The music represented by the best-selling albums has changed over the past few decades. The 2000s saw rock taking a back seat. By the 2010s, rock had pretty much left the room. Pop and RnB led the way by then. But the 21st-century albums are still trailing in the all-time charts.
Sales levels have remained high, although over those two decades, we have seen the rise of streaming. That vastly exceeds the sales of physical copies and slightly alters the charts. Plus, of course, these later decades haven't had as many years available for albums to be bought or played in any format compared to the classics from the 1970s and 1980s.
It’s interesting to look at where the best-selling albums from the 2000s and 2010s sit alongside those other classics. They do trail behind, but just where do the biggest albums so far of this 21st century rank? Well, let’s look closer based on the information at bestsellingalbums.org on global sales. The best sellers of all time kick off with these five heavy hitters and their huge tallies.
Ranking the 21st Century’s biggest selling albums against the all time list
1 - Michael Jackson - Thriller (1982) 66 million sales
2 - AC/DC - Back In Black (1980) 50m
3 - Pink Floyd - The Dark Side Of The Moon (1973) 50m
4 - Whitney Houston - The Bodyguard Soundtrack (1992) 45m
5 - Michael Jackson - Bad (1987) 45m
That's an impressive list. If we continue down the ranking of those all-time best-selling albums, it’s all the way to numbers 17 and 18 before the first albums from this century make an appearance. That’s two closely matched albums from 2000.
17 - Eminem - The Marshall Mathers Album (2000) 32m
18 - The Beatles - 1 (2000) 32m
Continuing down the all-time sales ranking, we get to the next three from this century. Adele, Norah Jones, and Linkin Park take up positions 24, 35, and 36, respectively. That's quite a way down the all-time list for albums at or close to 30 million sales.
24 - Adele - 21 (2011) 30m
35 - Norah Jones - Come Away With Me (2002) 27m
36 - Linkin Park - Hybrid Theory (2000) 27m
21st Century’s biggest albums are trailing behind
After those three, the last of the top ten selling albums from this century cluster together. But even then, they take up positions around the 50s and 60s levels. They may have been top sellers in their own decades, but their positions show just how outranked they are by those earlier classic 20th-century releases.
55 - Backstreet Boys - Black and Blue (2000) 24m
56 - Adele - 25 (2015) 23m
63 - Eminem - The Eminem Show (2002) 20.9m
64 - Usher - Confession (2004) 20m
65 - Britney Spears - Oops!.. I Did It Again (2000) 20m
Clearly, streaming has had an impact. It’s also worth noting that time and events may still help some of the later albums rise in the all-time list. But it’s quite revealing to see the contrast between the decades in this way.