Michael Jackson’s Thriller is the best-selling album of all time, with a widely cited 70 million copies sold. Independently certified sales, the copies that can actually be documented, come to 51.4 million.
That gap between what is claimed and what can be proven runs through this entire list, and on one album it is even wider than on Thriller. Below are the 10 best-selling albums ever, ranked by claimed sales, with the certified figure shown alongside each.
Best-Selling Albums at a Glance
| Rank | Album | Artist | Claimed Sales | Certified Sales |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Thriller | Michael Jackson | 70 million | 51.4 million |
| 2 | Back in Black | AC/DC | 50 million | 31.2 million |
| 3 | The Bodyguard | Whitney Houston / soundtrack | 45 million | 29.7 million |
| 3 | The Dark Side of the Moon | Pink Floyd | 45 million | 25.7 million |
| 5 | Their Greatest Hits (1971-1975) | Eagles | 44 million | 43.2 million |
| 6 | Hotel California | Eagles | 42 million | 33.8 million |
| 7 | Come On Over | Shania Twain | 40 million | 30.7 million |
| 7 | Rumours | Fleetwood Mac | 40 million | 30.3 million |
| 7 | Saturday Night Fever | Bee Gees / soundtrack | 40 million | 22.1 million |
| 7 | Bat Out of Hell | Meat Loaf | 40 million | 22.0 million |
The 10 Best-Selling Albums Ranked
1. Thriller: 70 Million
Certified: 51.4 million | Released: 1982 | Genre: Pop
Thriller produced seven hit singles from nine tracks and turned the music video into a cultural event. Its claimed 70 million is 20 million clear of any other album ever made.
The certified total of 51.4 million is itself extraordinary, but the 18.6 million gap between the two figures shows how much of its legendary status rests on estimates rather than documented sales.
2. Back in Black: 50 Million
Certified: 31.2 million | Released: 1980 | Genre: Hard rock
AC/DC recorded Back in Black months after the death of singer Bon Scott, and it became a tribute that outsold everything else the band had done. It is the best-selling album by a group rather than a solo artist.
Its claimed 50 million ranks second all time, though the certified figure of 31.2 million leaves one of the larger gaps on the list.
3. The Bodyguard: 45 Million
Certified: 29.7 million | Released: 1992 | Genre: Soundtrack
The Bodyguard is the best-selling soundtrack of all time, carried by Whitney Houston’s recording of “I Will Always Love You.” The film was a hit, but the album outlasted and outsold it by a wide margin.
It is one of two soundtracks in the top ten, and the only one led by a single artist rather than an assortment of acts.
3. The Dark Side of the Moon: 45 Million
Certified: 25.7 million | Released: 1973 | Genre: Progressive rock
Pink Floyd’s The Dark Side of the Moon spent more than 900 weeks on the US album chart, longer than any other record, selling steadily for decades rather than in a single burst.
It carries the widest gap on this entire list between claimed and certified sales, 19.3 million, larger even than Thriller’s, a reflection of how much of its total predates modern sales tracking.
5. Their Greatest Hits (1971-1975): 44 Million
Certified: 43.2 million | Released: 1976 | Genre: Rock
The Eagles’ first compilation is the best-documented album in the top ten. Its claimed and certified figures are just 800,000 apart, the smallest gap here by a wide margin.
That near-match is largely because most of its sales came in the United States, where certification is thorough, rather than in overseas markets where records are patchier.
6. Hotel California: 42 Million
Certified: 33.8 million | Released: 1976 | Genre: Rock
Hotel California gives the Eagles a second entry in the top ten, the only artist to appear twice. Its title track remains one of the most recognisable rock songs ever recorded.
Released the same year as the band’s greatest-hits collection, it confirmed the Eagles as the defining American rock act of the 1970s.
7. Come On Over: 40 Million
Certified: 30.7 million | Released: 1997 | Genre: Country pop
Shania Twain’s Come On Over is the best-selling album by a female solo artist and the best-selling country album of all time. Its crossover production pulled country into mainstream pop radio.
It is the newest album in the top ten, and the only entry from the late 1990s.
7. Rumours: 40 Million
Certified: 30.3 million | Released: 1977 | Genre: Rock
Fleetwood Mac recorded Rumours as the band members’ relationships collapsed, and the tension fed directly into the songwriting. The result is often ranked among the greatest albums ever made.
It has enjoyed repeated sales revivals across the decades, most recently reaching a new generation through streaming and social media.
7. Saturday Night Fever: 40 Million
Certified: 22.1 million | Released: 1977 | Genre: Soundtrack
The Saturday Night Fever soundtrack, driven by the Bee Gees, defined disco at its commercial peak and made the genre a global phenomenon. It is the second soundtrack in the top ten.
Its certified figure sits well below its claimed total, one of several albums here whose reputation outpaces its documented sales.
7. Bat Out of Hell: 40 Million
Certified: 22.0 million | Released: 1977 | Genre: Rock
Meat Loaf’s Bat Out of Hell was rejected by numerous labels before release and then sold for decades, reportedly still moving around 200,000 copies a year long after its debut.
Its slow, sustained sales pattern is the opposite of a chart-topping blockbuster, and it rounds out a four-way tie at 40 million claimed copies.
Claimed Sales and Certified Sales Tell Different Stories
Every album here carries two numbers. Claimed sales are the figures reported by labels and the press, often rounded up and rarely audited. Certified sales come from bodies like the RIAA in the US and their equivalents abroad, which document copies against actual shipments and are far harder to inflate.
Across the top ten, claimed sales total 456 million while certified sales come to 320 million, meaning the documented figure is about 70% of the headline one. The gap is not evidence of dishonesty so much as of how incomplete global sales tracking was before the 2000s, especially outside the United States and Western Europe. This ranking uses claimed sales, the traditional basis for these lists, and shows the certified figure alongside so the difference is visible. Figures are current as of 2026, drawn from published certification data.
Thriller’s Record Is Both Huge and Disputed
Thriller’s 70 million is the most argued-over figure in music. Estimates from reputable sources range from 66 million to more than 100 million, a spread wider than the entire sales total of most albums on this list.
The uncertainty comes from decades of re-releases, international sales in markets with weak tracking, and the tendency of a record this famous to attract ever-larger claims. What is not disputed is the lead. Even at the conservative end of its range, Thriller sits comfortably ahead of Back in Black, and its 51.4 million certified copies alone would still rank first.
The Dark Side of the Moon Has the Widest Gap
The clearest illustration of the claimed-versus-certified problem is not Thriller but Pink Floyd. The Dark Side of the Moon claims 45 million but certifies only 25.7 million, a gap of 19.3 million, the largest on the list.
The reason is time. The album was released in 1973 and sold heavily through the 1970s and 1980s, an era when much of the world had no systematic way to certify sales. A huge share of its total was moved before the tracking systems that would have documented it existed. The Eagles’ greatest-hits album, by contrast, sold mostly in the well-tracked United States, which is why its two figures nearly match.
Six of the Ten Came Out in the 1970s
The 1970s produced six of these ten albums: The Dark Side of the Moon in 1973, two Eagles records in 1976, and Rumours, Saturday Night Fever, and Bat Out of Hell all in 1977. Only Thriller and Back in Black represent the 1980s, and only The Bodyguard and Come On Over the 1990s.
That concentration reflects the album’s commercial golden age, when the LP was the dominant format and a blockbuster could sell for a decade or more on physical copies alone. The market has fragmented since, and streaming has largely ended the era of the 40-million-selling album, which is why the newest entry here is nearly 30 years old.
Only the Eagles Placed Two Albums
The Eagles are the only act with two entries, through Their Greatest Hits (1971-1975) and Hotel California, both from 1976. No solo artist or other group managed more than one.
Their presence twice, and at the top of the certified rankings, reflects a US-centric sales base that was documented far better than the international totals other albums relied on. On certified sales alone, the Eagles’ greatest-hits collection is essentially tied with Thriller for the most verified copies of any album, a fact the claimed-sales ranking hides. It is a reminder that these lists shift depending on which number you trust, much as our ranking of the best-selling music artists depends on the same distinction.
Two Soundtracks Outsold Almost Everything
The Bodyguard and Saturday Night Fever are the two soundtracks in the top ten, and both rank among the best-selling albums of any kind. Film and music reinforced each other, with a hit movie driving album sales and a hit album keeping the film in memory.
Soundtracks were disproportionately powerful in the album era precisely because they bundled several artists and a cultural moment into one release. That model has faded as soundtracks lost their chart dominance, but its peak still occupies two places on this all-time list. The same cross-media pull appears in our ranking of the highest-grossing concert tours, where catalogue and spectacle feed each other.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best-selling album of all time?
Michael Jackson’s Thriller, with a claimed 70 million copies sold and 51.4 million certified. It leads the second-place album by 20 million claimed copies.
Why are there two different sales figures for each album?
Claimed sales are reported by labels and the press and are rarely audited, while certified sales are documented by industry bodies against actual shipments. Certified figures are lower because global tracking was incomplete for decades, especially before the 2000s.
Which album has the most certified sales?
Thriller, at 51.4 million, though the Eagles’ Their Greatest Hits (1971-1975) is close behind at 43.2 million and has by far the smallest gap between its claimed and certified totals.
Why are so many of these albums from the 1970s?
Six of the ten were released in the 1970s, the commercial peak of the physical album, when a blockbuster could sell steadily for a decade. Streaming has since ended the era of the 40-million-selling album.
Which artist has the most albums in the top ten?
The Eagles, with two: Their Greatest Hits (1971-1975) and Hotel California, both released in 1976. No other act appears more than once.