Backstreet Boys, Eminem Each Have Two Of The 21 Best-Selling Albums Of The SoundScan Era
Given that Adele‘s 21 recently became the 21st album to sell 10 million copies in the SoundScan era (since 1991), Billboard chart sage Keith Caulfield took it upon himself to tally up the facts, the figures and the legendary crooners who make up this elite group of Diamond-status pop acts.
For music-and-numbers geeks it’s quite an interesting list. For instance, did you know Metallica‘s classic, self-titled LP from 1991 is tops? Or that pop-country diva Shania Twain‘s Come On Over has sold more copies than Alanis Morissette‘s angsty ’90s must-have Jagged Little Pill? Also, Backstreet Boys and Eminem are the only juggernauts who have managed to pull off two albums that crossed 10 million copies, while, in this age of piracy, Adele is the only artist to achieve the feat in this decade (so far).
Catch the full roundup below.
Best Selling Albums Since 1991 (Soundscan Era)
1. Metallica, Metallica (1991), 15.83 million, 337 weeks to hit 10 million
2. Shania Twain, Come On Over (1997), 15.52 million, 96 weeks
3. Alanis Morissette, Jagged Little Pill (1995), 14.80 million, 66 weeks
4. Backstreet Boys, Millennium (1999), 12.20 million, 39 weeks
5. The Beatles, 1 (2000), 12.11 million, 227 weeks
6. Whitney Houston/Soundtrack, The Bodyguard (1992), 12.05 million, 72 weeks
7. Santana, Supernatural (1999), 11.73 million, 60 weeks
8. Creed, Human Clay (1999), 11.62 million, 93 weeks
9. Bob Marley & the Wailers, Legend (1984), 11.17 million, 18 years
10. *NSYNC, No Strings Attached (2000), 11.13 million, 43 weeks
11. Norah Jones, Come Away With Me (2002), 10.88 million, 259 weeks
12. Celine Dion, Falling Into You (1996), 10.80 million, 160 weeks
13. Eminem, The Marshall Mathers LP (2000), 10.65 million, 343 weeks
14. Britney Spears, . . . Baby One More Time (1999), 10.57 million, 106 weeks
15. Hootie & the Blowfish, Cracked Rear View (1994), 10.28 million, 442 weeks
16. Soundtrack, Titanic (1997), 10.17 million, 263 weeks
17. Backstreet Boys, Backstreet Boys (1997), 10.13 million, 226 weeks
18. Eminem, The Eminem Show (2002), 10.12 million, 489 weeks
19. Usher, Confessions (2004), 10.04 million, 433 weeks
20. Linkin Park, Hybrid Theory (2000), 10.03 million, 617 weeks
21. Adele, 21 (2011), 10.02 million, 92 weeks
[Via Billboard]
