PHOTO & PHOTOGRAPHS
The 50 best-selling music artists of all time

The Beatles.Getty Images

England's greatest rock band holds the top spot on the all-time ranking of best-selling artists by album sales, and it looks untouchable on a bizarre list filled with a number of surprising appearances.

It's somewhat shocking to find out, for instance, that smooth-jazz saxophonist Kenny G has sold more albums than Eminem, and that Garth Brooks has sold more than Elvis Presley and Michael Jackson. 

We compiled this list by ranking the most successful acts in music history according to their total certified album units sold in the US, as provided by the RIAA. 

Check out the 50 best-selling music artists of all time by album sales: 

View As: One Page Slides

50. Dave Matthews Band — 33.5 million units
Fergus McDonald/Getty
49. Phil Collins — 33.5 million units
Ian Gavan/Getty
48. Britney Spears — 34 million units
Kevin Winter/Getty
47. Bon Jovi — 34.5 million units
Rob Harrison/Getty Images
46. Queen — 34.5 million units
Gill Allen/AP
45. Def Leppard — 35 million units
Mark Mainz/Getty
44. Bob Dylan — 36 million units
Getty Images
43. Tupac Shakur — 36.5 million units
Columbia Pictures
41. Backstreet Boys — 37 million units
Getty
39. Tim McGraw — 37.5 million units
Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images
42. Foreigner — 37.5 million units
Mike Coppola/Getty
38. Rod Stewart — 38 million units
Kevin Winter/Getty
37. Simon & Garfunkel — 38.5 million units
Adam Rountree/Getty
36. Chicago — 38.5 million units
Scott Gries/Getty
35. Eric Clapton — 40 million units
chris87 / Shutterstock.com
34. Reba McEntire — 41 million units
Charley Gallay/Getty
33. Santana — 43.5 million units
Kevin Winter/Getty
31. Alan Jackson — 43.5 million units
Lady GagaVince Bucci/Getty
40. Eminem — 44.5 million units
Kevork Djansezian/Getty
30. Guns N’ Roses — 44.5 million units
Kevin Winter/Getty
32. Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band — 44.5 million units
Jason Merritt/Getty
29. Alabama — 46.5 million units
Kevin Winter/Getty
28. Kenny Rogers — 47.5 million units
Scott Gries/Getty
27. Shania Twain — 48 million units
Al Bello/Getty
26. Kenny G — 48 million units
Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty
25. Journey — 48 million units
Wikimedia Commons
24. Neil Diamond — 49.5 million units
Ethan Miller/Getty
23. Fleetwood Mac — 49.5 million units
Mike Segar/Reuters
22. Celine Dion — 50 million units
Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images
21. U2 — 52 million units
20. Van Halen — 56.5 million units
Reuters/Lee Celano
19. Whitney Houston — 57 million units
Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images
18. Metallica — 63 million units
17. Mariah Carey — 64 million units
Frederick M. Brown/Getty
16. Madonna — 64.5 million units
Bobby Yip/Reuters
15. Bruce Springsteen — 65.5 million units
Matt Kent/Getty Images
14. Aerosmith — 66.5 million units
Kevin Winter/ Getty Images
13. The Rolling Stones — 66.5 million units
REUTERS/Gary Hershorn
12. Barbara Streisand — 68.5 million units
AP
11. George Strait — 69 million units
Kevin Winter/Getty
10. AC/DC — 72 million units
Kevin Winter/Getty Images for Coachella
9. Pink Floyd — 75 million units
REUTERS/Stephen Hird
8. Elton John — 78 million units
REUTERS/Andrew Kelly
7. Michael Jackson — 81 million units
6. Billy Joel — 82.5 million units
Nicholas Hunt/Getty
5. Eagles — 101 million units
The Eagles in concert.Getty
4. Led Zeppelin — 111.5 million units
Evan Agostini/Invision/AP
3. Elvis Presley — 136 million units
Wikimedia Commons
2. Garth Brooks — 148 million units
Ethan Miller/Getty Images
1. The Beatles — 178 million units
Getty Images