Perhaps unsurprisingly, British rock band The Beatles are top of the list for best-selling artists worldwide, with 183 million units certified sales. Second is Garth Brooks with over 157 million units sales, followed by Elvis Presley with 139 million units. All the artists who made the top twenty list are internationally renowned for their contributions to music and range from British pop-icon Elton John to American rock legends like Metallica.
The artists in the top twenty ranking for worldwide certified sales all made their mark in music in their own unique way. However, what is notable is that many of the artists in the list achieved fame and success several decades ago and were fortunate enough to have a lasting impact. Most of the musicians in the list were born in the United States or the United Kingdom and began their musical career in the 1960s or 1970s.
The music of the 1960s is often considered revolutionary, with politically-minded music from the likes of Bob Dylan and Joan Baez achieving huge popularity and psychedelic rock becoming one of the musical hallmarks of the era. British psychedelic/progressive rock band Pink Floyd as well as rock groups The Rolling Stones and Led Zeppelin all formed in London in the 1960s, as well as The Beatles who began their career in Liverpool at the beginning of the decade.
Which artists are still active today?
As of 2022, only a few of the artists who made the list remain active. American band the Eagles have toured regularly throughout their long career.
Sadly though, several of the world’s top-selling musicians have now passed, including Elvis Presley, Whitney Houston and Michael Jackson. Certain groups are still musically active but few have retained their original line-up. Australian rock and roll band AC/DC have undergone multiple line-up changes over the years, the most recent being the replacement of vocalist Brian Johnson with Guns n’ Roses singer Axl Rose.
The Beatles are the best selling artist of all-time with over 420 million equivalent album sales. More than 85 million sales behind, Michael Jackson is runner up ahead of Elvis Presley.
The Beatles are the best selling artist of all-time with over 420 million equivalent album sales. More than 85 million sales behind, Michael Jackson is runner up ahead of Elvis Presley.
Out of all the American artists, here's who has sold the most albums: Garth Brooks – 148 million units. Elvis Presley – 146.5 million units. Eagles – 101 million units.
It is estimated that more than one billion Elvis Presley records have been sold worldwide. From his early sessions at Sun Records to the end of his career and beyond, Elvis albums and singles enjoyed strong sales across every format–vinyl, cassette, CD and digital.
While Swift has had 46 nominations and won 12 Grammys, Beyoncé has had 88 nominations and 32 wins, making her the most Grammy Award-winning artist of all time.
Various sources cite the Righteous Brothers' “You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin'” (1964) as having more than eight million plays on radio and TV, and The Beatles' “Yesterday” (1965) with at least seven million in the U.S. alone, and many more in the rest of the world.
English musician (1960-present) Sold 100 million albums worldwide (He is one of three artists, Michael Jacksons and Phil Collins, to belong to a group who also sold more than a 100 million albums globally).
Johnny Cash was born today in 1932. One of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, he is also one of the best-selling music artists of all time, having sold more than 90 million records worldwide.
The following list contains the most-streamed artists on the audio streaming platform Spotify. As of May 2024, American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift is the most-streamed artist of all time on Spotify, while Canadian rapper Drake is the most-streamed male artist.
With sales of over 250 million records worldwide, Rihanna is the second-best-selling female music artist of all time and the highest-certified female artist of all time on the RIAA's Top Artists (Digital Singles) ranking.
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