Ranked by reported worldwide sales across every format, vinyl through streaming. Pop, rock, country, soundtracks, and a Greatest Hits collection: the albums the most people on Earth have ever bought.
The full ranking
Ranked by reported worldwide sales across every format, vinyl through streaming. Pop, rock, country, soundtracks, and a Greatest Hits collection: the albums the most people on Earth have ever bought.
Thriller (Michael Jackson, 1982, 70M)
The best-selling album of all time worldwide at over 70 million copies, the Quincy Jones-produced run that turned every track into a single and the music video into an art form. Listeners say every cut from 'Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'' to 'Beat It' still sounds modern more than four decades on.
Back in Black (AC/DC, 1980, 50M)
Recorded weeks after frontman Bon Scott's death and built around new singer Brian Johnson, the Australian band's hard-rock peak is the second best-selling album in history. Fans call it forty minutes without a weak track, anchored by the title cut, 'Hells Bells,' and 'You Shook Me All Night Long.'
The Bodyguard (Whitney Houston, 1992, 45M)
The best-selling movie soundtrack ever, carried by Houston's six-week-#1 cover of Dolly Parton's 'I Will Always Love You.' Listeners say her vocal alone is worth the album, and that the production around her never gets in the way.
The Dark Side of the Moon (Pink Floyd, 1973, 45M)
The Roger Waters concept record on madness, mortality, and money that charted on the Billboard 200 for a record 962 weeks. Fans call it the definitive headphone album, a 43-minute through-composed suite where the seams between songs disappear.
Their Greatest Hits 1971-1975 (Eagles, 1976, 44M)
RIAA-certified 40-times Platinum, the best-selling album in US history by a country mile. Listeners credit it as the definitive country-rock collection, with 'Take It Easy,' 'Lyin' Eyes,' and 'One of These Nights' setting the template for the West Coast sound.
Hotel California (Eagles, 1976, 42M)
The Eagles' studio masterpiece, anchored by the title track's seven-minute Don Felder and Joe Walsh guitar coda. Reviewers call it the band's artistic peak, with 'New Kid in Town' and 'Life in the Fast Lane' standing alongside the title cut.
Come On Over (Shania Twain, 1997, 40M)
The best-selling country album in history and the best-selling album ever by a female artist, with Mutt Lange producing 16 tracks that played equally well in Nashville and on pop radio. Fans credit 'You're Still the One' and 'Man! I Feel Like a Woman!' for opening the country-pop crossover lane that defined the next two decades.
Rumours (Fleetwood Mac, 1977, 40M)
Recorded during the overlapping breakups of three couples inside the band, which gave the writing its raw edge. Listeners say every track is a single, and that 'The Chain,' 'Dreams,' and 'Go Your Own Way' alone justify the album.
Bat Out of Hell (Meat Loaf, 1977, 40M)
Jim Steinman's Wagnerian rock-opera that nearly every major label rejected before it became one of the longest-running chart records of all time. Fans call it operatic, over-the-top, and unlike anything else in the rock canon, with the nine-minute title track and 'Paradise by the Dashboard Light' as its calling cards.
Saturday Night Fever (Bee Gees, 1977, 40M)
The disco-era soundtrack that turned the Bee Gees into a worldwide phenomenon and 'Stayin' Alive' into a permanent piece of the cultural furniture. Listeners say it captures a single moment in pop music better than almost any record ever made.
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