Lists Of Fastest-selling Albums
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This is a list of the world's fastest-selling albums of recorded music. To appear on the list, the figure must have been published by a reliable source and all sales must have occurred in the first week of release. This list may include any type of album, including
studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...
s,
extended play An extended play (EP) is a Sound recording and reproduction, musical recording that contains more tracks than a Single (music), single but fewer than an album. Contemporary EPs generally contain up to eight tracks and have a playing time of 1 ...
s,
greatest hits A greatest hits album or best-of album is a type of compilation album that collects popular and commercially successful songs by a particular artist or band. While greatest hits albums are typically supported by the artist, they can also be creat ...
, compilations, various artists,
soundtracks A soundtrack is a recorded audio signal accompanying and synchronised to the images of a book, drama, motion picture, radio program, television program, or video game; colloquially, a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured ...
and remixes. Market order within the article is ranked alphabetically. Albums within each table are listed in order of the number of copies sold and thereafter by the artist's first name.


Argentina

This is a list of the fastest-selling albums in Argentina.


Cameroon


Canada

This is a list of the fastest-selling albums in Canada since
Nielsen SoundScan Luminate Data, LLC (formerly MRC Data and P-MRC Data) is a provider of music and entertainment data. Established as a joint-venture in 2020, it brought together Nielsen Music, Alpha Data (formerly BuzzAngle Music) and Variety Business Intellige ...
tracking began in 1995. '' 25'' by
Adele Adele Laurie Blue Adkins (; born 5 May 1988) is an English singer-songwriter. Regarded as a British cultural icon, icon, she is known for her mezzo-soprano vocals and sentimental songwriting. List of awards and nominations received by Adele, ...
is the fastest-selling album of all time in Canada with over 305,928 copies sold in its first seven days of release.


Chile


China

This is a list of the fastest-selling albums in China.


Colombia

This is a list of the fastest-selling albums in Colombia.


Denmark


France

This is a list of the fastest-selling albums in France.


Germany

This is a list of the fastest-selling albums in Germany.


Greece


Ireland

In Ireland, the fastest-selling album is ''
The Best of 1980–1990 ''The Best of 1980–1990'' is the first greatest hits compilation by Irish rock band U2, released on 2 November 1998. It mostly contains the group's hit singles from the 1980s, but also mixes in some live staples, as well as a re-recording of ...
'' by U2 in November 1998.


Japan

This is a list of the fastest-selling albums in Japan since
Oricon , established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics Statistics (from German language, German: ', "description of a State (polity), state, a country") is the discipline that ...
was founded in November 1967. The top two sales records were achieved in the same week, on March 28, 2001, as both albums were promoted as a direct competition between
J-pop J-pop (often stylized in all caps; an abbreviated form of "Japanese popular music"), natively known simply as , is the name for a form of popular music that entered the musical mainstream of Japan in the 1990s. Modern J-pop has its roots in trad ...
singer-songwriters
Hikaru Utada , also known mononymously as Utada, is a Japanese and American singer, songwriter, and producer. She is considered to be one of the most influential and best-selling musical artists in Japan. She is best known by international audiences for w ...
and
Ayumi Hamasaki is a Japanese singer-songwriter and producer. Nicknamed the "Empress of Pop" on account of her influence throughout Asia, she is widely recognized for her versatile music production, songwriting, and live performances. Hamasaki is the List of ...
by their respective labels. ''Distance'' would debut at Number 1 in the first week, while ''A BEST'' would also reach Number 1 in the following week.


Mexico

Luis Miguel Luis Miguel Gallego Basteri (; born 19 April 1970) is a Mexican singer and record producer. Born in Puerto Rico to an Italian mother and a Spanish father, he is often referred to as Honorific nicknames in popular music, ''El Sol de Mexico'' ...
holds several of the fastest-selling albums in Mexico. His seventh studio album ''Cómplices'' sold 320,000 units in its first day alone.


New Zealand

This is a list of the fastest-selling albums in New Zealand since the
Recording Industry Association of New Zealand Recorded Music NZ (formerly the Recording Industry Association of New Zealand (RIANZ)) is a non-profit trade association of record producers, distributors and recording artists who sell recorded music in New Zealand. Membership of Recorded ...
, later renamed as Recorded Music NZ, was founded in 1972. ''25'' by Adele is the fastest-selling album of all time in NZ with over 18,766 copies sold in its first seven days following release.


Sierra Leone


Spain


South Korea

This is a list of the fastest-selling albums in South Korea as recorded by the Hanteo Information System established in 1993. '' Seventeenth Heaven'' by Seventeen is the fastest-selling album of all time in South Korea with 5,091,887 copies shipped to stores in its first seven days of release.


United Kingdom

This is a list of the fastest-selling albums in the United Kingdom. ''25'' by Adele is the fastest-selling album of all time in the UK with just over 803,000 copies sold in its first seven days. Notes: * ''Be Here Now'' was unconventionally released on a Thursday and debuted at number one based on three-day sales of 696,000 copies. Sales accumulated during its first full week of availability, which went from Thursday to Wednesday, totaled 813,000 copies, which remains the most an album has sold in its first week on sale. * ''25'' sold 439,000 copies in its second week. * ''25'' sold 450,000 copies in its fifth week.


United States

This is a list of the fastest-selling albums (pure sales) in the United States since
Nielsen SoundScan Luminate Data, LLC (formerly MRC Data and P-MRC Data) is a provider of music and entertainment data. Established as a joint-venture in 2020, it brought together Nielsen Music, Alpha Data (formerly BuzzAngle Music) and Variety Business Intellige ...
tracking began on March 1, 1991. ''25'' by Adele is the fastest-selling album of all time in the US with 3,378,000 copies sold in its first seven days. Notes:


Additional records


Pre-SoundScan era

The following albums predate the introduction of Nielsen SoundScan, and are possibly subject to manipulation or inflation as sales were self-reported by record labels: * In 1963, ''John Fitzgerald Kennedy—A Memorial Album'', recorded on the day of John F. Kennedy's
assassination Assassination is the willful killing, by a sudden, secret, or planned attack, of a personespecially if prominent or important. It may be prompted by political, ideological, religious, financial, or military motives. Assassinations are orde ...
, sold 4 million copies at 99 cents each within six days of its release. * In 1965,
The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...
' ''
Rubber Soul ''Rubber Soul'' is the sixth studio album by the English Rock music, rock band the Beatles. It was released on 3 December 1965 in the United Kingdom on EMI's Parlophone label, accompanied by the non-album double A-side single "We Can Work It Ou ...
'' sold 1,200,000 copies in "just the first nine days". * In 1968, The Beatles' self-titled double album (often known as the "White Album") sold "almost two million in one week". * In 1970, The Beatles' '' Let It Be'' allegedly had "a sale of 3,700,000 in just over 2 weeks". * In 1971,
Carole King Carole King Klein (born Carol Joan Klein; February 9, 1942) is an American singer-songwriter and musician renowned for her extensive contributions to popular music. She wrote or co-wrote 118 songs that charted on the Billboard Hot 100, ''Billbo ...
's ''
Music Music is the arrangement of sound to create some combination of Musical form, form, harmony, melody, rhythm, or otherwise Musical expression, expressive content. Music is generally agreed to be a cultural universal that is present in all hum ...
'' reportedly sold "1,300,000 copies on the day of its release in the U.S." * In 1975,
Elton John Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, songwriter and pianist. His music and showmanship have had a significant, lasting impact on the music industry, and his songwriting partnership with l ...
's '' Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy'', the first album to debut at number one on the ''Billboard'' 200, sold "1,400,000 in the U.S. in the first 4 days on the market"."Elton Expands 'Captain Fantastic' With Live Tracks"
''Billboard''. Retrieved 3 December 2014
* In 1984,
Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The ...
's '' Purple Rain'' sold 1.5 million copies in its debut week. * In 1986,
Bruce Springsteen Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949) is an American Rock music, rock singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Nicknamed "the Boss", Springsteen has released 21 studio albums spanning six decades; most of his albums feature th ...
's '' Live/1975–85'' sold over 1.5 million copies during its first ten days. * In 1987,
Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Michael Jackson, one of the most culturally significan ...
's ''
Bad Bad or BAD may refer to: Common meanings *Evil, the opposite of moral good * Erroneous, inaccurate or incorrect * Unhealthy, or counter to well-being *Antagonist, the threat or obstacle of moral good Acronyms * BAD-2, a Soviet armored trolley ...
'' sold at more than 2.25 million copies during its first week


SoundScan era

* Although not in its opening week,
Whitney Houston Whitney Elizabeth Houston (August 9, 1963 – February 11, 2012) was an American singer, actress, film producer, model, and philanthropist. Commonly referred to as "Honorific nicknames in popular music, the Voice", she is List of awards and no ...
's '' The Bodyguard: Original Soundtrack Album'' moved 1,061,000 units during Christmas week 1992. * Although not in its opening week, the Beatles' compilation '' 1'' moved 1,258,667 units during Christmas week 2000, becoming the highest sales in a nondebut week since SoundScan era. * '' Encore'' by
Eminem Marshall Bruce Mathers III (born October 17, 1972), known professionally as Eminem, is an American rapper, songwriter, and record producer. Regarded as one of the greatest and most influential rappers of all time, he is credited with popula ...
sold 1.58 million copies in its first ten days of availability, after an abbreviated three-day first week. * '' 25'' by
Adele Adele Laurie Blue Adkins (; born 5 May 1988) is an English singer-songwriter. Regarded as a British cultural icon, icon, she is known for her mezzo-soprano vocals and sentimental songwriting. List of awards and nominations received by Adele, ...
sold 1.11 million and 1.16 million copies in its second and fifth weeks of availability respectively.


Worldwide

This is the list of the fastest selling albums worldwide within the first week of their release, based on figures published by reliable sources. *Additional records: According to some estimates, Adele's ''25'' (2015) had the biggest first-week sales in a single territory, when surpassed 3 million-plus copies in the United States. Utada Hikaru's ''Distance'' (2001) and Ayumi Hamasaki's ''A Best'' (2001) previously sold 3 million and 2.8 million in Japan, respectively. In 2022,
Jay Chou Jay Chou Chieh-lun ( zh, s=周杰伦, t=周杰倫, first=t, p=Zhōu Jiélún; born 18 January 1979) is a Taiwanese singer-songwriter, actor, director, and businessman. Regarded as one of the most influential artists in the Chinese-speaking worl ...
sold 5 million copies of '' Greatest Works of Art'' in China during its opening week, while ''John Fitzgerald Kennedy—A Memorial Album'' (1963) sold 4 million copies at 99 cents in the U.S.


Notes


See also

*
Album era The album era (sometimes, album-rock era) was a period in popular music, usually defined as the mid-1960s through the mid-2000s, in which the album—a collection of songs issued on physical media—was the dominant form of recorded music expr ...
* Lists of albums *
List of best-selling albums This is a list of the world's best-selling albums of Comparison of recording media, recorded music in physical mediums, such as vinyl, audio cassettes or compact discs. To appear on the list, the figure must have been published by a reliable so ...
* List of best-selling albums by country * List of fastest-selling concert tours


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Albums, best-selling Music industry