Ever since humans mastered the art of recording music performances, albums have become incredibly important. As music has become part and parcel of our daily lives, acquiring it has been easened with digitals sales and streams. Out of the concert hall and the broadcast studio, people are able to acquire music to their taste at their convenience. This list is based on total certified units sold. The requirements of certified units are designed to avoid inflated sales figures, which are frequently practiced by record companies for promotional purposes.
Here are the top 20 best-selling albums in history.
| Rank | Album title | Artist | Certified units |
| 1. | Eagles/Their Greatest Hits 1971 – 1975 | Eagles | 38 million |
| 2. | Thriller | Michael Jackson | 33 million |
| 3. | Hotel California | Eagles | 26 million |
| 4. | Back in Black | AC/DC | 25 million |
| 5. | The Beatles | The Beatles | 24 million |
| 6. | Greatest Hits Volume I & Volume II | Billy Joel | 23 million |
| 7. | Led Zeppelin IV | Led Zeppelin | 23 million |
| 8. | The Wall | Pink Floyd | 23 million |
| 9. | Double Live | Garth Brooks | 21 million |
| 10. | Cracked Rear View | Hootie & The Blowfish | 21 million |
| 11. | Rumours | Fleetwood Mac | 21 million |
| 12. | Come on Over | Shania Twain | 20 million |
| 13. | No Fences | Garth Brooks | 18 million |
| 14. | Appetite for Destruction | Guns N’ Roses | 18 million |
| 15. | The Bodyguard (Soundtrack) | Whitney Houston | 18 million |
| 16. | Boston | Boston | 17 million |
| 17. | Greatest Hits | Elton John | 17 million |
| 18. | The Beatles 1967 – 1970 | The Beatles | 17 million |
| 19. | Jagged Little Pill | Alanis Morissette | 16 million |
| 20. | Saturday Night Fever (Soundtrack) | Bee Gees | 16 million |
| Physical Graffiti | Led Zeppelin | 16 million | |
| Metallica | Metallica | 16 million |
