Top 100 artists of the Soundscan era, from May 1991-August 2005

[Dean Winchester]

some are pretty shocking. This is in millions. 66,119 for Garth Brooks means 66,119,000

1. 66,119 Garth Brooks
2. 51,202 The Beatles
3. 47,607 Metallica
4. 46,920 Celine Dion
5. 46,317 Mariah Carey
6. 35,504 George Strait
7. 32,727 Shania Twain
8. 31,729 Alan Jackson
9. 31,717 Kenny G
10. 31,516 Pink Floyd
11. 30,849 Tim McGraw
12. 30,187 Backstreet Boys
13. 29,572 U2
14. 29,167 Eminem
15. 28,231 Britney Spears
16. 27,890 Pearl Jam
17. 27,639 N Sync
18. 27,047 Aerosmith
19. 26,929 Dave Matthews Band
20. 26,823 Eric Clapton
21. 26,371 Elvis Presley
22. 25,243 Reba Mcentire
23. 24,987 Creed
24. 23,977 Elton John
25. 23,741 The Eagles
26. 23,420 Frank Sinatra
27. 23,414 Dixie Chicks
28. 23,312 Rod Stewart
29. 23,072 Santana
30. 23,045 Enya
31. 22,963 Nirvana
32. 22,805 Madonna
33. 22,749 Boyz II Men
34. 22,624 AC/DC
35. 22,573 Jimmy Buffett
36. 21,778 Jay-Z
37. 21,561 Guns & Roses
38. 21,427 Michael Bolton
39. 21,022 Toby Keith
40. 21,017 The Rolling Stones
41. 19,892 Nelly
42. 19,542 R Kelly
43. 19,472 Alanis Morissette
44. 19,462 Led Zeppelin
45. 19,396 Green Day
46. 19,390 Tupac
47. 19,080 Brooks & Dunn
48. 19,040 Barbra Steisand
49. 18,881 Limp Bizkit
50. 18,486 Usher
51. 18,457 Mannheim Steamroller
52. 18,388 Janet Jackson
53. 18,212 Red Hot Chili Peppers
54. 17,939 Beastie Boys
55. 17,926 Michael Jackson
56. 17,836 REM
57. 17,508 Gill Vince
58. 17,387 Kid Rock
59. 17,024 Van Halen
60. 16,852 Luther Vandross
61. 16,843 Faith Hill
62. 16,618 Alabama
63. 16,508 Billy Joel
64. 16,472 Yanni
65. 16,432 Linkin Park
66. 16,419 Queen
67. 16,397 Sarah Mclachlan
68. 16,310 Outkast
69. 15,826 Bob Seger
70. 15,708 DMX
71. 15,659 Kenny Chesney
72. 15,649 Sade
73. 15,464 Mary J. Blige
74. 15,413 Fleetwood Mac
75. 15,284 TLC
76. 15,271 Offspring
77. 15,226 Smashing Pumpkins
78. 15,224 Bruce Springsteen
79. 15,143 No Doubt
80. 15,026 Destiny's Child
81. 14,983 Korn
82. 14,914 Van Morrison
83. 14,787 Bob Dylan
84. 14,643 Sting
85. 14,601 Ozzy Osbourne
86. 14,597 Prince
87. 14,436 Sheryl Crow
88. 14,412 Bone Thugs-N-Harmony
89. 14,386 Matchbox Twenty
90. 14,378 Lynryd Skynyrd
91. 14,293 Def Leppard
92. 14,270 Jewel
93. 14,190 James Taylor
94. 14,080 Doors
95. 14,014 Neil Diamond
96. 13,974 Lenny Kravitz
97. 13,908 Hootie & The Blowfish
98. 13,778 Grateful Dead
99. 13,761 Bon Jovi
100.13,520 Toni Braxton

A couple of interesting entries below 100:

Jimi Hendrix scanned 13,383,000 copies (not bad for a man who is dead for 35 years!);
The Beach Boys did 11.5 million; Marvin Gaye 11 million; Johnny Cash 10.8; Miles Davis 9.5; Whitney Houston 'only' 9.1 million; Creedence Clearwater Revival 8.5 mil; Simon & Garfunkel and also Radiohead 8 million.

[SBTB Geek]

Many of those numbers are very off.

[Dean Winchester]

Originally Posted by SBTB Geek

Many of those numbers are very off.

Soundscan and RIAA numbers aren't supposed to meet up. BSB's Black And Blue is certified at 8 million, but it actually only sold 4 million. Soundscan is actually how many copies were purchased, RIAA is how many copies were shipped.

Soundscan numbers are more interesting to me because you can ship off 10 million copies of Glitter, American Life, Just Whitney (btw, the reason Whitney's not on the list is because The Bodyguard wasn't counted), Damita Jo and Invincible.... but what they actually sold is more interesting.

[TJL]

Wow, Garth is still #1?

[Dean Winchester]

Originally Posted by TJL

Wow, Garth is still #1?

his popularity always shocked the hell out of me. I never bought one of his albums, nor do I know anyone who has... I do know people who have Shania, Faith, etc... cd's, but never anyone who liked Garth.

[vashti1999]

Originally Posted by BuffySlayer79

his popularity always shocked the hell out of me. I never bought one of his albums, nor do I know anyone who has... I do know people who have Shania, Faith, etc... cd's, but never anyone who liked Garth.

I like Garth...as Chris Gaines.

Concerning the list I expected to not even see Prince, it's surprising he did that well. As successful as TLC was during that time period, they aren't that much higher than Prince. With older artists, especially with the Beatles, Hendrix, Elvis, the Eagles, etc. it's obvious it's the catalog titles that continue to move big numbers for those artists.

[Dean Winchester]

Originally Posted by vashti1999

I like Garth...as Chris Gaines.

Concerning the list I expected to not even see Prince, it's surprising he did that well. As successful as TLC was during that time period, they aren't that much higher than Prince. With older artists, especially with the Beatles, Hendrix, Elvis, the Eagles, etc. it's obvious it's the catalog titles that continue to move big numbers for those artists.

plus Prince has sold more than Sheryl Crow, which is quite respectable because Crow has had quite a few hits and has been almost consistantly popular since she broke big in 94.

[EmoJoe]

What the HECK? Britney Spears at #15?????

[SBTB Geek]

Isn't it funny how Destiny's Child are considered to be the best selling female group when the Dixie Chicks and TLC have sold more... worldwide even?

[David]

Wow, quite shocking at some parts.