List of best-selling albums in the United States of the Nielsen SoundScan era

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Metallica's self-titled album is the highest selling record under Nielsen SoundScan, selling over 17 million copies

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)[]

Shania Twain's Come On Over (released in 1997) has sold over 15.7 million copies.
Alanis Morissette's Jagged Little Pill (released in 1995) has sold over 15.3 million copies.
The Beatles' 1 (released in 2000) has sold over 13 million copies.
List of the best-selling albums in the United States since 1991, showing title, release year, artist, and sales figure
Album Release year Artist(s) Nationality Pure sales figures Ref.
Metallica 1991 Metallica United States 17,300,000 [1]
Come On Over 1997 Shania Twain Canada 15,730,000 [2]
Jagged Little Pill 1995 Alanis Morissette Canada / United States 15,200,000 [3]
1 2000 The Beatles United Kingdom 13,000,000 [4]
Legend 1984 Bob Marley and the Wailers Jamaica 12,300,000 [5]
Millennium 1999 Backstreet Boys United States 12,300,000 [6]
The Bodyguard 1992 Whitney Houston United States 12,140,000 [7]
21 2011 Adele United Kingdom 12,100,000 [8]
Supernatural 1999 Santana Mexico / United States 11,850,000 [7]
Human Clay 1999 Creed United States 11,690,000 [7]
No Strings Attached 2000 NSYNC United States 11,160,000 [7]
Come Away with Me 2002 Norah Jones United States 11,100,000 [9]
The Marshall Mathers LP 2000 Eminem United States 11,000,000 [6]
Falling into You 1996 Celine Dion Canada 10,900,000 [10]
...Baby One More Time 1999 Britney Spears United States 10,700,000 [11]
The Eminem Show 2002 Eminem United States 10,600,000 [9]
Hybrid Theory 2000 Linkin Park United States 10,500,000 [12]
Oops!... I Did It Again 2000 Britney Spears United States 10,400,000 [13]
Confessions 2004 Usher United States 10,300,000 [9]
Cracked Rear View 1994 Hootie & the Blowfish United States 10,270,000 [14]
Titanic 1997 James Horner United States 10,170,000 [14]
Backstreet Boys 1997 Backstreet Boys United States 10,120,000 [14]
Ten 1991 Pearl Jam United States 10,000,000 [15]

Best-selling albums by decade[]

1991–1999[]

Best-selling albums in the United States in the 1990s[16][better source needed]
Album Release year Artist(s) Sales
Jagged Little Pill 1995 Alanis Morissette 13,542,393
Come On Over 1997 Shania Twain 12,110,660
Metallica 1991 Metallica 11,715,533
The Bodyguard 1992 Whitney Houston 11,605,690
...Baby One More Time 1999 Britney Spears 10,700,000
Falling into You 1996 Celine Dion 10,224,282
Cracked Rear View 1994 Hootie & the Blowfish 9,817,666
Titanic 1997 James Horner 9,806,175
Millennium 1999 Backstreet Boys 9,445,732
Ropin' the Wind 1991 Garth Brooks 9,370,863
Backstreet Boys 1997 Backstreet Boys 9,258,265

2000–2009[]

Best-selling albums in the United States in the 2000s[17]
Album Release year Artist(s) Sales
1 2000 The Beatles 11,564,000
No Strings Attached 2000 NSYNC 11,113,000
The Marshall Mathers LP 2000 Eminem 11,100,000
The Eminem Show 2002 Eminem 10,900,000
Come Away With Me 2002 Norah Jones 10,579,000
Oops!... I Did It Again 2000 Britney Spears 10,400,000
Confessions 2004 Usher 9,730,000
Hybrid Theory 2000 Linkin Park 9,697,000
Human Clay 1999 Creed 9,495,000
Country Grammar 2000 Nelly 8,464,000

2010–2019[]

Best-selling albums in the United States in the 2010s[18]
Album Release year Artist(s) Sales
21 2011 Adele 12,009,000
25 2015 Adele 9,517,000
1989 2014 Taylor Swift 6,215,000
Recovery 2010 Eminem 4,867,000
Speak Now 2010 Taylor Swift 4,694,000
Red 2012 Taylor Swift 4,465,000
Christmas 2011 Michael Bublé 4,379,000
Frozen 2014 Various artists 4,314,000
Need You Now 2010 Lady Antebellum 4,221,000
The 20/20 Experience 2013 Justin Timberlake 3,743,000

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
Best performing single of 2011 Indicates album-equivalent units
Best-selling albums by year in the United States since 1991
Year Album Artist(s) Figures Ref.
1991 Mariah Carey Mariah Carey 4,885,000 [21]
1992 Some Gave All Billy Ray Cyrus 4,700,000 [22]
1993 The Bodyguard Whitney Houston 5,460,000 [23][24]
1994 The Lion King Various Artists 4,900,000 [25]
1995 Cracked Rear View Hootie & the Blowfish 7,000,000 [26]
1996 Jagged Little Pill Alanis Morissette 7,400,000 [27]
1997 Spice Spice Girls 5,300,000 [28]
1998 Titanic James Horner 9,338,061 [29]
1999 Millennium Backstreet Boys 9,445,732 [29][30]
2000 No Strings Attached NSYNC 9,936,104 [29][31]
2001 Hybrid Theory Linkin Park 4,812,852 [29]
2002 The Eminem Show Eminem 7,607,925 [32]
2003 Get Rich or Die Tryin' 50 Cent 6,535,809 [33]
2004 Confessions Usher 7,978,594 [34]
2005 The Emancipation of Mimi Mariah Carey 4,968,606 [35][36]
2006 High School Musical Various Artists 3,719,071 [37]
2007 Noël Josh Groban 3,698,934 [38]
2008 Tha Carter III Lil Wayne 2,874,420 [39]
2009 Fearless Taylor Swift 3,216,988 [40]
2010 Recovery Eminem 3,414,927 [41]
2011 21 Adele 5,823,628 [42]
2012 21 Adele 4,414,000 [43]
2013 The 20/20 Experience Justin Timberlake 2,427,000 [44]
2014 1989 Taylor Swift 3,661,000 [45]
2015 25 Adele 8,008,000dagger [46]
7,441,000
2016 Views Drake 4,140,000dagger [47]
25 Adele 1,731,000
2017 ÷ Ed Sheeran 2,764,000dagger [48]
Reputation Taylor Swift 1,903,000
2018 Scorpion Drake 3,905,000dagger [49]
The Greatest Showman Various Artists 1,491,000
2019 Hollywood's Bleeding Post Malone 3,001,000dagger [50]
Lover Taylor Swift 1,085,000
2020 My Turn Lil Baby 2,632,000dagger [20]
Folklore Taylor Swift 1,276,000
2021 Dangerous: The Double Album Morgan Wallen 3,226,000dagger [51]
30 Adele 1,464,000

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
Best performing single of 2011 Indicates album-equivalent units
Week ending Title Artist Total units Pure sales Week # Reference
November 26, 2015 25 Adele 3,474,000dagger 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 1,238,000dagger 1,216,000 1st [59]
October 28, 2012 Red Taylor Swift 1,208,000 1st [57]
December 24, 2015 25 Adele 1,190,000dagger 1,160,000 5th [60]
December 3, 2015 1,160,000dagger 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 1,040,000dagger 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[]

References[]

Footnotes

  1. ^ Following an abbreviated single-day first week.
  2. ^ Abbreviated sales week of four days.
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  2. ^ "Luke Combs' 'This One's For You' Ties No 1 Weeks Record On Top Country Albums". Billboard. 2019-10-28. Retrieved 2020-05-01.
  3. ^ "Alanis Morissette's 'Reasons I Drink' Hits Top 10 on Adult Alternative Songs Chart". Billboard. 2020-01-23. Retrieved 2020-05-19.
  4. ^ "The Beatles’ ‘Abbey Road’ Returns to Top 3 on Billboard 200 Chart After Nearly 50 Years". Billboard. 2019-10-06. Retrieved 2020-05-01.
  5. ^ "Bob Marley's 'Legend' Album Hits 500th Week on Billboard 200 Chart". Billboard. 2017-12-21. Retrieved 2020-05-01.
  6. ^ a b "The Weeknd’s Back in the Top 40: Billboard 200 Chart Moves". Billboard. 2016-09-29. Retrieved 2020-05-07.
  7. ^ a b c d Caulfield, Keith (October 9, 2014). "Adele's '21' Surpasses 11 Million In U.S. Sales". Billboard. Retrieved October 11, 2014.
  8. ^ 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.
  9. ^ a b c "Adele's '25' Sales Surpass 8 Million in the U.S." Billboard. 2016-02-07. Retrieved 2020-05-07.
  10. ^ "Celine Dion's Best-Selling Albums & Most-Streamed Songs: Ask Billboard Mailbag". Billboard. 2019-11-26. Retrieved 2020-05-19.
  11. ^ "Britney Spears' Career Streams & Sales: Ask Billboard". Billboard. 2020-05-15. Retrieved 2020-05-19.
  12. ^ "Linkin Park's 'Hybrid Theory' Producer Calls Working With Chester Bennington a 'Dream Come True'". Billboard. 2017-07-24. Retrieved 2020-05-19.
  13. ^ "Britney Spears' Career Streams & Sales: Ask Billboard". Billboard. 2020-05-15. Retrieved 2020-05-19.
  14. ^ a b c "Usher's 'Confessions' Album Hits 10 Million in U.S. Sales". Billboard. 2012-07-05. Retrieved 2020-05-19.
  15. ^ "Pearl Jam's 'Ten' Album Hits 10 Million in U.S. Sales". Billboard. 2013-02-20. Retrieved 2020-05-19.
  16. ^ "Top Selling Albums of SoundScan Era (1991 – 12/30/1999)". Members.tripod.com. Retrieved 2012-06-13.
  17. ^ "Top Ten". People. 2009-12-28. Retrieved 2012-01-16.
  18. ^ "Year End Music Report 2019" (PDF). Nielsen Music. January 2020. Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 January 2020. Retrieved January 19, 2020.
  19. ^ 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.
  20. ^ a b "Billboard Year-End 2020" (PDF). Billboard. January 2, 2020. Retrieved January 9, 2020.
  21. ^ "The Billboard 200 - Year End Charts - 1991". Billboard. 1991-12-21. Archived from the original on 2007-12-11. Retrieved 2010-08-11.
  22. ^ Philips, Chuck (5 January 1993). "Cyrus, Brooks Give Their All to Record Sales". Los Angeles Times.
  23. ^ Grein, Paul. "Chart Watch Extra: 20 Years of Top Albums". Yahoo!. Archived from the original on 2013-01-05. Retrieved 2011-05-13.
  24. ^ Inc, Nielsen Business Media (15 January 1994). Billboard https://books.google.com/books?id=FwgEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA73 – via Google Books. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  25. ^ Inc, Nielsen Business Media (21 January 1995). Billboard https://books.google.com/books?id=uAsEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA57 – via Google Books. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  26. ^ Inc, Nielsen Business Media (20 January 1996). Billboard https://books.google.com/books?id=3g4EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA56 – via Google Books. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  27. ^ Inc, Nielsen Business Media (18 January 1997). Billboard https://books.google.com/books?id=IA8EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA60 – via Google Books. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  28. ^ Inc, Nielsen Business Media (31 January 1998). Billboard https://books.google.com/books?id=iQ0EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA76 – via Google Books. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  29. ^ a b c d "Got Charts? Linkin Park, Shaggy, 'NSYNC Are 2001's Top-Sellers". MTV. Retrieved 2009-08-08.
  30. ^ "SoundScan 1999 Year-End Music Industry Report". Backstreet.net. 2000-01-05. Retrieved 2012-06-13.
  31. ^ "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.
  32. ^ D'Angelo, Joe (2003-01-03). "MTV News:Eminem Sold Most Albums, Nickelback Ruled Radio In '02". MTV. Retrieved 2012-06-13.
  33. ^ "Nielsen SoundScan and Nielsen BDS 2003 Year End Music Industry Report". Retrieved 2012-06-13 – via Find Articles.
  34. ^ "Usher's 'Yeah!' Was Most Played Song of 2004". MTV.
  35. ^ Grein, Paul. "Chart Watch Extra: 20 Years of Top Albums". Archived from the original on 2013-01-05. Retrieved 2011-05-13.
  36. ^ "a Phil Brodie Band Muso Information Page". Philbrodieband.com. Retrieved 2012-06-13.
  37. ^ "Nielsen Music 2006 Year-End Music Industry Report". Businesswire.com. 2007-01-04. Retrieved 2012-10-28.
  38. ^ "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.
  39. ^ "Soundscan End of Year Report: For all 2008". Businesswire.com. 2008-12-31. Retrieved 2012-06-13.
  40. ^ Nielsen Music 2009 Year-End Music Industry Report, Businesswire.com, Jan 7, 2010 article.
  41. ^ "Nielsen Music 2010 Year-End Music Industry Report". Billboard. Retrieved 2011-01-05.
  42. ^ "Nielsen Music 2011 Year-End Music Industry Report". Billboard. Retrieved 2012-01-05.
  43. ^ "The Nielsen Company & Billboard's 2012 Music Industry Report". Nielsen Soundscan. Business Wire. January 4, 2013. Retrieved January 27, 2014.
  44. ^ 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.
  45. ^ Caulfield, Keith (December 31, 2014). "Taylor Swift's '1989' Beats 'Frozen' As Top Selling Album of 2014". Retrieved January 6, 2016.
  46. ^ Caulfield, Keith (January 5, 2016). "Adele's '25' Rules as Nielsen Music's Top Album of 2015 in U.S." Retrieved January 6, 2016.
  47. ^ Caulfield, Keith (January 5, 2017). "Drake's 'Views' Is Nielsen Music's Top Album of 2016 in the U.S." Retrieved January 5, 2017.
  48. ^ 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.
  49. ^ Drake's 'Scorpion' Is Nielsen Music's Top Album Of 2018 in U.S., 'God's Plan' Most-Streamed Song. Billboard. 8 January 2019.
  50. ^ "'Hollywood's Bleeding' Is Nielsen Music/MRC Data's Top Album of 2019, 'Old Town Road' Most-Streamed Song". Billboard. Retrieved 2020-01-10.
  51. ^ 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.
  52. ^ 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.
  53. ^ Caulfield, Keith (December 5, 2015). "Adele's '25' Sells 1.11 Million in Second Week in U.S." Billboard. Retrieved December 7, 2015.
  54. ^ 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.
  55. ^ 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.
  56. ^ "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.
  57. ^ 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.
  58. ^ Billboard Staff (2012-10-23). "Albums That Sold 1 Million in One Week". Billboard. Retrieved 2021-11-19.
  59. ^ 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.
  60. ^ 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.
  61. ^ Billboard Staff (2011-02-03). "29 Black Music Milestones: Whitney Houston Sells 1 Million in A Week". Billboard. Retrieved 2021-11-19.
  62. ^ Caulfield, Keith (2016-05-08). "Drake's 'Views' Debuts at No. 1 on Billboard 200 Chart, Sets Streaming Record". Billboard. Retrieved 2021-11-19.
  63. ^ "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.
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