Various songs were discussed to be the big one but Kevin Costner ended up suggesting I Will Always Love You by Dolly Parton. This would become the basis for lead track Hotel California. 1 on Billboard's Global' Global Excl. In 2014 Billboard began to take streaming into account for first week sales and total album sales. In addition to recording the highest first-week sales this 2022, "Proof" also achieved the fifth-highest first-week sales by a foreign artist's album in Oricon history. Some of the profits from the album were invested in the film Monty Python and the Holy Grail. It was a long-time coming, being their 8th studio album. 1 albums in less than a year, according to Billboard. Post Malone makes a rather impressive feat as well with 2 albums inside the top 5. 5. While it topped none of the previous lists, Divides A few artists were still able to get a huge album debut on the back of mostly a massive hit or two. 3 Life and Times of S. Carter| 1999| 462K 59| Kanye West| 808's & Heartbreak | 2008| 450K 60| Drake| Thank Me Later| 2010| 447K 61| Kanye West| The College Dropout| 2004| 441K 62| DMX| The Great Depression| 2001| 439K 63| Jay-Z & Kanye West| Watch The Throne| 2011| 436K 64| Eminem| Kamikaze| 2018| 434K 65| Lloyd Banks| The Hunger for More| 2004| 433K 66| 2Pac| Tupac: Resurrection| 2003| 430K 67| Ludacris| Chicken-n-Beer| 2003| 429K 68| 2Pac| Until The End of Time| 2001| 427K 69| Jay-Z| American Gangster| 2007| 426K 70| Lauryn Hill| The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill| 1998| 423K 71| Jay-Z| The Blueprint| 2001| 420K 72| Method Man| Tical 2000: Judgement Day| 1998| 411K 73| 2Pac & Outlawz| Still I Rise| 1999| 408K 74| J. Cole | KOD| 2018| 398K 75| Snoop Dogg| Tha Last Meal| 2000| 397K 76| Nelly| Suit| 2004| 396K 77| Nicki Minaj| Pink Friday| 2010| 395K 78| Bone Thugs-N-Harmony| The Art Of War| 1997| 394K 79| Mystikal| Ghetto Fabulous| 1998| 385K 79| The Game| Doctor's Advocate| 2006| 385K 81| G-Unit| Beg for Mercy| 2003| 377K 82| J. Cole| 2014 Forest Hills Drive| 2014| 375K 82| Drake & Future| What A Time to Be Alive| 2015| 375K 84| D12| Devil's Night| 2001| 372K 85| 2Pac| Better Dayz| 2002| 366K 86| Kendrick Lamar| To Pimp a Butterfly| 2015| 363K 87| Ja Rule| Pain Is Love| 2001| 361K 87| Young Buck| Straight Outta Cashville| 2004| 361K 89| Beastie Boys| To the 5 Boroughs| 2004| 360K 90| Nas| Hip Hop Is Dead| 2006| 356K 91| Young Jeezy| The Inspiration| 2006| 352K 92| Jay-Z| Vol. Continue reading to learn how many copies of BTS' anthology album were sold in the country. So we took a look back in history at the 50 biggest first week album sales of all time - featuring multiple albums from Eminem, 50 Cent, Jay-Z, Drake, Lil Wayne, Kanye, Snoop Dogg and more. Damn Jay-z had a rough time with DMX and Eminem. The Spice Girls have sold 85 million records worldwide and became the biggest British pop success since The Beatles. It was the first album to reach 14 million and 15 million sales in the USA since 1991. Abbey Road has sold over 31 million copies worldwide. The one which impresses the most is maybePurpose by Justin Bieber. Elton John Goodbye Yellow Brick Road (1973) 30m The bottom 5 are all releases from the last 2 years. In order for an album to attract a certification, they need to sell a certain number of units. This led 300 million, 400 million, and 500 million first week streams barriers to be broken. The past year has . Its ten tracks of high-energy thats still loved today. In the US, the album sold over 3.38 million copies in its first week, marking the largest single-week sales for an album. U2 The Joshua Tree (1987) 25m Michael Jackson 's Thriller, estimated to have sold 70 million copies worldwide, is the best-selling album ever. Because I hope its not what I think youre saying, where do yall think adeles 4th album is going to place here (it may have 15 songs at best). 2002 - Eminem continues to dominate, the rise of Nelly. In Spring 2017, the album broke the record for the longest-charting album by a female artist on the Billboard 200, surpassing Tapestry by Carole King. Five singles from the album all charted: So Far Away, Money for Nothing, Brothers in Arms, Walk of Life and Your Latest Trick. 18. As you can guess, the MAU is the number of users by the time each album was released. Alanis Morissette was backed by a super band, including Flea, one of the best bassists of all time from the Red Hot Chili Peppers, on You Oughta Know. It came out in 1995 and is purely an Alternative Rock album when that was the most popular genre. Whitney Houston was a first cousin of singers Dionne Warwick and Dee Dee Warwick. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. Everything hip-hop, R&B and Future Beats! The album was so successful the media was making up stories about the members just to get more attention (some things never change). "Yet to Come (The Most Beautiful Moment)" successfully entered at No. In 2007 the album was certified 22x Multi-Platinum in the USA alone. The fifth studio album by Irish rock band U2 had the provisional titles The Desert Songs and The Two Americas. The eighth studio album by Michael Jackson dominated worldwide charts reaching number-one in over 10 countries, helped along by his worldwide number-one hit single Black or White. As Molly said, it seems like you guys are trying to insinuate something, that isnt the case when you look at actual figures, What are you insinuating by this? She wasnt satisfied with her first album capturing the sound of tragedy and tried to write an upbeat album. Here is a visual of the top 100 first weeks of all-time, I think its a given that drake and kendrick will both be in the top 5 this year and will crack the top 100 of all time but itll be interesting to see how much the new merch rules affect everyones sales. Swift is the only artist in history to have five different albums with million-selling weeks. The album only reached #2 on the Billboard 200. With album sales dropping, fewer artists are achieving these targets. Slippery When Wet transformed the New Jersey band into global superstars. We all like a list and here we bring you the latest sales for the best selling rock and pop albums of all time. the late 90s/early aughts were a high point for music sales in general. The record labels marketing department knew better, even though Jim wrote the bulk of the material. Additionally, the song has earned its first MelOn Weekly Popularity Award. Ruling radio in the 90s with hits like Man! It would be easy to jump on the conclusion that this genre is bigger in streaming. Best-Selling Albums of All-Time (5160) Linkin Park Hybrid Theory 12 million. 11. [4] [5] [6] Jackson also currently has the highest number of albums on the list with five, Celine Dion has four, while the Beatles, Pink Floyd, Madonna and Whitney Houston each have three. Michael Jackson, *Nsync, Eminem, Ayumi Hamasaki and Bz have all placed two albums each on the list. Young Buck's "Straight Outta Cashville" debuted with 361K. When the song was released as Baby One More Time as Spears debut single in October 1998 it reached number one in at least 18 countries. It will be interesting to see if anyone will be able to challenge the records that currently stand. 36. (1995) 22m Before it even came out it had advance orders of 800,000 copies. The success of the album led to an 18 month worldwide tour and a VHS and DVD release of the tour. MINIONS - THE RISE OF GRU. Langdon Winner said in Rolling Stone, The closest Western Civilization has come to unity since the Congress of Vienna in 1815 was the week the Sgt. So 34k rather than 125k. The bands most commercially successful release sold a record-breaking 347,000 copies in its first week on sale in the UK, spent 10 weeks at number-one on the UK Albums Chart, and reached number four in the US Billboard 200. If I had to guess, N.W.A. Here are 20 albums with the biggest first-week sales in hip-hop history. Eminem's "Revival" had his worst first week since "The Slim Shady LP" in 1999. First, Eagles Greatest Hits surpassed Thriller (actually in very suspicious ways) only for USA sales (37 million Eagles, 34 millions Thriller), but worldwide Thriller is by far and with no comparison the best selling album ever the most conservative estimates tell Thriller sold double than Eagles album worldwide. Once again, Apple Music is the music platform with the most paid subscribers in the US, and its dominated by rap/R&B. March 5, 2023. There hasnt been another quite like it before or since its release, a concept album, its themes exploring conflict, greed, time, death, and mental illness, the latter partly inspired by the deteriorating health of founding member Syd Barrett. Lets Talk About Love includes Celine Dions biggest hit, My Heart Will Go On. The album sold a whopping 1.7 million copies. Five singles were released from Cant Slow Down, all of which hit the top ten of the Billboard Hot 100 chart, including two that reached number-one: All Night Long (All Night) and Hello. Only 22 albums in history have sold 1 million copies in a single week here they all are. Only two albums from the sixties made it and British artists make up only 15 places on the list. RELATED:Green Label - The Top 10 Best Selling Albums of 2013, Every No. Come Around Sundown was. You were probably waiting on The Beatles to make an appearance. Top Album Sales Week of March 4, 2023 This Week Award i Last Week Peak Pos. When you downloaded a single, you still had no right to take a look at the rest of the album. The anthology album impressively racked up sales of 514,000 units in its first week. "Millennium," the third album by Backstreet Boys, sold 1,134,000 copies in the first week after its release. (Remember Me)| 1997| 549K 37| Jay-Z| The Blueprint 2: The Gift & The Curse| 2002| 545K 38| D12| D12 World| 2004| 544K 39| Drake| If You're Reading This It's Too Late| 2015| 535K 40| Outkast| Stankonia| 2000| 530K 41| Jay-Z| Magna Carta Holy Grail| 2013| 527K 42| T.I.| King| 2006| 522K 43| Snoop Dogg| Da Game Is to Be Sold, Not to Be Told| 1998| 520K 44| Dr. Dre| 2001| 1999| 516K 45| J. Cole| 4 Your Eyez Only| 2016| 511K 46| Outkast| Speakerboxxx/The Love Below| 2003| 510K 47| Drake| More Life| 2017| 505K 48| Juice WRLD| Legends Never Die|2020|497K 49| Kanye West| My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy| 2010| 496K 50| Master P| MP Da Last Don| 1998| 495K 51| The Notorious B.I.G.| Born Again| 1999| 485K 52| Lil Wayne | Tha Carter V | 2018 | 480K 53| Snoop Dogg| Tha Doggfather| 1996| 479K 54| Jay-Z| The Blueprint 3| 2009| 476K 55| Nas| I Am| 1999| 470K 56| T.I.| T.I. Meek Mill's "Dreams & Nightmares" debuts with 165K. 43. By then, the platform had 88 million monthly active users, a number that has now increased to over 300 million. Eminem's numbers in his prime were just out of this fucking world. When we go deeper on numbers, we notice these records are often stronger thanks to high streams from the entire tracklist. 2nd to only his own Scorpion. Jacksons previous album Off the Wall (1979) had been a critical success, but he wasnt happy. It topped the Billboard 200 and became the best-selling debut album of all time, as well as the eleventh best-selling album of all time in the United States. It is also interesting to note that female artists dominate the Top 30, with 14 positions occupied by solo female artists. One album from 2020 joined the list (Legends Never Die) and bumped off Get Rich Or Die Tryin OST. Led Zeppelin IV was their pinnacle achievement from 1971, focused on Hard Rock, Folk Rock, and pre-cursor Heavy Metal sounds. Eagles Hotel California (1976) 42m After topping the Billboard 200 chart in its first week with 359,000 copies sold, the singer's MDNA is expected to suffer an 88 percent drop in sales to 46,000 units, according to Forbes. In the USA, for example, there are three major categories: It is clear, therefore, that all of the artists, in the list that follows attain Platinum status in their first week of sales in the USA alone, if sales were limited to the USA. In addition to recording the highest first-week sales this 2022, "Proof" also achieved the fifth-highest first-week sales by a foreign artist's album in Oricon history. 25. Morissette married grunge, pop, and raw, universal emotions in that most 90s of genres, alternative rock. The album also won a Grammy Award in 1986 for Best Engineered Album. 27. The first few weeks after the initial release of an album (thats obvious); Christmas time: in the lead up to Christmas album sales increase exponentially; Grammy time: in the week after the Grammy ceremony album sales increase; After the death of a major celebrity, people seem to go out in droves to purchase an artists past catalogue, almost as a way to show respect to the artist or maybe as a way to hold on to something from their past. Amazon isnt close to Apple Music in the US, so a mute point. If we go by certified sales only, Michael Jacksons Thriller remains the indisputed champion by far. Nirvana Nevermind (1991) 30m 1. Whitney Houston in 1993 and Taylor Swift in 2018. s.parentNode.insertBefore(gcse, s); With this view, Scorpion takes back its crown. As you can expect, the likes Drake and Ariana Grande recorded several of the top album debuts on Spotify, but many more are performing incredibly well. 's "Niggaz4Life", Ice Cube's "Death Certificate", MC Hammer's "Too Legit to Quit", Public Enemy's "Apocalypse 91 The Enemy Strikes Black", DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince's "Homebase", and Various Artist's "Boyz n the Hood (soundtrack)" probably round out the top 5. In the US, Bat Out of Hell still sells about 200,000 copies a year and has sold an estimated 43 million copies worldwide, including 14 million in the United States alone. 2004 - The rise of Kanye West. 50. The Bodyguard soundtrack was released in 1992, sung entirely by Whitney Houston in the R&B, Soul, and Pop genres. Normal artists will usually take a protracted time before their albums are certified, gold, platinum or diamond, but the sales of these mega albums are so large that they obtain instantaneous certifications. The Thriller, Billie Jean, and Beat It videos continued to push sales of the album for a long time, as did the seven singles. The success of the album led to an 18 month worldwide tour and a VHS and DVD release of the tour. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. Their other albums on the list are "MAP OF THE SOUL: 7 ~The Journey~" (564k copies) and "BTS, THE BEST" (782k copies). Eminem - The Eminem Show Released: May 28, 2002 Label: Aftermath Entertainment/Interscope Records After having observed the charts for many years, I have noticed a few trends regarding the way in which people buy albums. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Your email address will not be published. Led Zeppelins best-selling album in the US never topped the charts peaking at number-two. While "25," the third album by Adele, sold 3,378,000 copies in the first week after its release handily breaking a single-week record that was previously set by *NSYNC in 2000. holds a number of distinctions. DMX's "It's Dark and Hell Is Hot" also sold 251K making 1998 a dominant year for X. Eminem debuted with 283K first week for his "The Slim Shady LP". The feat got us thinking about other impressive opening weeks, like Taylor Swift's recent streak of dominance, or that time N Sync's sophomore LP went double platinum during its first seven days of availability. It came out in the year 2000 and contains their typical Pop and Rock songs that we all know and love. Well only be listing certified sales numbers. 2Pac - Greatest Hits Released: November 24, 1998 Label: Death Row/Interscope Records Units sold: 10 million 5. The cover image of the Beatles on the Abbey Road crossing has become one of the most famous and imitated in recording history and is a popular destination for Beatles fans. Huh I did not remember JIK having the biggest first week last year. "The Marshall Mathers LP," Eminem's third album, sold 1,760,000 copies in the first week after its release. 1 on its Weekly Album chart for June 13 to 19. Even the critics liked it enough to not try to get attention by pretending to hate it. HARRY STYLES. 8 on MelOn. Adele's three were all achieved with the same album. I'm going to guess that Dr. Dre's "The Chronic", Beastie Boys' "Check Your Head", Too $hort's "Shorty the Pimp", MC Ren's "Kizz My Black Azz", and Ice Cube's "The Predator" (193K) round out the top 5. 08/7/2022. That stunt helped create the mystique around the album. The album's first-week performance reflects that. On the list of top 5 . The album was recorded over two years in seven different recording studios. Do you think your favorite artist is among them? Linkin Park Hybrid Theory (2000) 32m The first indication that long playing discs may do well in a streaming world came in November 2015. Create an account to follow your favorite communities and start taking part in conversations. 23. You may wonder if this list looks somewhat biased towards older releases since the highest 2020s release barely reach the top 20. The music buying public is fickle. 39. b/c i was wondering where he'd fit in all-time herebut anyway drake/j cole/uzi/21 savage/roddy* for top 5 this year, drake and cole make it to the top 100, Which artists do you expect to have the five best first weeks this year, drake and travis are givens of course. 8 spot, spending its 11th consecutive day on the tally. Also despite female rappers being really dominant recently and Doja, cardi b and nicki all either being confirmed or likely to drop albums this upcoming year idk if any of them will make the top 5 for the year, just wondering, are you not counting post malone as hip hop? What you dont see are names like Eminem or Taylor Swift, which have had long careers but are always kind of fly-by-night pop sensations and then disappear again until the next album comes out. By now things have changed though. For her third studio album Mariah Carey employed Kenneth Babyface Edmonds, Robert Clivills and David Cole (also known as C+C Music Factory) and Daryl Simmons for production duties. 41. Guinness Book of World Records named the LP the best-selling debut studio effort in music history. This performance indicator has been applied only to the initial list of 85 albums. That month, two major teen pop stars, Justin Bieber and One Direction, clashed when they dropped their new efforts at the same time. Some stats: Five out of the top ten best selling albums in the world were all released during the seventies, the most albums in the 50 by decade goes to the nineties with 16 albums, just beating the eighties with 15. Its a concept album that used a lot of experimental techniques, creating new sounds people had never heard. Five singles were released from Can't Slow Down, all of which hit the top ten of the Billboard Hot 100 chart, including two that reached number-one: "All Night Long (All Night)" and "Hello". It was a good choice, being one of the best performing singles ever. Look at those sales numbers! Baby One More Time is Spears most successful album with sales of over 25 million copies worldwide. Meat Loaf Bat Out of Hell (1977) 43m The top selling album of all time in the United States based on certified unit sales is currently the Eagles' Greatest Hits, with 38 million copies sold. Drama in the music industry is fun! Complex Media, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 1991 was the first year that Nielsen started tracking music sales data. Top 50 of ALL TIME and the Beach Boys Pet Shop isnt on this list is a SHAME. Trivia Facts: Thriller marked the first time Michael Jackson reached the top of the Billboard 200, back when it was called the Billboard Top LPs & Tapes chart. I Feel Like a Woman and That Dont Impress Me Much, the album stayed on the US top 10 for 54 weeks, and set a record for longest stay in the Top 20 of the Billboard 200 of 112 weeks. 26. Her label certainly wants to push pure sales with her history in that segment, but I wouldnt count out a really big streaming debut. The record was a commercial success, charting at number-one in the US for 15 weeks. On June 20, "Yet to Come" ranked No. The follow up to Thriller reached number-one in 25 countries, sold at least two million copies in its first week in the US and remained in the top five on the Billboard 200 album chart for 38 weeks, setting a record for the longest run in the top five by an album from a male solo artist. Her debut studio album received Grammy Awards for Album of the Year and Best Pop Vocal Album; the song Dont Know Why won Song of the Year, Record of the Year, and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. I must admit though that the only album on which I have actually loved every single song / the only one that I would listen to from A to Z without skipping a single one was Jagged Little Pill! Perhaps the biggest outlier in the top 10 is Folklore by Taylor Swift which lies inside the indie genre. Around the time of this release the Gallagher brothers were featured regularly in tabloid newspapers for their sibling disputes and wild lifestyles. Those numbers make it one of thefastest-selling records of all time, or more accurately, sinceSoundscan started tracking sales in 1991. The eleventh studio album by Pink Floyd was a rock opera; its story explores Pink, a jaded rock star whose eventual self-imposed isolation from society is symbolised by a wall. The album is the only re-recorded album to ever reach the top spot, and has made Swift the first woman to have three No. Despite the albums success, the duo went their separate ways shortly after the albums release with their last performance at that time in the Forest Hills Stadium on July 18, 1970. 22. 15. Then, what happens when we mix both factors, the number of songs by album and Spotifys MAU? The list is obviously US-dominated, with 50 albums coming from the Hip Hop / R&B branch. 2Pac continued to post great first weeks with "Loyal to the Game" debuting with 330K. On the US Scale at least, Apple Music is completely paid, and Rap DOMINATES, compared to US Spotify where Pop fares way better. Adele 25 (2015) 22m The debut studio album by American rock band Linkin Park has sold over 11m copies in the US alone. None of the band members had any say in this release happening, and felt it was a ploy by the record company to make more money without additional expenses. The album has a perfect score among the top professional ratings critic groups. The band and studio had an open budget, which meant they did a lot of goofing off, which delayed the release of the album. Naturally, the leader of urban music comes on top. 2. The first time we updated this list there were no Latin albums to be seen on the list at all. Purpose and Scorpion are comfortably inside the Top 5, while Post Malone, Lamar and Grande record similar results one step behind, which was also expected. 19. Divide by British superstar Ed Sheeran is a close runner up with almost 3 streams per user. Nominated for nine Grammy Awards, winning five, including Album of the Year, Jagged Little Pill topped the charts in thirteen countries; with sales of over 33 million copies worldwide. In truth, its surely way more loyal to this artform than downloads ever where. })(); Best selling artists, albums and singles of all-time. Its one of the best arena rock albums ever and a high watermark for heavy metal music. In fact, so far as many as 72 releases have broken the 100 million mark during their first week. Learn how your comment data is processed.