50 bestselling albums of all time in the US – and the bands you would never guess made the list
The Eagles’ Greatest Hits, released in 1976, beat Michael Jackson’s seminal 1982 Thriller album to take the top spot, but other favourites are hardly in the same league as The Beatles. Here’s your chance to find out who they are
The Eagles have knocked the King of Pop off of his throne.
The band’s greatest hits album, released in 1976, has surpassed Michael Jackson’s seminal 1982 album Thriller to take the top spot on the RIAA’s list of the highest-selling albums of all time in the US.
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Here we compile the RIAA’s data for the bestselling albums in US history (measured in “certified units” sold), and some of the other names that appear in the top 50 are unexpected.
Here are the 50 bestselling albums of all time in the US.
50. Phil Collins – “No Jacket Required” (Atlantic)
Certified units: 12 million
49. Matchbox Twenty – “Yourself or Someone Like You” (Atlantic)
Certified units: 12 million
48. Led Zeppelin – “Led Zeppelin II” (Atlantic)
Certified units: 12 million
47. Kenny Rogers – “Kenny Rogers’ Greatest Hits” (Liberty)
Certified units: 12 million
46. Kenny G – “Breathless” (Arista)
Certified units: 12 million
45. Jewel – “Pieces of You” (Atlantic)
Certified units: 12 million
44. Dixie Chicks – “Wide Open Spaces” (Monument)
Certified units: 12 million
43. Def Leppard – “Hysteria” (Mercury)
Certified units: 12 million
42. Boyz II Men – “II” (Motown)
Certified units: 12 million
41. Bon Jovi – “Slippery When Wet” (Mercury)
Certified units: 12 million
40. Whitney Houston – “Whitney Houston” (Arista)
Certified units: 13 million
39. Prince & The Revolution – “Purple Rain” (Warner Bros.)
Certified units: 13 million
38. Pearl Jam – “Ten” (Epic)
Certified units: 13 million
37. Bruce Springsteen – “Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band Live/1975-85” (Columbia)
Certified units: 13 million
36. Backstreet Boys – “Millennium” (Jive)
Certified units: 13 million
35. Steve Miller Band – “Greatest Hits 1974-78” (Capitol)
Certified units: 14 million
34. Simon & Garfunkel – “Simon & Garfunkel’s Greatest Hits” (Sony)
Certified units: 14 million
33. Meat Loaf – “Bat Out of Hell” (Cleveland International)
Certified units: 14 million
32. Garth Brooks – “Ropin’ The Wind” (Capitol)
Certified units: 14 million
31. Britney Spears – “ … Baby One More Time” (Jive)
Certified units: 14 million
30. Backstreet Boys – “Backstreet Boys” (Jive)
Certified units: 14 million
29. Adele – “21” (Columbia Records)
Certified units: 14 million
28. The Beatles – “The Beatles 1962-1966” (Apple)
Certified units: 15 million
27. Santana – “Supernatural” (Arista)
Certified units: 15 million
26. Pink Floyd – “Dark Side of the Moon” (Harvest)
Certified units: 15 million
25. Journey – “Greatest Hits” (Columbia)
Certified units: 15 million
24. Bruce Springsteen – “Born In The U.S.A.” (Columbia)
Certified units: 15 million
23. Bob Marley & The Wailers – “Legend” (Island)
Certified units: 15 million
22. Metallica – “Metallica” (Atlantic/Elektra)
Certified units: 16 million
21. Led Zeppelin – “Physical Graffiti” (Swan Song)
Certified units: 16 million
20. The Bee Gees – “Saturday Night Fever” (RSO Records)
Certified units: 15 million
19. Alanis Morisette – “Jagged Little Pill” (Maverick)
Certified units: 16 million
18. The Beatles – “The Beatles 1967-1970” (EMI)
Certified units: 17 million
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17. Garth Brooks – “No Fences” (Capitol)
Certified units: 17 million
16. Elton John – “Greatest Hits”(Island)
Certified units: 17 million
15. Boston – “Boston” (Epic)
Certified units: 17 million
14. Whitney Houston – “The Bodyguard” (Arista)
Certified units: 18 million
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13. Guns N’ Roses – “Appetite for Destruction” (Geffen)
Certified units: 18 million
12. The Beatles – “The Beatles” (Apple)
Certified units: 19 million
11. Shania Twain – “Come On Over” (Mercury Nashville)
Certified units: 20 million
10. Fleetwood Mac – “Rumours” (Warner Bros.)
Certified units: 20 million
9. Hootie & The Blowfish – “Cracked Rear View” (Atlantic)
Certified units: 21 million
8. Garth Brooks – “Double Live” (Capitol Nashville)
Certified units: 21 million
7. AC/DC – “Back In Black” (Epic)
Certified units: 22 million
6. Pink Floyd – “The Wall” (Columbia)
Certified units: 23 million
5. Led Zeppelin – “Led Zeppelin IV” (Atlantic)
Certified units: 23 million
4. Billy Joel – “Greatest Hits Volume 1 & Volume 2”(Columbia)
Certified units: 23 million
3. Eagles – “Hotel California” (Asylum)
Certified units: 26 million
2. Michael Jackson – “Thriller” (Epic)
Certified units: 33 million
1. Eagles – “Their Greatest Hits (1971-1975)” (Elektra)
Certified units: 36 million
