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Top selling albums of all time in the U.S. 2018
Top selling albums of all time in the U.S. 2018
All time top selling albums in the United States as of October 2018 (in certified million units sold)
The statistic shows the top selling albums of all time in the United States, based on certified unit sales. Michael Jackson's 1982 album, 'Thriller', ranked second with 33 million certified unit sales in the United States as of 2018, losing out to 'Eagles: Their Greatest Hits (1971-1975)' with 39 million certified unit sales.
Eagles also ranked third with 'Hotel California', which had 26 million unit sales as of 2018.
All time top selling albums in the United States as of October 2018 (in certified million units sold)
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| Certified sales in millions | |
|---|---|
| Eagles - Eagles/Their Greatest Hits 1971-1975 | 38 |
| Michael Jackson - Thriller | 33 |
| Eagles - Hotel California | 26 |
| Billy Joel - Greatest Hits Volume I & Volume II | 23 |
| Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin IV | 23 |
| Pink Floyd - The Wall | 23 |
| AC/DC - Back in Black | 22 |
| Garth Brooks - Double Live | 21 |
| Hootie & The Blowfish - Cracked Rear View | 21 |
| Fleetwood Mac - Rumours | 20 |
| Shania Twain - Come on Over | 20 |
| The Beatles - The Beatles | 19 |
| Guns N' Roses - Appetite for Destruction | 18 |
| Whitney Houston - The Bodyguard (Soundtrack) | 18 |
| Boston - Boston | 17 |
| Elton John - Greatest Hits | 17 |
| Garth Brooks - No Fences | 17 |
| The Beatles - The Beatles 1967-1970 | 17 |
| Alanis Morissette - Jagged Little Pill | 16 |
| Bee Gees - Saturday Night Fever (Soundtrack) | 16 |
| Led Zeppelin - Physical Graffiti | 16 |
| Metallica - Metallica | 16 |
| Certified sales in millions | |
|---|---|
| Eagles - Eagles/Their Greatest Hits 1971-1975 | 38 |
| Michael Jackson - Thriller | 33 |
| Eagles - Hotel California | 26 |
| Billy Joel - Greatest Hits Volume I & Volume II | 23 |
| Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin IV | 23 |
| Pink Floyd - The Wall | 23 |
| AC/DC - Back in Black | 22 |
| Garth Brooks - Double Live | 21 |
| Hootie & The Blowfish - Cracked Rear View | 21 |
| Fleetwood Mac - Rumours | 20 |
| Shania Twain - Come on Over | 20 |
| The Beatles - The Beatles | 19 |
| Guns N' Roses - Appetite for Destruction | 18 |
| Whitney Houston - The Bodyguard (Soundtrack) | 18 |
| Boston - Boston | 17 |
| Elton John - Greatest Hits | 17 |
| Garth Brooks - No Fences | 17 |
| The Beatles - The Beatles 1967-1970 | 17 |
| Alanis Morissette - Jagged Little Pill | 16 |
| Bee Gees - Saturday Night Fever (Soundtrack) | 16 |
| Led Zeppelin - Physical Graffiti | 16 |
| Metallica - Metallica | 16 |
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The statistic shows the top selling albums of all time in the United States, based on certified unit sales. Michael Jackson's 1982 album, 'Thriller', ranked second with 33 million certified unit sales in the United States as of 2018, losing out to 'Eagles: Their Greatest Hits (1971-1975)' with 39 million certified unit sales.
Eagles also ranked third with 'Hotel California', which had 26 million unit sales as of 2018.
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- Release date
- October 2018
- Region
- United States
- Survey time period
- data accessed on October 22, 2018
Source
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- Show publisher information
- Release date
- October 2018
More information
- Region
- United States
- Survey time period
- data accessed on October 22, 2018
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Statistics on "Music"
- Global overview
The most important statistics
- Value of the global entertainment and media market from 2011 to 2021 (in trillion U.S. dollars)Value of the global entertainment and media market 2011-2021
- Music industry revenue worldwide from 2012 and 2021 (in billion U.S. dollars)Global music industry revenue 2012-2021
- Global recorded music revenue from 1999 to 2018 (in billion U.S. dollars)Global revenue of the recorded music industry 1999-2018
- Share of recorded music industry revenues worldwide in 2017, by segmentMusic industry revenue distribution worldwide 2017, by source
- Recorded music market revenue worldwide from 2005 to 2017, by source (in billion U.S. dollars)Recorded music market revenue worldwide 2005-2017
- Market share held by selected record label companies worldwide in 2017, by branchGlobal market share among record labels in 2017, by branch
- U.S. overview
The most important statistics
- Music industry revenue in the United States from 2012 to 2021 (in billion U.S. dollars)Music industry revenue in the U.S. 2012-2021
- Distribution of music industry revenue in the United States in 2017 and 2018, by sourceU.S. music industry - revenue distribution 2017-2018, by source
- Retail value of music shipments in the United States from 1999 to 2018 (in billion U.S. dollars)Retail value of music shipments in the U.S. from 1999 to 2018
- Change of music sales in the United States from 2009 to 2018, by categoryChange of music sales in the U.S. 2009-2018
- Music album sales in the United States from 2007 to 2018 (in million units)Music album sales in the U.S. 2007-2018
- Recorded music industry revenue in the United States from 2009 to 2018 (in billion U.S. dollars)Music industry revenue in the U.S. 2009-2018
- Share of music song consumption* in the United States in 2018, by genreMusic song consumption U.S. 2018, by genre
- Bestsellers
The most important statistics
- Top-selling albums in music history as of December 2018 (in million units)Top-selling music albums of all time 2018
- All time top selling albums in the United States as of October 2018 (in certified million units sold)Top selling albums of all time in the U.S. 2018
- Top-selling digital songs in the United States in 2018 (in thousands)Top-selling digital songs in the U.S. 2018
- Most popular songs in the United States in 2018, by number of audio streams (in millions)Most popular songs in the U.S. 2018, by streams
- Top-selling vinyl albums in the United States in 2018 (in thousands)Top-selling vinyl albums in the U.S. 2018
- Top selling cassette albums in the United States in 2018 (in thousand units)Cassette albums sales in the U.S. 2018
- Artists with the most consecutive weeks in the Billboard Hot 100's top 10 in the United States as of July 2017 (in weeks)Most successful artists on Billboard Hot 100 as of July 2017
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The most important statistics
- Most successful music labels in the United States in 2017, by total consumption (in millions)Most successful music labels in the U.S. 2017
- Most successful music distributors in the United States in 2017, by total consumption (in millions)Most successful music distributors in the U.S. 2017
- Share of music album consumption in the United States in 2017, by labelMusic album consumption in the U.S. 2017, by label
- Annual sales and operating revenue of Sony Corporation's music segment in the fiscal years 2008 to 2018 (in billion U.S. dollars)Annual revenue of Sony Corporation's music segment 2008-2018
- Universal Music Group's revenue from 2004 to 2018 (in billion euros)Universal Music Group's revenue 2004-2018
- Revenue of the Warner Music Group in fiscal years 2004 to 2018 (in million U.S. dollars)Revenue of the Warner Music Group 2004-2018
- Market share of independent record labels worldwide in 2017, by product typeMarket share of independent record labels by product type 2017
- Streaming market share of the largest record companies worldwide in 2016 and 2017Record companies - streaming market share worldwide 2016-2017
- Concert business
The most important statistics
- Live music industry revenue in the United States from 2012 to 2021, by source (in billion U.S. dollars)Live music industry revenue in the U.S. by source 2012-2021
- Most successful music tours worldwide in 2018, based on gross revenue (in million U.S. dollars)Most successful music tours worldwide 2018
- Most successful music tours in North America in 2018, based on gross revenue (in million U.S. dollars)The most successful music tours in North America in 2018
- Most successful music tours in North America in 2018, based on ticket salesMost successful music tours in North America 2018, based on ticket sales
- Music tour gross revenues from 2011 to 2018 worldwide (in billion U.S. dollars)Worldwide music tour gross revenues 2011-2018
- Highest grossing music tours of all time in North America as of 2017 (in million U.S. dollars)Highest grossing music tours of all time in North America 2017
- Live Nation Entertainment's concert revenue from 2008 to 2018 (in billion U.S. dollars)Live Nation Entertainment's concert revenue from 2008 to 2018
- Number of concerts and festivals promoted by Live Nation from 2008 to 2018Number of events promoted by Live Nation from 2008 to 2018
- Consumer preferences & behavior
The most important statistics
- Share of time spent listening to music in the United States in 2017, by formatShare of time spent with music in the U.S. 2017, by source
- Distribution of music consumption in the United States in 2017, by genre and formatMusic consumption in the U.S. 2017, by genre & format
- Reach of music consumption on a typical weekday in the United States as of January 2018, by daypart Music consumption reach on weekdays in the U.S. 2018, by daypart
- Share of music album consumption in the United States in 2017, by labelMusic album consumption in the U.S. 2017, by label
- Sources used for keeping up-to-date with music in the United States in 2017Sources used for keeping up-to-date with music U.S. 2017
- Are you currently using streaming services for music and/or video content?Usage of streaming services by U.S. consumers 2017
- Sources for discovering new music in the United States in 2017, by ageSources for new music in the U.S. 2017
- Music services used on a regular basis by Hispanics in the United States as of March 2017Hispanics: leading music services in the U.S. 2017
- Digital music
The most important statistics
- Number of digital music users in the United States from 2016 to 2022, by format (in millions)Digital Market Outlook: users of digital music in the U.S. 2016-2022, by format
- Digital music revenue in the United States from 2008 to 2018, by type (in million U.S. dollars)Digital music revenue in the U.S. from 2008 to 2018, by type
- Mobile music revenue in the United States from 2005 to 2018 (in million U.S. dollars)Mobile music revenue in the U.S. from 2005 to 2018
- Top-selling digital music albums in the United States in 2018 (in 1,000s)Top-selling digital music albums in the U.S. 2018
- Top-selling digital songs in the United States from January to June 2018, based on unit sales (in thousands)Top-selling digital songs in the U.S. H1 2018
- Digital album sales in the United States from 2008 to 2018 (in millions)Digital album sales in the U.S. 2008-2018
- Value of digital music singles downloaded in the United States from 2004 to 2018 (in million U.S. dollars)Value of digital music singles downloaded in the U.S. from 2004 to 2018
- Most popular mobile music and video apps in the United States as of October 2018, by reachMost popular entertainment apps in the U.S. 2018, by reach
- Music videos
The most important statistics
- Most popular music videos in the United States in 2018, by number of streams (in millions)Most popular online music videos in the U.S. 2018
- Share of music video streams in the United States in 2018, by genreMusic video streams in the U.S. 2018, by genre
- Most viewed music videos on Vevo in the United States in 2018 (in millions)Most watched music videos on Vevo in the U.S. 2018
- Most viewed music videos on Vevo worldwide in 2018 (in millions)Most watched music videos on Vevo 2018
- Most expensive music videos worldwide as of January 2018, based on production cost (in million U.S. dollars)Most expensive music videos worldwide 2018
- Number of MTV Video Music Awards viewers from 2000 to 2018 (in millions)MTV Video Music Awards - number of viewers 2000-2018
- Where are you most likely to watch music videos?Most common ways of watching music videos in the U.S. in 2017
- Where are you most likely to watch music videos?Most likely places to watch music videos in the U.S. in 2017, by age
- Grammys
The most important statistics
- Most Grammy Award-winning individuals of all time as of 2019Most Grammy-winning individuals of all time
- Most Latin Grammy Award-winning individuals of all time as of 2018Most Latin Grammy Award-winning individuals of all time
- Most Grammy-winning albums of all time as of 2019Most Grammy-winning albums of all time
- Growth of music sales following the Grammy Awards in 2017, by typeGrowth of music sales following the Grammy Awards in 2017
- Number of Grammy Awards categories from 1959 to 2019Number of Grammy Awards categories 1959-2019
- Growth in sales and streams of songs performed at the Grammy Awards in 2017Grammy Awards - growth in music sales 2017
- Growth of song sales following the Grammy Awards in 2017Growth of song sales following the Grammy Awards 2017
- Celebrities
The most important statistics
- Highest-paid musicians in the United States in 2017 (in million U.S. dollars)Highest paid musicians in the U.S. 2017
- Annual income of highest-paid female music celebrities in from June 2017 to June 2018 (in million U.S. dollars) Highest-paid women in music 2018
- World's richest hip-hop artists from June 2016 to June 2018, by earnings (in million U.S. dollars)Earnings of the world's richest hip-hop artists 2018
- Annual income of highest earning country musicians in 2018 (in million U.S. dollars)Highest earning country musicians 2018
- Annual income of the highest earning DJs in 2018 (in million U.S. dollars)Highest earning DJs 2018
- Most popular music artists in the United States in 2018, by total consumption (in millions)Most popular musicians in the U.S. 2018
- Most popular musicians in the United States in 2018, based on number of streams (in billions)Most streamed artists in the U.S. in 2018
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Statistics
- Music albums revenue (physical) Germany 2006-2022
- Album sales in the United States 2008-2014, by genre
- Top-selling albums in the U.S. H1 2018
- Physical CD unit sales worldwide from 1991 to 2015
- Retail value of physical album shipments in the U.S. from 1999 to 2018
- Best-selling albums in France 2015, by number of units sold
- Share of local music in album sales in selected countries worldwide in 2013
- Satisfaction of the online music available in France 2017
- Market share of U.S. record companies based on total album sales 2009-2012
- Top selling digital artists in the U.S. from 2004 to 2011
- Top selling vinyl artists in the United States in 2011
- Top selling digital artists in the United States in 2011
- Market share of record companies in the 2012-2015, by label ownership
- Artists ranked by U.S. radio airplay in 2012
- Market share of record companies in the U.S. based on current album sales 2010-2012
- Average price of an institutional organ in the U.S. 2005-2015
- Single sales weekly in the United Kingdom (UK) 2016, by chart position
- Satisfaction of the amount of music on TV at prime viewing time in France 2017
- Retail sales of institutional organs in the U.S. 2005-2015
- Brazil: adults who listened to their parents' favorite music as kids 2018
Studies
- Music industry in the United Kingdom (UK)
- Digital music in the United Kingdom (UK)
- Music market in Sweden
- Music industry in South Korea
- Music industry in Europe
- Spotify and music streaming in the Netherlands
- Sanremo Music Festival
- Music industry in the U.S.
- Digital music in the U.S.
- Music
- Live music
- Digital music in the U.S. (DMO)
- Digital music industry in China
- Music in Canada
- Music industry in Belgium
Statistics on "Music"
- Value of the global entertainment and media market from 2011 to 2021 (in trillion U.S. dollars)
- Music industry revenue worldwide from 2012 and 2021 (in billion U.S. dollars)
- Global recorded music revenue from 1999 to 2018 (in billion U.S. dollars)
- Share of recorded music industry revenues worldwide in 2017, by segment
- Recorded music market revenue worldwide from 2005 to 2017, by source (in billion U.S. dollars)
- Market share held by selected record label companies worldwide in 2017, by branch
- Music industry revenue in the United States from 2012 to 2021 (in billion U.S. dollars)
- Distribution of music industry revenue in the United States in 2017 and 2018, by source
- Retail value of music shipments in the United States from 1999 to 2018 (in billion U.S. dollars)
- Change of music sales in the United States from 2009 to 2018, by category
- Music album sales in the United States from 2007 to 2018 (in million units)
- Recorded music industry revenue in the United States from 2009 to 2018 (in billion U.S. dollars)
- Share of music song consumption* in the United States in 2018, by genre
- Top-selling albums in music history as of December 2018 (in million units)
- All time top selling albums in the United States as of October 2018 (in certified million units sold)
- Top-selling digital songs in the United States in 2018 (in thousands)
- Most popular songs in the United States in 2018, by number of audio streams (in millions)
- Top-selling vinyl albums in the United States in 2018 (in thousands)
- Top selling cassette albums in the United States in 2018 (in thousand units)
- Artists with the most consecutive weeks in the Billboard Hot 100's top 10 in the United States as of July 2017 (in weeks)
- Most successful music labels in the United States in 2017, by total consumption (in millions)
- Most successful music distributors in the United States in 2017, by total consumption (in millions)
- Share of music album consumption in the United States in 2017, by label
- Annual sales and operating revenue of Sony Corporation's music segment in the fiscal years 2008 to 2018 (in billion U.S. dollars)
- Universal Music Group's revenue from 2004 to 2018 (in billion euros)
- Revenue of the Warner Music Group in fiscal years 2004 to 2018 (in million U.S. dollars)
- Market share of independent record labels worldwide in 2017, by product type
- Streaming market share of the largest record companies worldwide in 2016 and 2017
- Live music industry revenue in the United States from 2012 to 2021, by source (in billion U.S. dollars)
- Most successful music tours worldwide in 2018, based on gross revenue (in million U.S. dollars)
- Most successful music tours in North America in 2018, based on gross revenue (in million U.S. dollars)
- Most successful music tours in North America in 2018, based on ticket sales
- Music tour gross revenues from 2011 to 2018 worldwide (in billion U.S. dollars)
- Highest grossing music tours of all time in North America as of 2017 (in million U.S. dollars)
- Live Nation Entertainment's concert revenue from 2008 to 2018 (in billion U.S. dollars)
- Number of concerts and festivals promoted by Live Nation from 2008 to 2018
- Share of time spent listening to music in the United States in 2017, by format
- Distribution of music consumption in the United States in 2017, by genre and format
- Reach of music consumption on a typical weekday in the United States as of January 2018, by daypart
- Sources used for keeping up-to-date with music in the United States in 2017
- Are you currently using streaming services for music and/or video content?
- Sources for discovering new music in the United States in 2017, by age
- Music services used on a regular basis by Hispanics in the United States as of March 2017
- How interested would you be in learning more about the music industry?
- Number of digital music users in the United States from 2016 to 2022, by format (in millions)
- Digital music revenue in the United States from 2008 to 2018, by type (in million U.S. dollars)
- Mobile music revenue in the United States from 2005 to 2018 (in million U.S. dollars)
- Top-selling digital music albums in the United States in 2018 (in 1,000s)
- Top-selling digital songs in the United States from January to June 2018, based on unit sales (in thousands)
- Digital album sales in the United States from 2008 to 2018 (in millions)
- Value of digital music singles downloaded in the United States from 2004 to 2018 (in million U.S. dollars)
- Most popular mobile music and video apps in the United States as of October 2018, by reach
- Most-streamed weekly tracks on Spotify in the United States as of March 28, 2019 (in million streams)
- Most popular music videos in the United States in 2018, by number of streams (in millions)
- Share of music video streams in the United States in 2018, by genre
- Most viewed music videos on Vevo in the United States in 2018 (in millions)
- Most viewed music videos on Vevo worldwide in 2018 (in millions)
- Most expensive music videos worldwide as of January 2018, based on production cost (in million U.S. dollars)
- Number of MTV Video Music Awards viewers from 2000 to 2018 (in millions)
- Where are you most likely to watch music videos?
- Where are you most likely to watch music videos?
- Most Grammy Award-winning individuals of all time as of 2019
- Most Latin Grammy Award-winning individuals of all time as of 2018
- Most Grammy-winning albums of all time as of 2019
- Growth of music sales following the Grammy Awards in 2017, by type
- Number of Grammy Awards categories from 1959 to 2019
- Growth in sales and streams of songs performed at the Grammy Awards in 2017
- Growth of song sales following the Grammy Awards in 2017
- Highest-paid musicians in the United States in 2017 (in million U.S. dollars)
- Annual income of highest-paid female music celebrities in from June 2017 to June 2018 (in million U.S. dollars)
- World's richest hip-hop artists from June 2016 to June 2018, by earnings (in million U.S. dollars)
- Annual income of highest earning country musicians in 2018 (in million U.S. dollars)
- Annual income of the highest earning DJs in 2018 (in million U.S. dollars)
- Most popular music artists in the United States in 2018, by total consumption (in millions)
- Most popular musicians in the United States in 2018, based on number of streams (in billions)
- Music album revenue (physical) in Germany from 2006 to 2022* (in million euros)
- Music album sales in the United States from 2008 to 2014, by genre (in millions)
- Top-selling albums in the United States in first half of 2018, based on unit sales (in thousands)
- Unit sales of CDs worldwide from 1991 to 2015 (in millions)
- Retail value of physical CD shipments in the United States from 1999 to 2018 (in billion U.S. dollars)
- Ranking of the best-selling albums in France in 2015, by number of units sold
- Local music as a percentage of top 10 best-selling albums in selected countries in 2013
- How satisfied are you with the online music available?
- Market share of U.S. record companies based on total album sales from 2009 to 2012
- Top selling digital artists in the United States from 2004 to 2011
- Top selling vinyl artists in the United States in 2011
- Top selling digital artists in the United States in 2011
- Market share of record companies in the United States from 2011 to 2015, by label ownership
- Most popular radio artists in the United States in 2012, ranked by detected plays of their songs
- Market share of record companies in the United States from 2010 to 2012, based on current album sales
- Average unit price of institutional organs in the United States from 2005 to 2015 (in U.S. dollars)
- Average weekly combined music single sales in the United Kingdom (UK) in 2016, by chart position (in singles sold)
- Do you think there is enough music on television at prime viewing time?
- Retail sales value of institutional organs in the United States from 2005 to 2015 (in million U.S. dollars)
- Share of adults who were played their parents' favorite music when they were kids in Brazil as of 2018
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