Top 20 Best Selling Albums in USA History!?! REALLY??? 

For me, Pink Floyd's _Dark Side of the Moon_ has no equal. It is a flawless album, IMO.

I can hang out and listen to this guy talk music all day.

My shock is that Carole King's Tapestry isn't on the list. It was one of the ones everybody had back in the day.

Hi Dillon, One of your last comments, "It goes into some really dark places here"...priceless! Take care.

Kinda surprised "Frampton Comes Alive" didn't crack the top 20. I know It sold alot when it came out.

The only record that really surprised me was Garth Brooks - Double Live. The rest actually don't surprise me. I know some people are surprised by Hootie and the Blowfish. But if you were around during the 90s, that record was MASSIVE and their music was everywhere. They had a lot of crossover appeal.

Dark Side of the Moon was on the Billboard Top 100 Album chart for 15 consecutive years! I don't think that record has ever been broken.

And imagine how many more copies of the fourth Led Zeppelin album they would have sold if people had known what to ask for at the record store!

Surprised Frampton Comes Alive isn’t on the list. It was like a federal law in the 70’s that every household had to have at least one copy of it (and Rumors and Dark Side of the Moon).

I wholeheartedly agree with your opinion about compilations. That's why, to me, "Thriller" is still the #1 best-selling album. What I didn't know is that "Hotel California" had surpassed "Back In Black", which to me has always been the #2.

A big factor in album sales is how many hit singles, hence the prevalence of Greatest Hits and lack of bands like Floyd and Zep.

"Adele, Backstreet Boys, Britney Spears, it goes to some real dark places" ... 😂😂😂

"Adele, backstreet boys, Britney it goes in some dark places here"🤣🤣 LMFAO

This isn;t the top 20 best selling albums of all time , DISCLAIMER this is top 20 best selling albums in the U.S .......

First album I ever bought was Back in Black. Second was Appetite for Destruction. Then I got hooked on Rush and Queen and lost my mind.

When "Thriller" was out I can remember more than once fiddling through the radio stations and have songs from that album playing on EVERY SINGLE STATION. It was MASSIVELY huge back in the day, especially with the music video release for "Thriller". Great album too. It was the very first CD I ever bought (and I still have it).

When my son was 10 or 12 he loved Pink Floyd's "The Wall." I have the movie on DVD and we watched it together. He is 30 now and still loves the music but will not watch the movie. He says it scared him so much back when he was a kid that he had nightmares.

I love the two albums visible in the video - Miles Davis' "Bitches Brew" and Frank Zappa "Hot Rats." About "Rumors" Fleetwood Mack? I remember how surprised my daughter was when she found out that this was not a "best of" album.

Legend has it that during the sessions The Beatles recorded a 20 plus minute long version of Helter Skelter. If this is true, I must hear it before I die.

On the world rankings dark side of the moon would be #1

No one is as dumb as all of us put together

Hey Dillon, another awesome video as always! I love these lists you do.

Fun video. Love these list videos. The thing to remember with some of these albums is the RIAA counts double or triple albums as more than one. So if a double album is credited with 10 million sold, only five million we’re actually sold but they count twice due to length. So the numbers are always skewed a bit higher since it’s not like you always pay twice as much for a double LP. And I think I heard Garth Brooks goes out of his way to keep prices low on his music and sell some cheap things at places like Walmart just to juice his sales. I remember reading a comment last year when that legacy box was going for crazy cheap prices and people buying it just because it was cheap.

I heard that Hootie and the Blowfish got inflated numbers because they were the default choice as the Columbia House automatic send for a while... anyone know anything about this?

I really thought "Bat Out of Hell" by Meat Loaf would be on this list. Maybe because it's only counting US sales. P.S. Back when "Thriller" came out I managed a indie record store, when our weekly shipment of albums came in at least four of the boxes were just "Thriller" albums and they would be gone in 2-3 days. Had fun watching this video it reminded me of my record shop days. Thanks.

I'm glad you expressed your outrage about The Darkside Of The Moon because I was going to. I just found my 5.1 audio cd of that album on Sunday and played it. It is in my top 5 of all time.

Eagles Greatest Hits is the #1 album to be found at the gas station.

Dude, so glad I found your channel. Great content!!!

Loved this video...love also the 'dark places' remark. It would be good to see a top UK 20.

Greetings from the farthest reaches of the Emerald Triangle, Northern California. Ordered a Noble Records hat the other day. Looking forward to wearing it! Great channel!

I had to laugh when you mentioned Garth Brooks bring Chris Gaines as well as your comment at the end about heading into dark times. I was actually surprised there wasn’t an Elvis Presley album on the list. I thought an Elvis compilation would have sold more than Hootie.

You should do separate lists of the Top 20 best-selling original albums, Greatest Hits albums, and Soundtrack albums.

damn - I scribbled out a list of my guesses before I watched the video to see how many I could get. I'm actually still surprised "Frampton Comes Alive" wasn't on the list, I kept thinking it was going to be in the top 10 as you made your way up the list hehe B/c it seemed like *everyone* had/has a copy of that LP - but apparently not quite as everyone as I thought (yes, that intentionally bad grammar lol). But I guessed about 2/3 of them - there were a few that I couldn't name the specific album but I knew the artist had to be on the list, and I was right. But there were some I was pleasantly surprised to see as well that I didn't guess - so that was cool to see too. It did help my guessing that I worked in music stores back in the late 90's and so I had/have some experience seeing what albums/artists sold consistently and then there's just the albums that you knew had to be on the list. Though once you mentioned that some GH albums where on the list I stopped the video and revised some of my picks and actually ended up nailing more than I would have gotten beforehand. I thought the Titanic soundtrack might would have been on there b/c that one sold out the ass at the time, and continued to for a while - but apparently not quite enough. and really though - those huge selling albums from the 70's have kinda had all that time to continue racking up sales - on top of the massive sales they shifted around the time of their releases as well, and so its not quite as surprising to see some of those on the list (I'm deliberately avoiding naming names here of the ones that did make the list b/c I want to give other people a chance to try and pick before watching the video also and so I don't want to spoil it here) Great video though - fun to go through. Thanks man.

I would've sworn Nirvana's Nevermind would be way up there.

Whitney singing "I will always love you" is why The Bodyguard album is in that list.

Dark Side of the Moon only 26th? That is shocking. The album is top 5 worldwide and absolutely brilliant.

The way I look at Hootie and The Blowfish's success was this....it came out at a time when people were sick of alternative and were tired of feeling sad and depresed all the time..they wanted something kinda goofy and different. It was "frat/jock rock type music and every. single. radio. station. played it to death. Even the band was asking them to please...please...stop playing our music so much.

The latest US album RIAA certifications I've seen have The Beatles at number 1 with 183 million and Brooks second with 156. The actual Beatles sales are more like 210 million, but they haven't all been certified.

For how often I hear Billy Joel and the Eagles on the radio there’s really no reason to own their greatest hits albums.

Dillon, my man!!! Came across your channel by a very happy accident, and I love it!!! I've watched several of your videos, and plan to watch as many of them as I can! Just wanted to comment on your comment regarding Greatest Hits (or compilations as you call them) collections. Of course, this is just my opinion and my take on it (doesn't make me right or wrong, of course). I do think that Greatest Hits albums should be considered when discussing top album sales. I am 63 years old, and in the 1970's, and maybe even into the 1980's, but, especially in the 1970's (and remember, this was long before any kind of digital audio, streaming services, RU-vid, etc., were around), Greatest Hits collections were a means of either introducing the music of a well-known artist or band to a new listener, or a means of having the top hits of the said band or artist all in one place, without having to immediately shell out the expense of buying all of the albums from which those hits derived from. In my personal case, "The Eagles Greatest Hits", originally purchased in 1976, was a way for me at the time to be introduced to the band via their hit singles, and a convenient way of owning those hits (all of which I missed buying when they were current in the Top 40, as I was just getting into them - my first Eagles studio album purchased on its release was "Hotel California", in 1977). Whereas Elton John's Greatest Hits, also purchased in 1975, enabled me to own the hits from his earliest albums without having to buy the original albums right away (I bought "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" - surprised it didn't make the list - in October, 1973, on its release, and "Caribou" in the summer of 1974, on its release). I do own the complete catalogs of both of these artists, but it a little time for me to do so. Greatest Hits collections were a really big deal back in the 1970's when pop artists, at times, sold more singles than albums. Once again, this is just my opinion. I guess that is why you don't see groups or artists putting out as many hit compilations now as they used to, because there is not the need for those collections that there once was - they have become victims of their own time. Thanks again for the great videos! The next time I am in North Carolina I will be sure to check out your awesome shop!! BTW - I own everything on your list except for the Garth Brooks, Hootie and the Blowfish, Alanis Morrisette, and Shania Twain (not big into country I'm afraid). Cheers!!!

"Michael Jackson, we're all there with you"... where? LOL

I inhaled a good proportion of my mornings hot coffee when you (accurately) lumped Adele, Brittany Spears and Backstreet Boys in the same dark pile. Cheers for nearly killing me with laughter.

In my understanding compilation albums are albums in their most original sense. People started collecting shellac records by one artist in an album to keep them together. In early days of vinyl there where mainly singles compiled to albums with some filler. It took a while to make an album one coherent recording and finally an art form. So in a list like this compilations make sense.

I believe I read that Fleetwood Mac Rumors was the top selling vinyl in the U.K. last year. It would be interesting to see how some of those charts change over the years as legacy acts fall in and out of favor.

This was fun. You nailed the analytics perfectly, regarding greatest hits and compilations. I own 15 of the 20. Aerosmith Rocks, first vinyl...

I was shocked that Meat Loaf's Bat Out of Hell didn't make the list as there are over 50 million sales worldwide but apparently only 14x platinum in the U.S according to Wikipedia. It was 25x platinum in Australia and 17 x platinum in New Zealand so they were the highest market share

I don’ have a top 10, or even 20. I have a top 3: 1: The entire Beatles back catalog 2: The entire Queen back catalog 3: Other music. The #1 and #2 spot often switch places, depending on my mood.

One thing to remember is that for a long time most music sales weren't properly tracked - country for example didn't really start getting tracked until into the 1980's. Due to his popularity, it is believed that Kenny Rogers has sold similar to Garth Brooks but because Kenny was successful in the 70's and 80's and Garth a decade later, they don't have the actual stats for him. It is very possible that there are several albums that should be on a list like this but are not because they just don't know the actual sales.

Is there a like a definitive place or site to look at the the biggest selling releases etc. Off the top of my head, 2 albums I thought would have been there was Bing Crosby’s White Christmas, and Def Leppard’s Hysteria.

wow such a respectful, chill dude. Id love to have a beer with this guy!

In college in the 90s, EVERY girl I knew owned a Jagged Little Pill CD.

I thought 'Dark Side of the Moon' had out-sold 'The Wall'

Glad you clarified it was just for the US, would be interesting to see whats sold most in the UK and then Globally as that could raise Rumours and Dark Side of the Moon up the rankings. Couldnt believe what I was hearing when I first heard Billy Joel's Attila - phenomenal record, not for the faint hearted though. Re greatest hits albums, I recall reading somewhere that albums started off as collections of hits and stayed that way for a long time until in the 60's the concept of an album being a collection of songs that havent been hits took hold - though wasnt it Frank Sinatra who started that whole thing about a themed (and dare I say 'concept') album. Also greatest hits collections will mean that casual purchasers are able to get a collection of songs they know without having to sit through what we may call the good stuff - I mean how many people who bought Elton's greatest hits will have sat down with Goodbye Yellow Brick Road and how many people who bought Queen's greatest hits will have any idea of the Prophet's Song or the Millionaire's Waltz etc. Although obviously a lot of people who bought the Eagles Greatest Hits will have also listened to Hotel California!

this has got to be the first vinyl channel that I can actually watch

There was one year where the music industry was basically sustained by 3 Canadian women: Shania Twain, Celine Dion and Alanis Morrissette

Back in 1993 Garth Brooks waged war against record stores that sold used CDs. Brooks didn't want people to be able to purchase used copies of his CDs because he didn't earn royalties from the sale of used CDs and because they didn't count toward his total record sales. Some stores refused to stock Brooks CDs as a result.

"I Will Always Love You" was the driver behind the sales of the Bodyguard soundtrack... Just as much credit belongs to Dolly Parton...

I'm so happy Boston's debut is in the top 20, that album really is as perfect as albums get and Brad Delp's vocals are out of this world

If anybody needs a copy of "Saturday Night Fever" on 8-Track I have one.

First time listening to you and love the vid!

Really enjoyable video. When you prefaced it by saying it was essentially people's choice, I was expecting the list to be whackier than it actually turned out to be. Good to include those honorable mentions because they would take the place of the compilations on the list if you removed them.

I'm surprised that Queen Greatest Hits wasn't on the list. That album must have shifted a few copies in it's day.

America's Greatest Hits sold a bunch.

Enjoyed and subscribed.

Hey there! I remember looking into this not too long ago. An interesting fact: many 90s albums were primarily sold on CDs, since they were cheaper to make and easier to distribute. Which is why Alanis Morissette, The Bodyguard, and Hootie are on the list. The CD sales boom was likely a big contributor to this data. Also, Garth Brooks, like you discussed, is very good about marketing his music for the best profit. In terms of country music I believe he has one of the highest net worths. Anyway, just thought I’d throw my two cents in!

I swear if you ask anyone outside of the US who Garth Brooks is they wouldn't have a clue. Kudos to the guy for selling that many albums though.

So glad to hear someone else who prefers the Use Your Illusion albums. I love Appetite but Use Your Illusion made me a bigger fan.

Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon was the greatest album ever , however , because most of there songs were more then 3 minutes long they got very little air play , thus limiting sales , to make it to 26 was based purely on word of mouth , making it even more sensational,

Great video Dillon, even with some of the lame titles, I do own 8 of these albums (all on vinyl). Dark Side of the Moon did surprise me and I would have thought Purple Rain made it

Great video man, I can’t believe Dark Side Of The Moon is 26!!

Hootie and The Blowfish sold so many because of BMG and Columbia House :-P

The Eagles greatest hits 1 will always be one of my favorite albums! Two thumbs up if I could, Rock On!

Damn I want that Frank Zappa Spanish pressing like really bad. :)

I sold beer next to the stage Hootie played on at Center City Fest years ago. Those f’n people could booze. Tapped all the kegs.

Mid-70’s sweet spot: my boomer brethren.

Rumours: when I got it back in the day, i couldnt believe it, and felt absolutely ripped off, that there was no guitar solo on Rhiannon...did they fix that with the re-issues does anyone know?

Every time I go into a record store, without fail, at least one person asking about Rumors. "Do you have any more in the back?" lol I'm glad I have my parent's 1977 original.

Not sure if anyone else has brought it up but the reason a lot of double albums show up on these lists is because they count those sales as two units due to their being listed as a "double" album.

Seeing FZ displayed behind you earned FULL RESPECT!! Agree with ALL your comments. Thanks!

Flight Of The Concords has the funniest Fleetwood Mac joke

Great video, enjoyed it. How about you do one on top selling vinyl since the "vinyl revival", say 2007 inclusive, or whatever makes more sense to you. Cheers!

Good video, thanks...Great to hear someone else say that Helter Skelter is the first punk rock song! I totally agree...

Most people in Europe know the name Garth Brooks but that's about it....

You are totally correct and on point with everything. And Led Zeppelin is my favorite band of all time, too.

Im not sure what list you were looking at but the wikipedia page with the top us selling albums is different than your list

I was going to ask where your shop is, then saw the more info. NC? Cool. I was going to say that you remind me of folks I know here in Austin. Of course, if you were here, I'd have heard of the store by now. it would probably still exist, even, I think. Bless everyone who keeps a brick and mortar record store going in this wwworld (see what I did there? LOL)! Glad I found the channel! Cheers!

How about a follow-up video on the best selling albums world wide? That would be interesting. I bet a lot of stuff not well known in the US.

I totally agree with you on not counting best-of compilations in album rankings or best-selling lists. It just feels too obvious, like OF COURSE an album with all the hits is gonna sell well (especially if those hits are widespread throughout an artists' discography), but I'm more interested in what their best work is as a whole album experience. What else can they offer besides the hits everyone already knows?

I always felt the same way about Helter Skelter - first 'punk' song. You're doing great stuff in the vinyl community!

I can already tell you have an amazing taste in music

I’m with you on compilations. Idea for another video...top 20 not counting compilations.

Thanks for posting. Other more specific videos could further break down the recordings into lists the albums into categories, so, there would be best selling studio albums, best selling live albums, best selling greatest hits and other compilations, and so on. Another breakdown could include different genres, such as best selling prog rock albums, best selling country albums, best selling rock albums, best selling R&B albums, etc.

You mentioned Chris Gaines. Wow. That's a stellar album.

Hootie & The Blowfish up in there?!?! Now THAT'S a huge surprise to me....

I’m so glad you called out Dark Side of the Moon. 26!!! Wow. The Bodyguard was a really great and super popular movie when it came out. Not surprised the soundtrack is on their list. Also I absolutely LOVE that “I Will Always Love You” was used in The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas.

I know who Garth Brooks is because I know a lot of music, but almost nobody knows who he is outside of America (well some Australians probably do). Also - Fleetwood Mac's Rumours is a top ten album worldwide.

When you were a kid you were 10 years old. We all were kids at 10 years old. I am proud to say that I only own 1 of the 20.

Just bought Attila from Discogs. Love that album. I'm a huge Billy Joel fan. Everyone who likes Billy Joel should at least check it out. Awesome organ on that. Totally different than everything else he did.

Whoa ... upvoted for just seeing that Bitches Brew album and Zappa behind you!

I knew jagged little pill would be on here, I see cd copies at every goodwill I go to