The Best-Selling Albums Ever, Re-Ranked By Streaming Numbers

The good folks at The Guardian recently compiled a list of the most popular singles of all time rearranged according to their streaming stats on Spotify, producing a considerably different countdown.

They’ve now done the same with albums and the list, which you can check out below, is an interesting look at the changes in the way music has been consumed throughout the decades and perhaps more so, the tastes of modern listeners.

For example, the top-selling album of all time, Michael Jackson’s Thriller, is in fact only the 18th most streamed compared to other albums who’ve made the list of top-selling albums of all time.

Sitting at the top, is Adele’s 21, which has accrued an incredible 806,023,008 streams, though it is in fact only the 21st highest selling album of all time. Check out the full countdown below.

The All-time Top 30 Albums Reranked By Streaming Numbers

1. (No 21) Adele – 21 (806,023,008 streams)
2. (No 28) Metallica – Metallica (229,955,391)
3. (No 29) Nirvana – Nevermind (121,970,542)
4. (No 23) Bruce Springsteen – Born in the USA (94,855,753)
5. (No 10) Led Zeppelin – Led Zeppelin IV (93,040,647)
6. (No 22) The Beatles – Abbey Road (69,365,618)
7. (No 7) Bee Gees/Various Artists – Saturday Night Fever (65,580,111)
8. (No 4) Whitney Houston/Various Artists – The Bodyguard (59,972,881)
9. (No 2) AC/DC – Back in Black (56,449,731)
10. (No 15) Eagles – Hotel California (55,650,887)
11. (No 8) Fleetwood Mac – Rumours (53,960,342)
12. (No 25) Whitney Houston – Whitney Houston (51,724,446)
13. (No 13) Celine Dion – Falling Into You (46,108,840)
14. (No 20) The Beatles – 1 (44,736,403)
15. (No 12) Alanis Morissette – Jagged Little Pill (42,863,108)
16. (No 17) Michael Jackson – Dangerous (39,327,430)
17. (No 16) Mariah Carey – Music Box (22,228,518)
18. (No 1) Michael Jackson – Thriller (19,260,591)
19. (No 18) Various Artists – Dirty Dancing (16,471,861)
20. (No 5) Meat Loaf – Bat Out of Hell (14,177,469)

Spotify’s All-Time Top 20 Most Streamed Albums

1. Ed Sheeran – x
2. Justin Bieber – Purpose
3. The Weeknd – Beauty Behind the Madness
4. Calvin Harris – Motion
5. Calvin Harris – 18 Months
6. Sia – 1000 Forms of Fear
7. Sam Smith – In the Lonely Hour
8. Drake – If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late
9. Bruno Mars – Unorthodox Jukebox
10. Macklemore & Ryan Lewis – The Heist
11. Ariana Grande – My Everything
12. Jack Ü – Skrillex and Diplo present Jack Ü
13. Avicii – True
14. Imagine Dragons – Night Visions
15. One Direction – Midnight Memories (Deluxe)
16. One Direction – Four
17. Arctic Monkeys – AM
18. Meghan Trainor – Title
19. One Direction – Take Me Home: Yearbook Edition
20. Beyoncé – Beyoncé

Get unlimited access to the coverage that shapes our culture.

Subscribe to Rolling Stone magazine

Subscribe to Rolling Stone magazine