 38
39 Foreigner U.S./UK 70s-00s Rock 37.5
40 2 Pac U.S. 90s Rap 37.5
41 Rod Stewart UK 70s-00s Pop / Rock 37
42 Bob Dylan U.S. 60s-00s Folk / Rock 37
43 Backstreet Boys U.S. 90s-00s Teen pop 37
44 Tim McGraw U.S. 90s-00s Country 35
45 Def Leppard UK 70s-00s Hard rock / Heavy Metal 35
46 Willie Nelson U.S. 50s-00s Country 35
47 Bon Jovi U.S. 80s-00s Rock / Hard Rock 34
48 Phil Collins UK 80s-00s Rock/ Progressive rock 33.5
49 R. Kelly U.S. 90s-00s R&B 33
50 James Taylor U.S. 70s-00s Folk / Pop 33
51 John Denver U.S. 60s-90s Pop / Country 32.5
52 Queen UK 70s-00s Pop rock / Hard rock 32.5
53 The Doors U.S. 60s-70s Rock / Psychedelic Rock 32.5
54 Britney Spears U.S. 90s-00s Pop / Dance 32
55 Dave Matthews Band U.S. 90s-00s Alternative rock 31
56 Pearl Jam U.S. 90s-00s Grunge / Alternative rock 31
57 Boston U.S. 70s-00s Rock / Hard rock 31
58 Dixie Chicks U.S. 80s-00s Pop country 30.5
59 Linda Ronstadt U.S. 60s-00s Rock/ Pop 30
60 Tom Petty U.S. 70s-00s Rock 29
61 Ozzy Osbourne UK 60s-00s Hard Rock / Heavy metal 28.75
62 Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers U.S. 70s-00s Rock 28.5
63 Lynyrd Skynyrd U.S. 60s-00s Southern rock 28
64 Michael Bolton U.S. 80s-00s Pop 28
65 'N Sync U.S. 90s-00s Teen pop 28
66 Mannheim Steamroller U.S. 70s-00s New Age 28
67 John Mellencamp U.S. 70s-00s Rock 27.5
68 Barry Manilow U.S. 70s-00s Pop 27.5
69 Jay-Z U.S. 80s-00s Rap 27
70 Boyz II Men U.S. 90s-00s R&B 27
71 Frank Sinatra U.S. 30s-90s Traditional pop 27
72 Eminem U.S. 90s-00s Rap 27
73 Brooks & Dunn U.S. 90s-00s Country 26.5
74 Enya Ireland 80s-00s New Age / Celtic 26.5
75 Creedence Clearwater Revival U.S. 60s-70s Country / Rock 26
76 Janet Jackson U.S. 80s-00s R&B / Pop 26
77 The Bee Gees UK 60s-00s Pop/ Disco 26
78 Faith Hill U.S. 90s-00s Country 25.5
79 Creed U.S. 90s-00s Alternative Rock 25
80 Luther Vandross U.S. 60s-00s R&B 25
81 ZZ Top U.S. 70s-00s Rock / Blues rock / Hard rock 25
82 Nirvana U.S. 80s-90s Grunge / Alternative rock 25
83 Rush Canada 70s-00s Hard rock / Progressive rock 25
84 Steve Miller Band U.S. 60s-00s Rock 24.5
85 The Carpenters U.S. 60s-80s Pop 24.5
86 Vince Gill U.S. 70s-00s Country 24
87 Toby Keith U.S. 90s-00s Country 24
88 Mötley Crüe U.S. 80s-00s Hard rock / Heavy Metal 23.5
89 The Cars U.S. 70s-80s Rock / New wave 23.5
90 Earth, Wind & Fire U.S. 70s-00s Funk / R&B / Disco 23.5
91 Jimmy Buffett U.S. 60s-00s Rock / Pop / Country 23
92 Green Day U.S. 80s-00s Punk Rock / Alternative Rock 22.5
93 The Police UK 70s-80s Pop / New wave 22.5
94 Jimi Hendrix U.S. 60s-70s Psychedelic rock 22.5
95 Sade UK 80s-00s R&B / Pop 22.5
96 Kenny Chesney U.S. 90s-00s Country 22.5
97 Outkast U.S. 90s-00s Rap / R&B / Alternative 22
98 Kid Rock U.S. 90s-00s Rap / Hard Rock / Country 22
99 TLC U.S. 90s-00s Rap / R&B / Pop 22
100 Lionel Richie U.S. 70s-00s Soul / R&B / Pop 22

banks said:

how many albums did they release in the 90's? i didnt hear about them until this decade. there is no way they sold millions of albums in the 90s

lowkey said:

Didnt they have 2? The self title and then "Writings on the Wall" and oh that Xmas one, i lost track since they all sound the same, every other song of theirs has the same idea and progression.

lowkey said:

Not saying that they sold more in the 90's... I just know that they have 2 more albums released in the 90's


Studio albums
Destiny's Child (1998)
The Writing's on the Wall (1999)
Survivor (2001)
Destiny Fulfilled (2004)

Other albums
8 Days of Christmas (2001)
This Is the Remix (2002)
#1's (2005)
[Edited 12/12/09 14:40pm]

lastdecember said:

Besides MJ and Lionel whose Motown sales are not included, no Motown acts. Therefore i call BS on this list.

And where exactly are all the black artists on this list anyway?

Marrk said:

Well its the Riaa and how they certify, and almost indentical to the list that was posted on this forum last year. As for Black Artists, last time i checked Sade,Outkast,R Kelly,Tlc,EWF,Janet,Luther,Boyz II MEn,RKelly,2Pac,Jay Z were all black.

lastdecember said:

Janet needs to get re-certified ASAP!