Best-selling albums in the United States since Nielsen SoundScan tracking began

Metallica's self-titled album is the highest selling record under Nielsen SoundScan, selling over 16 million copies

This is a list of best-selling albums in the United States since Nielsen SoundScan tracking began. Nielsen SoundScan began tracking sales data for Billboard on March 1, 1991. The list of albums sales are between 1991 and 2014 (see below):

NOTE: Nielsen SoundScan data is unrelated to the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) certifications. Nielsen SoundScan data is based on actual sales and the RIAA's certification process is based on shipments.

Best-sellers (overall)

1991-2014 list^[1]

1. Metallica / Metallica ~ 16,040,000
2. Come On Over / Shania Twain ~ 15,580,000
3. Jagged Little Pill / Alanis Morissette ~ 14,950,000
4. 1 / The Beatles ~ 12,410,000
5. Millennium / Backstreet Boys ~ 12,250,000
6. The Bodyguard / Soundtrack (Whitney Houston) ~ 12,140,000
7. Supernatural / Santana ~ 11,850,000
8. Human Clay / Creed ~ 11,690,000
9. Legend / Bob Marley and the Wailers ~ 11,660,000
10. No Strings Attached / 'N Sync ~ 11,160,000

1991-2013 list^[2]

1. Metallica / Metallica ~ 15,948,000
2. Come On Over / Shania Twain ~ 15,547,000
3. Jagged Little Pill / Alanis Morissette ~ 14,895,000
4. 1 / The Beatles ~ 12,281,000
5. Millennium / Backstreet Boys ~ 12,241,000
6. The Bodyguard / Soundtrack (Whitney Houston) ~ 12,085,000
7. Supernatural / Santana ~ 11,792,000
8. Human Clay / Creed ~ 11,674,000
9. Legend / Bob Marley & The Wailers ~ 11,458,000
10. No Strings Attached / 'N Sync ~ 11,152,000

1991-2012 list^[3]

1. Metallica / Metallica ~ 15,845,000
2. Come on Over / Shania Twain ~ 15,524,000
3. Jagged Little Pill / Alanis Morissette ~ 14,806,000
4. Millennium / Backstreet Boys ~ 12,209,000
5. 1 / The Beatles ~ 12,139,000
6. The Bodyguard / Soundtrack (Whitney Houston) ~ 12,056,000
7. Supernatural / Santana ~ 11,732,000
8. Human Clay / Creed ~ 11,632,000
9. Legend / Bob Marley & The Wailers ~ 11,220,000
10. No Strings Attached / 'N Sync ~ 11,137,000

1991-2011 list^[4]

1. Metallica / Metallica ~ 15,735,000
2. Come on Over / Shania Twain ~ 15,513,000
3. Jagged Little Pill / Alanis Morissette ~ 14,714,000
4. Millennium / Backstreet Boys ~ 12,168,000
5. 1 / The Beatles ~ 11,985,000
6. The Bodyguard / Soundtrack (Whitney Houston) ~ 11,829,000
7. Supernatural / Santana ~ 11,772,000
8. Human Clay / Creed ~ 11,574,000
9. No Strings Attached / 'N Sync ~ 11,122,000
10. Falling into You / Celine Dion ~ 10,790,000

1991-2010 list^[5]

1. Metallica / Metallica ~ 15,620,000
2. Come on Over / Shania Twain ~ 15,499,000
3. Jagged Little Pill / Alanis Morissette ~ 14,673,000
4. Millennium / Backstreet Boys ~ 12,115,000
5. The Bodyguard / Soundtrack (Whitney Houston) ~ 11,823,000
6. Supernatural / Santana ~ 11,709,000
7. 1 / The Beatles ~ 11,703,000
8. Human Clay / Creed ~ 11,563,000
9. No Strings Attached / 'N Sync ~ 11,117,000
10. Falling into You / Celine Dion ~ 10,785,000

1991-2009 list^[6]

1. Metallica / Metallica ~ 15,525,000
2. Come on Over / Shania Twain ~ 15,487,000
3. Jagged Little Pill / Alanis Morissette ~ 14,642,000
4. Millennium / Backstreet Boys ~ 12,109,000
5. The Bodyguard / Soundtrack (Whitney Houston) ~ 11,815,000
6. Supernatural / Santana ~ 11,687,000
7. 1 / The Beatles ~ 11,564,000
8. Human Clay / Creed ~ 11,547,000
9. No Strings Attached / 'N Sync ~ 11,113,000
10. Falling into You / Celine Dion ~ 10,781,000

1991-2008 list^[7]

1. Come on Over / Shania Twain ~ 15,473,000
2. Metallica / Metallica ~ 15,319,000
3. Jagged Little Pill / Alanis Morissette ~ 14,607,000
4. Millennium / Backstreet Boys ~ 12,104,000
5. The Bodyguard / Soundtrack (Whitney Houston) ~ 11,805,000
6. Supernatural / Santana ~ 11,673,000
7. Human Clay / Creed ~ 11,525,000
8. 1 / The Beatles ~ 11,345,000
9. No Strings Attached / 'N Sync ~ 11,109,000
10. Falling into You / Celine Dion ~ 10,768,000

1991-2007 list^[8]

1. Come on Over / Shania Twain ~ 15,449,000
2. Metallica / Metallica ~ 15,077,000
3. Jagged Little Pill / Alanis Morissette ~ 14,557,000
4. Millennium / Backstreet Boys ~ 12,099,000
5. The Bodyguard / Soundtrack (Whitney Houston) ~ 11,798,000
6. Supernatural / Santana ~ 11,643,000
7. Human Clay / Creed ~ 11,504,000
8. No Strings Attached / 'N Sync ~ 11,104,000
9. 1 / The Beatles ~ 11,097,000
10. Falling Into You / Celine Dion ~ 10,768,000

1991-2006 list^[9][10]

1. Come on Over / Shania Twain ~ 15,408,533
2. Metallica / Metallica ~ 14,819,905
3. Jagged Little Pill / Alanis Morissette ~ 14,513,325
4. Millennium / Backstreet Boys ~ 12,091,491
5. The Bodyguard / Soundtrack (Whitney Houston) ~ 11,789,552
6. Supernatural / Santana ~ 11,588,453
7. Human Clay / Creed ~ 11,483,557
8. No Strings Attached / 'N Sync ~ 11,099,051
9. 1 / The Beatles ~ 10,821,222
10. Falling Into You / Celine Dion - 10,768,000

1991-2003 list^[11]

1. Come on Over / Shania Twain ~ 14,896,911
2. Jagged Little Pill / Alanis Morissette ~ 14,200,822
3. Metallica / Metallica ~ 13,803,308
4. Millennium / Backstreet Boys ~ 12,056,675
5. The Bodyguard / Soundtrack (Whitney Houston) ~ 11,741,779
6. Supernatural / Santana ~ 11,333,627
7. Human Clay / Creed ~ 11,291,067
8. No Strings Attached / 'N Sync ~ 11,069,789
9. Falling Into You / Celine Dion ~ 10,614,005
10. ...Baby One More Time / Britney Spears ~ 10,472,878

1991-2002 list^[12]

1. Come on Over / Shania Twain ~ 14,490,470
2. Jagged Little Pill / Alanis Morissette ~ 14,084,425
3. Metallica / Metallica ~ 13,332,320
4. Millennium / Backstreet Boys ~ 12,030,804
5. The Bodyguard / Soundtrack (Whitney Houston) ~ 11,714,440
6. Supernatural / Santana ~ 11,165,842
7. Human Clay / Creed ~ 11,078,203
8. No Strings Attached / 'N Sync ~ 11,023,057
9. Falling Into You / Celine Dion ~ 10,525,873
10. ...Baby One More Time / Britney Spears ~ 10,416,070

1991-2001 list^[13]

1. Come on Over / Shania Twain ~ 14,147,017
2. Jagged Little Pill / Alanis Morissette ~ 13,890,054
3. Metallica / Metallica ~ 12,981,888
4. Millennium / Backstreet Boys ~ 11,971,132
5. The Bodyguard / Soundtrack (Whitney Houston) ~ 11,689,093
6. Supernatural / Santana ~ 10,961,112
7. No Strings Attached / 'N Sync ~ 10,891,514
8. Human Clay / Creed ~ 10,490,972
9. Falling Into You / Celine Dion ~ 10,438,190
10. ...Baby One More Time / Britney Spears ~ 10,269,049

1991-2000 list^[14]

1. Jagged Little Pill / Alanis Morissette ~ 13,729,828
2. Come On Over / Shania Twain ~ 13,652,045
3. Metallica / Metallica ~ 12,441,854
4. Millennium / Backstreet Boys ~ 11,705,375
5. The Bodyguard / Soundtrack (Whitney Houston) ~ 11,655,923
6. Supernatural / Santana ~ 10,590,413
7. Falling Into You / Celine Dion ~ 10,357,969
8. ...Baby One More Time / Britney Spears ~ 9,981,434
9. No Strings Attached / 'N Sync ~ 9,936,104
10. Titanic / Soundtrack (Celine Dion) ~ 9,897,900

Decade best-sellers

1991-1999 list^[15]

1. Jagged Little Pill / Alanis Morissette ~ 13,542,393
2. Come On Over / Shania Twain ~ 12,110,660
3. Metallica / Metallica ~ 11,715,533
4. The Bodyguard / Soundtrack (Whitney Houston) ~ 11,605,690
5. Falling into You / Celine Dion ~ 10,224,282
6. Cracked Rear View / Hootie & the Blowfish ~ 9,817,666
7. Titanic / Soundtrack (Celine Dion) ~ 9,806,175
8. Millennium / Backstreet Boys ~ 9,445,732
9. Ropin' the Wind / Garth Brooks ~ 9,370,863
10. Backstreet Boys / Backstreet Boys ~ 9,258,265

2000-2009^[16]

1. 1 / The Beatles ~ 11,564,000
2. No Strings Attached / 'N Sync ~ 11,113,000
3. Come Away With Me / Norah Jones ~ 10,579,000
4. The Marshall Mathers LP / Eminem ~ 10,216,000
5. The Eminem Show / Eminem ~ 9,818,000
6. Confessions / Usher ~ 9,730,000
7. Hybrid Theory / Linkin Park ~ 9,697,000
8. Human Clay / Creed ~ 9,495,000
9. Oops!... I Did It Again / Britney Spears ~ 9,184,000
10. Country Grammar / Nelly ~ 8,464,000

Annual best-sellers

1991^[17]

1. Ropin' The Wind / Garth Brooks ~ 4,000,000
2. Mariah Carey / Mariah Carey ~ 3,380,000
3. No Fences / Garth Brooks ~ 3,370,000
4. Unforgettable / Natalie Cole ~ 3,260,000
5. Time, Love and Tenderness / Michael Bolton ~ 3,170,000
6. Metallica / Metallica ~ 3,200,000
7. Gonna Make You Sweat / C+C Music Factory ~ 3,150,000
8. Use Your Illusion II / Guns N' Roses ~ 2,810,000
9. Out of Time / R.E.M. ~ 2,780,000
10. To the Extreme / Vanilla Ice ~ 2,450,000

1992^[18]

1. Some Gave All / Billy Ray Cyrus ~ 4,700,000
2. Ropin' The Wind / Garth Brooks ~ 4,000,000
3. Ten / Pearl Jam ~ 3,400,000
4. The Bodyguard / Soundtrack (Whitney Houston) ~ 3,300,000
5. Totally Krossed Out / Kris Kross ~ 3,200,000
6. No Fences / Garth Brooks ~ 3,100,000
7. The Chase / Garth Brooks ~ 3,100,000
8. Nevermind / Nirvana ~ 2,700,000
9. Adrenalize / Def Leppard ~ 2,700,000
10. Metallica / Metallica ~ 2,600,000

1993^[19]

1. The Bodyguard / Soundtrack (Whitney Houston) ~ 5,460,000^[20]
2. Janet / Janet Jackson ~ 4,300,000
3. Vs. / Pearl Jam ~ 3,800,000
4. Breathless / Kenny G ~ 3,800,000
5. Music Box / Mariah Carey ~ 3,300,000
6. The Chronic / Dr. Dre ~ 2,900,000
7. Unplugged / Eric Clapton ~ 2,900,000
8. In Pieces / Garth Brooks ~ 2,800,000
9. Core / Stone Temple Pilots ~ 2,700,000
10. Bat Out of Hell II: Back into Hell / Meat Loaf ~ 2,600,000

1994^[21]

1. The Lion King / Soundtrack ~ 4,900,000
2. The Sign / Ace of Base ~ 4,900,000
3. II / Boyz II Men ~ 4,300,000
4. August & Everything After / Counting Crows ~ 3,800,000
5. Dookie / Green Day ~ 3,400,000
6. Not a Moment Too Soon / Tim McGraw ~ 3,200,000
7. Purple / Stone Temple Pilots ~ 3,100,000
8. Miracles: The Holiday Album / Kenny G ~ 3,000,000
9. Smash / Offspring ~ 2,900,000
10. Music Box / Mariah Carey ~ 2,700,000

1995^[22]

1. Cracked Rear View / Hootie & the Blowfish ~ 7,000,000
2. CrazySexyCool / TLC ~ 4,800,000
3. Jagged Little Pill / Alanis Morissette ~ 4,200,000
4. Daydream / Mariah Carey ~ 3,900,000
5. The Hits / Garth Brooks ~ 3,800,000
6. Throwing Copper / Live ~ 3,500,000
7. II / Boyz II Men ~ 3,400,000
8. Anthology 1 / The Beatles ~ 2,900,000
9. Hell Freezes Over / Eagles ~ 2,800,000
10. The Woman in Me (Shania Twain album) / Shania Twain ~ 2,800,000

1996^[23]

1. Jagged Little Pill / Alanis Morissette ~ 7,400,000
2. Falling into You / Celine Dion ~ 6,000,000
3. The Score / Fugees ~ 4,500,000
4. Tragic Kingdom / No Doubt ~ 4,400,000
5. Daydream / Mariah Carey ~ 3,000,000
6. All Eyez on Me / 2Pac ~ 3,000,000
7. Load / Metallica ~ 3,000,000
8. Secrets / Toni Braxton ~ 2,900,000
9. The Woman in Me / Shania Twain ~ 2,800,000
10. (What's the Story) Morning Glory? / Oasis ~ 2,600,000

1997^[24]

1. Spice / Spice Girls ~ 5,300,000
2. Pieces of You / Jewel ~ 4,300,000
3. No Way Out / Puff Daddy and the Family ~ 3,400,000
4. Sevens / Garth Brooks ~ 3,300,000
5. Middle of Nowhere / Hanson ~ 3,200,000
6. Life After Death / The Notorious B.I.G. ~ 3,100,000
7. Bringing Down the Horse / The Wallflowers ~ 3,100,000
8. Falling into You / Celine Dion ~ 3,000,000
9. Space Jam (soundtrack) / soundtrack ~ 2,900,000
10. You Light Up My Life — Inspirational Songs / LeAnn Rimes ~ 2,900,000

1998^[25][26]

1. Titanic / Soundtrack (Celine Dion) ~ 9,338,061
2. Let's Talk About Love / Celine Dion ~ 5,859,421
3. Backstreet Boys / Backstreet Boys ~ 5,709,369
4. Come On Over / Shania Twain ~ 4,872,841
5. *N SYNC / 'N Sync ~ 4,385,148
6. City of Angels / Soundtrack ~ 4,120,508
7. Double Live / Garth Brooks ~ 3,892,288
8. Big Willie Style / Will Smith ~ 3,687,568
9. Savage Garden / Savage Garden ~ 3,247,406
10. Armageddon / Soundtrack ~ 3,222,603

1999^[25][27]

1. Millennium / Backstreet Boys ~ 9,445,732
2. ...Baby One More Time / Britney Spears ~ 8,358,619
3. Ricky Martin / Ricky Martin ~ 5,981,155
4. Come On Over / Shania Twain ~ 5,618,134
5. Significant Other / Limp Bizkit ~ 4,952,890
6. Supernatural / Santana ~ 4,732,589
7. Devil Without a Cause / Kid Rock ~ 4,259,736
8. FanMail / TLC ~ 4,186,685
9. Christina Aguilera / Christina Aguilera ~ 3,662,905
10. Wide Open Spaces / Dixie Chicks ~ 3,463,642

2000^[25][28]

1. No Strings Attached / 'N Sync ~ 9,936,104
2. The Marshall Mathers LP / Eminem ~ 7,921,107
3. Oops!... I Did It Again / Britney Spears ~ 7,893,544
4. Human Clay / Creed ~ 6,587,834
5. Supernatural / Santana ~ 5,857,824
6. 1 / The Beatles ~ 5,068,300
7. Country Grammar / Nelly ~ 5,067,529
8. Black & Blue / Backstreet Boys ~ 4,289,865
9. 2001 / Dr. Dre ~ 3,992,311
10. The Writing's on the Wall / Destiny's Child ~ 3,802,165

2001^[25]

1. Hybrid Theory / Linkin Park ~ 4,812,852
2. Hot Shot / Shaggy ~ 4,507,468
3. Celebrity / 'N Sync ~ 4,421,231
4. A Day Without Rain / Enya ~ 4,410,053
5. Break the Cycle / Staind ~ 4,242,507
6. Songs in A Minor / Alicia Keys ~ 4,102,482
7. Survivor / Destiny's Child ~ 3,718,446
8. Weathered / Creed ~ 3,581,344
9. O Brother, Where Art Thou? / Soundtrack ~ 3,460,852
10. Now That's What I Call Music! 6 / various artists ~ 3,133,462

2002^[29]

1. The Eminem Show / Eminem ~ 7,607,925
2. Nellyville / Nelly ~ 4,916,073
3. Let Go / Avril Lavigne ~ 4,121,396
4. Home / Dixie Chicks ~ 3,690,413
5. 8 Mile / various artists ~ 3,498,497
6. Missundaztood / Pink ~ 3,144,947
7. Ashanti / Ashanti ~ 3,099,216
8. Drive / Alan Jackson ~ 3,054,736
9. Up! / Shania Twain ~ 2,909,499
10. O Brother, Where Art Thou? / Soundtrack ~ 2,736,049

2003^[30]

1. Get Rich or Die Tryin' / 50 Cent ~ 6,535,809
2. Come Away with Me / Norah Jones ~ 5,137,468
3. Meteora / Linkin Park ~ 3,478,361
4. Fallen / Evanescence ~ 3,364,738
5. Speakerboxxx/The Love Below / Outkast ~ 3,089,849
6. Chocolate Factory / R. Kelly ~ 2,939,536
7. Dangerously in Love / Beyoncé ~ 2,527,485
8. Metamorphosis / Hilary Duff ~ 2,405,544
9. Shock'n Y'all / Toby Keith ~ 2,324,437
10. A Rush of Blood to the Head / Coldplay ~ 2,183,997

2004^[31]

1. Confessions / Usher ~ 7,978,594
2. Feels like Home / Norah Jones ~ 3,842,920
3. Encore / Eminem ~ 3,517,097
4. When the Sun Goes Down / Kenny Chesney ~ 3,072,224
5. Happy People/U Saved Me / R. Kelly ~ 3,000,000
6. Here for the Party / Gretchen Wilson ~ 2,931,097
7. Live Like You Were Dying / Tim McGraw ~ 2,786,840
8. Songs About Jane / Maroon 5 ~ 2,708,415
9. Fallen / Evanescence ~ 2,614,226
10. Autobiography / Ashlee Simpson ~ 2,576,945

2005^[32][33]

1. The Emancipation of Mimi / Mariah Carey ~ 4,968,606
2. The Massacre / 50 Cent ~ 4,852,744
3. Breakaway / Kelly Clarkson ~ 3,496,192
4. American Idiot / Green Day ~ 3,360,394
5. Monkey Business / The Black Eyed Peas ~ 3,037,251
6. X&Y / Coldplay ~ 2,615,280
7. Feels Like Today / Rascal Flatts ~ 2,511,209
8. Love. Angel. Music. Baby. / Gwen Stefani ~ 2,505,390
9. Late Registration / Kanye West ~ 2,413,580
10. The Documentary / The Game ~ 2,275,646

2006^[34]

1. High School Musical / Soundtrack ~ 3,719,071
2. Me and My Gang / Rascal Flatts ~ 3,479,994
3. Some Hearts / Carrie Underwood ~ 3,016,031
4. All the Right Reasons / Nickelback ~ 2,688,138
5. FutureSex/LoveSounds / Justin Timberlake ~ 2,377,127
6. Back to Bedlam / James Blunt ~ 2,137,196
7. B'Day / Beyoncé ~ 2,010,311
8. Hannah Montana / Soundtrack ~ 1,987,681
9. Taking the Long Way / Dixie Chicks ~ 1,856,284
10. Extreme Behavior / Hinder ~ 1,817,350

2007^[8]

1. Noël / Josh Groban ~ 3,698,934
2. High School Musical 2 / Soundtrack ~ 2,956,799
3. Long Road Out of Eden / Eagles ~ 2,608,338
4. As I Am / Alicia Keys ~ 2,543,224
5. Daughtry / Daughtry ~ 2,497,457
6. Hannah Montana 2/Meet Miley Cyrus / Soundtrack/Miley Cyrus ~ 2,487,346
7. Minutes to Midnight / Linkin Park ~ 2,098,941
8. The Dutchess / Fergie ~ 2,063,572
9. Taylor Swift /Taylor Swift ~ 1,950,641
10. Graduation / Kanye West ~ 1,891,918

2008^[7]

1. Tha Carter III / Lil Wayne ~ 2,874,420
2. Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends / Coldplay ~ 2,143,928
3. Fearless / Taylor Swift ~ 2,112,179
4. Rock N Roll Jesus / Kid Rock ~ 2,017,905
5. Black Ice / AC/DC ~ 1,915,172
6. Taylor Swift / Taylor Swift ~ 1,597,316
7. Death Magnetic / Metallica ~ 1,565,078
8. Paper Trail / T.I. ~ 1,522,103
9. Sleep Through The Static / Jack Johnson ~ 1,492,466
10. I Am... Sasha Fierce / Beyoncé ~ 1,458,853

2009^[35]

1. Fearless / Taylor Swift ~ 3,216,988
2. I Dreamed a Dream / Susan Boyle ~ 3,103,828
3. Number Ones / Michael Jackson ~ 2,355,449
4. The Fame / Lady Gaga ~ 2,237,750
5. My Christmas / Andrea Bocelli ~ 2,207,202
6. Hannah Montana: The Movie (soundtrack) / Hannah Montana ~ 1,823,435
7. The E.N.D. / The Black Eyed Peas ~ 1,786,825
8. Relapse / Eminem ~ 1,735,358
9. The Blueprint 3 / Jay-Z ~ 1,514,758
10. Only by the Night / Kings of Leon ~ 1,397,693

2010^[36]

1. Recovery / Eminem ~ 3,414,927
2. Need You Now / Lady Antebellum ~ 3,089,303
3. Speak Now / Taylor Swift ~ 2,960,331
4. My World 2.0 / Justin Bieber ~ 2,318,745
5. The Gift / Susan Boyle ~ 1,851,753
6. The Fame / Lady Gaga ~ 1,590,839
7. Soldier of Love / Sade ~ 1,299,761
8. Thank Me Later / Drake ~ 1,268,780
9. Raymond v. Raymond / Usher ~ 1,182,632
10. Animal / Kesha ~ 1,143,285

2011^[37]

1. 21 / Adele ~ 5,823,628
2. Christmas / Michael Bublé ~ 2,452,140
3. Born This Way / Lady Gaga ~ 2,100,885
4. Tha Carter IV / Lil' Wayne ~ 1,916,909
5. My Kinda Party / Jason Aldean ~ 1,575,681
6. Sigh No More / Mumford & Sons ~ 1,419,952
7. Take Care / Drake ~ 1,246,774
8. Under the Mistletoe / Justin Bieber ~ 1,245,074
9. Watch the Throne / Jay-Z and Kanye West ~ 1,231,676
10. Own the Night / Lady Antebellum ~ 1,203,640

2012^[3]

1. 21 / Adele ~ 4,414,000
2. Red / Taylor Swift ~ 3,107,000
3. Up All Night / One Direction ~ 1,616,000
4. Babel / Mumford & Sons ~ 1,463,000
5. Take Me Home / One Direction ~ 1,340,000
6. Believe / Justin Bieber ~ 1,324,000
7. Blown Away / Carrie Underwood ~ 1,203,000
8. Tailgates & Tanlines / Luke Bryan ~ 1,105,000
9. Tuskegee / Lionel Richie ~ 1,071,000
10. Night Train / Jason Aldean ~ 1,024,000

2013^[38]

1. The 20/20 Experience / Justin Timberlake ~ 2,427,000
2. The Marshall Mathers LP 2 / Eminem ~ 1,727,000
3. Crash My Party / Luke Bryan ~ 1,521,000
4. Night Visions / Imagine Dragons ~ 1,402,000
5. Unorthodox Jukebox / Bruno Mars ~ 1,399,000
6. Here's to the Good Times / Florida Georgia Line ~ 1,350,000
7. Nothing Was the Same / Drake ~ 1,344,000
8. Beyoncé / Beyoncé ~ 1,301,000
9. Based on a True Story / Blake Shelton ~ 1,109,000
10. Magna Carta Holy Grail / Jay-Z ~ 1,099,000

2014^[39]

1. 1989 / Taylor Swift ~ 3,661,000
2. Frozen: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack / Various ~ 3,530,000
3. In the Lonely Hour / Sam Smith ~ 1,210,000
4. That's Christmas to Me / Pentatonix ~ 1,140,000
5. Guardians of the Galaxy: Awesome Mix Vol. 1 / Various ~ 898,000
6. Beyoncé / Beyoncé ~ 878,000
7. Partners / Barbra Streisand ~ 856,000
8. Pure Heroine / Lorde ~ 841,000
9. Four / One Direction ~ 814,000
10. The Outsiders / Eric Church ~ 811,000

2015^[40]

1. 25 / Adele ~ 7,441,000
2. 1989 / Taylor Swift ~ 1,993,000
3. Purpose / Justin Bieber ~ 1,269,000
4. X / Ed Sheeran ~ 1,162,000
5. If You're Reading This It's Too Late / Drake ~ 1,142,000
6. In the Lonely Hour / Sam Smith ~ 1,018,000
7. Title / Meghan Trainor ~ 1,007,000
8. Beauty Behind the Madness / The Weeknd ~ 862,000
9. Fifty Shades of Grey: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack / Various ~ 861,000
10. Kill the Lights / Luke Bryan ~ 851,000

Single week best-sellers^[41][42][43]

1. 25 / Adele ~ 3,378,000 (November 26, 2015)
2. No Strings Attached / 'N Sync ~ 2,416,000 (March 26, 2000)
3. Celebrity / 'N Sync ~ 1,880,000 (July 29, 2001)
4. The Marshall Mathers LP / Eminem ~ 1,760,000 (May 28, 2000)
5. Black & Blue / Backstreet Boys ~ 1,591,000 (November 26, 2000)
6. The Eminem Show / Eminem ~ 1,322,000 (June 2, 2002)
7. Oops!... I Did It Again / Britney Spears ~ 1,319,000 (May 21, 2000)
8. 1989 / Taylor Swift ~ 1,287,000 (November 2, 2014)
9. 1 / The Beatles ~ 1,259,000 (December 24, 2000)
10. Red / Taylor Swift ~ 1,208,000 (October 28, 2012)
11. 25 / Adele ~ 1,160,000 (December 24, 2015)
12. The Massacre / 50 Cent ~ 1,141,000 (March 6, 2005)
13. Millennium / Backstreet Boys ~ 1,134,000 (May 23, 1999)
14. 25 / Adele ~ 1,110,000 (December 3, 2015)
15. Born This Way / Lady Gaga ~ 1,108,000 (May 29, 2011)
16. Confessions / Usher ~ 1,096,000 (March 28, 2004)
17. Double Live / Garth Brooks ~ 1,085,000 (November 22, 1998)
18. The Bodyguard / Soundtrack (Whitney Houston) ~ 1,061,000 (January 3, 1993)
19. Chocolate Starfish and the Hot Dog Flavored Water / Limp Bizkit ~ 1,055,000 (October 22, 2000)
20. Speak Now / Taylor Swift ~ 1,047,000 (October 31, 2010)

See also

• List of best-selling albums in the United States
• List of best-selling albums by year in the United States

References

1. Caulfield, Keith (October 9, 2014). "Adele's '21' Surpasses 11 Million In U.S. Sales". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved October 11, 2014.
2. "Nielsen US Music Year End Report 2013". Nielsen Soundscan. Retrieved 30 August 2014.
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