List of best-selling albums in the United States since 1991
This is a list of best-selling albums in the United States of the Nielsen SoundScan era . SoundScan began tracking sales data for Billboard on March 1, 1991. SoundScan data is unrelated to the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) certifications, and is based on actual sales while
the RIAA's certification process is based on shipments.
Best-sellers (overall) [ ]
The Beatles '
1 (released in 2000) has sold over 13 million copies.
Best-selling albums by decade [ ]
1991–1999 [ ]
2000–2009 [ ]
2010–2019 [ ]
Best-selling albums by year [ ]
Taylor Swift is the first artist to have the annual best seller five times (2009, 2014, 2017, 2019, 2020).
[19]
Adele has the annual best seller for a record-tying five times (2011, 2012, 2015, 2016, 2021).
Eminem has the best-selling album of a calendar year twice (2002 and 2010).
Drake has the year's top-consumed album (based on
album-equivalent units ) twice (2016 and 2018).
The following list includes the annual best-selling albums since 1991, as reported by MRC Data (formerly Nielsen SoundScan ). For albums released after 2015, the best-performing album of the year is determined by album-equivalent units consisted of album sales, digital songs sales, and on-demand streaming, while the best-selling album is determined by album sales only.[20]
Key
Indicates album-equivalent units
Single week best-sellers [ ]
See also: Lists of fastest-selling albums § United States
The first album in history to sell a million copies or more in a week is the soundtrack of The Bodyguard by Whitney Houston in 1992; the last album to do so is Reputation by Taylor Swift in 2017. The following is a list of all of the albums that sold at least one million copies in a single week:[52] [53] [54] [55] [56]
Key
Indicates album-equivalent units
November 26, 2015
25
Adele
3,474,000
3,378,000
1st
[57]
March 26, 2000
No Strings Attached
*NSYNC
2,416,000
1st
[57]
July 29, 2001
Celebrity
1,880,000
1st
[57]
May 28, 2000
The Marshall Mathers LP
Eminem
1,760,000
1st
[57]
November 26, 2000
Black & Blue
Backstreet Boys
1,591,000
1st
[57]
June 2, 2002
The Eminem Show
Eminem
1,322,000
2nd[a]
[57]
May 21, 2000
Oops!... I Did It Again
Britney Spears
1,319,000
1st
[57]
November 2, 2014
1989
Taylor Swift
1,287,000
1st
[57]
December 24, 2000
1
The Beatles
1,259,000
6th
[58]
November 16, 2017
Reputation
Taylor Swift
1,238,000
1,216,000
1st
[59]
October 28, 2012
Red
Taylor Swift
1,208,000
1st
[57]
December 24, 2015
25
Adele
1,190,000
1,160,000
5th
[60]
December 3, 2015
1,160,000
1,110,000
2nd
[60]
March 6, 2005
The Massacre
50 Cent
1,141,000
1st[b]
[57]
May 23, 1999
Millennium
Backstreet Boys
1,134,000
1st
[57]
May 29, 2011
Born This Way
Lady Gaga
1,108,000
1st
[57]
March 28, 2004
Confessions
Usher
1,096,000
1st
[57]
November 22, 1998
Double Live
Garth Brooks
1,095,000
1st
[57]
December 28, 1992
The Bodyguard
Soundtrack /Whitney Houston
1,061,000
6th
[61]
October 22, 2000
Chocolate Starfish and the Hot Dog Flavored Water
Limp Bizkit
1,055,000
1st
[57]
October 31, 2010
Speak Now
Taylor Swift
1,047,000
1st
[57]
May 22, 2016
Views
Drake
1,040,000
852,000
1st
[62]
February 17, 2004
Feels Like Home
Norah Jones
1,022,000
1st
[57]
June 21, 2008
Tha Carter III
Lil Wayne
1,006,000
1st
[63]
See also [ ]
Record production portal
References [ ]
Footnotes
^ Following an abbreviated single-day first week.
^ Abbreviated sales week of four days.
^ "Metallica's 'Black Album' Returns to Top 10 on Billboard 200 After 30th Anniversary Reissue" . Billboard . 2021-09-19. Retrieved 2021-11-12 .
^ "Luke Combs' 'This One's For You' Ties No 1 Weeks Record On Top Country Albums" . Billboard . 2019-10-28. Retrieved 2020-05-01 .
^ "Alanis Morissette's 'Reasons I Drink' Hits Top 10 on Adult Alternative Songs Chart" . Billboard . 2020-01-23. Retrieved 2020-05-19 .
^ "The Beatles’ ‘Abbey Road’ Returns to Top 3 on Billboard 200 Chart After Nearly 50 Years" . Billboard . 2019-10-06. Retrieved 2020-05-01 .
^ "Bob Marley's 'Legend' Album Hits 500th Week on Billboard 200 Chart" . Billboard . 2017-12-21. Retrieved 2020-05-01 .
^ a b "The Weeknd’s Back in the Top 40: Billboard 200 Chart Moves" . Billboard . 2016-09-29. Retrieved 2020-05-07 .
^ a b c d Caulfield, Keith (October 9, 2014). "Adele's '21' Surpasses 11 Million In U.S. Sales" . Billboard . Retrieved October 11, 2014 .
^ Trust, Gary (2021-05-05). "Ask Billboard: Adele's Biggest Albums & Songs, From 'Rolling in the Deep' to 'Hello' & More" . Billboard . Retrieved 2021-11-19 .
^ a b c "Adele's '25' Sales Surpass 8 Million in the U.S." Billboard . 2016-02-07. Retrieved 2020-05-07 .
^ "Celine Dion's Best-Selling Albums & Most-Streamed Songs: Ask Billboard Mailbag" . Billboard . 2019-11-26. Retrieved 2020-05-19 .
^ "Britney Spears' Career Streams & Sales: Ask Billboard" . Billboard . 2020-05-15. Retrieved 2020-05-19 .
^ "Linkin Park's 'Hybrid Theory' Producer Calls Working With Chester Bennington a 'Dream Come True' " . Billboard . 2017-07-24. Retrieved 2020-05-19 .
^ "Britney Spears' Career Streams & Sales: Ask Billboard" . Billboard . 2020-05-15. Retrieved 2020-05-19 .
^ a b c "Usher's 'Confessions' Album Hits 10 Million in U.S. Sales" . Billboard . 2012-07-05. Retrieved 2020-05-19 .
^ "Pearl Jam's 'Ten' Album Hits 10 Million in U.S. Sales" . Billboard . 2013-02-20. Retrieved 2020-05-19 .
^ "Top Selling Albums of SoundScan Era (1991 – 12/30/1999)" . Members.tripod.com. Retrieved 2012-06-13 .
^ "Top Ten" . People . 2009-12-28. Retrieved 2012-01-16 .
^ "Year End Music Report 2019" (PDF) . Nielsen Music . January 2020. Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 January 2020. Retrieved January 19, 2020 .
^ Caulfield, Keith (January 8, 2021). "Taylor Swift Has the Top-Selling Album of the Year in U.S. for Historic Fifth Time" . Billboard . Retrieved January 7, 2021 .
^ a b "Billboard Year-End 2020" (PDF) . Billboard . January 2, 2020. Retrieved January 9, 2020 .
^ "The Billboard 200 - Year End Charts - 1991" . Billboard . 1991-12-21. Archived from the original on 2007-12-11. Retrieved 2010-08-11 .
^ Philips, Chuck (5 January 1993). "Cyrus, Brooks Give Their All to Record Sales" . Los Angeles Times .
^ Grein, Paul. "Chart Watch Extra: 20 Years of Top Albums" . Yahoo!. Archived from the original on 2013-01-05. Retrieved 2011-05-13 .
^ Inc, Nielsen Business Media (15 January 1994). Billboard https://books.google.com/books?id=FwgEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA73 – via Google Books.
^ Inc, Nielsen Business Media (21 January 1995). Billboard https://books.google.com/books?id=uAsEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA57 – via Google Books.
^ Inc, Nielsen Business Media (20 January 1996). Billboard https://books.google.com/books?id=3g4EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA56 – via Google Books.
^ Inc, Nielsen Business Media (18 January 1997). Billboard https://books.google.com/books?id=IA8EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA60 – via Google Books.
^ Inc, Nielsen Business Media (31 January 1998). Billboard https://books.google.com/books?id=iQ0EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA76 – via Google Books.
^ a b c d "Got Charts? Linkin Park, Shaggy, 'NSYNC Are 2001's Top-Sellers" . MTV. Retrieved 2009-08-08 .
^ "SoundScan 1999 Year-End Music Industry Report" . Backstreet.net. 2000-01-05. Retrieved 2012-06-13 .
^ "Audio/Video Revolution: Record Sales Up 4% in 2000 Despite Napster & MP3.com" . Avrev.com. 2001-01-03. Archived from the original on 2013-06-02. Retrieved 2012-06-13 .
^ D'Angelo, Joe (2003-01-03). "MTV News:Eminem Sold Most Albums, Nickelback Ruled Radio In '02" . MTV. Retrieved 2012-06-13 .
^ "Nielsen SoundScan and Nielsen BDS 2003 Year End Music Industry Report" . Retrieved 2012-06-13 – via Find Articles.
^ "Usher's 'Yeah!' Was Most Played Song of 2004" . MTV .
^ Grein, Paul. "Chart Watch Extra: 20 Years of Top Albums" . Archived from the original on 2013-01-05. Retrieved 2011-05-13 .
^ "a Phil Brodie Band Muso Information Page" . Philbrodieband.com. Retrieved 2012-06-13 .
^ "Nielsen Music 2006 Year-End Music Industry Report" . Businesswire.com. 2007-01-04. Retrieved 2012-10-28 .
^ "Reuters Press Release: 2007 U.S. Music Purchases Exceed 1.4 Billion" . Reuters . 2008-01-03. Archived from the original on 2009-02-08. Retrieved 2012-06-13 .
^ "Soundscan End of Year Report: For all 2008" . Businesswire.com. 2008-12-31. Retrieved 2012-06-13 .
^ Nielsen Music 2009 Year-End Music Industry Report , Businesswire .com, Jan 7, 2010 article.
^ "Nielsen Music 2010 Year-End Music Industry Report" . Billboard . Retrieved 2011-01-05 .
^ "Nielsen Music 2011 Year-End Music Industry Report" . Billboard . Retrieved 2012-01-05 .
^ "The Nielsen Company & Billboard's 2012 Music Industry Report" . Nielsen Soundscan . Business Wire . January 4, 2013. Retrieved January 27, 2014 .
^ Caulfield, Keith (January 2, 2014). "Justin Timberlake's '20/20' 2013's Best Selling Album, 'Blurred Lines' Top Song" . Billboard . Nielsen Soundscan . Retrieved January 27, 2014 .
^ Caulfield, Keith (December 31, 2014). "Taylor Swift's '1989' Beats 'Frozen' As Top Selling Album of 2014" . Retrieved January 6, 2016 .
^ Caulfield, Keith (January 5, 2016). "Adele's '25' Rules as Nielsen Music's Top Album of 2015 in U.S." Retrieved January 6, 2016 .
^ Caulfield, Keith (January 5, 2017). "Drake's 'Views' Is Nielsen Music's Top Album of 2016 in the U.S." Retrieved January 5, 2017 .
^ Caulfield, Keith (2018-01-03). "Ed Sheeran's 'Divide' Is Nielsen Music's Top Album of 2017 in U.S." Billboard . Retrieved 2018-01-05 .
^ Drake's 'Scorpion' Is Nielsen Music's Top Album Of 2018 in U.S., 'God's Plan' Most-Streamed Song . Billboard. 8 January 2019.
^ " 'Hollywood's Bleeding' Is Nielsen Music/MRC Data's Top Album of 2019, 'Old Town Road' Most-Streamed Song" . Billboard . Retrieved 2020-01-10 .
^ Caulfield, Keith (6 January 2022). "Dua Lipa's 'Levitating' Is Most-Streamed Song of 2021 In U.S., Morgan Wallen's 'Dangerous: The Double Album' Is MRC Data's Top Album" . Billboard . Retrieved 6 January 2022 .
^ Caulfield, Keith (November 23, 2015). "Adele's '25' Is the 20th Album to Sell a Million Copies in a Week: See the Full List" . Billboard . Retrieved December 7, 2015 .
^ Caulfield, Keith (December 5, 2015). "Adele's '25' Sells 1.11 Million in Second Week in U.S." Billboard . Retrieved December 7, 2015 .
^ Caulfield, Keith (December 27, 2015). "Adele's '25' Sells Another 1.16 Million in U.S., Spends Fifth Week at No. 1 on Billboard 200 Chart" . Billboard . Retrieved December 31, 2015 .
^ Caulfield, Keith (20 November 2017). "Official: Taylor Swift's 'Reputation' Album Sells 1.2M Copies in US During First Week" . Billboard . Retrieved 12 December 2017 .
^ "Lil Wayne's 'Tha Carter III' Sells 1 Million" . Billboard . Billboard Music. 18 June 2008. Archived from the original on 13 May 2018. Retrieved 25 February 2018 .
^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q "Albums That Sold 1 Million in One Week" . Billboard . October 23, 2012. Archived from the original on May 12, 2018. Retrieved October 23, 2021 .
^ Billboard Staff (2012-10-23). "Albums That Sold 1 Million in One Week" . Billboard . Retrieved 2021-11-19 .
^ Caulfield, Keith (November 20, 2017). "Official: Taylor Swift's 'Reputation' Album Sells 1.2M Copies in US During First Week" . Billboard . Archived from the original on November 30, 2017. Retrieved October 23, 2017 .
^ a b Caulfield, Keith (2015-12-27). "Adele's '25' Sells Another 1.16 Million in U.S., Spends Fifth Week at No. 1 on Billboard 200 Chart" . Billboard . Retrieved 2021-11-19 .
^ Billboard Staff (2011-02-03). "29 Black Music Milestones: Whitney Houston Sells 1 Million in A Week" . Billboard . Retrieved 2021-11-19 .
^ Caulfield, Keith (2016-05-08). "Drake's 'Views' Debuts at No. 1 on Billboard 200 Chart, Sets Streaming Record" . Billboard . Retrieved 2021-11-19 .
^ "Lil Wayne's 'Tha Carter III' Sells 1 Million" . Billboard . June 18, 2008. Archived from the original on May 13, 2018. Retrieved February 25, 2018 .