1. The Carpenters
   The Monkees
2. The Platters
   The Beatles

The Record Industry Association of America tallies that The Beatles sold around 178 million units of their albums combined, making them the top best-selling musical artist of all time. Many of their albums are certified multi-platinum awardees.

1. Elvis Presley
   Chubby Checker
2. David Bowie
   Ted Nugent

In the best-selling tally of all time, the King of Rock 'n' Roll, Elvis Presley, comes in third place when it comes to having the most number of albums sold. The King has 146.5 million units sold, including soundtrack albums from his movies such as "G.I. Blues" and "Blue Hawaii," to name a few.

1. Jennifer Hudson
   Beyoncé
2. Mariah Carey
   Annie Lennox

Mariah Carey comes in at number 16 in the tally of the all-time best-selling musical artist in our lifetime. She has been certified gold 16 times, platinum 14 times, multi-platinum 10 times, and diamond certified twice for the albums "Music Box" (1993) and "Daydream" (1995)

1. Madonna
   Tracy Chapman
2. Patti LaBelle
   Barbra Streisand

The Material Girl has sold 64.5 million albums in her lifetime, so far, and she's just one notch ahead of Mariah Carey, placing her at number 15. Madonna is still very much at it, though, so that number might still increase. Her latest album is called "Rebel Heart" (2015).

1. Randy Jackson
   Michael Jackson
2. Jackson Browne
   Tito Jackson

Michael Jackson comes in at number seven in the tally of the most number of albums sold, with 84 million units. This includes albums of all types: vinyl, CD, cassettes, and even digital formats. This tally counts posthumous releases, too, like his 2014 album called "Xscape."

1. AC/DC
   Pink Floyd
2. The Rolling Stones
   Led Zeppelin

Mick Jagger and the rest of the Rolling Stones may not be included in the top 10 best-selling artists of all time, but they're still in a great place. The group comes in at number 13, with 66.5 million album units sold, majority of which are certified gold.

1. Diana Ross
   Tina Turner
2. Taylor Swift
   Mary J. Blige

She might be pretty young to be in an all-time best-selling list, but Taylor Swift impressively makes it to this chart nonetheless. At number 30, she just outsold Reba McIntyre by two million units and Tim McGraw by 5.5 million units, since her tally is at 43 million units sold.

1. Barbra Streisand
   Judy Garland
2. Liza Minelli
   Gladys Knight

Barbra Streisand is not very far from the top 10 list here, since she comes in at number 12 with 68.5 million album units sold in this lifetime, so far. While some of her albums were certified multi-platinum a dozen times as well, she never had an album that reached diamond certification.

1. Van Halen
   U2
2. Fleetwood Mac
   INXS

U2 comes in at number 21 in this all-time tally, with 52 million album units sold. It's interesting to note that they were certified gold 17 times, and certified platinum 17 times as well. To be certified gold means you sold 500,000 units, and platinum is a million units.

1. Patti Smith
   Dolly Parton
2. Celine Dion
   Janet Jackson

Canadian diva Celine Dion has multilingual fans, since she also produces multilingual albums, namely English and French. No wonder she has sold 50 million units, listing her at number 22 in this tally, just right after U2, and right above Neil Diamond.

1. Phil Collins
   Billy Joel
2. Rod Stewart
   Kenny Loggins

Did you know that Billy Joel just outranked Michael Jackson by half a million units in this tally, placing him at number six? However, the band that comes just right before him has 111.5 million units sold, and that's a big discrepancy there! That group is Led Zeppelin, by the way.

1. Snoop Dogg
   Dr. Dre
2. Eminem
   Kanye West

Coming in at number 27 on this list of best-selling albums of all time, Eminem also holds the distinction of being the top-selling rap artist in this tally. Some of the other rap artists in the tally, but who come way lower in ranking, include 2Pac, Jay-Z, Beastie Boys, Outkast, and Notorious B.I.G.

1. Run-DMC
   Beastie Boys
2. Aerosmith
   Pink Floyd

Aerosmith actually ties with The Rolling Stones as they are also in the number 13 slot of this tally. But they both have one diamond certification, which means an album of theirs sold 10 million units. That diamond album is their 1980 release called "Greatest Hits."

1. Earth, Wind and Fire
   Gorillaz
2. Morrisey
   Guns N' Roses

Guns N' Roses actually comes in number 28 of this tally, but they're sharing that spot with Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band. Axl, Slash and the gang was inducted in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, though, in 2012, while Bob Seger got inducted in 2004.

1. Elton John
   Johnny Cash
2. Willie Nelson
   Steve Winwood

Elton John trails right after Michael Jackson in this list, coming in at number eight. With 78.5 million units sold, he just outsold Pink Floyd and AC/DC a bit, who come in at number nine and ten, respectively. "The Lion King" soundtrack album remains one of his best-selling works.

1. America
   Metallica
2. Megadeth
   The Prodigy

Metallica is in good company in this list as the heavy metal band comes in at number 17, just right after Madonna and Mariah Carey. But the top 10 tally includes their hard-rocking predecessors like Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, and AC/DC, so the U.S. obviously loves rocking hard to their kind of music!

1. Tim Buckley
   Van Morrison
2. Neil Young
   Bob Dylan

Folk hero Bob Dylan, the controversial recipient of the 2016 Nobel Prize for Literature, comes in at number 39 on the best-selling musicians list. He was controversial for that Nobel win because it's the first time the prestigious award was given to a musician-songwriter.

1. Rihanna
   Jennifer Lopez
2. Christina Aguilera
   Ashanti

The currently popular Rihanna has a multiple tie going on with many artists who come in at number 62 of the best-selling list. With an impressive 22.5 million album units sold so far, she shares this distinction with an eclectic bunch that includes Usher, Heart, Lionel Richie, and The Beach Boys.

1. Amy Winehouse
   Dua Lipa
2. Adele
   Natasha Bedingfield

Adele comes in at number 50, and she shares that spot with other artists that sold 28 million units of their album, including Michael Bolton, N'Sync, and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees the Bee Gees, and Creedence Clearwater Revival. Her last album release was 2015's "25."

1. Def Leppard
   Poison
2. Whitesnake
   Bon Jovi

With 34.5 million album units sold, Jon Bon Jovi, with his Bon Jovi band, shares number 41 of this tally with the legendary rock band Queen as well as Dave Matthews Band. Britney Spears is in that spot with them as well. Their last album was called "This House is Not For Sale" released in 2016.

1. The Who
   Queen
2. Scorpion
   Styx

With the success of the "Bohemian Rhapsody" biopic featuring the U.K. band Queen, their legendary 41st spot in this all-time tally could be bumped up some more in the coming years. The world had renewed interest in the band when the film came out, especially when it got many award nominations.

1. Pink
   Christina Aguilera
2. Britney Spears
   Katy Perry

Born in 1981, Britney Spears definitely became the voice of millennials who came of age in the late 1990s and early 2000s. While she has had huge success in her career, the world still can't forget that she once had a marriage that lasted for only 55 hours.

1. Bruce Hornsby
   Tom Petty
2. Bruce Springsteen
   John Mellencamp

With 65.5 million album units sold, America definitely loves their folk rockers, and Bruce Springsteen is the embodiment of this persona. To think that he started being active in the music scene as far back as the mid-'60s, he still garners renewed popularity with every new decade.

1. Hall and Oates
   Tears for Fears
2. The Carpenters
   The Everly Brothers

The brother-sister tandem of The Carpenters is in number 58 of the tally. They received their star at the Hollywood Walk of Fame on October 1983, eight months right after Karen Carpenter died of anorexia nervosa complications. Her death helped open the conversation on women's body image pressures.

1. The Jimi Hendrix Experience
   The Doors
2. Deep Purple
   The Who

The Doors were active from 1965 to 1973 only, but those brief years were enough to thrust their popularity and album sales. The group is in number 43 of this best-selling tally, and they share that spot with folk singer James Taylor. Oliver Stone directed a biopic of the group, released in 1991.

1. Ashford & Simpson
   Sonny & Cher
2. Simon & Garfunkel
   The Everly Brothers

Simon & Garfunkel comes in at number 33 with 38.5 million album units sold. However, without Art Garfunkel, Paul Simon is also in the list as a solo artist with a tally of 13.5 million units of his solo album efforts sold.

1. George Strait
   Blake Shelton
2. Tim McGraw
   Garth Brooks

Interestingly enough, America loves country music so much that Garth Brooks finds himself as the second best-selling musical artist of all time, just trailing The Beatles by 30 million units sold (he has 148 million). The singer-songwriter got inducted to the Country Music Hall of Fame back in 2012.

1. Boyz II Men
   Backstreet Boys
2. Westlife
   Hanson

In the all-time best-selling tally, it's interesting to note that the boyband Backstreet Boys outsold many legendary older artists such as Frank Sinatra, The Beach Boys, Prince, and Willie Nelson, to name a few. They also outsold fellow boybands N'Sync and New Kids on the Block, too.

1. Ciara
   Beyoncé
2. Nicki Minaj
   Jennifer Lopez

Beyoncé may not have numbers in the hundreds of millions, but her record of 13 million album units sold, so far, is still an impressive feat. But her former group, Destiny's Child, outsold her a bit, with 17.5 million album units to their collective credit.

1. Barry Manilow
   Paul Anka
2. Neil Sedaka
   Lionel Richie

Singer-songwriter Barry Manilow is actually tied with Jay-Z and John Mellencamp with 27.5 million album units sold. In 2017, at the rocking age of 73, the prolific performer publicly came out as a gay man, saying that he has a male partner, and that they have been together for nearly 40 years.

1. Eric Clapton
   Bob Marley
2. Warren G
   UB40

Eric Clapton finds himself at the top 40 tally of best-selling artists of all time, coming in at number 32 with 40 million album units sold. He also got inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame thrice, because he was inducted as a member of The Yardbirds, then Cream, then as a solo artist.

1. Toni Braxton
   Janet Jackson
2. Jennifer Hudson
   Whitney Houston

R&B-pop diva Whitney Houston is among the top 20 best-selling artists where she sits at spot number 18, with a total of 58.5 million album units sold. Her unforgettable songs are karaoke favorites the world over, and contestants of singing competitions also love belting out her meaningful tunes.

1. Steve Miller Band
   Doobie Brothers
2. Eagles
   Boston

Eagles, the group founded by Don Henley, Glen Frey, Bernie Leadon, and Randy Meisner back in 1971, holds the enviable record of being the fourth musical act on the best-selling list. They sold 120 million album units, and "Hotel California" remains as one of their most popular songs of all time.

1. Journey
   Chicago
2. Little River Band
   Steely Dan

Journey continues to sell many albums up to this day. Since being established back in 1973, they have had many membership changes over the decades. The band now has Arnel Pineda as its lead vocalist, a singer from the Philippines whom they discovered on YouTube and uncannily sounds like Steve Perry.

1. Buena Vista Social Club
   Los Lobos
2. Santana
   Miami Sound Machine

Santana is one of the bands that performed in the legendary Woodstock event back in 1969. They got formed way back in 1966, though, and the group is led by Carlos Santana. The band got inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998.

1. Dr. Dre
   Nas
2. 2Pac
   Ice Cube

Tupac Shakur, also know as 2Pac in the hiphop community, is one of the best-selling rap acts of all time. He was actually born in Harlem, New York, but he found fame when he moved to Los Angeles, California. He was gunned down in Las Vegas, Nevada, though, in a gang-related altercation.

1. Pearl Jam
   Nirvana
2. Soundgarden
   Radiohead

One of the recognizable bands to come out of the Seattle grunge scene is Pearl Jam, fronted by vocalist Eddie Vedder. Their very first album is called "Ten," followed by "Vs." and "Vitalogy," which all helped define the specific grunge sound of the '90s.

1. ABBA
   Electric Light Orchestra
2. Bee Gees
   Air Supply

The '70s was a very colorful decade, disco dancing-wise, thanks to the brothers that made up the group called Bee Gees, namely Robin, Maurice, and Barry Gibb. It's interesting to note, though, that they were actually formed as far back as 1958.

1. Bing Crosby
   Tony Bennett
2. Frank Sinatra
   Dean Martin

It's interesting to note that Frank Sinatra holds the record for 27 million album units sold, and he's tied in that number with Linkin Park and Boyz II Men. This proves that Ol' Blue Eyes is still an unforgettable act up to now, and his legacy lives on, decade after decade.

1. Andrea Bocelli
   Michael Bublé
2. Michael Bolton
   Josh Groban

Josh Groban was born in 1981, yet he already achieved multi-platinum status in his young career. At 17 years of age, he was already working with stellar performers, notably David Foster. He was actually preparing to study full-time at the prestigious Carnegie Mellon University when stardom beckoned.