Hundreds of albums have been certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America – meaning that they have sold over 1 million copies. While some may have taken years to reach that milestone, other smash hit albums reached platinum or multi-platinum status (which begins at 2 million) in a matter of weeks. And nine albums have achieved the remarkable feat of selling 5 million or more (sometimes a lot more) in less than two months. (Here’s a list of the best-selling albums since 2000.)
To determine the fastest-selling albums in music history, 24/7 Tempo reviewed data on certified album sales and certifications from the Recording Industry Association of America. Albums were ranked based on the number of days between release date and the date they received a 5X Multi-Platinum award from the RIAA, indicating five million certified unit sales in the United States. Only studio albums and soundtracks were considered. Greatest hits, compilation, and live albums were excluded. Supplemental data on performance on the Billboard 200 albums chart is current through August 12, 2023.
The fastest-selling album in history – Adele’s “25” – sold over 3 million copies during the first week of its release, and has sold a total of 11 million copies to date. ‘N Sync, Eminem, and the Backstreet Boys each have two albums on the list that also went platinum or multi-platinum during their first seven days of sales. Other artists who have two albums on the list include Britney Spears, Mariah Carey, Michael Jackson, Limp Bizkit, Nelly, the Eagles, and Whitney Houston. But while the vast majority of the albums are pop or rap records from the ‘90s and early 2000s, the artist with the most albums represented here – three – is country musician Garth Brooks. (He accounts for some of the best selling country albums of all time.)
All but one of the fastest selling albums peaked at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 (“2001” by Dr. Dre, which stalled at No. 2) – and Whitney Houston’s “The Bodyguard” soundtrack spent 20 weeks in that position.
50. Michael Jackson, “Bad” (1987)
> Time to sell 5 million U.S. units: 206 days
> Total U.S. unit sales to date: 11 million
> Billboard 200 performance: No. 1 for 6 weeks (171 total weeks on the chart)
49. Various Artists, “Dirty Dancing (Soundtrack)” (1987)
> Time to sell 5 million U.S. units: 206 days
> Total U.S. unit sales to date: 14 million
> Billboard 200 performance: No. 1 for 18 weeks (97 total weeks on the chart)
48. Shaggy, “Hotshot” (2000)
> Time to sell 5 million U.S. units: 205 days
> Total U.S. unit sales to date: 6 million
> Billboard 200 performance: No. 1 for 6 weeks (84 total weeks on the chart)
47. Limp Bizkit, “Chocolate Starfish and the Hot Dog Flavored Water” (2000)
> Time to sell 5 million U.S. units: 205 days
> Total U.S. unit sales to date: 6 million
> Billboard 200 performance: No. 1 for 2 weeks (72 total weeks on the chart)
46. Dr. Dre, “2001” (1999)
> Time to sell 5 million U.S. units: 205 days
> Total U.S. unit sales to date: 6 million
> Billboard 200 performance: No. 2 for 4 weeks (233 total weeks on the chart)
45. Hammer, “Please Hammer Don’t Hurt ‘Em” (1990)
> Time to sell 5 million U.S. units: 199 days
> Total U.S. unit sales to date: 10 million
> Billboard 200 performance: No. 1 for 21 weeks (108 total weeks on the chart)
44. Lauryn Hill, “The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill” (1998)
> Time to sell 5 million U.S. units: 198 days
> Total U.S. unit sales to date: 10 million
> Billboard 200 performance: No. 1 for 4 weeks (91 total weeks on the chart)
43. Britney Spears, “…Baby One More Time” (1999)
> Time to sell 5 million U.S. units: 183 days
> Total U.S. unit sales to date: 14 million
> Billboard 200 performance: No. 1 for 6 weeks (103 total weeks on the chart)
42. Billy Ray Cyrus, “Some Gave All” (1992)
> Time to sell 5 million U.S. units: 177 days
> Total U.S. unit sales to date: 9 million
> Billboard 200 performance: No. 1 for 17 weeks (97 total weeks on the chart)
41. Whitney Houston, “Whitney” (1987)
> Time to sell 5 million U.S. units: 176 days
> Total U.S. unit sales to date: 10 million
> Billboard 200 performance: No. 1 for 11 weeks (88 total weeks on the chart)
40. Limp Bizkit, “Significant Other” (1999)
> Time to sell 5 million U.S. units: 171 days
> Total U.S. unit sales to date: 7 million
> Billboard 200 performance: No. 1 for 4 weeks (103 total weeks on the chart)
39. Santana, “Supernatural” (1999)
> Time to sell 5 million U.S. units: 162 days
> Total U.S. unit sales to date: 15 million
> Billboard 200 performance: No. 1 for 12 weeks (103 total weeks on the chart)
38. The Chicks, “Home” (2002)
> Time to sell 5 million U.S. units: 160 days
> Total U.S. unit sales to date: 6 million
> Billboard 200 performance: No. 1 for 4 weeks (56 total weeks on the chart)
37. Nelly, “Country Grammar” (2000)
> Time to sell 5 million U.S. units: 157 days
> Total U.S. unit sales to date: 10 million
> Billboard 200 performance: No. 1 for 5 weeks (104 total weeks on the chart)
36. Bon Jovi, “Slippery When Wet” (1986)
> Time to sell 5 million U.S. units: 155 days
> Total U.S. unit sales to date: 12 million
> Billboard 200 performance: No. 1 for 8 weeks (118 total weeks on the chart)
35. Mariah Carey, “Music Box” (1993)
> Time to sell 5 million U.S. units: 152 days
> Total U.S. unit sales to date: 10 million
> Billboard 200 performance: No. 1 for 8 weeks (128 total weeks on the chart)
34. Eagles, “Hell Freezes Over” (1994)
> Time to sell 5 million U.S. units: 149 days
> Total U.S. unit sales to date: 9 million
> Billboard 200 performance: No. 1 for 2 weeks (115 total weeks on the chart)
33. Nelly, “Nellyville” (2002)
> Time to sell 5 million U.S. units: 142 days
> Total U.S. unit sales to date: 7 million
> Billboard 200 performance: No. 1 for 4 weeks (72 total weeks on the chart)
32. Prince And The Revolution, “Purple Rain (Soundtrack)” (1984)
> Time to sell 5 million U.S. units: 141 days
> Total U.S. unit sales to date: 13 million
> Billboard 200 performance: No. 1 for 24 weeks (167 total weeks on the chart)
31. Christina Aguilera, “Christina Aguilera” (1999)
> Time to sell 5 million U.S. units: 134 days
> Total U.S. unit sales to date: 8 million
> Billboard 200 performance: No. 1 for 1 week (97 total weeks on the chart)
30. The Notorious B.I.G., “Life After Death” (1997)
> Time to sell 5 million U.S. units: 129 days
> Total U.S. unit sales to date: 11 million
> Billboard 200 performance: No. 1 for 4 weeks (90 total weeks on the chart)
29. Various Artists, “Waiting To Exhale (Soundtrack)” (1995)
> Time to sell 5 million U.S. units: 126 days
> Total U.S. unit sales to date: 7 million
> Billboard 200 performance: No. 1 for 5 weeks (50 total weeks on the chart)
28. 50 Cent, “Get Rich or Die Tryin'” (2003)
> Time to sell 5 million U.S. units: 126 days
> Total U.S. unit sales to date: 9 million
> Billboard 200 performance: No. 1 for 6 weeks (184 total weeks on the chart)
27. Various Artists, “The Lion King (Soundtrack)” (1994)
> Time to sell 5 million U.S. units: 112 days
> Total U.S. unit sales to date: 10 million
> Billboard 200 performance: No. 1 for 10 weeks (89 total weeks on the chart)
26. Garth Brooks, “Ropin’ the Wind” (1991)
> Time to sell 5 million U.S. units: 108 days
> Total U.S. unit sales to date: 14 million
> Billboard 200 performance: No. 1 for 18 weeks (132 total weeks on the chart)
25. The Smashing Pumpkins, “Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness” (1995)
> Time to sell 5 million U.S. units: 100 days
> Total U.S. unit sales to date: 10 million
> Billboard 200 performance: No. 1 for 1 week (93 total weeks on the chart)
24. Boyz II Men, “II” (1994)
> Time to sell 5 million U.S. units: 100 days
> Total U.S. unit sales to date: 12 million
> Billboard 200 performance: No. 1 for 5 weeks (99 total weeks on the chart)
23. Usher, “Confessions” (2004)
> Time to sell 5 million U.S. units: 97 days
> Total U.S. unit sales to date: 10 million
> Billboard 200 performance: No. 1 for 9 weeks (178 total weeks on the chart)
22. Pearl Jam, “Vs.” (1993)
> Time to sell 5 million U.S. units: 93 days
> Total U.S. unit sales to date: 7 million
> Billboard 200 performance: No. 1 for 5 weeks (67 total weeks on the chart)
21. Ricky Martin, “Ricky Martin” (1999)
> Time to sell 5 million U.S. units: 92 days
> Total U.S. unit sales to date: 7 million
> Billboard 200 performance: No. 1 for 1 week (67 total weeks on the chart)
20. Celine Dion, “Let’s Talk About Love” (1997)
> Time to sell 5 million U.S. units: 92 days
> Total U.S. unit sales to date: 11 million
> Billboard 200 performance: No. 1 for 1 week (84 total weeks on the chart)
19. Eminem, “The Eminem Show” (2002)
> Time to sell 5 million U.S. units: 92 days
> Total U.S. unit sales to date: 12 million
> Billboard 200 performance: No. 1 for 6 weeks (441 total weeks on the chart)
18. Various Artists, “Titanic (Soundtrack)” (1997)
> Time to sell 5 million U.S. units: 90 days
> Total U.S. unit sales to date: 11 million
> Billboard 200 performance: No. 1 for 16 weeks (73 total weeks on the chart)
17. Vanilla Ice, “To the Extreme” (1990)
> Time to sell 5 million U.S. units: 84 days
> Total U.S. unit sales to date: 7 million
> Billboard 200 performance: No. 1 for 16 weeks (67 total weeks on the chart)
16. OutKast, “Speakerboxxx/The Love Below” (2003)
> Time to sell 5 million U.S. units: 78 days
> Total U.S. unit sales to date: 11 million
> Billboard 200 performance: No. 1 for 7 weeks (56 total weeks on the chart)
15. 2Pac, “All Eyez on Me” (1996)
> Time to sell 5 million U.S. units: 72 days
> Total U.S. unit sales to date: 10 million
> Billboard 200 performance: No. 1 for 2 weeks (122 total weeks on the chart)
14. Mariah Carey, “Daydream” (1995)
> Time to sell 5 million U.S. units: 70 days
> Total U.S. unit sales to date: 11 million
> Billboard 200 performance: No. 1 for 6 weeks (81 total weeks on the chart)
13. Eagles, “Long Road out of Eden” (2007)
> Time to sell 5 million U.S. units: 69 days
> Total U.S. unit sales to date: 7 million
> Billboard 200 performance: No. 1 for 1 week (75 total weeks on the chart)
12. Garth Brooks, “The Chase” (1992)
> Time to sell 5 million U.S. units: 66 days
> Total U.S. unit sales to date: 10 million
> Billboard 200 performance: No. 1 for 7 weeks (64 total weeks on the chart)
11. Whitney Houston, “The Bodyguard (Soundtrack)” (1992)
> Time to sell 5 million U.S. units: 62 days
> Total U.S. unit sales to date: 18 million
> Billboard 200 performance: No. 1 for 20 weeks (155 total weeks on the chart)
10. Michael Jackson, “HIStory: Past, Present and Future Book 1” (1995)
> Time to sell 5 million U.S. units: 61 days
> Total U.S. unit sales to date: 8 million
> Billboard 200 performance: No. 1 for 2 weeks (36 total weeks on the chart)
9. Creed, “Weathered” (2001)
> Time to sell 5 million U.S. units: 52 days
> Total U.S. unit sales to date: 6 million
> Billboard 200 performance: No. 1 for 8 weeks (74 total weeks on the chart)
8. Britney Spears, “Oops!…I Did It Again” (2000)
> Time to sell 5 million U.S. units: 50 days
> Total U.S. unit sales to date: 10 million
> Billboard 200 performance: No. 1 for 1 week (84 total weeks on the chart)
7. Garth Brooks, “Sevens” (1997)
> Time to sell 5 million U.S. units: 44 days
> Total U.S. unit sales to date: 10 million
> Billboard 200 performance: No. 1 for 5 weeks (58 total weeks on the chart)
6. Eminem, “The Marshall Mathers LP” (2000)
> Time to sell 5 million U.S. units: 35 days
> Total U.S. unit sales to date: 11 million
> Billboard 200 performance: No. 1 for 8 weeks (173 total weeks on the chart)
5. Backstreet Boys, “Millennium” (1999)
> Time to sell 5 million U.S. units: 34 days
> Total U.S. unit sales to date: 13 million
> Billboard 200 performance: No. 1 for 10 weeks (93 total weeks on the chart)
4. ‘N Sync, “Celebrity” (2001)
> Time to sell 5 million U.S. units: 29 days
> Total U.S. unit sales to date: 5 million
> Billboard 200 performance: No. 1 for 1 week (43 total weeks on the chart)
3. ‘N Sync, “No Strings Attached” (2000)
> Time to sell 5 million U.S. units: 29 days
> Total U.S. unit sales to date: 11 million
> Billboard 200 performance: No. 1 for 8 weeks (82 total weeks on the chart)
2. Backstreet Boys, “Black & Blue” (2000)
> Time to sell 5 million U.S. units: 27 days
> Total U.S. unit sales to date: 8 million
> Billboard 200 performance: No. 1 for 2 weeks (42 total weeks on the chart)
1. Adele, “25” (2015)
> Time to sell 5 million U.S. units: 21 days
> Total U.S. unit sales to date: 11 million
> Billboard 200 performance: No. 1 for 10 weeks (221 total weeks on the chart)