List of fastest-selling albums

A fast-selling album is defined as one with high sales in its first week following release.[1][2]

Canada

This is a list of the fastest-selling albums in Canada since Nielsen SoundScan tracking began in 1995.

Rank Year Title Artist Sales Reference
1 1997 Let's Talk About Love Céline Dion 230,212 [3][4]
2 1999 Millennium Backstreet Boys 191,791 [5][6]
3 2003 Star Académie Star Académie 173,000 [7]
4 2000 Black & Blue Backstreet Boys 156,307 [5]
5 2002 A New Day Has Come Céline Dion 151,600 [8]
6 2002 Up! Shania Twain 150,000 [9]
7 2008 Black Ice AC/DC 119,000 [10]
9 2014 1989 Taylor Swift 107,000 [11]
10 2013 Loved Me Back to Life Céline Dion 106,000 [12]

Japan

This is a list of the fastest-selling albums in Japan since Oricon was founded in November 1967.

Rank Year Title Artist Sales Reference
1 2001 Distance Hikaru Utada 3,002,720 [13][14]
2 2001 A Best Ayumi Hamasaki 2,874,870 [13][14]
3 1998 The Best "Pleasure" B'z 2,709,530 [14][15]
4 1998 The Best "Treasure" B'z 2,500,120 [14][16]
5 2002 Deep River Hikaru Utada 2,350,170 [14][17]
6 2000 Delicious Way Mai Kuraki 2,218,640 [14][18]
7 1999 First Love Hikaru Utada 2,026,870 [14][19]
8 1997 Review Glay 2,003,150 [14][20]
9 1996 Sweet 19 Blues Namie Amuro 1,921,850 [14][21]
10 2002 I Am... Ayumi Hamasaki 1,751,360 [14][22]

United Kingdom

This is a list of the fastest-selling albums in the United Kingdom as of April 2011.

Rank Year Title Artist Sales Reference
1 1997 Be Here Now[I] Oasis 763,735 [23]
2 2010 Progress Take That 518,601 [24]
3 2005 X&Y Coldplay 464,471 [25]
4 2008 The Circus Take That 432,490 [26]
5 2009 I Dreamed a Dream Susan Boyle 411,820 [27]
6 2003 Life for Rent Dido 400,351 [28]
7 2007 Spirit Leona Lewis 375,872 [29]
8 2005 Intensive Care Robbie Williams 373,832 [30]
9 2006 Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not Arctic Monkeys 363,735 [31]
10 1988 Rattle and Hum U2 360,000 [32]

Notes:
^ I Be Here Now was unconventionally released on a Thursday and debuted at number one based on three-day sales of 695,761. The opening number denotes sales from its first full week of availability, which went from Thursday to Wednesday.

United States

This is a list of the fastest-selling albums in the United States since Nielsen SoundScan tracking began on March 1, 1991.

Rank Year Title Artist Sales Reference
1 2000 No Strings Attached *NSYNC 2,415,859 [33]
2 2001 Celebrity *NSYNC 1,879,955 [34]
3 2000 The Marshall Mathers LP Eminem 1,760,049 [35]
4 2000 Black & Blue Backstreet Boys 1,591,191 [36]
5 2002 The Eminem Show Eminem 1,321,799 [37]
6 2000 Oops!... I Did It Again Britney Spears 1,319,193 [38]
7 2014 1989 Taylor Swift 1,287,000 [39]
8 2012 Red Taylor Swift 1,208,000 [40]
9 2005 The Massacre[I] 50 Cent 1,140,638 [41]
10 1999 Millennium Backstreet Boys 1,133,505 [42]

Notes:

^ I The opening number denotes sales from the first four days of availability as The Massacre was unconventionally released in the middle of the week.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Lady Gaga's 'Born This Way' headed toward 1 million-plus first week sales, Billboard says", LA Times, May 30, 2011
  2. ↑ "50 fastest selling albums ever", NME, Apr 27, 2011
  3. ↑ Toronto Star (23 November 1997). "Dion's latest CD shatters sales records". Retrieved 25 October 2012.
  4. ↑ Williams, John (28 November 2007). "Celine is queen of Cdn. charts". Canoe Jam!. Retrieved 1 November 2012.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Cantin, Paul (29 November 2000). "Backstreet falls short of record". Canoe Jam!. Retrieved 1 November 2012.
  6. ↑ All Pop (29 March 2000). "*Nsync album smashes sales record". Canoe Jam!. Retrieved 1 November 2012.
  7. ↑ Williams, John (9 April 2003). "Celine ousted from top of charts". Canoe Jam!. Retrieved 1 November 2012.
  8. ↑ Williams, John (2 April 2003). "Celine's 'One Heart' debuts at No. 1". Canoe Jam!. Retrieved 1 November 2012.
  9. ↑ Williams, John (27 November 2002). "Shania debuts at No. 1". Canoe Jam!. Retrieved 1 November 2012.
  10. ↑ Williams, John (29 October 2008). "AC/DC's 'Ice' has rock solid debut". Canoe Jam!. Retrieved 1 November 2012.
  11. ↑ Cross, Alan (November 5, 2015). "Weekly Music Sales and Analysis: 05 November 2014". A Journal of Musical Things. Retrieved 5 November 2014.
  12. ↑ Tuch, Paul (November 13, 2013). "Céline Dion scores 13th number one album". Billboard. Retrieved 17 November 2013.
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 Oricon (9 April 2001). "Japan's Top Selling Albums" (in Japanese). Retrieved 25 October 2012.
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 14.3 14.4 14.5 14.6 14.7 14.8 14.9 Oricon. 歴代アルバム初動ランキング (in Japanese). Music TV. Retrieved 2 November 2012.
  15. ↑ Oricon (1 June 1998). "Japan's Top Selling Albums" (in Japanese). Retrieved 25 October 2012.
  16. ↑ Oricon (28 September 1998). "Japan's Top Selling Albums" (in Japanese). Retrieved 25 October 2012.
  17. ↑ Oricon (1 July 2002). "Japan's Top Selling Albums" (in Japanese). Retrieved 25 October 2012.
  18. ↑ Oricon (10 July 2000). "Japan's Top Selling Albums" (in Japanese). Retrieved 25 October 2012.
  19. ↑ Oricon (22 March 1999). "Japan's Top Selling Albums" (in Japanese). Retrieved 25 October 2012.
  20. ↑ Oricon (13 October 1997). "Japan's Top Selling Albums" (in Japanese). Retrieved 25 October 2012.
  21. ↑ Oricon (5 August 1996). "Japan's Top Selling Albums" (in Japanese). Retrieved 25 October 2012.
  22. ↑ Oricon (14 January 2002). "Japan's Top Selling Albums" (in Japanese). Retrieved 25 October 2012.
  23. ↑ NME (27 April 2011). "50 fastest-selling albums ever". Retrieved 25 October 2012.
  24. ↑ NME (27 April 2011). "50 fastest-selling albums ever". Retrieved 25 October 2012.
  25. ↑ NME (27 April 2011). "50 fastest-selling albums ever". Retrieved 25 October 2012.
  26. ↑ NME (27 April 2011). "50 fastest-selling albums ever". Retrieved 25 October 2012.
  27. ↑ NME (27 April 2011). "50 fastest-selling albums ever". Retrieved 25 October 2012.
  28. ↑ NME (27 April 2011). "50 fastest-selling albums ever". Retrieved 25 October 2012.
  29. ↑ NME (27 April 2011). "50 fastest-selling albums ever". Retrieved 25 October 2012.
  30. ↑ NME (27 April 2011). "50 fastest-selling albums ever". Retrieved 25 October 2012.
  31. ↑ NME (27 April 2011). "50 fastest-selling albums ever". Retrieved 25 October 2012.
  32. ↑ NME (27 April 2011). "50 fastest-selling albums ever". Retrieved 25 October 2012.
  33. ↑ Boucher, Geoff (30 March 2000). "'2pac'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 25 October 2012.
  34. ↑ Dansby, Andrew (1 August 2001). "'N Sync Set Second Best Mark". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 25 October 2012.
  35. ↑ Farber, Jim; Hinckley, David (8 June 2000). "News Beat". NY Daily News. Retrieved 25 October 2012.
  36. ↑ Nielsen SoundScan (3 December 2000). "U.S. Top Selling Albums". Entertainment One Distribution B2B. Retrieved 25 October 2012.
  37. ↑ Hilburn, Robert (25 November 2004). "Eminem denies Destiny". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 25 October 2012.
  38. ↑ Skanse, Richard (25 May 2000). "Oops!... She Sold 1.3 Million Albums: Britney Spears". Rolling Stone (Jann Wenner). ISSN 0035-791X.
  39. ↑ Keith Caulfield (November 4, 2014). "Taylor Swift's 1989 Debuts with 1.287 million copies sold". "Billboard". Retrieved November 4, 2014.
  40. ↑ Caulfield, Keith (30 October 2012). "Taylor Swift's 'Red' Sells 1.21 Million; Biggest Sales Week for an Album Since 2002". Billboard. Retrieved 30 October 2012.
  41. ↑ Friday Morning Quarterback (8 March 2005). "50 Cent Unleashes The Massacre". Retrieved 25 October 2012.
  42. ↑ O'Connor, Christopher (26 May 1999). "Backstreet Boys Smash Sales Mark With Millennium". MTV News. Retrieved 25 October 2012.
  43. ↑ McWhirter, Alan R. (1975). Guinness Book of World Records 1975. Sterling. p. 241. Retrieved 2013-02-21.
  44. ↑ "Billboard Vol. 76, No. 28 – 11 Jul 1964". Billboard. 11 July 1964. Retrieved 1 February 2013.
  45. ↑ Spizer, Bruce and Ken Mansfield (1 March 2003). The Beatles on Apple Records. 498 Productions, L.L.C.
  46. ↑ Crandall, Bill (27 December 2000). "Beatles Move One Million "1"s in One Week". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 25 October 2012.