The Best Selling Artist of All time?
 

Hi guys. I have been wondering just now who the best selling artist of all time is. I have heard from people that it's either Michael Jackson, George Michael, Madonna, or the Beatles. So who do you think is the best selling artist of the music history? Is there even a chart?

barbra streisand

^ nahh..o.O; certainly not her. Probably someone big like the Beatles or Madonna.

I'm pretty sure it's Michael Jackson... He has been around since he was 9 and has the best (or I think second best now) selling album of all-time.

Top 5 artists:

wow forgotten about Elvis

But that's just the American top selling artists. I'm asking about the whole world, which includes the UK etc.

The Beatles and Led Zeppelin are from the UK actually, even if this list is from the RIAA.

B'z and ayu is one of them i think
and thanks for the link

Mecha Barbra Streisand!!!! then

Go Streisand! lol

seriously isn't Barbra Streisand one of the most selling female singers of all time i heard?

it's the beatles.

hmm... what about the rolling stones?

I checked Barbra's official site and it says "With forty-nine gold albums, she is second in the all-time charts, ahead of The Beatles and The Rolling Stones, exceeded only by Elvis...Her thirty platinum albums, according to the Recording Industry Association of America, exceeds all other female singers".

I think the position of artists/bands can change, depending on how sales are determined.

Perhaps that's about the number of hit records she had rather than the sales numbers, it seems to be anyway.

It seems it is. I now found this:

"Based on Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Albums 1955-1996 and subsequent RIAA certifications, these artists have the most gold and platinum albums (each album is counted only once even if the album was certified gold, platinum, and multi-platinum):

1. Elvis Presley (80)
2. Barbra Streisand (46) [the female with the most multi-platinum titles]
3. The Beatles (39)
4. The Rolling Stones (38)
5. Neil Diamond (37)
6. Elton John (32)
7. Kenny Rogers/First Edition (28)
8. Frank Sinatra(26)
9. Bob Dylan (28) [two with the Band]
10. Willie Nelson (24)
11. George Strait (24) [all 24 have gone gold and platinum]
12. Kiss (23)
13. Rush (22)
14. Alabama (22) "

I really wish I could find actual sales. Whitney/Celine/Mariah would be doing well there. I think I once saw Barbra listed after Mariah/ahead of Whitney and Celine in sales.

Yeah true since Celine Dion is one of the most known artists worldwide but then I donno. Oddly enough Queen aren't listed either.. wonder why

Celine Dion is the biggest in female sales, I know that for a fact. She was on Oprah a couple of months ago trying to talk about her baby & all Oprah could say was, "Your the biggest selling female in THE WORLD! How does it feel?"

I don't know about the male, though...

the biggest selling female artist in history is Mariah Carey

Source?

Mariah info I found listed by a fan:

Biggest-selling female artist in recording history.
Biggest-selling artist of the 1990s.
Female Artist of the Millennium (World Music Awards)
Artist of the Decade (Billboard Music Awards)
Only artist to have a No. 1 single every year of the 1990s.
Longest-running single at No. 1 in history ("One Sweet Day", 16 weeks).
Most cumulative weeks having a No. 1 single (61) for any living artist—second only to Elvis Presley (80).
Most No. 1 singles for any female artist (15).
The artist with the most singles to debut at Number 1 in chart history
First artist to have his or her first five singles go to No. 1. ("Vision of Love","Love Takes Time","Someday","I Don't Wanna Cry" and "Emotions"). Later achieved another 5 consecutive No. 1 Singles ("Fantasy","One Sweet Day","Always Be My Baby", "Honey", and "My All")
Only artist to have two consecutive No. 1 debuts on the singles chart.
Only artist with three No. 1 debuts on the singles chart. (First female to have a single debut at the top)
The only artist to have 2 consecutive singles sell over 2 million in the US
RIAA achievments: Albums, 74 certifications (as of April 2005); singles, 33 certications (as of April 2005); total: 108 certifications.
RIAA Certifications: Album (14 gold, 14 platinum, 9 multi-platinum, 2 Diamond Awards); singles (22 gold, 10 platinum, 2 mutli-platinum).
Most platinum singles by a female artist (10).
5 No. 1 albums (3 debuts at No. 1) tied with Madonna and Janet Jackson, behind Barbra Streisand, with 8 No. 1 albums.
Only female artist to have 9 consecutive albums RIAA- certified for at least 3 million copies sold.
One of 3 artists (and the only female) to receive the American Music award for Special Achievement.
The biggest selling artist of all time
Sales: U.S. albums, 60. million; singles, 24 million (as of April 2005)

I've seen claims of 160 million sales worldwide. Reliable sales statistics seem hard to find, but I do find it believable that she'd have sold more than Whitney and Celine. I'm not sure I'd believe her beating Elvis and the Beatles since they're such legends.

In Order
Artist


BEATLES, THE
166.5

PRESLEY, ELVIS
117.5

LED ZEPPELIN
106.0

BROOKS, GARTH
105.0

EAGLES
88.0

JOEL, BILLY
78.5

PINK FLOYD
73.5

STREISAND, BARBRA
71.5

JOHN, ELTON
67.5

AEROSMITH
64.0

ROLLING STONES, THE
63.5

AC/DC
63.0

SPRINGSTEEN, BRUCE
61.5

MADONNA
60.0

JACKSON, MICHAEL
58.5

METALLICA
57.0

CAREY, MARIAH
57.0

STRAIT, GEORGE
54.5

HOUSTON, WHITNEY
54.0

VAN HALEN
50.5

ROGERS, KENNY
50.5

DIAMOND, NEIL
50.0

FLEETWOOD MAC
48.5

U2
48.0

KENNY G
47.5

ALABAMA
46.0

DION, CELINE
45.5

SANTANA
43.5

TWAIN, SHANIA
42.0

JOURNEY
40.0

NELSON, WILLIE
39.0

CLAPTON, ERIC
38.5

SIMON & GARFUNKEL
37.5

CHICAGO
37.0

SEGER, BOB/SILVER BULLET BAND
37.0

2 PAC
36.5

MC ENTIRE, REBA
36.5

PRINCE
36.5

FOREIGNER
36.0

BACKSTREET BOYS
36.0

GUNS 'N ROSES
35.5

JACKSON, ALAN
35.5

DYLAN, BOB
34.5

BON JOVI
33.5

DENVER, JOHN
33.5

STEWART, ROD
33.0

DEF LEPPARD
32.0

COLLINS, PHIL
32.0

RONSTADT, LINDA
31.5

BOSTON
31.0

TAYLOR, JAMES
30.5

QUEEN
30.5

DOORS, THE
29.5

MATTHEWS, DAVE BAND
29.0

PEARL JAM
28.5

DIXIE CHICKS
28.5

PETTY, TOM & THE HEARTBREAKERS
28.0

SPEARS, BRITNEY
28.0

'N SYNC
28.0

BOLTON, MICHAEL
28.0

KELLY, R.
28.0

OSBOURNE, OZZY
27.5

BOYZ II MEN
27.0

MELLENCAMP, JOHN
26.5

BEE GEES
25.5

SINATRA, FRANK
25.5

LYNYRD SKYNYRD
25.0

ZZ TOP
25.0

MC CARTNEY, PAUL
25.0

RUSH
24.5

JACKSON, JANET
24.0

MILLER, STEVE BAND
24.0

MANILOW, BARRY
24.0

NIRVANA
24.0

CARPENTERS, THE
24.0

CARS, THE
23.5

BROOKS & DUNN
23.0

CREED
23.0

EARTH, WIND & FIRE
23.0

HILL, FAITH
23.0

GILL, VINCE
22.5

VANDROSS, LUTHER
22.5

MANNHEIM STEAMROLLER
22.5

MOTLEY CRUE
22.5

SADE
22.5

ESTEFAN, GLORIA
22.0

MC GRAW, TIM
22.0

TLC
22.0

ENYA
22.0

POLICE, THE
22.0

DOOBIE BROTHERS
22.0

CREEDENCE CLEARWATER REVIVAL
22.0

R.E.O. SPEEDWAGON
21.5

GENESIS
21.5

EMINEM
21.0

RICHIE, LIONEL
21.0

BEASTIE BOYS
21.0

MEAT LOAF
20.5

BUFFETT, JIMMY
20.5

HEART
20.5

MORISSETTE, ALANIS
20.5

HENDRIX, JIMI
20.0

HOOTIE & THE BLOWFISH
20.0

BEACH BOYS, THE
20.0

WHO, THE
20.0

JAY-Z
20.0

Is that list US sales of albums only and not worldwide + singles? I'd guess so, since it has Mariah at 57 million and the list I found had her at 60 million albums in the US.

Guiness world records:

Most Sucessful Female Solo Artist
Madonna is the most successful female solo artist, selling 120 million albums as of November 2000. She has had 35 top 10 singles and 12 top 10 albums in the US, with a UK total of 47 top 10 singles and 14 Top 10 albums.

Best-Selling Latin Male Singer
Spanish singer Julio Iglesias is the most successful Latin music star in the world, with reported global sales of over 200 million albums. Julio (1987) was the first foreign-language album to sell more than two million copies in the USA and the only foreign language record to go double platinum there.

if by you guys figure... then isn't Julio Igelsais the best selling artist?

looks like no one really knows

I can't believe someone said Ayu and B'z

I think Lisaki is quite correct but you must always remember there are bands/groups.

represent'n

Elvis wins. Here's the link on BBC

BBC Entertainment

I've heard that several times too, so I'm pretty sure he's not lying.

This is US? 'cause I remember CLEARLY that the spice girls made an impact close to beatles....

Only that they both had top 10 (maybe Number 1) hits in the US and the UK at the same time. S Club 7 also accomplished this feat.

Its God...hey, He did sell all those Bibles with their hymns and all.

What? Oh...we're talking popular artist? Then I believe its the Beatles.

Oh wait, we're talking artist, and not bands? Then I believe its Garth Brooks *shudder*

The official press release about Mariah getting her 16th Billboard number one with We Belong Together says she has "cumulative total sales of her albums, singles and long-form videos in excess of 75-times platinum in the U.S. alone and 150 million worldwide, making her the top-selling female artist in history".

who's her?? lol xD

Sorry, this is a bit late. Nonetheless, it's a source.

NO! You sayin the beetles got the yellow submarine song in my head! ARG!