The Top 100-Selling Albums in the United States

As promised, you will find the listing of the Top 100 Albums in the United States only using sales.  I will also show a Top 100 by Track Rating* and my personal Top 100 Albums so you can compare and contrast those lists with the official Top 100 Albums of All-Time in the Rock Era*.  You won't have to look too carefully to deduce that none of them are even close to the same, making it obvious that the official list is not based solely on sales, not based solely on Track Rating* and not based on my personal favorites.  Rather, it is as objective a list that you can find--in fact I dare say that it is the most objective ranking of Top 100 Albums you will find.

Note:  Double albums are counted twice by the RIAA so to correct this practice, those albums are counted below by their actual units sold.  To be eligible, a live album must reflect the first time that the mass public became familiar with that artist, and a soundtrack album must contain songs exclusively by one artist that are new songs.  Greatest hits albums are ineligible.


1.      Thriller by Michael Jackson
2.      Led Zeppelin IV by Led Zeppelin
3.      Back in Black by AC/DC
4.      Rumours by Fleetwood Mac
5.      Appetite for Destruction by Guns N' Roses
6.      No Fences by Garth Brooks
7.      Boston by Boston
8.      Hotel California by the Eagles
9.      Cracked Rear View by Hootie & the Blowfish
10.    Jagged Little Pill by Alanis Morissette
11.    Dark Side of the Moon by Pink Floyd
12.    Born in the U.S.A. by Bruce Springsteen
13.    Metallica by Metallica
14.    Supernatural by Santana
15.    Backstreet Boys by the Backstreet Boys
16.    Ropin' the Wind by Garth Brooks
17.    Bat Out of Hell by Meat Loaf
18.    ...Baby One More Time by Britney Spears
19.    Ten by Pearl Jam
20.    "Purple Rain" Soundtrack by Prince
21.    Millennium by the Backstreet Boys
22.    Whitney Houston by Whitney Houston
23.    Hysteria by Def Leppard
24.    Slippery When Wet by Bon Jovi
25.    Breathless by Kenny G
26.    The Wall by Pink Floyd
27.    Wide Open Spaces by the Dixie Chicks
28.    Yourself or Someone Like You by Matchbox Twenty
29.    Abbey Road by the Beatles
30.    Pieces of You by Jewel
31.    Led Zeppelin II
32.    No Jacket Required by Phil Collins
33.    The Woman in Me by Shania Twain
34.    No Strings Attached by 'N Sync
35.    Up!  by Shania Twain
36.    Devil Without a Cause by Kid Rock
37.    Houses of the Holy by Led Zeppelin
38.    Falling Into You by Celine Dion
39.    Human Clay by Creed
40.    CrazysexyCool by TLC
41.    Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band by the Beatles
42.    Let's Talk About Love by Celine Dion
43.    1984 by Van Halen
44.    The Joshua Tree by U2
45.    Please Hammer Don't Hurt 'Em by M.C. Hammer
46.    Van Halen by Van Halen
47.    Oops!...I Did It Again by Britney Spears
48.    Confessions by Usher
49.    Led Zeppelin by Led Zeppelin
50.    'N Sync by 'N Sync
51.    Pyromania by Def Leppard
52.    Like a Virgin by Madonna
53.    Nevermind by Nirvana
54.    Tragic Kingdom by No Doubt
55.    Faith by George Michael
56.    Life After Death by Notorious B.I.G.
57.    The Eminem Show by Eminem
58.    Hybrid Theory by Linkn Park
59.    Come Away With Me by Norah Jones
60.    The White Album by the Beatles
61.    Eliminator by ZZ Top
62.    Garth Brooks by Garth Brooks
63.    Sevens by Garth Brooks
64.    The Stranger by Billy Joel
65.    Can't Slow Down by Lionel Richie
66.    Dookie by Green Day
67.    Music Box by Mariah Carey
68.    Fly by the Dixie Chicks
69.    The Marshall Mathers LP by Eminem
70.    The Sign by Ace of Base
71.    Brothers in Arms by Dire Straits
72.    Whitney by Whitney Houston
73.    Some Gave All by Billy Ray Cyrus
74.    Mariah Carey by Mariah Carey
75.    Cooleyhighharmony by Boyz II Men
76.    Hi Infidelity by REO Speedwagon
77.    Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness by Smashing Pumpkins
78.    Big Willie Style by Will Smith
79.    All Eyez On Me by 2 Pac
80.    Licensed to Ill by Beastie Boys
81.    Escape by Journey
82.    The Chase by Garth Brooks
83.    Country Grammar by Nelly
84.    Bad by Michael Jackson
85.    R. by R. Kelly
86.    Throwing Copper by Live
87.    Off the Wall by Michael Jackson
88.    The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill by Lauryn Hill
89.    Breathe by Faith Hill
90.    Led Zeppelin I by Led Zeppelin
91.    Time, Love & Tenderness by Michael Bolton
92.    All the Right Reasons by Nickelback
93.    Christina Aguilera by Christina Aguilera
94.    Black & Blue by the Backstreet Boys
95.    Toni Braxton by Toni Braxton
96.    In Pieces by Garth Brooks
97.    Secrets by Toni Braxton
98.    Bridge Over Troubled Water by Simon & Garfunkel
99.    Synchronicity by the Police
100.  Surfacing by Sarah McLachlan