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This article is about best-selling music artists. For other uses, please see the disambiguation page at Best sellers. This article discusses who is the world's best-selling artist of all time.

• The artists below are listed in alphabetical order. Bands are listed by the first letter in their name (not including the article: "a", "an", or "the"), and individuals are listed by last name.

• All sources of information that are mentioned below obtain information about worldwide record sales from record companies. There is no other official tracking system for worldwide sales.

• The World Music Awards is the only music awards organisation who based their awards on worldwide record sales. According to their official website, "The world's best-selling recording artists are determined by a thorough enquiry conducted by the organization, which include sales figures and record certifications." However, their databases don't hold a lot of information from the 1950s or 1960s, or sales of uncertified releases.

• Some record companies claim that their artists are the "best-selling of all time", but this could be just a promotional statement. The same principle applies in the marketing of films and television shows; those statements serve only to attract the public.

• Figures given for artists should include both albums and singles sales, inclusive of paid digital downloads.

The holder of the title may change in the future, depending upon the fate of each artist's new releases, changes in the sales rates of their back catalogues, and various other factors.

The Beatles were a British group active from 1960 to 1970, who recorded various musical styles, most commonly known for their pop and rock numbers. As the only band on this list (as opposed to solo artists), they are the best selling band of all time. Many of their records were best sellers at the time and many still remain on the all-time lists. At times they had multiple albums and singles on charts around the globe. For example, on April 4 of 1964 they held all the top 5 places in the Hot 100 and had 9 of the top 10 singles in the pop charts in Canada. The Beatles have sold 24 multi-platinum albums. In the USA, the RIAA rates them as the best selling artist ever^[1] with sales of 170 million units.

Guinness World Records have claimed The Beatles have the biggest all-times sales for a band. Neither EMI nor the Guinness World Records have specified if the 1 billion sales figure is accumulative of each Beatles' solo careers on top of their group sales, or just their group sales. Although The Beatles disbanded in 1970, since that time singles and albums have continued to chart well, especially for a band that has disbanded. Between 1990 and 2005 alone they charted five different Number 1 albums on the UK and US charts. All of The Beatles continued to perform songs from their Beatles career live (some of which were released as live albums or televised), and the surviving members began collaborating on two new singles in the early 1990s, based on unfinished recordings. This has helped to keep the band's name in the press^{[citation needed]} - wherever anyone from the band goes they are always name dropped as an 'ex-Beatle'. Paul McCartney has had the greatest post-Beatles success.^[2][3][4][5]This continued success by former-members has helped keep The Beatles name appearing in the press, delivering further promotion.

Michael Jackson is an American R&B, soul, Funk, disco, new jack swing, pop and rock artist whose recording career has spanned from 1969 to the present. In November 2006 The Guinness Book of Records presented Jackson with eight certificates for musical achievements. Among them "The Most Successful Entertainer of All Time" , "Highest paid Entertainer of all time" (he received $125 million in album and tour sales in 1989) and "First Entertainer to sell more than 100 million albums outside the US."^[6] In 1982, Jackson recorded the best-selling album of all-time, Thriller, with reported worldwide sales of over 104 million from Guinness World Records. He is the first artist to debut a single at #1 in the U.S. with "You Are Not Alone" (1995).^[7]

Jackson also issued Bad (1987) which sold 32 million units and is the only album to have 5 #1 singles in the U.S , Dangerous (1991), which became one of the best-selling New jack swing album of all time selling 35 million units. HIStory (1995) which is widely regarded as the best selling double disk album ever at 36 million units^[8] and Blood on the Dance Floor (1997) which became the best selling remix album ever.^[9] He has released seven solo studio albums between 1979-2001, four of which have each sold a minimum of 30 million units worldwide.

Michael Jackson has been awarded numerous honors, including the World Music Awards' Best-selling pop male artist of the Millennium.^[10]Jackson is often referred to as the 'King of Pop' by fans and media alike. Michael Jackson's record company Sony BMG has never given an accumulative sales figure for Jackson, but has stated the singer as being "the single most successful entertainer of the 20th century" and claims that he "has sold more recordings than any other single artist."^[11] At the World Music Awards in 2006, it was claimed that Jackson had sold over 750 million albums and singles worldwide.^[12]

Elvis Presley's Jailhouse Rock promotional photo.

Elvis Presley was an American rock, pop, gospel and country singer whose professional career spanned from 1954 until his death in 1977. Posthumously, he has continued to sell records in large numbers, reaching number 1 on both singles and album charts around the world. Presley is reported to have sold over one billion singles and albums, which would make him the biggest-selling solo artist of all time.^[13] As of 2007, over a quarter century after his death, Presley still holds the top spot for best-selling solo artist in U.S. history, according to the RIAA.^[14].

Presley has had 149 top 100 singles in the US,^[15] and he has also had 150 RIAA-certified gold awards for his albums, EPs and singles, many of which have been certified platinum and multi-platinum. ^[16].

According to the RIAA, 97 of Presley's albums account for his 118.5 million album tally in the US alone. In addition, Presley is due certification for 120 additional albums. While it is roughly estimated that 60% of Presley's worldwide sales, for singles and albums alike, have been in the United States, this is sometimes disputed as Presley has been reported to sell well over 19 million singles in the United Kingdom, a figure that is more than a third of the US tally.

Elvis is often credited with integrating styles of music that were typically associated with black people into his work, which helped him to define rock 'n' roll. Numerous people have credited him with the starting of the rock music industry as a major commercial force.^[17]

1. ^ http://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?table=tblTopArt RIAA website, statistics stating The Beatles area top selling artist
2. ^ http://beatles.ncf.ca/mpl.html Ottawa Beatles Site, accessed 12 September 2007
3. ^ http://www.taima.org/en/hemplib3.htm#mccartney Interview with Paul McCartney, accessed 12 September 2007
4. ^ http://www.degraff.net/7t71874.html Paul McCartney Interview with Jerry Bailey, accessed 12 September 2007
5. ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/1817780.stm Report on George Harrisson's death - BBC, accessed 12 September 2007
6. ^ [1] Michael Jackson sets world record (video)
7. ^ [2]
8. ^ [3]
9. ^ Blood on the Dance Floor at MJ.INF
10. ^ [4] Winners of the World Music Awards - May 2000
11. ^ [5] Michael Jackson biography at sonymusic.com
12. ^ "Michael Jackson On WMA 2006 Earls Court (Part 2 of 3)" at YouTube
13. ^ [6] Elvis record sales
14. ^ [7] Elvis Presley Now Best Selling Solo Artist In U.S. History (8 January 2004)
15. ^ [8]
16. ^ [9] All About Elvis - Gold and Platinum Records
17. ^ http://quotations.about.com/od/stillmorefamouspeople/a/elvispresley3.htm Accessed September 12 - quotes from famous people about Elvis

• List of best-selling music artists