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Interesting Facts - Music

Albums
The term album, as used today to mean a collection of songs (whether on LP, CD, or digital files), was once literal. Before the advent of 12” records that played at 33 1/3 RPM in 1948, music fans collected 78 rpm records in cases resembling photo albums.

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The 100 Best Selling Albums of All Time

According to the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) (2017)

(Note: these are US-based numbers. The RIAA counts an "album sale" as either a direct album purchase, or the "album equivalent" of 10 downloaded singles from the same album, or 1,500 streams from the same album.)

1. Michael Jackson - Thriller
(33 million certified units)

2. Eagles - Their Greatest Hits 1971-1975
(29 million)

3. Billy Joel - Greatest Hits Volume I & Volume II
(23 million)

4. Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin IV
(23 million)

5. Pink Floyd - The Wall
(23 million)

6. AC/DC - Back In Black
(22 million)

7. Garth Brooks - Double Live
(21 million)

8. Fleetwood Mac - Rumours
(20 million)

9. Shania Twain - Come On Over
(20 million)

10. The Beatles - The Beatles
(19 million)

11. Guns N’ Roses - Appetite for Destruction
(18 million)

12. Boston - Boston
(17 million)

13. Elton John - Greatest Hits
(17 million)

14. Garth Brooks - No Fences
(17 million)

15. The Beatles - The Beatles 1967-1970
(17 million)

16. Whitney Houston - The Bodyguard (Soundtrack)
(17 million)

17. Alanis Morissette - Jagged Little Pill
(16 million)

18. Eagles - Hotel California
(16 million)

19. Hootie & The Blowfish - Cracked Rear View
(16 million)

20. Led Zeppelin - Physical Graffiti
(16 million)

21. Metallica - Metallica
(16 million)

22. Bee Gees - Saturday Night Fever (Soundtrack)
(15 million)

23. Bob Marley & the Wailers - Legend
(15 million)

24. Bruce Springsteen - Born In the U.S.A.
(15 million)

25. Journey - Greatest Hits 
(15 million)

26. Pink Floyd - Dark Side of the Moon
(15 million)

27. Santana - Supernatural
(15 million)

28. The Beatles - The Beatles 1962-1966
(15 million)

29. Adele - 21
(14 million)

30. Backstreet Boys - Backstreet Boys
(14 million)

31. Britney Spears - Baby One More Time
(14 million)

32. Garth Brooks - Ropin’ the Wind
(14 million)

33. Meat Loaf - Bat Out of Hell
(14 million)

34. Simon & Garfunkel - Simon & Garfunkel’s Greatest Hits
(14 million)

35. Backstreet Boys - Millennium
(13 million)

36. Bruce Springsteen - Bruce Springsteen & 
the E Street Band Live 1975-’85
(13 million)

37. Pearl Jam - Ten
(13 million)

38. Prince & the Revolution - Purple Rain (Soundtrack)
(13 million)

39. Steve Miller Band - Greatest Hits 1974-1978
(13 million)

40. Whitney Houston - Whitney Houston
(13 million)

41. Bon Jovi - Slippery When Wet
(12 million)

42. Boyz II Men - II
(12 million)

43. Def Leppard - Hysteria
(12 million)

44. Dixie Chicks - Wide Open Spaces
(12 million)

45. Jewel - Pieces of You
(12 million)

46. Kenny G - Breathless
(12 million)

47. Kenny Rogers - Kenny Rogers’ Greatest Hits
(12 million)

48. Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin II
(12 million)

49. Matchbox Twenty - Yourself or Someone Like You
(12 million)

50. Phil Collins - No Jacket Required
(12 million)

51. Shania Twain - The Woman In Me
(12 million)

52. Forest Gump (Soundtrack)
(12 million)

53. The Beatles - Abbey Road
(12 million)

54. The Rolling Stones - Hot Rocks
(12 million)

55. Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers - Greatest Hits
(12 million)

56. ‘N Sync - No Strings Attached
(11 million)

57. Aerosmith - Aerosmith’s Greatest Hits
(11 million)

58. Celine Dion - Falling Into You
(11 million)

59. Creed - Human Clay
(11 million)

60. Eagles - Eagles Greatest Hits Volume II
(11 million)

61. James Taylor - James Taylor’s Greatest Hits
(11 million)

62. Kid Rock - Devil Without a Cause
(11 million)

63. Led Zeppelin - Houses of the Holy
(11 million)

64. Outkast - Speakerboxxx/The Love Below
(11 million)

65. Shania Twain - Up!
(11 million)

66. Dirty Dancing (Soundtrack)
(11 million)

67. Titanic (Soundtrack)
(11 million)

68. The Beatles - 1
(11 milllion)

69. The Beatles - Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band
(11 million)

70. TLC - Crazysexycool
(11 million)

71. ‘N Sync - ‘N Sync
(10 million)

72. 2 Pac - Greatest Hits
(10 million)

73. 2 Pac - All Eyez on Me
(10 million)

74. Adele - 25
(10 million)

75. Beastie Boys - Licensed to Ill
(10 million)

76. Billy Joel - The Stranger
(10 million)

77. Britney Spears - Oops! ...I Did It Again
(10 million)

78. Carole King - Tapestry
(10 million)

79. Celine Dion - Let’s Talk About Love
(10 million)

80. Creedance Clearwater Revival - Chronicle: 
20 Greatest Hits
(10 million)

81. Def Leppard - Pyromania
(10 million)

82. Dixie Chicks - Fly
(10 million)

83. Doobie Brothers - Best of the Doobies
(10 million)

84. Elvis Presley - Elvis’ Christmas Album
(10 million)

85. Eminem - The Marshall Mathers EP
(10 million)

86. Eminem - The Eminem Show
(10 million)

87. Eric Clapton - Unplugged
(10 million)

88. Garth Brooks - The Ultimate Hits
(10 million)

89. Garth Brooks - Garth Brooks
(10 million)

90. Garth Brooks - The Hits
(10 million)

91. Garth Brooks - Sevens
(10 million)

92. George Michael - Faith
(10 million)

93. Green Day - Dookie
(10 million)

94. Hammer - Please Hammer Don’t Hurt ‘Em
(10 million)

95. Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin
(10 million)

96. Linkin Park - Hybrid Theory
(10 million)

97. Lionel Richie - Can’t Slow Down
(10 million)

98. Madonna - The Immaculate Collection
(10 million)

99. Madonna - Like a Virgin
(10 million)

100. Mariah Carey - Daydream
(10 million)






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