The 50 best-selling music artists of all time

You might feel like Taylor Swift is the biggest musician of all time thanks to the number of albums she’s recorded, the tickets she’s sold, and the headlines she’s generated.

In fact, she hasn’t cracked the top 20.

The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) lists the best-selling musicians of all time, based on total certified album units sold in the US. It also includes streaming figures.

Artists from multiple different genres — pop, country, instrumental jazz, rap, metal — have earned their spots on this list.

Keep scrolling to see the 50 best-selling music artists of all time in the US by album sales.

John Lynch, Travis Clark, and Will Gendron contributed to a previous version of this post. 

50. Bob Dylan — 36 million units

49. Tupac Shakur — 36.5 million

47 (tie). Beyoncé — 37 million units

47 (tie). Backstreet Boys — 37 million units

45 (tie). Rod Stewart — 38 million units

45 (tie). Foreigner — 38 million units

43 (tie). Simon & Garfunkel — 38.5 million units

43 (tie). Britney Spears — 38.5 million

42. Chicago — 39 million units

41. Eric Clapton — 40 million units

38 (tie). Tim McGraw — 41 million units

38 (tie). Reba McEntire — 41 million units

38 (tie). Bon Jovi — 41 million units

37. Queen — 43 million units

36. Santana — 43.5 million units

33 (tie). Guns N’ Roses — 44.5 million units

33 (tie). Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band — 44.5 million units

33 (tie). Alan Jackson — 44.5 million units

31 (tie). Kenny Rogers — 47.5 million units

31 (tie). Drake — 47.5 million units

29 (tie). Shania Twain — 48 million units

29 (tie). Kenny G — 48 million units

28. Alabama — 49 million units

27. Neil Diamond — 49.5 million units

26. U2 — 52 million units

25. Journey — 52.5 million units

24. Celine Dion — 53 million units

23. Fleetwood Mac — 55.5 million units

22. Van Halen — 56.5 million units

21. Taylor Swift — 57 million units

20. Whitney Houston — 61 million units

19. Eminem — 61.5 million units

18. Metallica — 63 million units

17. Madonna — 65.5 million units

16. The Rolling Stones — 66.5 million units

15. Barbra Streisand — 68.5 million units

13 (tie). George Strait — 69.5 million units

13 (tie). Aerosmith — 69.5 million units

12. Bruce Springsteen — 71 million units

10 (tie). Pink Floyd — 75 million units

10 (tie). Mariah Carey — 75 million units

9. Elton John — 81 million units

8. AC/DC — 84 million units

7. Billy Joel — 86 million units

6. Michael Jackson — 89 million units

5. Led Zeppelin — 112.5 million units

4. Eagles — 120 million units

3. Elvis Presley — 146.5 million units

2. Garth Brooks — 162 million units

1. The Beatles — 183 million units

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