The 50 best-selling music artists of all time, ranked by platinum albums

August 01, 2024

When an artist achieved platinum status back then — selling a million or more physical copies of an album — it took a more fervent effort from fans (who drove to record stores, found an album, and handed over their hard-earned cash for it), but many acts nonetheless reached platinum certification routinely.

Compiling RIAA data, we ranked the best-selling artists of all time by the number of platinum albums they've sold in the US.

While some of the results are surprising — country singer Garth Brooks, for instance, has the most diamond (or 10-times platinum) albums of all time with seven — the legendary acts sitting atop the list are ones you'd probably expect to see.

Here the 50 best-selling artists of all time, ranked by platinum album sales:

50. Prince — 11

Platinum albums:

Multi-platinum:4

Diamond: 1

Best-selling album:(13 million copies)

49. Bon Jovi — 11

Platinum albums:

Multi-platinum:5

Best-selling album:(12 million copies)

48. Eric Clapton — 11

Platinum albums:

Multi-platinum:7

Best-selling album:(10 million copies)

47. Kenny G — 11

Platinum albums:

Multi-platinum:8

Best-selling album:(12 million copies)

46. John Mellencamp — 12

Platinum albums: 12

Multi-platinum: 5

45. Toby Keith — 12

Platinum albums: 12

Multi-platinum: 5

44. The Who — 12

Platinum albums: 12

Multi-platinum: 5

43. Queen — 12

Platinum albums: 12

Multi-platinum: 7

42. Ozzy Osbourne — 12

Platinum albums: 12

Multi-platinum: 8

41. Barry Manilow — 13

Platinum albums: 13

Multi-platinum: 6

40. Linda Ronstadt — 13

Platinum albums: 13

Multi-platinum: 7

39. Lynyrd Skynyrd — 13

Platinum albums:

Multi-platinum: 7

Best-selling album:(5 million copies)

38. John Denver — 13

Platinum albums:

Multi-platinum: 7

Best-selling album:(9 million copies)

37. Jay-Z — 13

Platinum albums:

Multi-platinum: 8

Best-selling album:(5 million copies)

36. Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band — 13

Platinum albums:

Multi-platinum:7

Diamond: 1

Best-selling album:(10 million copies)

35. Michael Jackson — 13

Platinum albums:

Multi-platinum:9

Diamond: 2

Best-selling album:(33 million copies)

34. Metallica — 13

Platinum albums:

Multi-platinum:11

Best-selling album:(16 million copies)

33. Van Halen — 13

Platinum albums:

Multi-platinum:12

Best-selling album:(10 million copies)

32. The Eagles — 13

Platinum albums:

Multi-platinum:11

Best-selling album:(38 million copies)

31. Rush — 14

Platinum albums:14

Multi-platinum: 3

30. Kenny Chesney — 14

Platinum albums:14

Multi-platinum: 5

29. Dave Matthews Band — 14

Platinum albums:14

Multi-platinum: 7

27. The Doors — 14

Platinum albums:14

Multi-platinum:5

Diamond: 1

28. James Taylor — 14

Platinum albums:14

Multi-platinum: 5

Diamond: 1

26. Mariah Carey — 14

Platinum albums:14

Multi-platinum:10

Diamond: 2

25. Willie Nelson — 15

Platinum albums:15

Multi-platinum: 6

24. Bob Dylan — 15

Platinum albums:15

Multi-platinum: 6

23. Alan Jackson — 15

Platinum albums:15

Multi-platinum: 8

22. Pink Floyd — 15

Platinum albums:15

Multi-platinum:12

Diamond: 2

21. Luther Vandross — 16

Platinum albums:16

Multi-platinum: 7

20. Kenny Rogers — 17

Platinum albums:17

Multi-platinum:7

19. U2 — 17

Platinum albums:17

Multi-platinum:11

18. Bruce Springsteen — 17

Platinum albums:17

Multi-platinum:11

17. Billy Joel — 17

Platinum albums:17

Multi-platinum:12

16. Madonna — 17

Platinum albums:17

Multi-platinum:12

15. Chicago — 18

Platinum albums:18

Multi-platinum:8

14. Aerosmith — 18

Platinum albums:18

Multi-platinum:12

Best-selling album:(11 million copies)

13. Led Zeppelin — 18

Platinum albums:18

Multi-platinum:14

Best-selling album:(23 million copies)

12. Reba McEntire — 19

Platinum albums:19

Multi-platinum:9

Best-selling album:(5 million copies)

11. Rod Stewart — 19

Platinum albums:19

Multi-platinum:10

Best-selling album:(3 million copies)

10. Alabama — 20

Platinum albums:20

Multi-platinum:10

Best-selling album:(5 million copies)

9. AC/DC — 20

Platinum albums:20

Multi-platinum:12

Best-selling album:(22 million copies)

8. Neil Diamond — 21

Platinum albums:21

Multi-platinum:12

Best-selling album:(5 million copies)

7. Elton John — 27

Platinum albums:27

Multi-platinum:14

Best-selling album:(17 million copies)

6. The Rolling Stones — 28

Platinum albums:28

Multi-platinum:11

Best-selling album:(19 million copies)

5. Barbra Streisand — 30

Platinum albums:30

Multi-platinum:12

Best-selling album:(5 million copies)

4. Garth Brooks — 30

Platinum albums:30

Multi-platinum:16

Best-selling album:(21 million copies)

3. George Strait — 33

Platinum albums:33

Multi-platinum:13

Best-selling album:(8 million copies)

2. The Beatles — 42

Platinum albums:

Multi-platinum:26

Best-selling album:(19 million copies)

1. Elvis Presley — 67

Platinum albums:

Multi-platinum:27

Best-selling album:(10 million copies)

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