- In today’s music industry, the RIAA certifies an album as “platinum” when it surpasses 1 million album equivalent units in sales or streaming.
- Here, we rank the best-selling artists of all time by their number of platinum album certifications.
In the decades before streaming-era rules and digital downloads inflated album sales, platinum certification was more difficult for artists to obtain.
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 had to drive to record stores, find an album, and hand 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.
Some of the results here are surprising. Country singer Garth Brooks, for instance, has the most diamond (or 10-times platinum) albums of all time with seven. But the legendary acts at the top of the list are ones you'd expect to see.
Here are the 50 best-selling artists of all time, ranked by platinum albums sold:
50. Prince — 11
Platinum albums: 11
Multi-platinum: 4
Diamond: 1
Best-selling album: "Purple Rain" (13 million copies)
49. Bon Jovi — 11
Platinum albums: 11
Multi-platinum: 5
Diamond: 1
Best-selling album: "Slippery When Wet" (12 million copies)
48. Eric Clapton — 11
Platinum albums: 11
Multi-platinum: 7
Diamond: 1
Best-selling album: "Unplugged" (10 million copies)
47. Kenny G — 11
Platinum albums: 11
Multi-platinum: 8
Diamond: 1
Best-selling album: "Breathless" (12 million copies)
46. John Mellencamp — 12
Platinum albums: 12
Multi-platinum: 5
Best-selling album: "American Fool" (5 million copies)
45. Toby Keith — 12
Platinum albums: 12
Multi-platinum: 5
Best-selling album: "Unleashed" (4 million copies)
44. The Who — 12
Platinum albums: 12
Multi-platinum: 5
Best-selling album: "Who's Next" (3 million copies)
43. Queen — 12
Platinum albums: 12
Multi-platinum: 7
Best-selling album: "Greatest Hits" (8 million copies)
42. Ozzy Osbourne — 12
Platinum albums: 12
Multi-platinum: 8
Best-selling album: "Blizzard of Ozz" (4 million copies)
41. Barry Manilow — 13
Platinum albums: 13
Multi-platinum: 6
Best-selling album: "Even Now" (3 million copies)
40. Linda Ronstadt — 13
Platinum albums: 13
Multi-platinum: 7
Best-selling album: "Greatest Hits" (7 million copies)
39. Lynyrd Skynyrd — 13
Platinum albums: 13
Multi-platinum: 7
Best-selling album: "Skynyrd's Innyrds" (5 million copies)
38. John Denver — 13
Platinum albums: 13
Multi-platinum: 7
Best-selling album: "John Denver's Greatest Hits" (9 million copies)
37. Jay-Z — 13
Platinum albums: 13
Multi-platinum: 8
Best-selling album: "Vol. 2... Hard Knock Life" (5 million copies)
36. Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band — 13
Platinum albums: 13
Multi-platinum: 7
Diamond: 1
Best-selling album: "Greatest Hits" (10 million copies)
35. Michael Jackson — 13
Platinum albums: 13
Multi-platinum: 9
Diamond: 2
Best-selling album: "Thriller" (33 million copies)
34. Metallica — 13
Platinum albums: 13
Multi-platinum: 11
Diamond: 1
Best-selling album: "Metallica" (16 million copies)
33. Van Halen — 13
Platinum albums: 13
Multi-platinum: 12
Diamond: 2
Best-selling album: "1984 (MCMLXXXIV)" (10 million copies)
32. The Eagles — 13
Platinum albums: 13
Multi-platinum: 11
Diamond: 3
Best-selling album: "Their Greatest Hits 1971-1975" (38 million copies)
31. Rush — 14
Platinum albums: 14
Multi-platinum: 3
Best-selling album: "Rush In Rio" (7 million copies)
30. Kenny Chesney — 14
Platinum albums: 14
Multi-platinum: 5
Best-selling album: "When the Sun Goes Down" (4 million copies)
29. Dave Matthews Band — 14
Platinum albums: 14
Multi-platinum: 7
Best-selling album: "Crash" (7 million copies)
28. James Taylor — 14
Platinum albums: 14
Multi-platinum: 5
Diamond: 1
Best-selling album: "James Taylor's Greatest Hits" (11 million copies)
27. The Doors — 14
Platinum albums: 14
Multi-platinum: 5
Diamond: 1
Best-selling album: "The Best of The Doors" (10 million copies)
26. Mariah Carey — 14
Platinum albums: 14
Multi-platinum: 10
Diamond: 2
Best-selling album: "Music Box" (10 million copies)
25. Willie Nelson — 15
Platinum albums: 15
Multi-platinum: 6
Best-selling album: "Stardust" (5 million copies)
24. Bob Dylan — 15
Platinum albums: 15
Multi-platinum: 6
Best-selling album: "Bob Dylan's Greatest Hits" (5 million copies)
23. Alan Jackson — 15
Platinum albums: 15
Multi-platinum: 8
Best-selling album: "The Greatest Hits Collection" (6 million copies)
22. Pink Floyd — 15
Platinum albums: 15
Multi-platinum: 12
Diamond: 2
Best-selling album: "The Wall" (23 million copies)
21. Luther Vandross — 16
Platinum albums: 16
Multi-platinum: 7
Best-selling album: "The Best of Luther Vandross" (3 million copies)
20. Kenny Rogers — 17
Platinum albums: 17
Multi-platinum: 7
Diamond: 1
Best-selling album: "Kenny Rogers' Greatest Hits" (12 million copies)
19. U2 — 17
Platinum albums: 17
Multi-platinum: 11
Diamond: 1
Best-selling album: "The Joshua Tree" (1o million copies)
18. Bruce Springsteen — 17
Platinum albums: 17
Multi-platinum: 11
Diamond: 2
Best-selling album: "Born In The U.S.A." (15 million copies)
17. Billy Joel — 17
Platinum albums: 17
Multi-platinum: 12
Diamond: 2
Best-selling album: "Greatest Hits Volume I & Volume II" (23 million copies)
16. Madonna — 17
Platinum albums: 17
Multi-platinum: 12
Diamond: 2
Best-selling album: "Like A Virgin" (10 million copies)
15. Chicago — 18
Platinum albums: 18
Multi-platinum: 8
Best-selling album: "Chicago 17" (6 million copies)
14. Aerosmith — 18
Platinum albums: 18
Multi-platinum: 12
Diamond: 1
Best-selling album: "Aerosmith's Greatest Hits" (11 million copies)
13. Led Zeppelin — 18
Platinum albums: 18
Multi-platinum: 14
Diamond: 5
Best-selling album: "Led Zeppelin IV" (23 million copies)
12. Reba McEntire — 19
Platinum albums: 19
Multi-platinum: 9
Best-selling album: "Greatest Hits, Volume II" (5 million copies)
11. Rod Stewart — 19
Platinum albums: 19
Multi-platinum: 10
Best-selling album: "Foot Loose & Fancy Free" (3 million copies)
10. Alabama — 20
Platinum albums: 20
Multi-platinum: 10
Best-selling album: "Mountain Music" (5 million copies)
9. AC/DC — 20
Platinum albums: 20
Multi-platinum: 12
Diamond: 1
Best-selling album: "Back In Black" (22 million copies)
8. Neil Diamond — 21
Platinum albums: 21
Multi-platinum: 12
Best-selling album: "The Jazz Singer" (5 million copies)
7. Elton John — 27
Platinum albums: 27
Multi-platinum: 14
Diamond: 1
Best-selling album: "Greatest Hits" (17 million copies)
6. The Rolling Stones — 28
Platinum albums: 28
Multi-platinum: 11
Diamond: 1
Best-selling album: "Four Flicks" (19 million copies)
5. Barbra Streisand — 30
Platinum albums: 30
Multi-platinum: 12
Best-selling album: "Greatest Hits Volume II" (5 million copies)
4. Garth Brooks — 30
Platinum albums: 30
Multi-platinum: 16
Diamond: 7
Best-selling album: "Double Live" (21 million copies)
3. George Strait — 33
Platinum albums: 33
Multi-platinum: 13
Best-selling album: "Strait Out Of The Box" (8 million copies)
2. The Beatles — 42
Platinum albums: 42
Multi-platinum: 26
Diamond: 6
Best-selling album: "The Beatles (The White Album)" (19 million copies)
1. Elvis Presley — 67
Platinum albums: 67
Multi-platinum: 27
Diamond: 1
Best-selling album: "Elvis' Christmas Album" (10 million copies)