List of best-selling albums worldwide

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This is a list of the world's best-selling albums. The criteria are that the figure must have been published by a reliable source and the album must have sold at least 20 million copies worldwide. Most albums have conflicting estimates of sales figures. In this list the highest sales figure reported for an album is added to the list. Groupings are based on different sales benchmarks, the highest being for claims of at least 100 million copies, and the lowest being for claims of 20–25 million copies. Albums are listed in order of number of copies sold and thereafter by the artist's first name. This list can contain any type of album, including studio, greatest hits, compilation, various artists, soundtrack and remix.

A number of issues make exact figures difficult to calculate, historical data before the 1980s and from developing countries are also incomplete. Additionally fans, record companies and the media are prone to exaggerating sales figures to boost the image of the relevant act.

Michael Jackson's Thriller is the best selling album of all time; though sales figures for the album vary, the album is cited as selling as many as 110 million copies worldwide.^[1]

Contents 1 Over 100 million copies 2 40–49 million copies 3 31–39 million copies 4 26–30 million copies 5 20–25 million copies 6 Best-selling albums by country 7 See also 8 References

Over 100 million copies

Artist	Album	Released	Genre	Sales (millions)	Source
Michael Jackson	Thriller	1982	Pop / R&B / Rock	110	[1][2][3][4]

40–49 million copies

Artist	Album	Released	Genre	Sales (millions)	Source
AC/DC	Back in Black	1980	Rock	49	[5]
Meat Loaf	Bat out of Hell	1977	Rock	48	[6]
Eagles	Their Greatest Hits (1971–1975)	1976	Rock	42	[7]
Various artists	Dirty Dancing	1987	Dance / Pop	42	[8]
Whitney Houston / Various artists	The Bodyguard	1992	Pop / R&B	42	[9]
Andrew Lloyd Webber	The Phantom of the Opera	1986	Stage musical	40	[10]
Backstreet Boys	Millennium	1999	Pop	40	[11][12]
Bee Gees / Various artists	Saturday Night Fever	1977	Disco	40	[13]
Fleetwood Mac	Rumours	1977	Rock	40	[14]
Pink Floyd	The Dark Side of the Moon	1973	Rock	40	[15]

31–39 million copies

Artist	Album	Released	Genre	Sales (millions)	Source
Shania Twain	Come On Over	1997	Country / Pop	39	[13]
Led Zeppelin	Led Zeppelin IV	1971	Rock	37	[16]
Alanis Morissette	Jagged Little Pill	1995	Rock	33	[17]
The Beatles	Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band	1967	Rock	32	[13]
Céline Dion	Falling into You	1996	Pop	32	[13]
Mariah Carey	Music Box	1993	Pop / R&B	32	[18]
Michael Jackson	Dangerous	1991	Pop / R&B	32	[19]
The Beatles	1	2000	Rock	31	[20]
Celine Dion	Let's Talk About Love	1997	Pop	31	[13]

26–30 million copies

Artist	Album	Released	Genre	Sales (millions)	Source
Backstreet Boys	Backstreet Boys	1997	Pop	30	[21]
The Beatles	Abbey Road	1969	Rock	30	[13]
Bee Gees	Spirits Having Flown	1979	Disco / Pop	30	[22]
Bruce Springsteen	Born in the U.S.A.	1984	Rock	30	[23]
James Horner	Titanic	1997	Soundtrack	30	[24]
Dire Straits	Brothers in Arms	1985	Rock	30	[25]
Michael Jackson	Bad	1987	Pop / R&B	30	[26]
Various artists	Grease	1978	Pop	28	[27]
Bon Jovi	Slippery When Wet	1986	Rock	28	[28]
Guns N' Roses	Appetite for Destruction	1987	Rock	28	[29]
ABBA	ABBA Gold: Greatest Hits	1992	Pop	26	[30]
Hootie & the Blowfish	Cracked Rear View	1994	Alternative rock	26	[31]
Nirvana	Nevermind	1991	Grunge/Rock	26	[32]

20–25 million copies

Artist	Album	Released	Genre	Sales (millions)	Source
Britney Spears	...Baby One More Time	1999	Pop	25	[33]
Iron Butterfly	In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida	1968	Rock	25	[34]
Mariah Carey	Daydream	1995	Pop / R&B	25	[35]
Queen	Greatest Hits	1981	Rock	25	[36]
Santana	Supernatural	1999	Rock	25	[37]
Simon & Garfunkel	Bridge over Troubled Water	1970	Folk Rock	25	[38]
U2	The Joshua Tree	1987	Rock	25	[39]
Whitney Houston	Whitney Houston	1985	Pop / R&B	25	[9]
Backstreet Boys	Black & Blue	2000	Pop	24	[12]
Linkin Park	Hybrid Theory	2000	Nu Metal	24	[40]
Madonna	True Blue	1986	Pop	24	[41]
Ace of Base	Happy Nation/The Sign	1994	Pop	23	[42]
Spice Girls	Spice	1996	Pop	23	[43]
Carole King	Tapestry	1971	Pop	22	[44][45]
Madonna	The Immaculate Collection	1990	Pop / Dance	22	[46]
Metallica	Metallica	1991	Metal	22	[47]
Dido	No Angel	1999	Pop	21	[48]
Madonna	Like A Virgin	1984	Pop / Dance	21	[49]
Billy Ray Cyrus	Some Gave All	1992	Country	20	[50]
Bob Marley & The Wailers	Legend: The Best of Bob Marley & The Wailers	1984	Reggae	20	[51][52]
Britney Spears	Oops!... I Did It Again	2000	Pop	20	[53]
Blondie	Parallel Lines	1978	Rock	20	[54]
Céline Dion	The Colour of My Love	1993	Pop	20	[55]
Cher	Believe	1999	Pop	20	[56]
Def Leppard	Hysteria	1987	Rock	20	[57]
George Michael	Faith	1987	Pop / R&B	20	[58]
Janet Jackson	janet.	1993	Pop / R&B	20	[59]
Lionel Richie	Can't Slow Down	1983	Pop / R&B	20	[60]
Michael Jackson	HIStory: Past, Present and Future - Book I	1995	Pop / R&B	20	[61]
Michael Jackson	Off the Wall	1979	Pop / R&B	20	[62]
Norah Jones	Come Away With Me	2002	Jazz	20	[63]
Prince & the Revolution	Purple Rain	1984	Rock	20	[27]
Shakira	Laundry Service	2001	Pop Rock	20	[64]
Spice Girls	Spiceworld	1997	Pop	20	[65]
Tina Turner	Private Dancer	1984	Rock	20	[66]
Usher	Confessions	2004	R&B	20	[67]

Colors
	Studio Albums
	Greatest Hits & Compilation
	Soundtracks

Best-selling albums by country

• Australia
• Brazil
• Japan
• United Kingdom
• United States of America

See also

• List of best-selling music artists
• List of best-selling singles worldwide
• List of best-selling remix albums worldwide
• RIAA certification
• Record company
• Record industry

References