Legend

Colors
	Studio Albums
	Greatest Hits & Compilations
	Soundtracks

Groupings are based on different sales benchmarks, the highest being for claims of at least 40 million copies, and the lowest being for claims of 20–29 million copies. Albums are listed in order of number of copies sold and thereafter by the artist's first name.

40 million copies or more

Artist	Album	Released	Genre	Sales (millions)
Michael Jackson	Thriller	1982	Pop / Rock / R&B	110
AC/DC	Back in Black	1980	Hard rock / Heavy metal	49
Pink Floyd	The Dark Side of the Moon	1973	Progressive rock	45
Whitney Houston / Various artists	The Bodyguard	1992	Soundtrack	44
Meat Loaf	Bat Out of Hell	1977	Rock	43
Eagles	Their Greatest Hits (1971–1975)	1976	Rock	42
Various artists	Dirty Dancing	1987	Soundtrack	42
Backstreet Boys	Millennium	1999	Pop	40
Bee Gees / Various artists	Saturday Night Fever	1977	Soundtrack	40
Fleetwood Mac	Rumours	1977	Rock	40
Shania Twain	Come On Over	1997	Country / Pop	40

30–39 million copies

Artist	Album	Released	Genre	Sales (millions)
Led Zeppelin	Led Zeppelin IV	1971	Hard rock / Heavy metal	37
Alanis Morissette	Jagged Little Pill	1995	Rock	33
The Beatles	Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band	1967	Rock	32
Celine Dion	Falling into You	1996	Pop	32
Mariah Carey	Music Box	1993	Pop / R&B	32
Michael Jackson	Dangerous	1991	Pop / Rock	32
The Beatles	1	2000	Rock	31
Celine Dion	Let's Talk About Love	1997	Pop	31
Bee Gees	Spirits Having Flown	1979	Disco / Pop	30
Bruce Springsteen	Born in the U.S.A.	1984	Rock	30
Dire Straits	Brothers in Arms	1985	Rock	30
James Horner	Titanic	1997	Soundtrack	30
Madonna	The Immaculate Collection	1990	Pop / Dance	30
Michael Jackson	Bad	1987	Pop / Rock	30
Pink Floyd	The Wall	1979	Progressive rock	30
Nirvana	Nevermind	1991	Grunge / Alternative rock	30

20–29 million copies

Artist	Album	Released	Genre	Sales (millions)
ABBA	ABBA Gold: Greatest Hits	1992	Pop	28
Backstreet Boys	Backstreet's Back	1997	Pop	28
Bon Jovi	Slippery When Wet	1986	Hard rock	28
Guns N' Roses	Appetite for Destruction	1987	Hard rock / Heavy metal	28
Various artists	Grease	1978	Soundtrack	28
Santana	Supernatural	1999	Rock	27
Britney Spears	...Baby One More Time	1999	Pop	26
Carole King	Tapestry	1971	Pop	25
Iron Butterfly	In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida	1968	Psychedelic rock	25
Mariah Carey	Daydream	1995	Pop / R&B	25
Queen	Greatest Hits	1981	Rock	25
Simon & Garfunkel	Bridge over Troubled Water	1970	Folk Rock	25
U2	The Joshua Tree	1987	Rock	25
Whitney Houston	Whitney Houston	1985	Pop / R&B	25
Backstreet Boys	Black & Blue	2000	Pop	24
Linkin Park	Hybrid Theory	2000	Nu metal / Rap metal / Alternative rock	24
Madonna	True Blue	1986	Pop	24
Ace of Base	Happy Nation/The Sign	1993	Pop	23
Spice Girls	Spice	1996	Pop	23
Metallica	Metallica	1991	Heavy metal	22
Oasis	(What's the Story) Morning Glory?	1995	Britpop / Rock	22
Dido	No Angel	1999	Pop	21
Madonna	Like a Virgin	1984	Pop / Dance	21
Billy Ray Cyrus	Some Gave All	1992	Country	20
Bob Marley & The Wailers	Legend: The Best of Bob Marley & The Wailers	1984	Reggae	20
Blondie	Parallel Lines	1978	Rock	20
Bon Jovi	Cross Road	1994	Rock	20
Britney Spears	Oops!... I Did It Again	2000	Pop	20
Céline Dion	The Colour of My Love	1993	Pop	20
Cher	Believe	1999	Pop	20
Def Leppard	Hysteria	1987	Hard rock	20
Janet Jackson	janet.	1993	Pop / R&B	20
Madonna	Ray of Light	1998	Pop / Electronic	20
Michael Jackson	HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I	1995	Pop / Rock / R&B	20
Michael Jackson	Off the Wall	1979	Soul / Disco / R&B	20
Norah Jones	Come Away with Me	2002	Jazz	20
Prince & The Revolution	Purple Rain	1984	Soundtrack	20
Spice Girls	Spiceworld	1997	Pop	20
Tina Turner	Private Dancer	1984	Rock	20
Usher	Confessions	2004	R&B	20