The 50 best-selling music artists of all time

Beyoncé Knowles-Carter and Taylor Swift attend the "Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour" Concert Movie World Premiere at AMC The Grove 14 on October 11, 2023 in Los Angeles, CaliforniaJohn Shearer/Getty Images for TASThe best-selling musicians of all time include Taylor Swift, Tim McGraw, and Whitney Houston.RIAA ranked the best-selling musicians of all time based on total album units sold in the US.Swift, Drake, and Beyoncé are among the newest artists to make the cut.You might feel like Taylor Swift is the biggest musician of all time thanks to the number of albums she's recorded, the tickets she's sold, and the headlines she's generated.In fact, she hasn't cracked the top 20.The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) lists the best-selling musicians of all time, based on total certified album units sold in the US. It also includes streaming figures.Artists from multiple different genres — pop, country, instrumental jazz, rap, metal — have earned their spots on this list.Keep scrolling to see the 50 best-selling music artists of all time in the US by album sales.John Lynch, Travis Clark, and Will Gendron contributed to a previous version of this post. 50. Bob Dylan — 36 million unitsVal Wilmer/Redferns/Getty Images49. Tupac Shakur — 36.5 millionRon Galella/Ron Galella Collection/Getty Images47 (tie). Beyoncé — 37 million unitsBeyoncé performs onstage during the "RENAISSANCE WORLD TOUR" at PGE Narodowy on June 27, 2023 iKevin Mazur/WireImage for Parkwood/Getty Images47 (tie). Backstreet Boys — 37 million unitsPaul Bergen/Redferns/Getty Images45 (tie). Rod Stewart — 38 million unitsLisa Maree Williams/Getty Images45 (tie). Foreigner — 38 million unitsTerry Wyatt/Getty Images43 (tie). Simon & Garfunkel — 38.5 million unitsHulton Archive/Getty Images43 (tie). Britney Spears — 38.5 millionBritney Spears performs during Now! 99.7 Triple Ho Show 7.0 at SAP Center on December 3, 2016Tim Mosenfelder/Getty Images42. Chicago — 39 million unitsIan Showell/Keystone/Getty Images41. Eric Clapton — 40 million unitsPhil Dent/Redferns/Getty Images38 (tie). Tim McGraw — 41 million unitsMichael Hickey/Getty Images38 (tie). Reba McEntire — 41 million unitsJason Kempin/Getty Images38 (tie). Bon Jovi — 41 million unitsJon Bon Jovi of the band Bon Jovi performs on stage during Rock In Rio day 3 at Cidade do Rock on September 29, 2019 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.Alexandre Schneider/Getty Images37. Queen — 43 million unitsFin Costello/Redferns/Getty Images36. Santana — 43.5 million unitsGuitarist Carlos Santana performs at The Beacon Theater on October 18, 1996 in New York CityAl Pereira/Getty Images33 (tie). Guns N' Roses — 44.5 million unitsAxl Rose, Slash, and Duff McKagan of Guns N' Roses perform onstage during the Power Trip music festival at Empire Polo Club on October 06, 2023 in Indio, California.Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for Power Trip33 (tie). Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band — 44.5 million unitsScott Legato/WireImage/Getty Images33 (tie). Alan Jackson — 44.5 million unitsRick Diamond/Getty Images31 (tie). Kenny Rogers — 47.5 million unitsDavid Redfern/Redferns/Getty Images31 (tie). Drake — 47.5 million unitsPrince Williams/Wireimage/Getty Images29 (tie). Shania Twain — 48 million unitsShania Twain performs onstage during the 2019 American Music Awards at Microsoft Theater on November 24, 2019Kevin Mazur/AMA2019/Getty Images for dcp29 (tie). Kenny G — 48 million unitsGetty28. Alabama — 49 million unitsDavid Redfern/Redferns/Getty Images27. Neil Diamond — 49.5 million unitsSinger Neil Diamond performs onstage at Pre-GRAMMY Gala and Salute to Industry Icons Honoring Debra Lee at The Beverly Hilton on February 11, 2017Lester Cohen/WireImage/Getty Images26. U2 — 52 million unitsSergione Infuso/Corbis/Getty Images25. Journey — 52.5 million unitsMichael Putland/Getty Images24. Celine Dion — 53 million unitsMonica Schipper/Getty Images for The Recording Academy23. Fleetwood Mac — 55.5 million unitsPhoto of Stevie NICKS and FLEETWOOD MAC; Stevie Nicks performing live onstageRichard E. Aaron/Redferns/Getty Images22. Van Halen — 56.5 million unitsDavid Tan/Shinko Music/Getty Images21. Taylor Swift — 57 million unitsTaylor Swift performs during her "Eras Tour."AP Photo/George Walker IV20. Whitney Houston — 61 million unitsAmerican singer and actress, Whitney Houston, performs at the Pine Knob Music Theater during her "Moment of Truth" world tour, on July 31, 1987Icon and Image/Getty Images19. Eminem — 61.5 million unitsGetty18. Metallica — 63 million unitsPaul Bergen/Redferns/Getty Images17. Madonna — 65.5 million unitsMadonna performs onstage during the 2019 Billboard Music Awards at MGM Grand Garden Arena on May 1, 2019Ethan Miller/Getty Images16. The Rolling Stones — 66.5 million unitsGetty15. Barbra Streisand — 68.5 million unitsBarbra Streisand performs onstage at Madison Square Garden on August 03, 2019 in New York CityKevin Kane/Getty Images for BSB13 (tie). George Strait — 69.5 million unitsJason Kempin/Getty Images13 (tie). Aerosmith — 69.5 million unitsLisa Lake/Getty Images12. Bruce Springsteen — 71 million unitsJemal Countess/Getty Images10 (tie). Pink Floyd — 75 million unitsMJ Kim/Getty Images10 (tie). Mariah Carey — 75 million unitsMariah Carey performs onstage for "Merry Christmas One And All!" at Yaamava' Resort & Casino at San Manuel on November 15, 2023Kevin Mazur/WireImage for MC/Getty Images9. Elton John — 81 million unitsLeon Neal/Getty Images8. AC/DC — 84 million unitsKevin Mazur/Getty Images for Power Trip7. Billy Joel — 86 million unitsKevin Mazur/Getty Images6. Michael Jackson — 89 million unitsMichael Jackson performs in concert circa 1986KMazur/WireImage/Getty Images5. Led Zeppelin — 112.5 million unitsJay Dickman/CORBIS/Corbis/Getty Images4. Eagles — 120 million unitsFotos International/Getty Images3. Elvis Presley — 146.5 million unitsRock and roll musician Elvis Presley performing on the Elvis comeback TV special on June 27, 1968.Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images2. Garth Brooks — 162 million unitsGetty1. The Beatles — 183 million unitsGettyRead the original article on Business Insider

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The 50 best-selling music artists of all time

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