List of best-selling albums in the United States
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This is a list of the best-selling albums in the United States based on RIAA certification. The criteria are that the album must have been published (including self-publishing by the artist), and the album must have shipped at least 10 million units in the United States. Groupings are based on different certification benchmarks, the highest being for certification of at least 20–29 times platinum, and the lowest being for certification of 10–14 times platinum. Albums are listed in order of certification (highest to lowest), and order of release date (earliest to most recent). This list contains any type of album, including studio, greatest hits, compilation, various artists, soundtrack and remix.
Their Greatest Hits (1971-1975) by the Eagles is the album with the highest certification awarded in the United States, being certified 29× platinum which is a total of 29 million copies shipped to retail stores.
Please note that as a result of the RIAA's methodology of counting each disc in a multi-disc set as one unit toward certification, most double albums on the list, such as The Wall, Billy Joel's Greatest Hits Volume I & Volume II, Garth Brooks' Double Live, The White Album, Physical Graffiti, and Speakerboxxx/The Love Below have been certified for twice as many units than actual albums sold. Conversely, the certification level for double albums that fit onto one compact disc such as the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack reflect the actual number of albums sold. Other notable double LPs that would appear on this list if counted as two units are the Grease soundtrack (8x platinum), Elton John's Goodbye Yellow Brick Road (7x platinum) and Peter Frampton's Frampton Comes Alive! (6x platinum).
Contents |
[edit] 20 - 30 x platinum
| Year | Artist | Album | Label | Certification[1] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1976 | Eagles | Their Greatest Hits (1971-1975) | Elektra Records | 29× platinum |
| 1982 | Michael Jackson | Thriller | Epic Records | 28× platinum |
| 1971 | Led Zeppelin | Led Zeppelin IV | Atlantic | 23× platinum |
| 1979 | Pink Floyd | The Wall | Columbia/Capitol | |
| 1980 | AC/DC | Back in Black | Atlantic | 22× platinum |
| 1998 | Garth Brooks | Double Live | Capitol Nashville | 21× platinum |
| 1985 | Billy Joel | Greatest Hits, Vols. 1 & 2 | Columbia | |
| 1997 | Shania Twain | Come on Over | Mercury Nashville | 20× platinum |
[edit] 15 - 19 x platinum
| Year | Artist | Album | Label | Certification[1] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1977 | Fleetwood Mac | Rumours | Warner Bros. | 19× platinum |
| 1968 | The Beatles | The Beatles (White Album) | Apple | |
| 1987 | Guns N' Roses | Appetite for Destruction | Geffen | 18× platinum |
| 1976 | Boston | Boston | Epic Records | 17× platinum |
| 1992 | Whitney Houston | The Bodyguard | Arista | |
| 1990 | Garth Brooks | No Fences | Capitol Nashville | |
| 1973 | The Beatles | 1967–1970 | Capitol | 16× platinum |
| 1994 | Hootie and the Blowfish | Cracked Rear View | Atlantic | |
| 1975 | Led Zeppelin | Physical Graffiti | Swan Song | |
| 1976 | The Eagles | Hotel California | Asylum | |
| 1974 | Elton John | Greatest Hits | Polydor | |
| 1995 | Alanis Morissette | Jagged Little Pill | Maverick | |
| 1973 | The Beatles | 1962–1966 | Capitol | 15× platinum |
| 1988 | Journey | Greatest Hits | Columbia | |
| 1973 | Pink Floyd | The Dark Side of the Moon | Capitol | |
| 1977 | Bee Gees and others | Saturday Night Fever | RSO | |
| 1984 | Bruce Springsteen | Born in the U.S.A. | Columbia | |
| 1999 | Santana | Supernatural | Arista |
[edit] 10 - 14 x platinum
[edit] Certification records in the US
| Artist | Record | Certifications[1] |
|---|---|---|
| Eagles | Highest selling album by a group - Their Greatest Hits (1971–1975) | 29× platinum |
| Michael Jackson | Highest selling album by a solo artist and pop artist, highest selling studio album - Thriller | 28× platinum |
| Led Zeppelin | Highest selling album by a hard rock group - Led Zeppelin IV | 23× platinum |
| Pink Floyd | Highest selling album by a progressive rock group - The Wall | |
| Pink Floyd | Highest selling soundtrack - The Wall | |
| Billy Joel | Highest selling album by a male Rock artist - Greatest Hits, Vols. 1 & 2 | 21× platinum |
| Garth Brooks | Highest selling live album - Double Live | 20× platinum |
| Shania Twain | Highest selling non-live Country album - Come on Over | |
| Shania Twain | Highest selling album by a female artist - Come on Over | |
| Guns N' Roses | Highest selling debut album by a Rock group - Appetite for Destruction | 18× platinum |
| Backstreet Boys | Highest selling album by a Pop group - Backstreet Boys | 14× platinum |
| Britney Spears | Highest selling album by a female Pop artist and debut - ...Baby One More Time | |
| Britney Spears | Highest selling album by a Teenager - ...Baby One More Time | |
| Metallica | Highest selling album by a heavy metal group - Metallica | |
| Whitney Houston | Highest selling Female R&B debut - Whitney Houston | 13× platinum |
| Pearl Jam | Highest selling album by an alternative rock/grunge group - Ten | |
| Matchbox 20 | Highest selling album by a post-grunge group - Yourself Or Someone Like You | 12× platinum |
| Boyz II Men | Highest selling album by an R&B act - II | |
| Outkast | Highest selling album by a Rap group - Speakerboxxx/The Love Below | 11× platinum |
| TLC | Highest selling album by a Female R&B group - CrazySexyCool | |
| Kid Rock | Highest selling album by rap solo artist- Devil Without A Cause | |
| Green Day | Highest selling album by a punk pop group - Dookie | 10× platinum |
| Madonna | Highest selling Female Compilation - The Immaculate Collection |
[edit] See also
- List of best-selling albums worldwide
- Lists of best-selling albums by country
- List of best-selling music artists
- List of best-selling singles
- Top ten best-selling albums of the Nielsen SoundScan era (United States)
- Best-selling Albums by Year (USA)
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d RIAA Top 100 Albums
[edit] External links
- RIAA Website
- RIAA "Top 100" Albums
- Billboard Magazine - a magazine that publishes weekly music rankings
