The following list of best-selling music artists includes those music acts from the 20th century to the present with claims of 75 million or more record sales worldwide. This information cannot be listed officially, as there is no organization that has recorded global music sales. The tables are listed with both their claimed sales figure along with their total independently certified units and are ranked in descending order, with the artist with the highest amount of claimed sales at the top. If two or more artists have the same claimed sales, they are then ranked by certified units. The claimed sales figure and the total of certified units (for each country) within the provided sources include sales of albums, singles, compilation-albums, music videos as well as downloads of singles and full-length albums. Sales figures, such as those from SoundScan, which are sometimes published by ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' magazine, have not been included in the certified units column.

Definitions

Gold/Platinum certifications issued after 2016, especially on singles, are in some cases more than 50% streaming generated. Some of the 20th century artists can also have significant amount of streaming based certifications. The certified units of the newer artists may sometimes be higher than their listed claimed figures. This is because

Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

(RIAA) and almost all other certifying bodies count streaming towards Gold and Platinum thresholds required for Digital Single Award certification. For this reason, some singles and even albums get over certified by hundreds of thousands of units. The over certified figures, however, are often in millions of units for RIAA certifications, one such example is Rihanna's single " We Found Love", which is certified at nine times Platinum by the RIAA, yet during the time of the certification, it had sold 5.4 million downloads. The certified units for some artists/bands who have multi-disc albums can be higher than their listed claimed figures due to the RIAA counting each unit within set as one unit toward certification. The certified units also can be inflated by the redundancy of certifications, because each of tracks downloads and streams contributed to the certifications of both of the single and the respective album. The RIAA counts 10 downloads of individual track as well as 1,500 audio/video streams as an equivalent to one unit of album, including those from singles released prior to the album release. Theoretically, if one song were streamed 1.5 billion times on YouTube, the single would receive Diamond and the whole album could be certified Platinum, thus creating a combined total of 11 million certified units without any sales. Kanye West's album '' The Life of Pablo'' achieved Platinum without selling a single copy and was only available for streaming. Issued certifications for songs which have been recorded by multiple artists including featured artists are added to each artist's total amount of certified units, as all the artists would have played a significant part in a song. For example, "

This Is What You Came For "This Is What You Came For" is a song by Scottish DJ Calvin Harris and Barbadian singer Rihanna. It was released on 29 April 2016, through Columbia Records and Westbury Road. American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift, initially credited with the p ...

" and " Where Them Girls At" include Rihanna and Flo Rida, Nicki Minaj as featured artists respectively, so the certifications issued for these songs are added to the total amount of certified units for all involved artists. However, the certifications issued for songs that have been recorded by four or more artists are not included as the artists involved would have played minor roles, examples of such songs are Kanye West's "

Monster A monster is a type of fictional creature found in horror, fantasy, science fiction, folklore, mythology and religion. Monsters are very often depicted as dangerous and aggressive with a strange, grotesque appearance that causes terror and fe ...

" and/or "

All Day All Day may refer to: Music * All Day (Girl Talk album), ''All Day'' (Girl Talk album), 2010 album * All Day (The Pietasters album), ''All Day'' (The Pietasters album), 2007 album by The Pietasters ** All Day (The Pietasters song), "All Day" (Th ...

Standards

* To ensure the highest level of fact checking and editorial control, this list sources sales figures to news organizations and highly regarded music industry related organizations such as ''

''. * The figures of total certified units within the tables below are based on certified units of albums, singles (including digital downloads) and videos. * Markets' order within the tables is based on ''Retail Value'': each market generates respectively, the largest market at the top and smallest at the bottom. * The column for certified sales includes markets, the databases of which contain certifications representing figures of 100,000 and more.

Artists by reputed sales

250 million or more records

File:The Fabs.JPG, The Beatles File:Elvis Presley promoting Jailhouse Rock.jpg, Elvis Presley File:Michael Jackson in 1988.jpg, Michael Jackson File:Elton John 2011 Shankbone 2.JPG,

Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, pianist and composer. Commonly nicknamed the "Rocket Man" after his 1972 hit single of the same name, John has led a commercially successful career a ...

File:Queen – montagem – new.png, Queen File:Madonna Rebel Heart Tour 2015 - Stockholm (23051472299) (cropped).jpg,

Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone (; ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Widely dubbed the " Queen of Pop", Madonna has been noted for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, songwriting, a ...

File:LedZeppelinmontage.jpg, Led Zeppelin

200 million to 249 million records

File:Eminem DJ Hero.jpg,

Eminem Marshall Bruce Mathers III (born October 17, 1972), known professionally as Eminem (; often stylized as EMINƎM), is an American rapper and record producer. He is credited with popularizing hip hop in middle America and is critically acclai ...

File:MariahGMA.jpg,

Mariah Carey Mariah Carey (; born March 27, 1969) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and record producer. Referred to as the " Songbird Supreme", she is noted for her five-octave vocal range, melismatic singing style and signature use of the whi ...

File:191125 Taylor Swift at the 2019 American Music Awards (cropped).png, Taylor Swift Beyoncé at The Lion King European Premiere 2019.png,

Beyoncé Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter ( ; born September 4, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Beyoncé's boundary-pushing artistry and vocals have made her the most influential female musician of the 21st century, according to ...

File:Whitney Houston (cropped3).JPEG, Whitney Houston File:Eagles.jpg,

Eagles Eagle is the common name for many large birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of genera, some of which are closely related. Most of the 68 species of eagle are from Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, just ...

File:Celine Dion Receives Order of Canada (cropped).jpg, Celine Dion

120 million to 199 million records

File:Drake July 2016.jpg, Drake Garth Brooks 2019 By Glenn Francis.jpg,

Garth Brooks Troyal Garth Brooks (born February 7, 1962) is an American country music singer and songwriter. His integration of pop and rock elements into the country genre has earned him popularity, particularly in the United States with success on the co ...

File:Kanye West at the 2009 Tribeca Film Festival-2 (cropped).jpg, Kanye West File:Billy Joel Shankbone NYC 2009.jpg,

Billy Joel William Martin Joel (born May 9, 1949) is an American singer, pianist and songwriter. Commonly nicknamed the "Piano Man (song), Piano Man" after his album and signature song of the same name, he has led a commercially successful career as a solo ...

File:Justin_Bieber_in_2015.jpg, Justin Bieber File:12_-_Ed_Sheeran.jpg, Ed Sheeran File:BrunoMars24KMagicWorldTourLive (cropped).jpg, Bruno Mars

100 million to 119 million records

File:Nicki Minaj 3, 2012.jpg, Nicki Minaj File:ColdplayBBC071221 (cropped).jpg, Coldplay File:LinkinParkBerlin2010.jpg,

Linkin Park Linkin Park is an American rock band from Agoura Hills, California. The band's current lineup comprises vocalist/rhythm guitarist/keyboardist Mike Shinoda, lead guitarist Brad Delson, bassist Dave Farrell, DJ/turntablist Joe Hahn and drummer ...

File:George Strait 2014 1.jpg,

George Strait George Harvey Strait Sr. (born May 18, 1952) is an American country music singer, songwriter, actor, and music producer. Strait is considered one of the most influential and popular recording artists of all time. In the 1980s, he was credited for ...

File:Pink 2019-07-27 Munich (cropped).jpg, Pink File:Britney Spears 2013 (Straighten Crop).jpg,

Britney Spears Britney Jean Spears (born December 2, 1981) is an American singer. Often referred to as the " Princess of Pop", she is credited with influencing the revival of teen pop during the late 1990s and early 2000s. After appearing in stage productio ...

File:B'Z Best Buy Theater montage.jpg,

B'z are a Japanese rock duo, consisting of guitarist, composer and producer Takahiro "Tak" Matsumoto and vocalist and lyricist Koshi Inaba, 佐伯明『B'z ウルトラクロニクル』ソニー・マガジンズ、2003年。新型光�B'zはなぜ ...

80 million to 99 million records

File:AliciaKeys2013.jpg, Alicia Keys File:Christina Aguilera for Allure, November 2022.png, Christina Aguilera File:LionelRichie0995-1000.jpg,

Lionel Richie Lionel Brockman Richie Jr. (born June 20, 1949) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and television personality. He rose to fame in the 1970s as a songwriter and the co-lead singer of funk band the Commodores; writing and recordi ...

File:JohnnyCashHouse1969.jpg,

Johnny Cash John R. Cash (born J. R. Cash; February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was an American country singer-songwriter. Much of Cash's music contained themes of sorrow, moral tribulation, and redemption, especially in the later stages of his ca ...

File:Justin Timberlake by Gage Skidmore 2.jpg,

Justin Timberlake Justin Randall Timberlake (born January 31, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and actor. He is one of the world's best-selling music artists, with sales of over 88 million records. Timberlake is the recipient of numerous awards and ac ...

File:Ariana Grande Grammys Red Carpet 2020.png,

Ariana Grande Ariana Grande-Butera ( ; born June 26, 1993) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Her four-octave vocal range has received critical acclaim, and her personal life has been the subject of widespread media attention. She has received ...

File:R.E.M. collage.jpg, R.E.M.

75 million to 79 million records

File:FEQ July 2018 The Weeknd (44778856382) (cropped).jpg, The Weeknd File:Imagine Dragons, Roundhouse, London (35390234536).jpg,

Imagine Dragons Imagine Dragons is an American pop rock band from Las Vegas, Nevada, consisting of lead singer Dan Reynolds, guitarist Wayne Sermon, bassist Ben McKee and drummer Daniel Platzman. The band first gained exposure with the release of their sing ...

File:LukeBryanApr10.jpg,

Luke Bryan Thomas Luther "Luke" Bryan (born July 17, 1976) is an American country music, country singer, songwriter, and television personality. He began his music career writing songs for Travis Tritt and Billy Currington before signing with Capitol Reco ...

File:Alabama at Bayfest 2014.jpg, Alabama File:Ballasyrkellypic (cropped).jpg,

R. Kelly Robert Sylvester Kelly (born January 8, 1967) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and sex offender convicted of racketeering and multiple sex offenses. During his recording career, Kelly sold over 75 million records worldwid ...

File:Nirvana around 1992.jpg, Nirvana File:Robbie Williams.jpg, Robbie Williams

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:List Of best-selling music artists Musicians Best-selling Rock music Popular music