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- The best-selling musicians of all time include Taylor Swift, Tim McGraw, and Whitney Houston.
- RIAA ranked the best-selling musicians of all time based on total album units sold in the US.
- Swift, Drake, and Beyoncé are among the newest artists to make the cut.
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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