LIST OF BEST-SELLING MUSIC ARTISTS

The 'world's best-selling music artists' cannot be listed officially, as there is no organization that has recorded global music sales in the manner that the RIAA does in the United States. This page lists those artists who have had claims made to be among the top sellers.
Within their sales brackets, 'artists are listed in alphabetical order', rather than by number of records sold. Equal weight is given to album and single sales, as well as paid downloads. Sources are typically fan sites, record labels, newspaper articles or manual addition of figures from various official sources. This means that these figures should be considered ''claims'', not ''facts''.

Contents

Constraints in establishing best-selling status

World's best seller

Artists claimed to have sold 500 million records or more

Artists claimed to have sold 250 million records or more

Artists claimed to have sold 100 million records or more

Artists claimed to have sold 75 million records or more

Artists claimed to have sold 50 million records or more

See also

References

Constraints in establishing best-selling status

Although the criteria for the following list are intended to be expansive (including comparisons for total sales for all recording artists) there are certain limitations and constraints that may limit the conclusions that can be derived from this data.
Such constraints include:

★ Bias towards acts who have had success in a specific country or region. The RIAA tracks and certifies sales for recordings sold in, or originating from, the United States, the world's largest single music market. While the RIAA's method and scope are exhaustive in this respect, figures for recordings produced and sold in other nations are not included, or at best are incomplete, in RIAA statistics. Since there are few authoritative or comprehensive counterparts to the RIAA which track the international music market, the RIAA's more certain sales figures tend to inflate the relative importance of the American market.

★ Bias towards modern artists. Comparatively less successful modern artists will have sold more records, as both global spending power and population have increased (even though most of the world reside in poorer countries that buy little or no music). In 1950, the world's population was 2.5 billion; by 2000 it had risen to 6 billion.^[1] Also, older artists suffer from bias as their record sales are less likely to have been accurately tracked, and estimates of their early sales are likely to be more vague.

★ Bias towards older artists. Particularly, those artists who began their recording careers since 1990 may have suffered in sales from illegal downloading of tracks.

★ Fan sites, press articles, certification authorities and record companies have been known to inflate record sales claims.

★ Inflated claims for artists who performed in different acts during their careers. Sometimes all of the sales data is attributed to an individual artist. For the purposes of this list, an effort is made to separate the individual acts (e.g., the sales figures for The Beatles and Paul McCartney & Wings are mutually exclusive).

World's best seller

Main articles: Best-selling music artist

The best-selling musical act in history can not be accurately determined. U.S. sales data before 1952 are incomplete. International sales, particularly in the developing world, continue to be poorly tracked, and sales data before the 1980s is rare or dubious. The Beatles, Michael Jackson, and Elvis Presley have all been given the title by various sources. Claims are made for a number of less common artists.
:'In alphabetical order'

Artists claimed to have sold 500 million records or more

:

Artist	Country	Period	Genre	Source
The Beatles	UK	60s-70s	Rock/Pop	[2] [3]
Elvis Presley	U.S.	50s-70s	Rock and Roll/R&B/Gospel	[4]
Frank Sinatra	U.S.	30s-90s	Pop/Swing	[4]
Michael Jackson	U.S.	60s-00s	R&B / Pop / New Jack Swing /Soul / Disco	[6]

Artists claimed to have sold 250 million records or more

:

Artist	Country	Period	Genre	Source
ABBA	Sweden	70s-80s	Pop/Disco	[7] [8]
Alla Pugacheva	Russia	60s-00s	Pop/Rock/Folk	[9]
Bing Crosby	U.S.	20s-70s	Pop/Jazz/Swing	[10]
Cliff Richard	UK	50s-00s	Pop/Rock	[11]
Elton John	UK	60s-00s	Rock/Pop/Adult Contemporary	[12]
Julio Iglesias	Spain	60s-00s	Pop/Latin	[13]
Led Zeppelin	UK	60s-80s	Hard Rock / Blues Rock / Folk Rock	[14]
Madonna	U.S.	80s-00s	Pop / Dance/	[15] [16]
Nana Mouskouri	Greece	50s-00s	Pop/Folk/Jazz	[17][18]
Queen	UK	70s-00s	Hard Rock / Pop Rock / Glam Rock	[19]
Tino Rossi	France	30s-80s	Pop/Swing	[20]

Artists claimed to have sold 100 million records or more

:

Artist	Country	Period	Genre	Source
A. R. Rahman	India	90s-00s	Film score/Soundtrack/World Music	[21]
AC/DC	Australia	70s-00s	Hard Rock	[22][23]
Aerosmith	U.S.	70s-00s	Hard Rock / Heavy Metal	[24]
Backstreet Boys	U.S.	90s-00s	Pop	[25][26]
Barbra Streisand	U.S.	60s-00s	Pop / Adult Contemporary / Classical / Easy listening / Showtunes	[27]
Barry White	U.S.	70s-00s	Pop / R&B / Disco	[28]
The Beach Boys	U.S.	60s-00s	Rock / Pop	[29]
The Bee Gees	UK	60s-00s	Pop / Disco / Soft Rock / Blues / Blue-eyed Soul	[30]
Billy Joel	U.S.	70s-00s	Pop / Rock	[31][32]
Bob Dylan	U.S.	60s-00s	Folk / Rock	[33]
Bon Jovi	U.S.	80s-00s	Hard Rock	[34]
Boney M	Germany	70s-90s	Pop/Disco	[35] [36][37]
Brenda Lee	U.S.	50s-00s	Country / Pop	[38]
Bruce Springsteen	U.S.	70s-00s	Rock	[39]
The Carpenters	U.S.	60s-80s	Pop / Adult Contemporary	[40][41][42]
Celine Dion	Canada	80s-00s	Pop / Rock	[43]
Charles Aznavour	France	30s-00s	Pop / Chanson	[44]
Cher	U.S.	60s-00s	Pop / Dance / Electronica/Rock	[45]
Chicago	U.S.	60s-00s	Rock / Pop / Jazz	[46]
Creedence Clearwater Revival	U.S.	60s-70s	Rock	[47]
Dalida	France/Italy	50s-80s	Pop / Disco	[48]
David Bowie	UK	60s-00s	Avante-Garde Rock	[49][50][51]
Deep Purple	UK	60s-00s	Hard Rock / Heavy Metal	[52]
Diana Ross	U.S.	60s-00s	Pop / R&B / Soul / Disco / Jazz	[53]
Dionne Warwick	U.S.	60s-00s	Pop / R&B /Soul / Soft Rock / Adult Contemporary	[54]
Dire Straits	UK	70s-90s	Rock / Classic Rock	[55]
Dolly Parton	U.S.	50s-00s	Country / Pop / Folk / Bluegrass	[56][57]
Donna Summer	U.S.	70s-00s	Disco / Pop / R&B / Rock	[58]
Duane Eddy	U.S.	50s-80s	Rock	[59]
The Eagles	U.S.	70s-00s	Rock / Country	[60]
Engelbert Humperdinck	UK/U.S.	50s-00s	Pop	[61]
Fats Domino	U.S.	40s-00s	Rock / R&B	[62]
Fleetwood Mac	UK/U.S.	60s-00s	Rock / Blues	[63]
Frankie Laine	U.S.	40s-00s	Jazz / Pop / Gospel / Country	[64]
Garth Brooks	U.S.	80s-00s	Country	[65]
Gene Autry	U.S.	30s-70s	Country	[66]
Genesis	UK	60s-00s	Progressive Rock / Pop Rock	[67]
Gheorghe Zamfir	Romania	70s-00s	Instrumental	[68][69]
The Jackson 5	U.S.	60s-90s	Pop /Disco /Funk / R&B	[70]
Janet Jackson	U.S.	80s-00s	Pop / R&B / Soul / Dance / Rock	[71]
Johnny Hallyday	France	50s-00s	Pop	[72]
Johnny Mathis	U.S.	50s-00s	Pop	[73]
Joni James	U.S.	50s-60s	Pop	[74]
Kenny Rogers	U.S.	50s-00s	Country / Pop	[75][76]
Lionel Richie	U.S.	60s-00s	Pop / R&B / Soul / Soft Rock / Adult Contemporary	[77]
Luciano Pavarotti	Italy	60s-00s	Opera	[78][79]
Mariah Carey	U.S.	90s-00s	Pop / R&B	[80][81]
Mireille Mathieu	France	60s-00s	Pop	[82]
Modern Talking	Germany	80s-00s	Pop	[83]
Neil Diamond	U.S.	60s-00s	Pop / Rock	[84]
Patti Page	U.S.	40s-00s	Country / Pop	[85][86]
Perry Como	U.S.	30s-00s	Pop / Swing	[87]
Phil Collins	UK	80s-00s	Pop / Rock	[88]
Pink Floyd	UK	60s-90s	Progressive Rock	[89]
Prince	U.S.	70s-00s	R&B / Rock / Pop	[90]
Ricky Nelson	U.S.	50s-80s	Pop	[91]
Roberto Carlos	Brazil	60s-00s	Pop / Latin	[92]
Rod Stewart	UK	60s-00s	Rock / Pop	[93][94]
The Rolling Stones	UK	60s-00s	Rock / Hard Rock	[95]
Tina Turner	U.S.	60s-00s	R&B / Rock / Pop / Soul / Dance	[96]
Status Quo	UK	60s-00s	Rock	[97]
Stevie Wonder	U.S.	60s-00s	R&B / Pop / Soul / Funk	[98][99]
Tommy James	U.S.	60s-00s	Pop / Rock	[100]
U2	Ireland	70s-00s	Rock	[101]
Wei Wei	China	80s-00s	Pop	[102]
Whitney Houston	U.S.	80s-00s	Pop / R&B / Adult Contemporary / Soul / Gospel	[103]
The Who	UK	60s-00s	Rock / Hard rock / Pop / Art rock	[104]

Artists claimed to have sold 75 million records or more

:

Artist	Country	Period	Genre	Source
2Pac	U.S.	90s-00s	Rap	[105]
Adamo	Belgium	60s-00s	Pop	[106][107]
Adriano Celentano	Italy	60s-00s	Pop	[108]
Alabama	U.S.	70s-00s	Country	[109]
The Andrews Sisters	U.S.	30s-50s	Pop / Swing	[110]
B'z	Japan	80s-00s	Hard rock / Pop rock	[111]
Barry Manilow	U.S.	70s-00s	Pop	[112]
Bobby Vinton	U.S.	60s-90s	Pop	[113]
Bonnie Tyler	UK	70s-00s	Pop/Rock	[114]
Britney Spears	U.S.	90s-00s	Pop	[115]
Bryan Adams	Canada	80s-00s	Rock / Soft Rock	[116]
Donny Osmond	U.S.	70s-00s	Pop	[117]
Earth, Wind & Fire	U.S.	70s-00s	R&B / Disco / Pop / Funk	[118]
Eddy Arnold	U.S.	40s-00s	Country / Pop	[119]
Eurythmics	UK	80s-00s	Pop / Rock / New Wave	[120]
Gene Austin	U.S.	20s-30s	Country / Pop	[121]
George Michael	UK	80s-00s	Pop	[122]
Guns N' Roses	U.S.	80s-00s	Hard Rock	[123]
Hank Snow	Canada	30s-90s	Country	[124]
Iron Maiden	UK	70s-00s	Heavy Metal	[125]
Jean Michel Jarre	France	70s-00s	New Age	[126]
Journey	U.S.	70s-00s	Rock / Pop	[127]
Kenny G	U.S.	80s-00s	Instrumental / Pop Jazz	[128]
Kiss	U.S.	70s-00s	Rock	[129]
Linda Ronstadt	U.S.	60s-00s	Country / Pop	[130]
Metallica	U.S.	80s-00s	Heavy Metal / Thrash Metal	[131]
The Osmonds	U.S.	70s-00s	Pop	[132]
R.E.M.	U.S.	80s-00s	Rock / Pop	[133]
Roxette	Sweden	80s-00s	Pop / Rock	[134]
Santana	Mexico/U.S.	60s-00s	Rock / Blues / Pop	[135]
Sonny & Cher	U.S.	60s-70s	Pop	[136]
Van Halen	U.S.	70s-00s	Hard Rock	[137]
The Ventures	U.S.	50s-00s	Instrumental Rock	[138]
Victor Silvester	UK	30s-80s	Dance / Pop	[139]
Willie Nelson	U.S.	50s-00s	Country / Pop	[140]

Artists claimed to have sold 50 million records or more

:

Artist	Country	Period	Genre	Source
a-ha	Norway	80s-00s	Pop / New Wave	[141]
Alanis Morissette	Canada	90s-00s	Alternative / Folk Rock	[142]
Alice Cooper	U.S.	60s-00s	Garage Rock / Hard Rock / Heavy Metal / Shock Rock / Glam Rock	[143]
Andre Kostelanetz	U.S.	40s-70s	Easy Listening	[144]
Andrea Bocelli	Italy	90s-00s	Opera / Classical	[145]
Anne Murray	Canada	60s-00s	Pop / Country	[146]
Annie Lennox	UK	90s-00s	Pop / Rock / Soul	[147]
B.J. Thomas	U.S.	60s-00s	Country / Pop	[148]
Black Sabbath	U.K.	60s-90s	Heavy Metal	[149]
Blondie	U.S.	70s-00s	Pop / New Wave	[150]
Bob Marley	Jamaica	60s-80s	Reggae	[151]
Bob Seger	U.S.	60s-00s	Rock / Pop	[152]
Boyz II Men	U.S.	80s-00s	R&B / Pop / Soul	[153]
Camilo Sesto	Spain	60s-00s	Pop / Latin	[154]
Cat Stevens	UK	60s-00s	Pop / Folk	[155]
Charlie Daniels	U.S.	70s-00s	Country / Rock	[156]
Christina Aguilera	U.S.	90s-00s	R&B / Pop / Soul	[157]
The Corrs	Ireland	90s-00s	Pop	[158]
Def Leppard	UK	70s-00s	Hard Rock / Heavy Metal	[159]
Depeche Mode	UK	80s-00s	New Wave / Synth / Rock / Pop	[160][161]
Destiny's Child	U.S.	90s-00s	R&B, pop, dance,	[162]
The Diamonds	Canada	50s-70s	Pop / R&B	[163]
The Doobie Brothers	U.S.	70s-00s	Rock	[164]
Don Cornell	U.S.	50s-90s	Pop	[165]
Duran Duran	UK	80s-00s	New Wave / Rock / Pop	[166]
Enya	Ireland	80s-00s	New Age / Celtic	[167]
Foreigner	U.S./UK	70s-00s	Rock / Pop	[168]
Four Tops	U.S.	50s-00s	R&B	[169]
George Strait	U.S.	70s-00s	Country	[170]
Gloria Estefan	U.S.	80s-00s	Pop / Latin	[171]
Green Day	U.S.	80s-00s	Pop / Punk / Rock	[172]
Hank Thompson	U.S.	40s-00s	Country	[173]
Herb Alpert	U.S.	50s-90s	Instrumental Pop / Easy Listening	[174]
James Last	Germany	60s-00s	Instrumental / Classical / Pop	[175]
Jethro Tull	UK	60s-00s	Rock	[176]
Jennifer Lopez	U.S.	90s-00s	Pop / R&B / Dance / Latin	[177]
John Denver	U.S.	60s-90s	Folk / Pop	[178][179]
Johnny Cash	U.S.	50s-00s	Country	[180]
Kylie Minogue	Australia	80s-00s	Dance / Pop	[181]
Luis Miguel	Mexico	80s-00s	Pop / Latin	[182]
Meat Loaf	U.S.	70s-00s	Rock / Hard Rock	[183]
Michael Bolton	U.S.	80s-00s	Pop	[184]
Mills Brothers	U.S.	30s-70s	Pop	[185]
Mina	Italy	50s-00s	Pop	[186]
The Monkees	U.S.	60s-90s	Pop / Rock	[187]
Mr. Children	Japan	80s-00s	Pop / Rock	[188]
Nat King Cole	U.S.	30s-60s	Jazz / Pop	[189]
Nelson Gonçalves	Brazil	40s-90s	Samba	[190]
New Kids on the Block	U.S.	80s-90s	Pop	[191]
Nirvana	U.S.	80s-90s	Grunge / Alternative Rock	[192]
Oasis	UK	90s-00s	Pop / Rock	[193]
Olivia Newton-John	Australia	70s-00s	Country / Pop	[194]
Orhan Gencebay	Turkey	60s-00s	Arabesque / Folk	[195]
Ozzy Osbourne	UK	70s-00s	Heavy Metal / Hard Rock	[196]
Paul Anka	Canada	50s-00s	Pop	[197]
Pearl Jam	U.S.	90s-00s	Grunge / Rock / Hard Rock	[198]
Petula Clark	UK	50s-00s	Pop	[199]
The Dave Clark Five	UK	60s-70s	Pop	[200]
The Police	UK/US	70s-80s	New Wave / Rock / Pop	[201][202]
Ray Conniff	U.S.	50s-00s	Pop / Easy Listening	[203]
Reba McEntire	U.S.	70s-00s	Country	[204]
Red Hot Chili Peppers	U.S.	80s-00s	Funk Rock	[205]
Richard Clayderman	France	60s-00s	Easy Listening / Instrumental Pop	[206]
Ricky Martin	Puerto Rico	90s-00s	Pop / Latin	[207]
Robbie Williams	UK	90s-00s	Pop / Rock	[208]
Sade	UK	80s-00s	Pop / R&B	[209]
The Seekers	Australia	60s, 90s-00s	Pop / Folk / Rock	[210]
Scorpions	Germany	70s-00s	Hard Rock	[211]
Shakira	Colombia	90s-00s	Latin / Pop	[212]
Simon & Garfunkel	US	60s-70s	Folk Rock	[213][214]
Simply Red	UK	80s-00s	Pop	[215]
Spice Girls	UK	90s-00s	Pop	[216]
Supertramp	UK	60s-00s	Soft Rock	[217]
Three Dog Night	U.S.	60s-70s	Pop / Rock	[218]
Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers	U.S.	70s-00s	Rock / Pop	[219]
Tony Bennett	U.S.	50s-00s	Pop / Jazz	[220]
The Turtles	U.S.	60s	Pop / Rock	[221]
UB40	UK	80s-00s	Reggae	[222]
Vernon Dalhart	U.S.	10s-40s	Country	[223]
Vicky Leandros	Greece	60s-00s	Pop	[224]
ZZ Top	U.S.	70s-00s	Hard Rock / Blues-Rock	[225]

See also

★ Best-selling music artist

References

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2. 1968-1970 Records beatlemoney.com; accessed December 2006; claims 500 million records by 1970
3. First there was Beatlemania, now there's Googlemania Maney, Kevin; USA Today; 10 May, 2004; accessed December 2006; claims over 1 billion records
4. Frank Sinatra tele.at; accessed December 2006; claims 600 million; in German
5. Frank Sinatra tele.at; accessed December 2006; claims 600 million; in German
6. Michael To Give Away 200 FREE Tickets To Fans, And Discounted Rates ExclusiveMJ; March 20 2007; accessed March 2007; claims 750 million
7. Abba, The Book Potiez, Jean-Marie; 15 August 2005; accessed December 2006; claims 350 million records sold as of 2000
8. It's Abba on the phone making a lot more money, money, money Sherwin, Adam; The Times; April 19 2006; accessed December 2006; claims 370 million
9. Pugacheva, Alla Borisovna Enyclopedia Britannica Online; accessed December 2006; claims 250 million records in 1997
10. Bing Crosby by Dr Frank Hoffmann jeffosretromusic.com; accessed August 2007; claims 400 million at the time of his death
11. Life and Times; Cliff Richard.com; accessed December 2006; claims 250 million; (Primary source)
12. Sanctuary for Elton Yahoo Music; accessed December 2006; claims 250 million
13. The Iglesias dynasty Hello!; accessed December 2006; claims 250 million records
14. Led Zeppelin wins Polar Prize The Local; 7 November 2005; accessed December 2006; claims more than 300 million
15. How Madonna Got Her Groove Back Rolling Stone; accessed December 2005; claims 250 million records
16. Some of Madonna's Achievements AbsoluteMadonna.com; accessed December 2006; claims 250 million; (fan-site)
17. 20th Century Masters - The Millennium Collection: The Best of Nana Mouskouri CD Yahoo Shopping; accessed December 2006; claims 300 million
18. UNICEF Biography on Nana Mouskouri UNICEF website; accessed June 2007; claim 300 million
19. Queen Proves There's Life After Freddie Ohmy News; January 25 2006; accessed December 2006; claims 300 million
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