Top 10 Best Selling Albums of All Time

Let’s welcome those who used to listen to songs and well know about albums. But some of you may also don’t know about the albums and what does it mean? For those let me tell you some information about albums. First of all, an album is a collection of a lot of audio recordings on a CD (compact disc), audiotape, vinyl or any other kind of medium. They were introduced in the early 20th century.

There are a lot of albums released by many singers, artists, etc but among them only a few become successful. Among them, many of you may not be known to best selling albums of all time. So I think to introduce you to the Top 10 Best Selling Albums of all Time here in this article. Let’s have a look below and let yourself known about such albums.

Here is the list of top 10 best selling albums of all time:

10. Grease: The Original Soundtrack From the Motion Picture

Grease: The Original Soundtrack From the Motion Picture is one of the original motion picture soundtracks that was for the 1978 film named Grease. The album was first originally released by RSO Records and was later subsequently reissued by Polydor Records in 1984 and 1991. 

One of the songs from the album named “You’re the One That I Want” was the UK and US No.1 for stars Olivia Newton-John and John Travolta. It is considered as one of the best selling albums of all time that has sold almost 22 million copies all over the world. It also almost ranks on the biggest selling soundtrack albums of all time.

Besides Olivia Newton-John and John Travolta, the album also contains some featured songs by revival Rock and Roll group Sha Na Na along with the hit song “Grease”. The soundtrack was released two months before the film’s release on April 14, 1978.

Singles from Grease: The Original Soundtrack From the Motion Picture:

9. Come On Over

Come On Over is the third studio album that is recorded by one of the Canadian country music singer named Shania Twain. The album was released on November 4, 1997, and became one of the all-time best-selling country music albums. Later on, it also became the best selling studio album by a female act and best selling album by a Canadian too. 

It has been listed as the eighth all-time best selling album in the US and sixteenth best selling album in the UK. Till now, the album has sold more than 40 million copies all over the world. It debuted at No.1 on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart where it stayed for almost 50 non-consecutive weeks and stayed for 151 weeks in the top ten. 

Among all of the 16 songs, 11 of them hit top 30 of the Hot Country Songs chart where 8 of which hit top 10 including three No.15. The album was also promoted by Twain through television performances and interviews. There was also the successful COme On Over Tour where they visited North America, Oceania and Europe.

Singles from Come On Over:

8. Rumours

Rumours is one of the eleventh studio album by British-American rock band Fleetwood Mac which was released on 4 February 1977 by Warner Bros. Records. The album was produced by the band along with Ken Caillat and Richard Dashut and largely recorded in California in 1976. 

The band wanted to expand the album on the commercial success of their previous 1975 album eponymous but struggled due to some relationship breakups problems before starting recordings. While recording the intention was to make a pop album but later the album featured a pop-rock and soft rock sound which was characterized by accented rhythms and electric keyboards such as Hammond B3 organ or Fender Rhodes.

The recording session of the album was finished by the end of 1976. After releasing the album, Fleetwood Mac took worldwide promotional tours. The album became the band’s most successful release and also reached the top of both the US Billboard 200 and the UK Albums Chart.

Singles from Rumours:

7. Saturday Night Fever

Saturday Night Fever is one of the soundtrack album from the film Saturday Night Fever of 1977 along with John Travolta starring. It was first released on November 15, 1977, and becomes one of the best selling albums in history. It has sold almost more than 45 million copies all over the world. 

The album stayed on the top of the album chart for almost 24 weeks from January to July of 1978. It also stayed on Billboard’s album charts for 120 weeks till March 1980 and spent 18 consecutive weeks at No.1 in the UK. It has also been added for being culturally significant to the National Recording Registry in the Library of Congress.

Singles from Saturday Night Fever:

6. Their Greatest Hits (1971-1975)

Their Greatest Hits (1971-1975) is one of the first compilation album released by the Eagles in 1976. It contains a selection of songs from the first four albums of the Eagles from their formation in 1971 to 1975. 

The album reached the No.1 on the US Billboard 200 and stayed for almost 5 weeks at the top. It is the first album that has the distinction to receive the RIAA Platinum certification that was introduced in 1976 in order to recognize the albums that shipped one million copies in the US.

Their Greatest Hits (1971-1975) was the best selling album in the US of the 20th century which stayed for some more years until it was surpassed by Michael Jackson’s Thriller. Later in August 2018, again it got the title of the best selling album in the US. It was also selected for preservation in the National Recording Registry as being culturally, historically, or artistically significant by the Library of Congress in 2017.

Singles from Their Greatest Hits (1971-1975):

5. The Bodyguard

The Bodyguard is one of the soundtrack album released on November 17, 1992, by Arista Records for the film The Bodyguard. The first side of the album features the songs recorded by Whitney Houston which is an American singer and also starred in the film. The second side of the album features the work of various other artists.

The Bodyguard is also one of the best selling soundtrack album of all time with selling 45 million copies all over the world. It was the first-ever album that was verified by the Nielsen SoundScan. It has sold more than a million units worldwide within a one week period ending December 27, 1992. It is listed in the 15th best selling album in the United States list.

Singles from The Bodyguard:

4. The Dark Side of the Moon

The Dark Side of the Moon is one of the eighth studio album released by an English rock band Pink Floyd on 1 March 1973 by Harvest Records. The band premiered live performance with an early version of the record several months before recording began. The album was recorded with new material in two sessions in 1972 and 1973 at Abbey Road Studios in London.

The album is considered as the most critically acclaimed record in history that often features on professional listings of the greatest albums. It has also reached the No.1 on Billboard 200 and charted for almost 950 weeks in total. It is considered one of Pink Floyd’s best sellers and one of the best selling albums all over the world with estimated sales over 45 million copies. The album is currently distributed by Parlophone Records all over Europe and by Sony Music in the rest of the world.

Singles from The Dark Side of the Moon:

3. Bat Out of Hell

Bad Out of Hell is one of the debut studio album by an American rock singer Meat Loaf and also his first collaboration with producer Todd Rundgren and composer Jim Steinman. It was released on Cleveland International/Epic Records on October 21, 1977. The music style of the album is influenced by Steinman’s appreciation of Phil Spector, The Who, Richard Wagner and Bruce Springsteen. 

Bad Out of Hell is known as one of the best selling albums of all time that has sold over 43 million copies all over the world. The album is certified by the Recording Industry Association of America as 14x Platinum. It has spent more than 522 weeks in the UK Album Charts according to the information as of 2019 and also known as the second-largest chart run by a studio album.

Singles from Bad Out of Hell:

2. Back in Black

Back in Black is one of the seventh finest studio album by an Australian rock band AC/DC which was released on 25 July 1980 by Atlantic Records and Albert Production. It is the first album of the band that features vocalist Brian Johnson along with following the death of previous vocalist Bon Scott.

Back in Black was produced by Robert John “Mutt” Lange, composed by Angus, Johnson and Malcolm Young and recorded over seven weeks from April to May 1980 in the Bahamas. The album has sold almost more than 50 million copies all over the world. It is also considered as one of the best selling albums of all time in the history of music. It has received a lot of positive critical reception during its release and also been included on various lists of “greatest” albums.

Singles from Back in Black:

1. Thriller

Thriller is one of the sixth studio album released by an American singer Michael Jackson on November 30, 1982, by Epic Records. Michael Jackson was inspired a lot to create an album along with producer Quincy Jones and reunited with Off the Wall. He moved in a new musical direction incorporating pop, post-disco, rock and funk and released the new album. 

The album comes along with featuring a single guest appearance Paul McCartney through which he becomes the first artist to be featured on Jackson’s album. Recording of the album took place at Westlake Recording Studios from April to November 1982 in Los Angeles. It has been produced with a production budget of $750,000.

The album ended up with 32 million copies sold all over the world till the end of 1983. It was considered as one of the best selling album worldwide of 1983 and also known as the best selling album of all time. It was the first album to stay as the best selling album in the United States for almost 2 years i.e. in 1983 and 1984. After all Thriller album remains the best selling album of all time along with the sales of 66 million copies all over the world.

Singles from Thriller:

Final Words

Now it’s over. That’s much for today in this article. I have done a lot of research and make a list of Top 10 Best Selling Albums of all Time here for you. Hope you enjoy the best selling albums of all time and better know about it.  If you have any questions or issues or something that you wanna know about the albums you can comment down below. We will reach you and try to let you know about the issue better. Till then enjoy the albums with awesome songs. See you soon 🙂