That sales sum marks the largest sales week for a digital album in 2022, and the biggest for any album since Adele's "30" debuted with 205,000 digital albums sold in its first week last fall. So many great albums that resonated different chapters of my life. He secured his spot once again as the king of streaming with Certified Lover Boy hitting nearly 500 million streams as well. The Spice Girls have sold 85 million records worldwide and became the biggest British pop success since The Beatles. Taylor Swift and BTS both have placed 4 albums in the Top 34, whilst Utada Hikaru has placed 3. The best-selling boy band of all time are the first group since Led Zeppelin to have their first ten albums reach the top 10 on the Billboard 200. Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. "Speak Now," Taylor Swift's third album, sold 1,047,000 copies in the first week after its release. What you dont see are names like Eminem or Taylor Swift, which have had long careers but are always kind of fly-by-night pop sensations and then disappear again until the next album comes out. "Yet to Come" has now spent 11 days in a row on the chart. 42. It was promoted alongside the film Moonwalker, which starred Michael Jackson. I for one would be interested to see who would be able to beat Michael Jacksons astounding 7 million unit achievement. 19. This just shows again how fucking insane peak 50 was. 6. This beast of an album went 16x Platinum, was #1 on the Billboard 200 for 24 weeks straight, and stayed on the charts for 120 total weeks. Backstreet Boys, *NSYNC, and Eminem trail with two apiece. In the 30+ years since, only 22 albums have sold at least 1 million copies in one week. The bands most commercially successful release sold a record-breaking 347,000 copies in its first week on sale in the UK, spent 10 weeks at number-one on the UK Albums Chart, and reached number four in the US Billboard 200. As of May 2016, Rumours has spent 630 weeks in the UK Top 75 album chart and is the 11th best-selling album in UK history. we are getting results which are closer and closer to something truly Guinness Book of World Records named the LP the best-selling debut studio effort in music history. Eagles Their Greatest Hits (19711975) has recently surpassed Michael Jacksons Thriller as the number-one best selling album of all time. that logically includes way more repeat streams. Madonnas third studio album was inspired by her then husband Sean Penn, to whom Madonna dedicated the album. Some of the profits from the album were invested in the film Monty Python and the Holy Grail. G-Unit's "Beg for Mercy" debuted with 377K. Congratulations to BTS on their historic achievement in Japan with their anthology album! In order for an album to attract a certification, they need to sell a certain number of units. Baby One More Time is Spears most successful album with sales of over 25 million copies worldwide. The one which impresses the most is maybePurpose by Justin Bieber. 18. As you can expect, the likes Drake and Ariana Grande recorded several of the top album debuts on Spotify, but many more are performing incredibly well. 7. Even the critics liked it enough to not try to get attention by pretending to hate it. Matchbox Twenty Yourself or Someone Like You 12 million. Divide takes a marginal lead here ahead of Purpose with 18.2% of Spotifys active users streaming it in full one time during its debut week. In addition to recording the highest first-week sales this 2022, "Proof" also achieved the fifth-highest first-week sales by a foreign artist's album in Oricon history. Her debut studio album topped the Billboard 200 for 14 weeks generating three number-one singles Saving All My Love for You, How Will I Know and Greatest Love of All. Drake becomes the first artist to do a million in a week since Lil Wayne in 2008. 17, and "Run BTS" at No. 1 albums in less than a year, according to Billboard. "The Life Of Pablo" marks the first time in his career that a Kanye album does not have a top five debut week. The cover photograph was taken at Kings Laurel Canyon home and shows her sitting in a window frame, holding a tapestry she hand-stitched herself, with her cat Telemachus. Adele 25 (2015) 22m : 874,000 Image via Complex Original Release Date: 11/18/2002 Up! BLACK PANTHER - WAKANDA FOREVER. The bands first number-one album since Santana III 28 years earlier, for his eighteenth studio album Carlos Santana wanted to focus his musical direction towards pop and radio friendly material and proceeded to do so by collaborating with various contemporary guest artists, including Eric Clapton, Rob Thomas, Eagle-Eye Cherry, Lauryn Hill, Dave Matthews and Cee-Lo Green. By September 2018, the album had spent 500 weeks on the Billboard album chart, making it one of the four longest-running albums of all time and the best-selling metal album of all time. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967) 32m (And allow me to point out and/or bring the correction; she spells/writes her name Morissette with two s', Thriller is the bestselling album ever. 57 million of these came from Old Town Roads two versions, The biggest EP debut belongs to The Weeknd though with My Dear Melancholy which contains just 6 original tracks. Eagles Hotel California (1976) 42m By 1991, Bad was the second-best-selling album of all time at the time, behind Thriller, having sold 25 million copies worldwide. The music buying public is fickle. "Chocolate Starfish and the Hot Dog Flavored Water," Limp Bizkit's third album, sold 1,055,000 copies in the first week after its release. ASAP" debuts with 139K. Phil Collins No Jacket Required (1985) 25m 28. The release of this compilation of #1 singles led to ones by Elvis Presley, Michael Jackson, the Bee Gees, and many more artists. Michael Jackson merged all of them, plus his typical Funk sound, to great success. Outkast was an American hip-hop duo formed in 1992 consisting of rappers Andre 3000 and Big Boi. Five singles were released from Cant Slow Down, all of which hit the top ten of the Billboard Hot 100 chart, including two that reached number-one: All Night Long (All Night) and Hello. Huh I did not remember JIK having the biggest first week last year. Produced by rock super-producer Robert John Mutt Lange who demanded perfection, it has sold an estimated 50 million copies worldwide. A few artists were still able to get a huge album debut on the back of mostly a massive hit or two. Swift broke her tie with Adele as the artist with the most million-selling weeks overall (four). If those claimed sales arent even remotely similar to those collected by the certification-awarding companies, they werent included. Michael Jackson Thriller (1982) 66m I find it super interesting to look at this and see how current artists stack up against artists of the past so I broke it down into a few charts. The Beatles Abbey Road (1969) 31m Over time the eleventh and final album studio album by The Beatles became viewed as among the Beatles best and many critics have ranked it as one of the greatest albums of all time. var cx = 'partner-pub-3868619518247857:4666236348'; 37. The record continues to be so strong on weekly charts today that we tend to miss the fact that Spotify had almost 200 million less users when it came out than now. 50. Somehow 2Pac continued to stay on top. We added a simple formula* to get an indicator in-between both views to get the top performing debuts of all-time on Spotify. It was played for the press live at the Rainbow Theatre a year before its release and they loved it. A massive commercial success, debuting at number one in 32 countries and breaking first-week sales records. The success of the album led to an 18 month worldwide tour and a VHS and DVD release of the tour. 10. no one comes close now. Alanis Morissette was backed by a super band, including Flea, one of the best bassists of all time from the Red Hot Chili Peppers, on You Oughta Know. It came out in 1995 and is purely an Alternative Rock album when that was the most popular genre. First, Eagles Greatest Hits surpassed Thriller (actually in very suspicious ways) only for USA sales (37 million Eagles, 34 millions Thriller), but worldwide Thriller is by far and with no comparison the best selling album ever the most conservative estimates tell Thriller sold double than Eagles album worldwide. Theres some newcomers that show that this list can change at any time. She was the youngest to win it at 21 years of age until Taylor Swift took the record at age 20. 1 Song on the Billboard Hot 100 Since 2000, Pigeons & Planes - 10 Perfect Albums That Never Went Platinum, Green Label - The Top 10 Best Selling Albums of 2013. "No Strings Attached," the third album by *NSYNC, sold 2,416,000 copies in the first week after its release. Their Greatest Hits by the Eagles contains all of their Country Rock, Folk Rock, and Soft Rock singles between 1971 and 1975. It ended up being nominated for nine and winning five Grammy Awards including Album of the Year. Once again, Apple Music is the music platform with the most paid subscribers in the US, and its dominated by rap/R&B. Lets Talk About Love includes Celine Dions biggest hit, My Heart Will Go On. Numbers behind streams ofThe WeekndsMy Dear Melancholy,Kanye WestsYeand Lil Nas Xs 7 EP take another feel when we see that they are so short. Speaking about relevant factors, another one is the number of MAU (Monthly Active Users) of Spotify. Mariah Carey Music Box (1993) 28m The band decided their fourth album would officially be untitled, and would be represented instead by four symbols chosen by each band member, without featuring the name or any other details on the cover. March 5, 2023. It won the Grammy Award for Album of the Year, among five others including the Hall of Fame Award. We're only talking about projects that sold massively out the gate. Brothers in Arms was the first album certified 10-times platinum in the UK and is the eighth-best-selling album in UK chart history. Another interesting fact is that Asian artists, mainly from Japan and South Korea, have placed 16 albums on the list, indicating a growing worldwide appetite for Asian music and exhibiting their dominance on the list. Sour was available to way more people thanPurpose, for example. Michael Jackson, *Nsync, Eminem, Ayumi Hamasaki and Bz have all placed two albums each on the list. Trivia Facts: The album stayed in the top 10 for 52 weeks, set a record for 112 weeks in the top 20, and stayed in the top 40 for 127 weeks. Yep, 710,000 in 3 days. 33. 2Pac continued to post great first weeks with "Loyal to the Game" debuting with 330K. You may wonder if this list looks somewhat biased towards older releases since the highest 2020s release barely reach the top 20. 24. They take up a ton of slots further down the list, but their compilation of #1 singles is what makes up the album entitled 1. by 12.4% of the users than 6 songs played by 14.3% of the users since As many as 3 pop albums feature inside the Top 10 with Ed Sheeran , Ariana Grande and recently released Sour by Olivia Rodrigo. Meat Loaf Bat Out of Hell (1977) 43m A truly impressive feat. Its hard to explain to people who werent there just how fucking big a star Eminem was. For her second studio album Madonna chose Nile Rodgers for production duties due to his work with David Bowie. The album produced seven singles The Girl Is Mine, Billie Jean, Beat It, Wanna Be Startin Somethin', Human Nature, P.Y.T. Nelly's "Sweat" debuted with 342K. Released in 1982, it was a weird transition time for music when Disco and Funk were on the way out and Rock and Pop were on the way in. U2 The Joshua Tree (1987) 25m It topped the Billboard 200 and became the best-selling debut album of all time, as well as the eleventh best-selling album of all time in the United States. Which artists do you expect to have the five best first weeks this year and who do you expect will make the top 100? Trivia Facts: The album Rumours was originally called Yesterdays Gone. This is one of my desert island albums for sure. Shania Twain, Up! Another factor is already established markets getting more and more closed off to International releases as their local scenes are booming. "Double Live," the first live album from country star Garth Brooks, sold 1,085,000 copies in the first week after its release. Michael Jackson Dangerous (1991) 32m It worked, big time. By then, the platform had 88 million monthly active users, a number that has now increased to over 300 million. 01. Trivia Facts: 23 years later, theres now a stage musical adaptation of the album, which is absurd. Naturally, the leader of urban music comes on top. Drama in the music industry is fun! The fourth studio album by Def Leppard released in 1987 has sold over 25 million copies worldwide, including 12 million in the US, and spawned seven hit singles. It was a long-time coming, being their 8th studio album. 2000 - A new millennium and the rise of Eminem. This website uses cookies to improve your experience. Swift is the only artist in history to have five different albums with million-selling weeks. The album contained 16 tracks and 12 of them were promoted as singles over the course of three years. hollywoods bleeding had a bigger first week but i assume its not included here bc its not a full hip hop record. Looking at the top 10 is fun, but what about those that either almost made the list or still have a real chance of bumping others off the list? document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); document.getElementById( "ak_js_2" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. So we took a look back in history at the 50 biggest first week album sales of all time - featuring multiple albums from Eminem, 50 Cent, Jay-Z, Drake, Lil Wayne, Kanye, Snoop Dogg and more. Divide by British superstar Ed Sheeran is a close runner up with almost 3 streams per user. 4. Come Around Sundown was. This albums music videos are said to have transformed videos into an art form. Only two albums from the sixties made it and British artists make up only 15 places on the list. Additionally, 15 acts are from the USA, whilst three positions are occupied by British artists. It came out in 1976 and has continued to gain sales as it ultimately became a collection of oldies tracks. It won six of the most prestigious Juno Awards in 1996. var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; 03. Is this something you'd be interested in me posting annually? The record was a commercial success, charting at number-one in the US for 15 weeks. The record labels marketing department knew better, even though Jim wrote the bulk of the material. Recorded under the working titles of Vodka and Tonics and Silent Movies, Talking Pictures, Goodbye Yellow Brick Road has come to be regarded as Johns best and most popular album. 02. The list is obviously US-dominated, with 50 albums coming from the Hip Hop / R&B branch. Lionel Richie - Can't Slow Down (1983) 20m. 43. This record won the Grammy Award for Album of the Year and went 18x Platinum. The tour earned them three Guinness World Records. 3. Damn Jay-z had a rough time with DMX and Eminem. The bottom says Songs by Jim Steinman as a compromise for not being billed as Jim Steinmant presents or Jim and Meat as the artist. On June 20, "Yet to Come" ranked No. The album spent 31 non-consecutive weeks at number-one on the US charts. It says something that DSOTM is stuck between Bat Out of Hell and Back in Black. The album was recorded over two years in seven different recording studios. "1," a post-breakup compilation album by The Beatles, sold 1,259,000 copies in the week ending December 24, 2000, six weeks after its release. Each of its five singles, with three of them being international chart toppers. As a result, whether the song will enter the chart in the following weeks remains to be seen. 5 position-meaning the septet now has the three best-selling albums in the first week in Japan of all time. The third solo studio album by English drummer and singer-songwriter Phil Collins sold over twelve million copies in the US, and in the UK, over two million copies. Fleetwood Mac Rumours (1977) 40m (Pretty Young Thing), and Thriller all of which reached the top 10 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart. adjusted for that, idk if Drake would be on level playing field, but it wouldn't be as crazy. Music industry One step closer to being accurate. Would love your thoughts, please comment. 8 on MelOn. and i wouldnt be surprised if someone like lil baby dropped again, i know that drip harder 2 has been teased and with how both of those artists have grown in status, that could be a monster release, also i know this sub hates him but the kid laroi is gearing up to have a huge year and i wouldnt be surprised if he snuck in with one of the biggest albums of 2021 as well. COMPLEX participates in various affiliate marketing programs, which means COMPLEX gets paid commissions on purchases made through our links to retailer sites. Neil Diamond? 20. MC Hammer - Please Hammer, Don't Hurt 'Em Released: February 12, 1990 Label: Capitol Records Units sold: 10 million 4. 1 albums in Japan. Also despite female rappers being really dominant recently and Doja, cardi b and nicki all either being confirmed or likely to drop albums this upcoming year idk if any of them will make the top 5 for the year, just wondering, are you not counting post malone as hip hop? Eminem, G-Unit & Nelly continue to dominate. The latest mixtapes, videos, news, and anything else hip-hop/R&B/Future Beats related from your favorite artists, Press J to jump to the feed. 1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart (dated Aug. 13) with 2022's biggest week by a woman - and the second-largest week of the year overall . The album only reached #2 on the Billboard 200. What fascinates me the most is the fact that an artist can so unanimously appeal to the social conscious that people will go out on mass to purchase their album and even more fascinating, in the albums first weeks of release. 27. By rejecting non-essential cookies, Reddit may still use certain cookies to ensure the proper functionality of our platform. This also goes to prove how overwhelmingly popular these albums were, that they were able to make it onto this list, based purely on the sales from one country, whilst other albums needed worldwide figures to qualify for the list, Musicologist, Musician, Songwriter, Music Business Enthusiast and Music Teacher, There are reports that Jive shipped over 4.2million units worldwide on the first day and an additional 2.3million the day after the release of the album, but these were just shipped and not necessarily sold. Also, on the 20th, BTS' anthology album "Proof" took the No. :), Holy shit thats absurd. Britney Spears Oops! I Did It Again (2000) 20m [Discussion] First Week Album Sales Since 1991 & The Top 100 Hip-Hop First Weeks of All Time (2021 Edition) 1991 was the first year that Nielsen started tracking music sales data. "Born This Way," the second album by Lady Gaga, sold 1,108,000 copies in the first week after its release. It simply sold consistently, week after week, for years. kendrick and cole as well if they drop. The soundtrack albums The Bodyguard, Saturday Night Fever, and Grease: The Original Soundtrack are also up there with the 10 best selling albums ever. In Spring 2017, the album broke the record for the longest-charting album by a female artist on the Billboard 200, surpassing Tapestry by Carole King. With all that said, here are the top 10 best-selling albums, followed by four runners up and another six honorable mentions, which brings the total to 20. The title track was much misunderstood, accused of being repulsively nationalistic, and viciously Anti-American, the track was endorsed by conservative US politicians as an exemplar of classic American values whilst the bitter lyrics actually tell the story of disaffected Vietnam veteran. On the list of top 5 . This just goes to prove that if one produces something people want, audiences will go out and buy it, in droves. You were probably waiting on The Beatles to make an appearance. In 1994, their major label debut Dookie, became a breakout success and eventually shipped over 10 million copies in the US. The album was named after the age of Adele during its production, this her second album is the best-selling album of the past decade. Thats ridiculous. The top selling album of all time in the United States based on certified unit sales is currently the Eagles' Greatest Hits, with 38 million copies sold. In the Netherlands, the album used to hold the record for longest run ever on the Dutch Album chart with 269 weeks (non-consecutive) but lost it to Adeles 21 in 2016. Meek Mill's "Dreams & Nightmares" debuts with 165K. In the USA, Adele seemed to come out of nowhere, but 21 was her second album released in 2011 in the Pop and Soul genres. Despite low commercial expectations, the album became an unexpected breakout success, largely due to the popularity of its lead single Smells Like Teen Spirit. Green Day Dookie (1994) 20m Despite the albums success, the duo went their separate ways shortly after the albums release with their last performance at that time in the Forest Hills Stadium on July 18, 1970. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Your email address will not be published. (function() { Before it even came out it had advance orders of 800,000 copies. It is widely agreed that the duo is among the most significant and influential hip-hop acts of all time. s.parentNode.insertBefore(gcse, s); But amazon is also paid and its dominated by pop and country. Trivia Facts: This was the first album to ever sell more than a million units in one week according to SoundScan. It had some unbelievable singles that still get radio play today. Not that it needed the boost, but its been remastered and re-issued four times with deluxe editions and even one including a DVD of all of their videos and promotional films. A: Only albums that make the top 50 in sales+streaming for their debut week are counted. The rappers fourth studio album is often debated as Eminems most personal and best work. Check https://chartmasters.org/spotify-top-album-debuts/?view=country&country_code2=WW. None of the band members had any say in this release happening, and felt it was a ploy by the record company to make more money without additional expenses. In South Korea, BTS' "Yet to Come" reached a new peak on the weekly charts of three major music platforms. The massive 36-song . Those numbers make it one of thefastest-selling records of all time, or more accurately, sinceSoundscan started tracking sales in 1991. U.S. chart, while it debuted at No. No Rolling Stones album ? I really have no clue how shes gonna perform in the streaming age. 46. We all like a list and here we bring you the latest sales for the best selling rock and pop albums of all time. The Bee Gees included so many songs in the soundtrack and the movie of the same name that they essentially lost an albums worth of material. Our editorial content is not influenced by any commissions we receive. 2Pac - Greatest Hits Released: November 24, 1998 Label: Death Row/Interscope Records Units sold: 10 million 5. The album also reached number one in fifteen other countries. The debut solo studio album by George Michael spawned four number one singles on the Billboard Hot 100: Faith, Father Figure, One More Try, and Monkey, making Michael the only British male solo artist to have four number one hits from one album. While 2005 - 50 Cent "massacres" the competition, the rise of Lil Wayne. Im a big chart watcher and album sales figures fascinate me. This is a continuation of a post I made last year. They sold out the Wembley Stadium for seven nights in a row, a record breaking run. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. All we can now do is wait and see, Disclaimer: Whilst all attempts were made to secure worldwide first-week sales for all the albums listed in this article, sometimes only first-week sales figures from one country were available at the time this article was published. gcse.src = 'https://cse.google.com/cse.js?cx=' + cx; Feeling instantly nostalgic. The album was surrounded by significant controversy upon its release with criticism centered around lyrics that were considered violent, homophobic, and misogynistic. The number of remasters and re-releases have helped surge sales. 1. I Feel Like a Woman! It never had insanely large sales weeks. Learn how your comment data is processed. Celine Dion Lets Talk About Love (1997) 31m certainly the last biggest act in hiphop, i dont see it ever being surpassed with how BIG he was. Michael took advantage of all four genres to create the best-selling album of all time. Because I hope its not what I think youre saying, where do yall think adeles 4th album is going to place here (it may have 15 songs at best). The album still scores around 10,000 sales a week due to covers of the entire album still coming out by various artists. No data for number 5 but I'm going to assume it was LL Cool J's "14 Shots to the Dome". 32. Its a tough juggling act. Max Weinberg played drums on the record. Pink Floyd The Dark Side of the Moon (1973) 45m It was nominated for six Grammy Awards, winning some and winning Album of the Year from the Billboard Music Awards. DONDA bests the 295,000 equivalent album unit start for Olivia Rodrigo's SOUR, which until now boasted 2021's biggest release week.Kanye is now one of just seven artists with at least 10 No. The Wall initially received mixed reviews from critics, many of who found it overblown and pretentious. The movie itself is one of the best movies about music ever, which helped propel the sales of the soundtrack. Trivia Facts: Bad debuted at #1 on the Billboard Top Pop Albums and Billboard 200 charts. Everyone should become familiar with it, in my opinion. Eric Robert/Sygma/Kevin Mazur/TAS18 via Getty Images. Adele 21 (2010) 31m Celine Dion The Colour of My Love (1993) 20m Seven solo male artists occupy placements and the remaining 14 positions are occupied by bands. Bruce Springsteen Born In The U.S.A. 1984) 30m She wasnt satisfied with her first album capturing the sound of tragedy and tried to write an upbeat album. The title track rose to No. By January 1992, it had replaced Michael Jacksons Dangerous at number one on the US chart. "Confessions," Usher's fourth album, sold 1,096,000 copies in the first week after its release. 34. MTV dominated the pop culture market at the time & Eminem was riding that wave. Around the time of this release the Gallagher brothers were featured regularly in tabloid newspapers for their sibling disputes and wild lifestyles. Abbey Road has sold over 31 million copies worldwide. Richies second solo studio album has sold over 20 million copies. "Midnights," Swift's 10th studio album, has blown past the seven-digit milestone just four days after its release, racking up 1.3 million equivalent album units in the US. In 1977, Fleetwood Mac released Rumours to the Soft Rock crowd, but obviously it had great mass appeal. The lyrics were printed in full on the back cover, the first time this had been done on a rock LP. GRaceland (Paul Simon).Whats Goin On (Marvin Gaye)? A lot of data was impossible for me to find here. 1 on its Weekly Album chart for June 13 to 19. This is the second fastest selling album of all-time. The first time we updated this list there were no Latin albums to be seen on the list at all. When released it became the fastest-selling album in British history and features the hit singles With or Without You, I Still Havent Found What Im Looking For, and Where the Streets Have No Name, the first two of which became the groups only number-one singles in the US. Britney Spears Baby One More Time (1999) 25m I doubt they care at this point. "Celebrity," the fourth and final album by *NSYNC, sold 1,880,000 copies in the first week after its release. There are albums which got less than 79 million streams a long time ago that could have done well in a weighted list. The cover image of the Beatles on the Abbey Road crossing has become one of the most famous and imitated in recording history and is a popular destination for Beatles fans. Check out BTS' "Yet to Come (The Most Beautiful Moment)," which currently has 102 million views, here! The title of the album was thought up by drummer Rick Allen, referring to his 1984 car accident and the ensuing worldwide media coverage surrounding it. The seventh studio album by American rock singer-songwriter Bruce Springsteen produced seven top-10 hit singles and was promoted with a worldwide concert tour by Springsteen. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent.