The 50 best-selling music artists of all time, ranked by platinum albums

When an artist achieved platinum status back then — selling a million or more physical copies of an album — it took a more fervent effort from fans (who drove to record stores, found an album, and handed over their hard-earned cash for it), but many acts nonetheless reached platinum certification routinely.

Compiling RIAA data, we ranked the best-selling artists of all time by the number of platinum albums they've sold in the US.

While some of the results are surprising — country singer Garth Brooks, for instance, has the most diamond (or 10-times platinum) albums of all time with seven — the legendary acts sitting atop the list are ones you'd probably expect to see.

Here the 50 best-selling artists of all time, ranked by platinum album sales:

50. Prince — 11

Platinum albums:

Multi-platinum: 4

Diamond: 1

Best-selling album:(13 million copies)

49. Bon Jovi — 11

Platinum albums:

Multi-platinum: 5

Diamond: 1

Best-selling album:(12 million copies)

48. Eric Clapton — 11

Platinum albums:

Multi-platinum: 7

Diamond: 1

Best-selling album:(10 million copies)

47. Kenny G — 11

Platinum albums:

Multi-platinum: 8

Diamond: 1

Best-selling album:(12 million copies)

46. John Mellencamp — 12

Platinum albums: 12

Multi-platinum: 5

Best-selling album:" target="_blank"American Fool" (5 million copies)

45. Toby Keith — 12

Platinum albums: 12

Multi-platinum: 5

Best-selling album:"Unleashed" target="_blank" (4 million copies)

44. The Who — 12

Platinum albums: 12

Multi-platinum: 5

Best-selling album:" target="_blank"Who's Next" (3 million copies)

43. Queen — 12

Platinum albums: 12

Multi-platinum: 7

Best-selling album:" target="_blank"Greatest Hits" (8 million copies)

42. Ozzy Osbourne — 12

Platinum albums: 12

Multi-platinum: 8

Best-selling album:" target="_blank"Blizzard of Ozz" (4 million copies)

41. Barry Manilow — 13

Platinum albums: 13

Multi-platinum: 6

Best-selling album:" target="_blank"Even Now" (3 million copies)

40. Linda Ronstadt — 13

Platinum albums: 13

Multi-platinum: 7

Best-selling album:" target="_blank"Greatest Hits" (7 million copies)

39. Lynyrd Skynyrd — 13

Platinum albums:

Multi-platinum: 7

Best-selling album:(5 million copies)

38. John Denver — 13

Platinum albums:

Multi-platinum: 7

Best-selling album:(9 million copies)

37. Jay-Z — 13

Platinum albums:

Multi-platinum: 8

Best-selling album:(5 million copies)

36. Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band — 13

Platinum albums:

Multi-platinum: 7

Diamond: 1

Best-selling album:(10 million copies)

35. Michael Jackson — 13

Platinum albums:

Multi-platinum: 9

Diamond: 2

Best-selling album:(33 million copies)

34. Metallica — 13

Platinum albums:

Multi-platinum: 11

Diamond: 1

Best-selling album:(16 million copies)

33. Van Halen — 13

Platinum albums:

Multi-platinum: 12

Diamond: 2

Best-selling album:(10 million copies)

32. The Eagles — 13

Platinum albums:

Multi-platinum: 11

Diamond: 3

Best-selling album:(38 million copies)

31. Rush — 14

Platinum albums:14

Multi-platinum: 3

Best-selling album: " target="_blank"Rush In Rio" (7 million copies)

30. Kenny Chesney — 14

Platinum albums:14

Multi-platinum: 5

Best-selling album: " target="_blank"When the Sun Goes Down" (4 million copies)

29. Dave Matthews Band — 14

Platinum albums:14

Multi-platinum: 7

Best-selling album:"Crash" target="_blank" (7 million copies)

27. The Doors — 14

Platinum albums:14

Multi-platinum: 5

Diamond: 1

Best-selling album: " target="_blank"The Best of The Doors" (10 million copies)

28. James Taylor — 14

Platinum albums:14

Multi-platinum: 5

Diamond: 1

Best-selling album: " target="_blank"James Taylor's Greatest Hits" (11 million copies)

26. Mariah Carey — 14

Platinum albums:14

Multi-platinum: 10

Diamond: 2

Best-selling album:" target="_blank"Music Box" (10 million copies)

25. Willie Nelson — 15

Platinum albums:15

Multi-platinum: 6

Best-selling album:"Stardust" target="_blank" (5 million copies)

24. Bob Dylan — 15

Platinum albums:15

Multi-platinum: 6

Best-selling album:" target="_blank"Bob Dylan's Greatest Hits" (5 million copies)

23. Alan Jackson — 15

Platinum albums:15

Multi-platinum: 8

Best-selling album:" target="_blank"The Greatest Hits Collection" (6 million copies)

22. Pink Floyd — 15

Platinum albums:15

Multi-platinum: 12

Diamond: 2

Best-selling album:" target="_blank"The Wall" (23 million copies)

21. Luther Vandross — 16

Platinum albums:16

Multi-platinum: 7

Best-selling album:" target="_blank"The Best of Luther Vandross" (3 million copies)

20. Kenny Rogers — 17

Platinum albums:17

Multi-platinum: 7

Diamond: 1

Best-selling album: " target="_blank"Kenny Rogers' Greatest Hits" (12 million copies)

19. U2 — 17

Platinum albums:17

Multi-platinum: 11

Diamond: 1

Best-selling album: " target="_blank"The Joshua Tree" (1o million copies)

18. Bruce Springsteen — 17

Platinum albums:17

Multi-platinum: 11

Diamond: 2

Best-selling album:" target="_blank"Born In The U.S.A." (15 million copies)

17. Billy Joel — 17

Platinum albums:17

Multi-platinum: 12

Diamond: 2

Best-selling album:" target="_blank"Greatest Hits Volume I & Volume II" (23 million copies)

16. Madonna — 17

Platinum albums:17

Multi-platinum: 12

Diamond: 2

Best-selling album:" target="_blank"Like A Virgin" (10 million copies)

15. Chicago — 18

Platinum albums:18

Multi-platinum: 8

Best-selling album:" target="_blank"Chicago 17" (6 million copies)

14. Aerosmith — 18

Platinum albums:18

Multi-platinum: 12

Diamond: 1

Best-selling album:(11 million copies)

13. Led Zeppelin — 18

Platinum albums:18

Multi-platinum: 14

Diamond: 5

Best-selling album:(23 million copies)

12. Reba McEntire — 19

Platinum albums:19

Multi-platinum: 9

Best-selling album:(5 million copies)

11. Rod Stewart — 19

Platinum albums:19

Multi-platinum: 10

Best-selling album:(3 million copies)

10. Alabama — 20

Platinum albums:20

Multi-platinum: 10

Best-selling album:(5 million copies)

9. AC/DC — 20

Platinum albums:20

Multi-platinum: 12

Diamond: 1

Best-selling album:(22 million copies)

8. Neil Diamond — 21

Platinum albums:21

Multi-platinum: 12

Best-selling album:(5 million copies)

7. Elton John — 27

Platinum albums:27

Multi-platinum: 14

Diamond: 1

Best-selling album:(17 million copies)

6. The Rolling Stones — 28

Platinum albums:28

Multi-platinum: 11

Diamond: 1

Best-selling album:(19 million copies)

5. Barbra Streisand — 30

Platinum albums:30

Multi-platinum: 12

Best-selling album:(5 million copies)

4. Garth Brooks — 30

Platinum albums:30

Multi-platinum: 16

Diamond: 7

Best-selling album:(21 million copies)

3. George Strait — 33

Platinum albums:33

Multi-platinum: 13

Best-selling album:(8 million copies)

2. The Beatles — 42

Platinum albums:

Multi-platinum: 26

Diamond: 6

Best-selling album:(19 million copies)

1. Elvis Presley — 67

Platinum albums:

Multi-platinum: 27

Diamond: 1

Best-selling album:(10 million copies)

The 50 best-selling music artists of all time, ranked by platinum albums

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