Best Selling Music Artists of All Time 

I didn't kbow that،thats wild

One thing that is never considered with Elvis is that during his first run he was more popular than the Beatles because he dominated with a higher percentage of population that had eyes on him. The viewership may have been higher for the Beatles but they had the advantage of the baby boom. However in the first 5 years Elvis had 13#1 singles (starting 1956 where he hit #1 to 1960) compared to the Beatles 11 (starting 1962 to 1966). But the real catch is Elvis wasn't recording for two of those years in his prime because he was in the frickin' army! Kinda nice to rack up records in the same time spread that Elvis couldn't compete. Kinda like claiming victory over a dude that had to come to a complete stop for 2 years out of a 5 year race! After 1960 Elvis went into Hollywood and became a different performer he only only did 4 shows from 1958 (when he went into the army) all the way to 1969. Meanwhile the Beatles continued to tour in their peak. Ya think thst could change those stats just a bit???!!! Elvis had uncle sam drafting his ass ruining his career at a pivotal time in America. No wonder the 60's boomed. You had Little Richard becoming a Preacher. Buddy Holly, Big Bopper, and Ritchie Valens killed. Chuck Berry going to prison. Jerry Lee Lewis destroyed fir marrying his 13 year old cousin (which yeah is screwed up). And yes the King robbed of his prime. Yes amazing that the Beatles had such a great 7 years...uh meanwhile most of them were done with all previous competition neutered. The Beach Boys were also managed by an abusive idiot.

@@humphreybogart6663 yes a interesting post, but your last point it's just not true! The Beatles had many many rivals, far more than Elvis ever had!

@@humphreybogart6663 just done a quick Google search it seems Elvis, ( his record companie ) actually released 5 singles while he was in the army, now you have stated the first 5 years of Elvis's career, to that of the Beatles first 5 years, I can only think you have mentioned that to somehow, discredit The Beatles? Now If you compare the first 7 years of The Beatles, to Elvis's first 7 you will see that the Beatles had 17 number ones! (UK)

@@beatlebrian4404 You are missing the point. Elvis didn't release new singles. Do you foolishly think he was doing studio work while he was serving his country? Elvis was showing that he wasn't getting special treatment hence him not recording. Also of note, I picked 1960 because it was the only year you could get a glimpse of him not being affected by hollywood. As for competition of the Beatles in the early years ..who was ever as consistent as the ones I mentioned? Roy Orbison is the only one left over from the 50's that comes to mind and even Elvis missed out on Only the Lonely because of new release from Army distractions and Roy deciding to recird the hit himself. He wanted Elvis to record it! The point about UK hits is redic. Elvis was during the birth of RnR and people were clamoring while Elvis essentially retired. Also the Beatles had presence in both countries. It is also foolish to not understand how Elvis fever was causing the rise of the movement in the UK. Elvis made the Beatles, but it wasn't the other way around. I am still laughing about you making some point over a few pre-recorded singles as opposed to a living breathing recording/touring career in two years such as the Beatles had without Elvis as competition because his prime was screwed! After 1964 so many things changed and a big part is Elvis retiring from non-soundtrack/non secular releasing for 3 years after being out for 2 years. Meanwhile in the middle of Beatlemania Crying in the Chapel hit #3 becuase Elvis fans were that desperate to get anything worth a crap from Elvis and that gospel song was also a left over track! The Beatles had no competition anywhere near Elvis and that is why Elvis chart success was firmly at #2 in the 60's despite being retired for the key years and being a movie star. Chartwise Elvis smashed all the others and that is a fact....and yet he never set foot outside the United States.

This video is misinformation..the best selling solo artist of all time is Elvis Presley 1 Billion+ records sold as verified by Guinness world records...Michael Jackson only 350 million records sold.

You mean the 5 best bands of all time...

@@javierfermani3606 yeah that's why I put British in brackets

Pop nob in fanny

@@rangers94ismdid it? Perhaps that was during the Opera era, Spain also didn’t enjoy it. Only France and Italy. I’ve never heard that phrase elsewhere

Think for a moment about Black Sabbath. If it hadn't been for all that stupid partying and such, they could've had more Album Sales! They were the proverbial "House afire", when they first started, but then, thinking that their fans would just blindly accept whatever tripe they put out, later on, they got the shock of their lives, when former fans refused to buy their records, and began leaving in droves! I was working with someone, years ago, that told me that Black Sabbath came to Roanoke, Virginia, to put on a concert, but that Ozzy was so drunk, he couldn't even sing! At least, not properly. His account was that Ozzy talked almost incessantly, throughout the entire concert, and that Ozzy couldn't even walk straight! The guy I worked with told me that, after that, he never went to another Black Sabbath concert again! He almost completely quit listening to Black Sabbath, after that!

@@ronaldshank7589 I guess a few bands were like that back then

True

Its amazing that the most successful women in history are fantastic vocalist.

Yea but You're comparing a band to solo artists, the beatles were 4 people, MJ and ELvis were alone.

You're forgetting that newer / younger generation don't care about Elvis. They do the Beatles . @@tyroneanderson5619

​@@LannieLord Yawn.."without Elvis, there would've been no Beatles" - John Lennon....Elvis more popular nowadays than The Beatles.

​@@tyroneanderson5619Doesn't matter Band or Solo...as a musical act Beatles are untouchable...the only act comparable with Beatles is Elvis.

Not with the record buying public 18 to 30. Elvis for OLDER people only. @@TopX594

I’m sure that freakshow would have loved their asses but they were far too old for his taste

Yes If they include the sold singles and dvds of madonna Madonna now reach 450 millions copies total And madonna was still gaining more Then madonna surpassing beatles now if they include the sold singles and dvds

@@greenlantern9577 no, beatles still sell better than madonna today. And also you forgot michael jackson. He sells better than these guys today

Uh no, that isn't true at all. If anything, they actually disqualified based on pricing parameters $2.98. Also keep in mind that there wasn't even a Platinum Award until 1976 or multi-platinum until 1984. Hence Bing Crosby only having 3 certified alums or singles. I wish people would stop spreading misinformation. They promoted as they always did...total "Recording" sales. The same as they do now. They include everything....well not exactly the same, because now they include streaming and disqualify radio airplay (since the 90's). Sinatra, Elvis etc... have high numbers because they sold the units. Of course those two and so many more were screwed out of certifications because of the RIAA not even being a true thing until most of them were dead or so far past prime that it didn't matter.

Elvis Presley out sold all of them put together and that includes the Beatles

Our boys are Killing it and more to come 💅

Hoping to be number 1 but never gonna happen as long as the Beatles music is present

@@marclapuz5753 never gonna happen beacause their music is ass lmao

@@marclapuz5753 😝 Beatles songs is timeless, while BTS gonna forget after 10 years... 🤓

​@@oppaya3675All this negativity for what lol

The bealtes are the best, Ever.....

​​@@kelvinart8480Elvis outsold all of them but unfortunately partial sales are not counted for certification. i.e. 499,999 units is counted as zero. Elvis has so many sales not counted because his extended plays didn't pass the $3 threshhold. These numbers are bunk. They don't take into account percentage of population/inflation. It is just stupid. Matter of fact Bing Crosby was more dominant then all of them. 40+ #1's and way more successful recordings in an extremely short time. Thats real, but people will believe in fairy tales. I will always be an Elvis man because unlike all the others, he was not a one trick pony. He had the voice, hit with R&B, Country, Rock, Easy Listening etc... Elvis got triple crowns multiple times, no other artist can claim that. Elvis wasn't just the King of Rock, he was the king of music because of the multiple success. The measure of greatness is not just setting records, but how long they stand. If Elvis had of been better managed there was no telling how far he would have gone. No single individual in entertainment reached that height, and even the Beatles have to share that fame. Most records are based on album sales because they are tracked better lately. Pitiful when you are measuring an artist who most popularity is based on singles! The R.I.A.A didn't come to start certifying until 2 years after Elvis explosion and the multi Platinum record was introduced until after Elvis career was over. The Beatles having a much more aggressive record company with record keeping sure helped. Whatever. At least I know the truth. Elvis voice and versatility and output was unmatched. ...and yes Elvis created art in so many other ways than putting words to music.

By the taylor swift is done with music،she will prob pass them،the woman is releasing 3 albums a year،she will have 60،70 in the end 😂

@@sobhanamini3776 Taylor Swift has done 10 studio albums in her 17 year career. Elvis had over 40 in 21. She better get to working. All this why he was doing Vegas shows that were often 4 shows a day (thats right at times he did over a hundred shows in a one month period). Taylor Swift is nowhere near as prolific and her charted sales in the entirety are way behind. Lets see if she ever tops an R&B chart. Lol How about her Gospel influence? Hey ya never know, but internationaly Elvis and the Beatles were much bigger. I give Talor props for having albums sustain popularity and her charted hits in America are impressive, but influence on percentage of population in her time...not even close. I could statistic beat her into submission, and that isn't even starting on Bing Crisby who was more prolific than all of them. Elvis had 600 plus recordings. Taylor has less than 200 hundred. Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra had close to a thousand in the same amount of time. People are just so unaware of how big they were for their time. Is Taylor Swift big...absolutely. but having a billion streams is not the same as selling millions of records in a time where there was far less disposable income (like Bing during the depression). Elvis hit 500 million in 2 years at a time when there was far less population. He had a nielson rating that was 42% of the television population. That level of domination will never be seen again. Taylor has to compete with Marvel to Viral tik tok toilet explosions to sex vids. Btw if we are going to count streams what about radio listens or jukebox hits? Lets go farther, what about sheet music sales when people couldn't afford albums? You think Taylor merchandising compares to Elvis in the long run? His dead corpse to this day still has more allure because that image is so engrained as a worldwide phenomenon. Btw as a side note....while she has popular songs, I never thought her voice was very strong. She might be a George Harrison at best, but she has nowhere near the pipes of McCartney, Bing, Frank, or the unstoppable Elvis. Taylor may in the end have more number 1 albums than the Beatles or more singles than Elvis in America, but world domination...yeah right. Ok so she beats an American top 40 track record with what...200, 000 records sold? Elvis was selling 500,000 units and beyond in a much shorter time. The facts are that her worldwide impact is not as large. She will never have 10 of the top 10 spots at one time. She might get a blip here and there, but in the grand scheme she will never be the pioneer like that. They all bow to Elvis and that is why he will always be the King.

@@humphreybogart6663 first of all that was supposed to be a joke،and i compared her with the beatles،i don't think she can ever sell as much as them،i don't even think she is that great to be top 10،most of her succes is bc of the anount of albums she released،it took her 14 albums to get 11 no1s while so many more artists get even more with less albums،i always took her as above average quality،but she is very hard working and passionate about her career she will prob get more than 20 no1 after 30 albums

You will see his stats DROP greatly sooner than later. New generations of people ALWAYS seek out the Beatles . Elvis is "too old fashioned" for them. Elvis is more like a "movie star" to them.

@@LannieLord Elvis is still on the Public eye significantly thanks to the new movie which pulled in a lot of new fans so you never know

Nope Elvis has officially sold over 500 million records, 145 million in the US ALONE. No one has sold 2 billion anywhere, even The Beatles, the #1 selling act ever is at 600 million. Madonna the #1 female is at 400 million now

@@LannieLord How do you come up with this nonsense? take a look on the internet. Elvis receives countless gold and platinum awards every year. they are re-exhibited every year at Graceland. Of the one million visitors (Graceland) every year, 60% are under 35 years old. Take a look on RU-vid: many, many young people from all over the world listen to Elvis music and talk about Elvis. there are an incredible number of videos of it. According to the last major global survey from 2018 (or 2014?) by BBC, Elvis Presley is the most famous person in the world (Elvis Presley has always won these surveys since the early 90s with 90%). You can read all of this.

​@@MartinSmith156 The fact is that there are no real exact figures for a single artist or musician. This is because 1. some artists and record companies play with the numbers and 2. the sales system for music sales is very complicated and has changed often. When Elvis Presley died in 1977, it was reported that Elvis had sold 500-600 million albums by the time of his death. In 1996, Elvis Presley told then-record label RCA/Sony that Elvis Presley had sold over 1.6 billion albums by 1996. The fact is that the record industry said in 1978 that Elvis Presley sold 200 million albums in the first 12 months after his death (August 1977 to August 1978). This number is pretty sure that at that time Elvis' record company rented 90% of all the pressing plants (I think worldwide) in order to secure the gigantic demand for Elvis records. this was confirmed by the bosses of the pressing plants in 1978.

yes, the most overrated of all time

@@antoniocasaca7606he made like 7 albums Beatles and Elvis made 20-30

Madonna

Well, no he isn’t.

@@johnp515technically he is because he isn’t in a band he succeeded by himself lol

Certified sales available: 182 million Estimated sales: 205 million

the Beatles Estimated sales: 500-600 million. Available certified sales: 271.1 million

Wrong, digital sales are included, read the top comment explanation

Yes, only the pure physical album sales for Mariah Carey in Japan are 18,5 million, making her number two behind The Beatles in terms of foreign musical acts. She’s clearly ahead of Michael Jackson, Queen, Madonna and Eric Clapton (9-10 million). Deep Purple, Simon & Garfunkel and Abba also belong to the top. As far as I know, in addition to Mariah and Madonna, only seven non-Japanese female solo artists have sold over a million physical copies of particular albums in Japan (all in all, five Americans, two Canadians, one Irish and one Swedish girl): Whitney Houston, Enya, Avril Lavigne, Céline Dion, Lauryn Hill, Lady Gaga and Meja.

The Beatles Estimated sales: 500-600 million. Available certified sales: 271.1 million

americans count different, dont know why. 100,000,000 One hundred million (also known a milliard in all of the world and different languages), americans call "a billion". While a billion for the rest of the world would be 1,000,000,000

Unofficial sales. If you measure by that method the Beatles hit 2 billion with 1.6 billion singles sales and 400 million album sales.

unnoficially saying... in Brazil 99% of people buy the "pirate" and cheap Thriller album in the 80's

In Denmark EU 1000 million is= 1 Bill to

@luizitosilva7251: Who says that? Michael Jackson had never sold a billion. Look on the internet: 90% of the sites say 400-500 million sales. The alleged one billion was a lie by the Jackson family. Only Elvis Presley (two billion album sales) and The Beatles (one billion) have sold that much.

Backstreet Boys fans found in the wild

Uhm no? This list means Eminem is the best selling rapper of all time. He's undoubtedly one of the G.O.A.T.S but it depends on how an individual perceives his position in the rap scene.

Uhm no? This list means Eminem is the best selling rapper of all time. He's undoubtedly one of the G.O.A.T.S but it depends on how an individual perceives his position in the rap scene.

Concerning physical albums, Maiden is also by far the best-selling foreign musical act ever in Finland, ahead of Madonna, Abba and AC/DC (but Queen’s Greatest Hits II and Abba Gold are the most successful non-Finnish albums over there).

I bet you know at least three Beatles songs without knowing it's them.

This is not very accurate, for example the Beatles Estimated sales: 500-600 million. Available certified sales: 271.1 million Singles are also counted, but not digital album sales. Taylor Swift Available Certified sales: 267 million Estimated sales: 220 million Not updated to date And to date it may vary

@@metjovi probably so .

even nowadays on spotify they have double more songs over 100m streams than MJ or Queen.. Shows their amount of hits I think..in only 7 years recording! Also like 15 songs over 100m after their breakup

The Beatles had like 20 hits every year so only a few really stuck.

Absolutely

Because Celine Dion is better

Sorry but mariah better now

Mariah has lost some clout as a concert attraction.

Cause she's shite live

In the USA ; he's ONLY known for "Devil Woman" and those couple of sucky "soft rock" songs from the early 1980s.But Johnny Hallyday is on the list and if you asked 100 Americans; "Who is Johnny Hallyday?" ; 99% of them would be like "An actor on an old western TV show?"

Этот список бред. Его в серьез воспринимать не стоит.

lol Beatles? watch the video again..also 20 number one hits in the US vs 2 by Queen.. Yes on spotify they have more monthly listeners but not that different. The Beatles have double more songs over 100m stream although they recorded in only 7 years!

@@ricardo_miguel13 That´s just in terms of sales

How? It’s correct?

@@zdvxr No

@@remyroland8016 the last few answers are correct at least, I haven’t done the research for the others.

​@@zdvxrpearl jam sold around a hundred mil.. yet they're not on the list.. and i think motley crue also sold around 80 mil.. yet theyre also not on the list..🤷

@@death2denemy it got the numbers right on the ones I know of, it’s just missing people.

400million to date

Yeah they are soo overrated

Hey morons, your bus is leaving

​@@simpsonslifelineno

Number 11 bro

11th