Best-selling albums in the United States since Nielsen SoundScan tracking began

This is a list of best-selling albums in the United States since Nielsen SoundScan tracking began. Nielsen SoundScan began tracking sales data for Billboard on March 1, 1991. The list of albums sales are between 1991 to 2010 (see below):

NOTE: Nielsen SoundScan data is unrelated to the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) certifications. Nielsen SoundScan data is based on actual sales and the RIAA's certification process is based on shipments.

Contents

Best-sellers (overall)

1991-2010 list[1]

  1. Metallica / Metallica ~ 15,620,000
  2. Come on Over / Shania Twain ~ 15,499,000
  3. Jagged Little Pill / Alanis Morissette ~ 14,673,000
  4. Millennium / Backstreet Boys ~ 12,115,000
  5. The Bodyguard / Soundtrack ~ 11,823,000
  6. Supernatural / Santana ~ 11,709,000
  7. 1 / The Beatles ~ 11,703,000
  8. Human Clay / Creed ~ 11,563,000
  9. No Strings Attached / 'N Sync ~ 11,117,000
  10. Falling into You / Celine Dion ~ 10,785,000

1991-2009 list[2]

  1. Metallica / Metallica ~ 15,525,000
  2. Come on Over / Shania Twain ~ 15,487,000
  3. Jagged Little Pill / Alanis Morissette ~ 14,642,000
  4. Millennium / Backstreet Boys ~ 12,109,000
  5. The Bodyguard / Soundtrack ~ 11,815,000
  6. Supernatural / Santana ~ 11,687,000
  7. 1 / The Beatles ~ 11,564,000
  8. Human Clay / Creed ~ 11,547,000
  9. No Strings Attached / 'N Sync ~ 11,113,000
  10. Falling into You / Celine Dion ~ 10,781,000

1991-2008 list[3]

  1. Come on Over / Shania Twain ~ 15,473,000
  2. Metallica / Metallica ~ 15,319,000
  3. Jagged Little Pill / Alanis Morissette ~ 14,607,000
  4. Millennium / Backstreet Boys ~ 12,104,000
  5. The Bodyguard / Soundtrack ~ 11,805,000
  6. Supernatural / Santana ~ 11,673,000
  7. Human Clay / Creed ~ 11,525,000
  8. 1 / The Beatles ~ 11,345,000
  9. No Strings Attached / 'N Sync ~ 11,109,000
  10. Falling into You / Celine Dion ~ 10,768,000

1991-2007 list[4]

  1. Come on Over / Shania Twain ~ 15,449,000
  2. Metallica / Metallica ~ 15,077,000
  3. Jagged Little Pill / Alanis Morissette ~ 14,557,000
  4. Millennium / Backstreet Boys ~ 12,099,000
  5. The Bodyguard / Soundtrack ~ 11,798,000
  6. Supernatural / Santana ~ 11,643,000
  7. Human Clay / Creed ~ 11,504,000
  8. No Strings Attached / 'N Sync ~ 11,104,000
  9. 1 / The Beatles ~ 11,097,000
  10. Falling Into You / Celine Dion ~ 10,768,000

1991-2006 list[5][6]

  1. Come on Over / Shania Twain ~ 15,408,533
  2. Metallica / Metallica ~ 14,819,905
  3. Jagged Little Pill / Alanis Morissette ~ 14,513,325
  4. Millennium / Backstreet Boys ~ 12,091,491
  5. The Bodyguard / Soundtrack ~ 11,789,552
  6. Supernatural / Santana ~ 11,588,453
  7. Human Clay / Creed ~ 11,483,557
  8. No Strings Attached / 'N Sync ~ 11,099,051
  9. 1 / The Beatles ~ 10,821,222
  10. Falling Into You / Celine Dion - 10,768,000

1991-2003 list[7]

  1. Come on Over / Shania Twain ~ 14,896,911
  2. Jagged Little Pill / Alanis Morissette ~ 14,200,822
  3. Metallica / Metallica ~ 13,803,308
  4. Millennium / Backstreet Boys ~ 12,056,675
  5. The Bodyguard / Soundtrack ~ 11,741,779
  6. Supernatural / Santana ~ 11,333,627
  7. Human Clay / Creed ~ 11,291,067
  8. No Strings Attached / 'N Sync ~ 11,069,789
  9. Falling Into You / Celine Dion ~ 10,614,005
  10. ...Baby One More Time / Britney Spears ~ 10,472,878

1991-2002 list[8]

  1. Come on Over / Shania Twain ~ 14,490,470
  2. Jagged Little Pill / Alanis Morissette ~ 14,084,425
  3. Metallica / Metallica ~ 13,332,320
  4. Millennium / Backstreet Boys ~ 12,030,804
  5. The Bodyguard / Soundtrack ~ 11,714,440
  6. Supernatural / Santana ~ 11,165,842
  7. Human Clay / Creed ~ 11,078,203
  8. No Strings Attached / 'N Sync ~ 11,023,057
  9. Falling Into You / Celine Dion ~ 10,525,873
  10. ...Baby One More Time / Britney Spears ~ 10,416,070

1991-2001 list[9]

  1. Come on Over / Shania Twain ~ 14,147,017
  2. Jagged Little Pill / Alanis Morissette ~ 13,890,054
  3. Metallica / Metallica ~ 12,981,888
  4. Millennium / Backstreet Boys ~ 11,971,132
  5. The Bodyguard / Soundtrack ~ 11,689,093
  6. Supernatural / Santana ~ 10,961,112
  7. No Strings Attached / 'N Sync ~ 10,891,514
  8. Human Clay / Creed ~ 10,490,972
  9. Falling Into You / Celine Dion ~ 10,438,190
  10. ...Baby One More Time / Britney Spears ~ 10,269,049

1991-2000 list[10]

  1. Jagged Little Pill / Alanis Morissette ~ 13,729,828
  2. Come On Over / Shania Twain ~ 13,652,045
  3. Metallica / Metallica ~ 12,441,854
  4. Millennium / Backstreet Boys ~ 11,705,375
  5. The Bodyguard / Soundtrack ~ 11,655,923
  6. Supernatural / Santana ~ 10,590,413
  7. Falling Into You / Celine Dion ~ 10,357,969
  8. ...Baby One More Time / Britney Spears ~ 9,981,434
  9. No Strings Attached / 'N Sync ~ 9,936,104
  10. Titanic / Soundtrack ~ 9,897,900

1991-1999 list[11]

  1. Jagged Little Pill / Alanis Morissette ~ 13,542,393
  2. Come On Over / Shania Twain ~ 12,110,660
  3. Metallica / Metallica ~ 11,715,533
  4. The Bodyguard / Soundtrack ~ 11,605,690
  5. Falling Into You / Celine Dion ~ 10,224,282
  6. Cracked Rear View / Hootie & the Blowfish ~ 9,817,666
  7. Titanic / Soundtrack ~ 9,806,175
  8. Millennium / Backstreet Boys ~ 9,445,732
  9. Ropin' the Wind / Garth Brooks ~ 9,370,863
  10. Backstreet Boys / Backstreet Boys ~ 9,258,265

Annual best-sellers

1991

  1. Ropin' The Wind / Garth Brooks ~ 4 million[12]

1992

  1. Some Gave All / Billy Ray Cyrus ~ 4,832,000[13][14]

1993

  1. The Bodyguard / Soundtrack ~ 5,460,000[15]

1994

  1. The Lion King / Soundtrack ~ 4,934,000 [16]

1995

  1. Cracked Rear View / Hootie & the Blowfish ~ 7,020,000[17]

1996

  1. Jagged Little Pill / Alanis Morissette ~ 7,380,000[18]

1997

  1. Spice / Spice Girls ~ 5,302,000[18]

1998[18][19]

  1. Titanic / Soundtrack ~ 9,338,061
  2. Let's Talk About Love / Celine Dion ~ 5,859,421
  3. Backstreet Boys / Backstreet Boys ~ 5,709,369
  4. Come On Over / Shania Twain ~ 4,872,841
  5. *N SYNC / 'N Sync ~ 4,385,148
  6. City of Angels / Soundtrack ~ 4,120,508
  7. Double Live / Garth Brooks ~ 3,892,288
  8. Big Willie Style / Will Smith ~ 3,687,568
  9. Savage Garden / Savage Garden ~ 3,247,406
  10. Armageddon / Soundtrack ~ 3,222,603

1999[18][20]

  1. Millennium / Backstreet Boys ~ 9,445,732
  2. ...Baby One More Time / Britney Spears ~ 8,358,619
  3. Ricky Martin / Ricky Martin ~ 5,981,155
  4. Come On Over / Shania Twain ~ 5,618,134
  5. Significant Other / Limp Bizkit ~ 4,952,890
  6. Supernatural / Santana ~ 4,732,589
  7. Devil Without a Cause / Kid Rock ~ 4,259,736
  8. FanMail / TLC ~ 4,186,685
  9. Christina Aguilera / Christina Aguilera ~ 3,662,905
  10. Wide Open Spaces / Dixie Chicks ~ 3,463,642

2000[18][21]

  1. No Strings Attached / 'N Sync ~ 9,936,104
  2. The Marshall Mathers LP / Eminem ~ 7,921,107
  3. Oops!... I Did It Again / Britney Spears ~ 7,893,544
  4. Human Clay / Creed ~ 6,587,834
  5. Supernatural / Santana ~ 5,857,824
  6. 1 / The Beatles ~ 5,068,300
  7. Country Grammar / Nelly ~ 5,067,529
  8. Black & Blue / Backstreet Boys ~ 4,289,865
  9. 2001 / Dr. Dre ~ 3,992,311
  10. The Writing's on the Wall / Destiny's Child ~ 3,802,165

2001[18][22]

  1. Hybrid Theory / Linkin Park ~ 4,812,852
  2. Hot Shot / Shaggy ~ 4,507,468
  3. Celebrity / 'N Sync ~ 4,421,231
  4. A Day Without Rain / Enya ~ 4,410,053
  5. Break the Cycle / Staind ~ 4,242,507
  6. Songs in A Minor / Alicia Keys ~ 4,102,482
  7. Survivor / Destiny's Child ~ 3,718,446
  8. Weathered / Creed ~ 3,581,344
  9. O Brother, Where Art Thou? / Soundtrack ~ 3,460,852
  10. Now That's What I Call Music! 6 / Various ~ 3,133,462

2002[23]

  1. The Eminem Show / Eminem ~ 7,807,925
  2. Nellyville / Nelly ~ 4,916,073
  3. Let Go / Avril Lavigne ~ 4,121,396
  4. Home / Dixie Chicks ~ 3,690,413
  5. 8 Mile / Various Artists ~ 3,498,497
  6. Missundaztood / Pink ~ 3,144,947
  7. Ashanti / Ashanti ~ 3,099,216
  8. Drive / Alan Jackson ~ 3,054,736
  9. Up! / Shania Twain ~ 2,909,499
  10. O Brother, Where Art Thou? / Soundtrack ~ 2,736,049

2003[24]

  1. Get Rich or Die Tryin' / 50 Cent ~ 6,535,809
  2. Come Away with Me / Norah Jones ~ 5,137,468
  3. Meteora / Linkin Park ~ 3,478,361
  4. Fallen / Evanescence ~ 3,364,738
  5. Speakerboxxx/The Love Below / Outkast ~ 3,089,849
  6. Dangerously in Love / Beyoncé ~ 2,527,485
  7. Chocolate Factory / R. Kelly ~ 2,439,536
  8. Metamorphosis / Hilary Duff ~ 2,405,544
  9. Shock'n Y'all / Toby Keith ~ 2,324,437
  10. A Rush of Blood to the Head / Coldplay ~ 2,183,997

2004[25]

  1. Confessions / Usher ~ 7,978,594
  2. Feels like Home / Norah Jones ~ 3,842,920
  3. Encore / Eminem ~ 3,517,097
  4. When the Sun Goes Down / Kenny Chesney ~ 3,072,224
  5. Here for the Party / Gretchen Wilson ~ 2,931,097
  6. Live Like You Were Dying / Tim McGraw ~ 2,786,840
  7. Songs About Jane / Maroon 5 ~ 2,708,415
  8. Fallen / Evanescence ~ 2,614,226
  9. Autobiography / Ashlee Simpson ~ 2,576,945
  10. Now That's What I Call Music! 16 / Various ~ 2,560,316

2005[16][26]

  1. The Emancipation of Mimi / Mariah Carey ~ 4,968,606
  2. The Massacre / 50 Cent ~ 4,852,744
  3. Breakaway / Kelly Clarkson ~ 3,496,192
  4. American Idiot / Green Day ~ 3,360,394
  5. Monkey Business / The Black Eyed Peas ~ 3,037,251
  6. X&Y / Coldplay ~ 2,615,280
  7. Feels Like Today / Rascal Flatts ~ 2,511,209
  8. Love. Angel. Music. Baby. / Gwen Stefani ~ 2,505,390
  9. Late Registration / Kanye West ~ 2,413,580
  10. The Documentary / The Game ~ 2,275,646

2006[27]

  1. High School Musical / Soundtrack ~ 3,719,071
  2. Me and My Gang / Rascal Flatts ~ 3,479,994
  3. Some Hearts / Carrie Underwood ~ 3,016,031
  4. All the Right Reasons / Nickelback ~ 2,688,138
  5. FutureSex/LoveSounds / Justin Timberlake ~ 2,377,127
  6. Back to Bedlam / James Blunt ~ 2,137,196
  7. B'Day / Beyoncé ~ 2,010,311
  8. Hannah Montana / Soundtrack ~ 1,987,681
  9. Taking the Long Way / Dixie Chicks ~ 1,856,284
  10. Extreme Behavior / Hinder ~ 1,817,350

2007[4]

  1. Noël / Josh Groban ~ 3,698,934
  2. High School Musical 2 / Soundtrack ~ 2,956,799
  3. Long Road Out of Eden / Eagles ~ 2,608,338
  4. As I Am / Alicia Keys ~ 2,543,224
  5. Daughtry / Daughtry ~ 2,497,457
  6. Hannah Montana 2/Meet Miley Cyrus / Soundtrack/Miley Cyrus ~ 2,487,346
  7. Minutes to Midnight / Linkin Park ~ 2,098,941
  8. The Dutchess / Fergie 2,063,572
  9. Taylor Swift /Taylor Swift ~ 1,950,641
  10. Graduation / Kanye West ~ 1,891,918

2008[3]

  1. Tha Carter III / Lil Wayne ~ 2,874,420
  2. Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends / Coldplay ~ 2,143,928
  3. Fearless / Taylor Swift ~ 2,112,179
  4. Rock N Roll Jesus / Kid Rock ~ 2,017,905
  5. Black Ice / AC/DC ~ 1,915,172
  6. Taylor Swift / Taylor Swift ~ 1,597,316
  7. Death Magnetic / Metallica ~ 1,565,078
  8. Paper Trail / T.I. ~ 1,522,103
  9. Sleep Through The Static / Jack Johnson ~ 1,492,466
  10. I Am... Sasha Fierce / Beyoncé ~ 1,458,853

2009[28]

  1. Fearless / Taylor Swift ~ 3,216,988
  2. I Dreamed a Dream / Susan Boyle ~ 3,103,828
  3. Number Ones / Michael Jackson ~ 2,355,449
  4. The Fame / Lady Gaga ~ 2,237,750
  5. My Christmas / Andrea Bocelli ~ 2,207,202
  6. Hannah Montana: The Movie (soundtrack) / Hannah Montana ~ 1,823,435
  7. The E.N.D. / The Black Eyed Peas ~ 1,786,825
  8. Relapse / Eminem ~ 1,735,358
  9. The Blueprint 3 / Jay-Z ~ 1,514,758
  10. Only by the Night / Kings of Leon ~ 1,397,693

2010[29]

  1. Recovery / Eminem ~ 3,414,927
  2. Need You Now / Lady Antebellum ~ 3,089,303
  3. Speak Now / Taylor Swift ~ 2,960,331
  4. My World 2.0 / Justin Bieber ~ 2,318,745
  5. The Gift / Susan Boyle ~ 1,851,753
  6. The Fame / Lady Gaga ~ 1,590,839
  7. Soldier of Love / Sade ~ 1,299,761
  8. Thank Me Later / Drake ~ 1,268,780
  9. Raymond v. Raymond / Usher ~ 1,182,632
  10. Animal / Ke$ha ~ 1,143,285

Decade best-sellers

2000-2009[30]

  1. 1 / The Beatles ~ 11,564,000
  2. No Strings Attached / 'N Sync ~ 11,113,000
  3. Come Away With Me / Norah Jones ~ 10,579,000
  4. The Marshall Mathers LP / Eminem ~ 10,216,000
  5. The Eminem Show / Eminem ~ 9,818,000
  6. Confessions / Usher ~ 9,730,000
  7. Hybrid Theory / Linkin Park ~ 9,697,000
  8. Human Clay / Creed ~ 9,495,000
  9. Oops!... I Did It Again / Britney Spears ~ 9,184,000
  10. Country Grammar / Nelly ~ 8,464,000

References

Nielsen SoundScan

  1. ^ For all 2010
  2. ^ Soundscan End of Year Report: For all 2009
  3. ^ a b Soundscan End of Year Report: For all 2008
  4. ^ a b Reuters Press Release: 2007 U.S. Music Purchases Exceed 1.4 Billion
  5. ^ Top Selling Albums of SoundScan Era (1991 – 12/30/2006)
  6. ^ Press Release Nielsen Music 2006 Year-End Music Industry Report
  7. ^ Top Selling Albums of SoundScan Era (1991 – 12/30/2003)
  8. ^ Top Selling Albums of SoundScan Era (1991 – 12/22/2002)
  9. ^ Top Selling Albums of SoundScan Era (1991 – 12/30/2001)
  10. ^ Top Selling Albums of SoundScan Era (1991 – 12/30/2000)
  11. ^ Top Selling Albums of SoundScan Era (1991 – 12/30/1999)
  12. ^ Philips, Chuck (1992-01-06). "A Welcome Sales Surge - Last-Minute Blitz in '91 Gives Record Industry a Boost". Los Angeles Times. http://articles.latimes.com/1992-01-06/entertainment/ca-1197_1_record-industry. Retrieved 2009-08-08. 
  13. ^ Grein. "Week Of Dec. 31, 2007: Blige Takes The Week (Groban Wins The Year)". http://new.music.yahoo.com/blogs/chart_watch/2425/week-of-dec-31-2007-blige-takes-the-week-groban-wins-the-year/. Retrieved 2009-08-08. 
  14. ^ Grein. "Week Ending Nov. 8, 2009: The Host With The Most". http://new.music.yahoo.com/blogs/chart_watch/42196/week-ending-nov-8-2009-the-host-with-the-most/. Retrieved 2009-11-11. 
  15. ^ "Chart Watch Extra: 20 Years of Top Albums". Yahoo!. Archived from the original on 2011-05-12. http://new.music.yahoo.com/blogs/chart_watch/74364/chart-watch-extra-20-years-of-top-albums/;_ylt=Anood9SEGJWf.g_BZBmUVQkPwiUv. Retrieved 2011-05-13. 
  16. ^ a b Grein. "Chart Watch Extra: 20 Years of Top Albums". http://new.music.yahoo.com/blogs/chart_watch/74364/chart-watch-extra-20-years-of-top-albums/;_ylt=Anood9SEGJWf.g_BZBmUVQkPwiUv. Retrieved 2011-05-13. 
  17. ^ "Chart Watch Extra: 20 Years of Top Albums". Yahoo!. 2011-05-12. http://new.music.yahoo.com/blogs/chart_watch/74364/chart-watch-extra-20-years-of-top-albums/;_ylt=Anood9SEGJWf.g_BZBmUVQkPwiUv. Retrieved 2011-05-13. 
  18. ^ a b c d e f "Got Charts? Linkin Park, Shaggy, 'NSYNC Are 2001's Top-Sellers". MTV.com. http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1451664/20020104/linkin_park.jhtml. Retrieved 2009-08-08. 
  19. ^ 1998 Year-End Music Industry Report
  20. ^ SoundScan 1999 Year-End Music Industry Report
  21. ^ Audio/Video Revolution: Record Sales Up 4% in 2000 � Despite Napster & MP3.com
  22. ^ Linkin Park's 'Hybrid Theory' Best Selling Album In 2001
  23. ^ MTV News:Eminem Sold Most Albums, Nickelback Ruled Radio In '02
  24. ^ Nielsen SoundScan and Nielsen BDS 2003 Year End Music Industry Report
  25. ^ CBC News:More music purchases in 2004: Nielsen SoundScan
  26. ^ a Phil Brodie Band Muso Information Page
  27. ^ Nielsen Music 2006 Year-End Music Industry Report
  28. ^ Nielsen Music 2009 Year-End Music Industry Report, Businesswire.com, Jan 7, 2010 article.
  29. ^ Nielsen Music 2010 Year-End Music Industry Report, Billboard | accessdate= january 5, 2011}}
  30. ^ http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20335406,00.html