In 2019, the music album with the most unit sales in the United States was 'Lover' by Taylor Swift, far outperforming all other records in the list with almost 1.1 million copies sold that year. Second was 'When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?' by Billie Eilish with 594.6 thousand sales, followed by 'Happiness Begins' by the Jonas Brothers.
Other artists with best-selling albums in 2018
The ranking also includes albums by artists who proved extremely popular in 2019 such as Ariana Grande, Khalid, and Post Malone. The three artists also featured in the list of top-selling music albums based on total streams.
Other well-known artists like Harry Styles, BTS, and the the Backstreet Boys made the top ten, selling between 300 and more than 450 thousand albums each in 2019. Again though, among music fans the presence of these names on the ranking will be unremarkable and, frankly, expected. A name which may come as a surprise is Tool, whose album ‘Fear Inoculum’ sold over 344 thousand copies. The album marked the rock band's first release since 2006, and received widespread critical acclaim upon its release and performed well in the charts in its opening week. Songs 'Fear Inoculum' and '7empest' were both nominated for Grammys in 2019, the latter of which had a runtime of more than 15 minutes, making it the longest track on the album.
Top-selling music albums in the United States in 2019, based on unit sales
(in thousands)
Characteristic
Number of units sold in thousands
Lover - Taylor Swift
1,089.84
When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? - Billie Eilish
594.6
Happiness Begins - Jonas Brothers
483.57
Fine Line - Harry Styles
452.5
A Star Is Born: Origional Motion Picture Soundrack 2018 - Lady Gaga, Bradley Cooper
437.73
BTS Map of the Soul: Persona - BTS
383.24
Hollywood's Bleeding - Post Malone
356.99
Fear Inoculum - Tool
344.29
DNA - Backstreet Boys
313.62
thank u, next - Ariana Grande
267.59
SuperM:The 1st Mini Album - Super M
246.23
The Greatest Showman: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack - Various Artists
230.39
Free Spirit - Khalid
222.72
Look Up Child - Lauren Daigle
221.2
Bohemian Rhapsody: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack 2018 - Queen
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Alpha Data. (January 9, 2020). Top-selling music albums in the United States in 2019, based on unit sales (in thousands) [Graph]. In Statista. Retrieved October 09, 2024, from https://www.statista.com/statistics/271157/top-selling-albums-in-the-united-states/
Alpha Data. "Top-selling music albums in the United States in 2019, based on unit sales (in thousands)." Chart. January 9, 2020. Statista. Accessed October 09, 2024. https://www.statista.com/statistics/271157/top-selling-albums-in-the-united-states/
Alpha Data. (2020). Top-selling music albums in the United States in 2019, based on unit sales (in thousands). Statista. Statista Inc.. Accessed: October 09, 2024. https://www.statista.com/statistics/271157/top-selling-albums-in-the-united-states/
Alpha Data. "Top-selling Music Albums in The United States in 2019, Based on Unit Sales (in Thousands)." Statista, Statista Inc., 9 Jan 2020, https://www.statista.com/statistics/271157/top-selling-albums-in-the-united-states/
Alpha Data, Top-selling music albums in the United States in 2019, based on unit sales (in thousands) Statista, https://www.statista.com/statistics/271157/top-selling-albums-in-the-united-states/ (last visited October 09, 2024)
Top-selling music albums in the United States in 2019, based on unit sales (in thousands) [Graph], Alpha Data, January 9, 2020. [Online]. Available: https://www.statista.com/statistics/271157/top-selling-albums-in-the-united-states/