Whitney Houston's The Bodyguard soundtrack (with various artists) is the best-selling album credited to a woman.
The following albums, recorded by female solo artists and all-female groups, have sold at least 10 million copies. This list can contain any types of album, including studio albums, extended plays, greatest hits, compilations, soundtracks, and remixes. Various artists albums are eligible for inclusion if a woman is credited as the main artist by record charts and certifying organizations. The figures given do not take into account the resale of pre owned albums.
The Bodyguard soundtrack by Whitney Houston (with various artists) is the best-selling album credited to a woman;[1] its sales are over 45 million copies since its release in November 1992.[2]Come On Over by Shania Twain is recognized by Guinness World Records as the biggest-selling studio album by a solo female artist with over 40 million copies.[1] Previous record holders of the best-selling album by a female artist include Carole King's Tapestry, and Whitney Houston's debut album as well Madonna with True Blue according to the Guinness World Records (1989 and 1992 editions, respectively).[3][4][5] Madonna also has the best-selling compilation album by a female artist (and solo artist) with The Immaculate Collection, which sold around 30 million copies.[6] Other notable appearances include Shakira, as the only Latino artist in the list thanks to her crossover album Laundry Service, and Hikaru Utada with First Love as the only Asian artist. Celine Dion has the only entirely non-English album with D'eux, which remains the best-selling French album of all time. The Spice Girls have the best-selling album by a girl group with Spice, while Mariah Carey has the best-selling Christmas album by a female artist with Merry Christmas. Whitney Houston' Whitney Houston remains the biggest-selling debut album of all time by a female artist (and a solo artist). Britney Spears' …Baby One More Time is the best-selling debut album by a female teenage artist.
Numerous artists have multiple entries, led by Madonna with nine of her albums and followed by Celine Dion (seven), Mariah Carey (seven), Whitney Houston (six), while Britney Spears, Enya, Shania Twain, and Janet Jackson each have three. The first five artists also have multiple albums with sales of over 20 million copies worldwide. Currently, Adele's 21 is the best-selling album of the 21st century.
Groupings are based on different sales benchmarks, the highest being for claims of at least 40 million copies, and the lowest being for claims of 10 million copies. Albums are listed in order of number of copies sold and thereafter by the release year.[a]
List of albums
[edit]
Key
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Indicates a previous record holder of the best-selling music album by a woman
Madonna has nine albums on the list (1983–2005), more than any other artist.Celine Dion has seven albums on the list (1993–2002).Mariah Carey has seven albums on the list (1990–2005).Whitney Houston has six albums on the list (1985–2000).Janet Jackson has three albums on the list (1986–1993).Enya has three albums on the list (1988–2000).Shania Twain has three albums on the list (1995–2002).Britney Spears has three albums on the list (1999–2001).21 by Adele is the best-selling album by a female artist in the 21st-century.
before 1975 are required to have their claimed sales figures supported by 30% in certified units.
between 1975 and 1990 are required to have their claimed figures supported by 30–50% in certified units. (That is 1.33% for each additional year after 1975.)
between 1990 and 2000 are required to have their claimed figures supported by 50–60% in certified units. (That is 1% for each additional year after 1990.)
in 2000 and onwards are required to have their claimed figures supported by 60–80% in certified units. (That is 1.33% for each additional year after 2000.)
^Biggest seller albums. The Guinness Book of Records: 1989. 1989. p. 99. ISBN 978-0-85112-878-8. Retrieved June 18, 2022.
^Taylor, Paula and John Keely (1976). Carole King. Creative Education. p. 26. ISBN 978-0-87191-465-1. Archived from the original on May 13, 2019. Retrieved February 21, 2013 – via Google Books.
^McFarland, Donald; McWhirter, Norris (1992). Guinness World Records 1992. Guinness World Records. p. 197. ISBN 978-0-85112-378-3. Retrieved July 15, 2021. The best-selling album by a woman is True Blue by Madonna, which had sold almost 17 million copies by October 1990.
^Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. 2011-10-01.
^Anderson, Jason (January 19, 2008). "Learning to love Céline Dion". The Globe and Mail. Archived from the original on June 12, 2018. Retrieved July 21, 2021.
^"A multi-million selling superstar". Belfast Telegraph. November 19, 2015. Retrieved July 20, 2021. Enya continued to enjoy steady success during the Nineties up to her 2000 album A Day Without Rain which sold 15 million copies
^Chuck Taylor (2007). These Are Special Times Collector's Edition liner notes. p. 4.: "In all, the album has so far sold (...) 12 million worldwide".
^Wang, Daisy (November 9, 2016). "Alicia Keys discovers herself in latest album". The Daily Texan. Retrieved 2017-02-25. After leaving Columbia University to pursue a singing career, Keys broke into the music scene in 2001 with her album, Songs in A Minor, which sold 12 million copies worldwide and won Keys five Grammys.
^"Queen of Hearts"(PDF). Billboard. 16 February 2008. p. 30. Retrieved 13 May 2015.
^Barker, Emily (September 23, 2014). "That's Not What We Call Music: 19 Unfathomably Popular Albums Of The 00s". NME. Retrieved 2017-02-25. Let us be frank: Dido's debut, 'No Angel', wasn't much cop either. But it was superior to follow-up 'Life For Rent', which sold over 12 million copies worldwide and was the seventh best-selling album of the 2000s in the UK.
^"Controlling the Game". Black Entertainment Television. November 19, 2014. Archived from the original on November 22, 2014. Retrieved November 5, 2017.
^Porto, Bruno (January 7, 2003). "Sex Machines". O Globo (in Brazilian Portuguese). Globo.com. Archived from the original on June 3, 2020. Retrieved June 21, 2019. (...) and "Britney", released in 2001, sold 10 million copies (150,000 in Brazil).Alt URL
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