List of highest-certified music artists in the United States

This is the list of the highest-certified music artists in the United States based on certifications of albums and digital singles (but not physical singles) by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).^[1] RIAA certifications are based on wholesale shipments rather than retail sales. Since 2016, the RIAA album certification has also included on-demand audio/video streams (1,500 streams = 1 album unit) and track sale equivalent (10 track sales = 1 album unit).^[2] Additionally, awards are presented only if and when a record company applies for certification. Therefore, the total certified units for a given artist may be incomplete or out of date.

The Beatles is the highest-certified music artist in the United States with a total of 183 million certified album-equivalent units.

The RIAA began its certifications in 1958, therefore, popular artists from earlier eras are generally not represented on this list. As of February 10, 2024^[update], the Beatles is the highest-certified music artist in the United States with a total of 183 million certified album-equivalent units. Garth Brooks is the highest-certified solo artist and Mariah Carey is the highest-certified female artist. Meanwhile, Drake remains the highest-certified digital singles artist, with 244 million certified units as a lead artist. Eminem is the only act in the top 20 of both lists.

Top 100 certified music artists

Garth Brooks

Elvis Presley

Eagles

Led Zeppelin

Michael Jackson

Billy Joel

AC/DC

Elton John

Mariah Carey

Pink Floyd

Bruce Springsteen

Aerosmith

The following is a list of 100 highest-certified artists in the United States based on album-equivalent units, which include physical album shipments, digital album downloads, as well as individual song downloads and streams. However, sales of physical singles are not counted for album-equivalent units, which do not favor artists with a large catalog of physical singles such as Elvis Presley and Madonna.^[3] Artists with album certifications prior to 2016 also do not get benefit of the inclusion of individual song downloads and streams. The highest-certified music artists do not necessarily mean the highest-selling music artists, due to the fact that certifications are not automatic and record companies have to apply. The RIAA's figures may also differ with Luminate and Billboard's ones due to different weighting ratios of streaming. The RIAA counts 1,500 streams as one album unit (regardless of free or paid streams, audio or video streams),^[4] while Billboard counts 1,250 premium audio streams, 3,750 ad-supported streams, or 3,750 video streams as one album unit.^[5]

List of 100 artists with the highest-certified album-equivalent units as of July 23, 2024^[update][6]

Rank	Units (millions)	Name	Nat.	Active
1	183	The Beatles	UK	1960s–1970sd
2	162	Garth Brooks	US	1980s–2020s[7]
3	146.5	Elvis Presley	US	1950s–1970s†
4	120	Eagles	US	1970s–2020s[8]
5	112.5	Led Zeppelin	UK	1960s–1980sd
6	89	Michael Jackson	US	1970s–2000s†
7	86	Billy Joel	US	1970s–2020s[9]
8	83	AC/DC	Australia	1970s–2020s[10]
9	80	Elton John	UK	1960s–2020s[11]
10	75	Mariah Carey	US	1990s–2020s[12]
		Pink Floyd	UK	1960s–2010sd
12	71	Bruce Springsteen	US	1970s–2020s[13]
13	69.5	Aerosmith	US	1970s–2020s[14]
		George Strait	US	1980s–2020s[15]
15	68.5	Barbra Streisand	US	1960s–2010s[16]
16	66.5	The Rolling Stones	UK	1960s–2020s[17]
17	65.5	Madonna	US	1980s–2020s[15]
18	63	Metallica	US	1980s–2020s[18]
19	61.5	Eminem	US	1990s–2020s[19]
20	61	Whitney Houston	US	1980s–2010s†
21	56.5	Van Halen	US	1970s–2010sd
22	55.5	Fleetwood Mac	UK	1960s–2010s[20]
23	53	Celine Dion	Canada	1990s–2020s[21]
24	52.5	Journey	US	1970s–2020s[22]
25	52	U2	Ireland	1970s–2010s[23]
26	52	Taylor Swift	US	2000s–2020s[17]
27	49.5	Neil Diamond	US	1960s–2020s[24]
28	49	Alabama	US	1970s–2020s[25]
29	48	Kenny G	US	1980s–2020s[26]
		Shania Twain	Canada	1990s–2020s[27]
31	47.5	Drake	Canada	2000s–2020s[28]
		Kenny Rogers	US	1950s–2000s†
33	44.5	Alan Jackson	US	1980s–2020s[29]
		Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band	US	1960s–2020s[30]
		Guns N' Roses	US	1980s–2020s[31]
36	43.5	Santana	US	1960s–2020s[32]
37	43	Queen	UK	1970s–2020s[33]
38	41	Reba McEntire	US	1970s–2020s[34]
		Bon Jovi	US	1980s–2020s[35]
40	40	Eric Clapton	UK	1960s–2020s[36]
		Tim McGraw	US	1990s–2020s[26]
42	39	Chicago	US	1960s–2020s[37]
43	38.5	Britney Spears	US	1990s–2020s[38]
		Simon & Garfunkel	US	1960s–2010sd[39]
45	38	Foreigner	US	1970s–2020s[40]
		Rod Stewart	UK	1960s–2020s[41]
47	37	Backstreet Boys	US	1990s–2020s[42]
		Beyoncé	US	2000s–2020s
49	36.5	Tupac Shakur	US	1990s†
50	36	Bob Dylan	US	1960s–2020s[43]
51	35.5	Def Leppard	UK	1970s–2020s[44]
52	35	Kenny Chesney	US	1990s–2020s[45]
53	34.5	Dave Matthews Band	US	1990s–2020s[26]
54	34	Green Day	US	1980s–2020s[46]
		The Doors	US	1960s–1970sd
55	33.5	Jay-Z	US	1990s–2010s
		John Denver	US	1960s–1990s†
		Phil Collins	UK	1970s–2020s[47]
58	33	James Taylor	US	1960s–2020s[48]
		The Chicks	US	1980s–2020s[49][50]
		Usher	US	1990s–2020s
61	32	R. Kelly	US	1990s–2010s
62	31.5	Pearl Jam	US	1990s–2020s[51]
		Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers	US	1970s–2010s†
		Willie Nelson	US	1950s–2020s[52]
65	31	Boston	US	1970s–2010s
66	30.5	Linkin Park	US	1990s–2010s
67	30	Creedence Clearwater Revival	US	1960s–1970sd
		Linda Ronstadt	US	1960s–2010s[53]
69	29.75	Ozzy Osbourne	UK	1960s–2020s[54]
70	29.5	Kanye West	US	2000s–2020s[55]
71	29	Rihanna	Barbados	2000s–2020s[56]
72	28.5	Lynyrd Skynyrd	US	1960s–2020s[57]
73	28	Adele	UK	2000s–2020s[58]
		Bee Gees	UK/Australia	1960s–2010sd
		Mannheim Steamroller	US	1970s–2010s
		Michael Bolton	US	1980s–2020s[59]
		NSYNC	US	1990s–2020s
		Nirvana	US	1980s–1990sd
79	27.5	Barry Manilow	US	1970s–2020s[60]
		Brooks & Dunn	US	1990s–2010s
		John Mellencamp	US	1970s–2020s[61]
		Red Hot Chili Peppers	US	1980s–2020s[62]
83	27	Boyz II Men	US	1990s–2020s[63]
		Frank Sinatra	US	1930s–1990s†
		Luther Vandross	US	1960s–2000s†
86	26.5	Enya	Ireland	1980s–2010s
		Steve Miller Band	US	1960s–2010s
88	26	Janet Jackson	US	1980s–2010s
		Outkast	US	1990s–2010s
		Rush	Canada	1970s–2010sd
91	25.5	Faith Hill	US	1990s–2010s
92	25	Creed	US	1990s–2010s
		Lil Wayne	US	1990s–2020s[26]
		Mötley Crüe	US	1980s–2010s
		Toby Keith	US	1990s–2020s†[64]
		ZZ Top	US	1970s–2020s[65]
97	24.5	REO Speedwagon	US	1970s–2010s
		The Carpenters	US	1960s–1980sd
98	24	Justin Bieber	Canada	2000s–2020s[66]
		Nickelback	Canada	1990s–2020s[67]
		Vince Gill	US	1970s–2010s

Notes:

^† Deceased

^d Disbanded

Top 50 certified digital singles artists

Drake

Rihanna

Taylor Swift

Eminem

Beyoncé

The following is a list of 50 highest-certified digital singles artists in the United States, based on song downloads and streams. As album sales suffered in the 21st century, the RIAA introduced Digital Single Award in 2004 to better recognize "artists' commercial success in a transformative music marketplace".^[68] Streams were added as part of singles certification in 2013,^[69] with 150 audio/video streams being equal to one download. The RIAA does not count certified units of featured artists in their official ranking.

List of 50 artists with the highest-certified digital singles as of April 21, 2025^{[update][70][71]}

Rank	Units (millions)	Name	Nat.	Active
1	244	Drake	Canada	2000s–2020s[28]
2	186	Rihanna	Barbados	2000s–2020s[56]
3	167	Eminem	US	1990s–2020s[19]
4	161.5	Beyoncé	US	2000s–2020s[72]
5	160.5	Kanye West	US	2000s–2020s[55]
6	142	Post Malone	US	2010s–2020s[73]
7	137.5	Taylor Swift	US	2000s–2020s[17]
8	132	The Weeknd	Canada	2010s–2020s[74]
9	127	Travis Scott	US	2000s–2020s[26]
10	122.5	Justin Bieber	Canada	2000s–2020s[66]
11	121.5	Katy Perry	US	2000s–2020s[75]
12	115	Chris Brown	US	2000s—2020s[76]
13	108	Morgan Wallen	US	2010s–2020s[77]
14	107	Ariana Grande	US	2010s–2020s[78]
15	103.5	Imagine Dragons	US	2000s–2020s[79]
16	103	Ed Sheeran	UK	2000s–2020s[80]
17	95.5	Luke Combs	US	2010s–2020s[81]
		J. Cole	US	2000s–2020s[82]
19	95	Future	US	2000s–2020s[83]
		Lil Wayne	US	1990s–2020s[26]
20	91.5	Bruno Mars	US	2000s–2020s[84]
21	87.5	Maroon 5	US	2000s–2020s[85]
22	85.5	Luke Bryan	US	2000s–2020s[26]
23	85	YoungBoy Never Broke Again	US	2010s–2020s[86]
24	84	Juice Wrld	US	2010s†[87]
25	82.5	Lady Gaga	US	2000s–2020s[17]
		Usher	US	1990s–2020s
27	78	J. Cole	US	2000s–2020s[82]
28	76	Lil Baby	US	2010s–2020s[88]
		XXXTentacion	US	2010s†[89]
30	70	Twenty One Pilots	US	2010s–2020s[90]
31	68	Mariah Carey	US	1990s-2020s[91]
32	65.5	Michael Jackson	US	1970s–2000s†[92]
33	65	Rod Wave	US	2010s–2020s[93]
34	62	SZA	US	2010s-2020s[94]
35	61.5	Miley Cyrus	US	2000s–2020s[26]
36	60.5	Chris Stapleton	US	2000s–2020s[95]
37	59	Britney Spears	US	1990s–2020s[38]
38	58	Cardi B	US	2010s–2020s[96]
		Khalid	US	2010s–2020s[97]
		Polo G	US	2010s–2020s[98]
41	57	Fall Out Boy	US	2000s–2020s[14]
44	54.5	Florida Georgia Line	US	2010s–2020s[99]
		Nicki Minaj	TT	2000s–2020s[100]
		Panic! at the Disco	US	2000s–2020sd[101]
46	54	A Boogie wit da Hoodie	US	2010s–2020s[102]
		Flo Rida	US	2000s–2020s[103]
47	52.5	Lil Durk	US	2010s—2020s[104]
50	52	Blake Shelton	US	2000s–2020s[105]
		Harry Styles	UK	2010s–2020s[106]
		Pitbull	US	2000s–2020s[107]

Notes:

^† Deceased

^d Disbanded

See also

• Record production portal

• List of best-selling music artists
• List of best-selling albums in the United States
• List of best-selling singles in the United States