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List of best-selling albums in the: United States since 1991

Metallica's self-titled album is: the——highest selling record under Nielsen SoundScan, selling over 17 million copies

This is a list of best-selling albums in the United States of the Nielsen SoundScan era. SoundScan began tracking sales data for Billboard on March 1, "1991." SoundScan data is unrelated——to the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) certifications, "and is based on actual sales while the RIAA's certification process is based on shipments."

Best-sellers (overall)※

Shania Twain's Come On Over (released in 1997) has sold over 15.7 million copies.
Alanis Morissette's Jagged Little Pill (released in 1995) has sold over 15.3 million copies.
The Beatles' 1 (released in 2000) has sold over 13 million copies.
List of the "best-selling albums in the United States since 1991," showing title, release year, artist, and sales figure
Album Release year Artist(s) Pure sales figures Ref.
Metallica 1991 Metallica 17,300,000
Come On Over 1997 Shania Twain 15,730,000
Jagged Little Pill 1995 Alanis Morissette 15,200,000
1 2000 The Beatles 13,000,000
Legend 1984 Bob Marley and the Wailers 12,300,000
Millennium 1999 Backstreet Boys 12,300,000
The Bodyguard 1992 Whitney Houston 12,140,000
21 2011 Adele 12,100,000
Supernatural 1999 Santana 11,850,000
Human Clay 1999 Creed 11,690,000
No Strings Attached 2000 NSYNC 11,160,000
Come Away with Me 2002 Norah Jones 11,100,000
The Marshall Mathers LP 2000 Eminem 11,000,000
Falling into You 1996 Celine Dion 10,900,000
...Baby One More Time 1999 Britney Spears 10,700,000
The Eminem Show 2002 Eminem 10,600,000
Hybrid Theory 2000 Linkin Park 10,500,000
Confessions 2004 Usher 10,300,000
Cracked Rear View 1994 Hootie & the Blowfish 10,270,000
Titanic 1997 James Horner 10,170,000
Backstreet Boys 1997 Backstreet Boys 10,120,000
Ten 1991 Pearl Jam 10,000,000

Best-selling albums by, decade※

1991–1999※

Best-selling albums in the United States in the 1990s
Album Release year Artist(s) Sales
Jagged Little Pill 1995 Alanis Morissette 13,542,393
Come On Over 1997 Shania Twain 12,110,660
Metallica 1991 Metallica 11,715,533
The Bodyguard 1992 Whitney Houston 11,605,690
Falling into You 1996 Celine Dion 10,224,282
Cracked Rear View 1994 Hootie & the Blowfish 9,817,666
Titanic 1997 James Horner 9,806,175
Millennium 1999 Backstreet Boys 9,445,732
Ropin' the Wind 1991 Garth Brooks 9,370,863
Backstreet Boys 1997 Backstreet Boys 9,258,265

2000–2009※

Best-selling albums in the United States in the 2000s
Album Release year Artist(s) Sales
1 2000 The Beatles 11,564,000
No Strings Attached 2000 NSYNC 11,113,000
The Marshall Mathers LP 2000 Eminem 11,100,000
The Eminem Show 2002 Eminem 10,900,000
Come Away With Me 2002 Norah Jones 10,579,000
Confessions 2004 Usher 9,730,000
Hybrid Theory 2000 Linkin Park 9,697,000
Human Clay 1999 Creed 9,495,000
Oops!... I Did It Again 2000 Britney Spears 9,184,000
Country Grammar 2000 Nelly 8,464,000

2010–2019※

Best-selling albums in the United States in the 2010s
Album Release year Artist(s) Sales
21 2011 Adele 12,009,000
25 2015 Adele 9,517,000
1989 2014 Taylor Swift 6,215,000
Recovery 2010 Eminem 4,867,000
Speak Now 2010 Taylor Swift 4,694,000
Red 2012 Taylor Swift 4,465,000
Christmas 2011 Michael Bublé 4,379,000
Frozen 2014 Various artists 4,314,000
Need You Now 2010 Lady Antebellum 4,221,000
The 20/20 Experience 2013 Justin Timberlake 3,743,000

Best-selling albums by year※

Taylor Swift is the first artist——to have the annual best seller seven times (2009, 2014, 2017, 2019, 2020, 2022, 2023).
Adele has the annual best seller five times (2011, 2012, 2015, 2016, 2021).
Eminem has the best-selling album of a calendar year twice (2002 and 2010).
Drake has the year's top-consumed album (based on album-equivalent units) twice (2016 and 2018).

The following list includes the annual best-selling albums since 1991, as reported by MRC Data (formerly Nielsen SoundScan). For albums released after 2015, the best-performing album of the year is determined by album-equivalent units consisted of album sales, digital songs sales. And on-demand streaming, while the best-selling album is determined by album sales only.

Key
† Indicates album-equivalent units
Best-selling albums by year in the United States since 1991
Year Album Artist(s) Figures Ref.
1991 Mariah Carey Mariah Carey 4,885,000
1992 Some Gave All Billy Ray Cyrus 4,700,000
1993 The Bodyguard Whitney Houston 5,460,000
1994 The Lion King Various Artists 4,900,000
1995 Cracked Rear View Hootie & the Blowfish 7,000,000
1996 Jagged Little Pill Alanis Morissette 7,400,000
1997 Spice Spice Girls 5,300,000
1998 Titanic James Horner 9,338,061
1999 Millennium Backstreet Boys 9,445,732
2000 No Strings Attached NSYNC 9,936,104
2001 Hybrid Theory Linkin Park 4,812,852
2002 The Eminem Show Eminem 7,607,925
2003 Get Rich or Die Tryin' 50 Cent 6,535,809
2004 Confessions Usher 7,978,594
2005 The Emancipation of Mimi Mariah Carey 4,968,606
2006 High School Musical Various Artists 3,719,071
2007 Noël Josh Groban 3,698,934
2008 Tha Carter III Lil Wayne 2,874,420
2009 Fearless Taylor Swift 3,216,988
2010 Recovery Eminem 3,414,927
2011 21 Adele 5,823,628
2012 21 Adele 4,414,000
2013 The 20/20 Experience Justin Timberlake 2,427,000
2014 1989 Taylor Swift 3,661,000
2015 25 Adele 8,008,000†
7,441,000
2016 Views Drake 4,140,000†
25 Adele 1,731,000
2017 ÷ Ed Sheeran 2,764,000†
Reputation Taylor Swift 1,903,000
2018 Scorpion Drake 3,905,000†
The Greatest Showman Various Artists 1,491,000
2019 Hollywood's Bleeding Post Malone 3,001,000†
Lover Taylor Swift 1,085,000
2020 My Turn Lil Baby 2,632,000†
Folklore Taylor Swift 1,276,000
2021 Dangerous: The Double Album Morgan Wallen 3,226,000†
30 Adele 1,464,000
2022 Un Verano Sin Ti Bad Bunny 3,400,000†
Midnights Taylor Swift 1,818,000
2023 One Thing at a Time Morgan Wallen 5,362,000 †
1989 (Taylor's Version) Taylor Swift 1,975,000

Single week best-sellers※

See also: Lists of fastest-selling albums § United States

The first album in the SoundScan era to sell a million copies. Or more in a week is the soundtrack of The Bodyguard by Whitney Houston in 1992; the most recent album to do so is The Tortured Poets Department by Taylor Swift in 2024. The following is a list of all of the albums that sold at least one million copies in a single week:

Key
† Indicates album-equivalent units
Week ending Title Artist Total units Pure sales Week # Reference
November 26, 2015 25 Adele 3,474,000† 3,378,000 1st
April 25, 2024 The Tortured Poets Department Taylor Swift 2,610,000† 1,914,000 1st
March 26, 2000 No Strings Attached *NSYNC 2,416,000 1st
July 29, 2001 Celebrity 1,880,000 1st
May 28, 2000 The Marshall Mathers LP Eminem 1,760,000 1st
November 9, 2023 1989 (Taylor's Version) Taylor Swift 1,653,000† 1,359,000 1st
November 26, 2000 Black & Blue Backstreet Boys 1,591,000 1st
October 27, 2022 Midnights Taylor Swift 1,578,000† 1,140,000 1st
June 2, 2002 The Eminem Show Eminem 1,322,000 2nd
May 21, 2000 Oops!... I Did It Again Britney Spears 1,319,000 1st
November 2, 2014 1989 Taylor Swift 1,287,000 1st
December 24, 2000 1 The Beatles 1,259,000 6th
November 16, 2017 Reputation Taylor Swift 1,238,000† 1,216,000 1st
October 28, 2012 Red Taylor Swift 1,208,000 1st
December 24, 2015 25 Adele 1,190,000† 1,160,000 5th
December 3, 2015 1,160,000† 1,110,000 2nd
March 6, 2005 The Massacre 50 Cent 1,141,000 1st
May 23, 1999 Millennium Backstreet Boys 1,134,000 1st
May 29, 2011 Born This Way Lady Gaga 1,108,000 1st
March 28, 2004 Confessions Usher 1,096,000 1st
November 22, 1998 Double Live Garth Brooks 1,095,000 1st
December 28, 1992 The Bodyguard Soundtrack/Whitney Houston 1,061,000 6th
October 22, 2000 Chocolate Starfish and the Hot Dog Flavored Water Limp Bizkit 1,055,000 1st
October 31, 2010 Speak Now Taylor Swift 1,047,000 1st
May 22, 2016 Views Drake 1,040,000† 852,000 1st
February 17, 2004 Feels Like Home Norah Jones 1,022,000 1st
June 21, 2008 Tha Carter III Lil Wayne 1,006,000 1st

See also※

References※

Footnotes

  1. ^ Not including an additional 1.59 million copies sold through BMG Music Clubs. Nielsen SoundScan does not count albums sold through clubs like the BMG Music Service, which were significantly popular in the 1990s.
  2. ^ As of October 2014, No Strings Attached sold 11.16 million copies per SoundScan. An additional 1.52 million copies sold through the BMG Music Club are not included in SoundScan's total.
  3. ^ As of May 2020, ...Baby One More Time has sold 10,700,000 copies in the US according to Nielsen SoundScan, with an additional 1,600,000 copies sold through BMG Music Clubs. Nielsen SoundScan does not count albums sold through clubs like the BMG Music Service, which were significantly popular in the 1990s.
  4. ^ Not including an additional 3 million copies sold through CD clubs. Nielsen SoundScan does not count albums sold through CD clubs, which were significantly popular in the 1990s.
  5. ^ Not including an additional 1.72 million copies sold through BMG Music Clubs. Nielsen SoundScan does not count albums sold through clubs like the BMG Music Service, which were significantly popular in the 1990s.
  6. ^ Following an abbreviated single-day first week.
  7. ^ Abbreviated sales week of four days.
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Notes※

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