Lists of fastest-selling albums

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.[1] This list can contain any type of album, including studio albums, extended plays, greatest hits, compilations, various artists, soundtracks and remixes.

Market order within the article is ranked alphabetically. Albums within each table are listed in order of number of copies sold and thereafter by the artist's first name.

Canada

This is a list of the fastest-selling albums in Canada since Nielsen SoundScan tracking began in 1995. 25 by Adele is the fastest-selling album of all time in Canada with over 305,928 copies sold in its first 7 days following release.

Rank Year Title Artist Sales Reference
1 2015 25 Adele 305,928 [2]
2 1997 Let's Talk About Love Céline Dion 230,212 [3][4]
3 1999 Millennium Backstreet Boys 191,791 [5][6]
4 2003 Star Académie Star Académie 173,000 [7]
5 2000 Black & Blue Backstreet Boys 156,307 [5]
6 2002 A New Day Has Come Céline Dion 151,600 [8]
7 2002 Up! Shania Twain 150,000 [9]
8 2008 Black Ice AC/DC 119,000 [10]
9 2006 I Think of You Gregory Charles 109,000 [11]
10 2014 1989 Taylor Swift 107,000 [12]

France

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

Rank Year Title Artist Sales Reference
1 2018 Mon pays c'est l'amour Johnny Hallyday 780,177 [13][14]
2 2002 À la vie, à la mort 305,634 [13][14]
3 2015 25 Adele 169,693 [15]

Germany

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

Rank Year Title Artist Sales Reference
1 2007 12 Herbert Grönemeyer >300,000 [16]
2 2017 Helene Fischer Helene Fischer 300,000 [16]
3 2015 25 Adele 263,000 [17]
4 2019 Untitled Rammstein 260,000 [18]

Ireland

In Ireland the fastest-selling album is The Best of 1980–1990 by U2 in November 1998.[19]

Japan

This is a list of the fastest-selling albums in Japan since Oricon 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 singer-songwriters Hikaru Utada and Ayumi Hamasaki.[20]

Rank Year Title Artist Sales Reference
1 2001 Distance Hikaru Utada 3,002,720 [21][22]
2 2001 A Best Ayumi Hamasaki 2,874,870 [21][22]
3 1998 The Best "Pleasure" B'z 2,709,530 [22][23]
4 1998 The Best "Treasure" 2,500,120 [22][24]
5 2002 Deep River Hikaru Utada 2,350,170 [22][25]
6 2000 Delicious Way Mai Kuraki 2,218,640 [22][26]
7 1999 First Love Hikaru Utada 2,026,870 [22][27]
8 1997 Review Glay 2,003,150 [22][28]
9 1996 Sweet 19 Blues Namie Amuro 1,921,850 [22][29]
10 2002 I Am... Ayumi Hamasaki 1,751,360 [22][30]

New Zealand

This is a list of the fastest-selling albums in New Zealand since the Recording Industry Association of New Zealand, 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 7 days following release.

Rank Year Title Artist Sales Reference
1 2015 25 Adele 18,766 [31]
2 2009 I Dreamed a Dream Susan Boyle 17,435 [31]

South Korea

This is a list of the fastest-selling albums in South Korea. Map of the Soul: 7 by BTS is the fastest-selling album of all time in South Korea with over 3.3 million copies shipped to stores in its first 7 days of release.[32]

Hanteo

This is a list of the highest weekly album sales in South Korea, as recorded by the Hanteo Information System established in 1993.

Rank Year Title Artist Sales Reference(s)
1 2020 Map of the Soul: 7 BTS 3,378,633 [32][33]
2 2020 Be 2,274,882 [34]
3 2019 Map of the Soul: Persona 2,130,480 [35]
4 2020 Heng:garæ Seventeen 1,097,891 [36]
5 2018 Love Yourself: Tear BTS 1,003,500 [37]
6 2018 Love Yourself: Answer 868,052 [38]
7 2018 Don't Mess Up My Tempo EXO 789,670
8 2017 Love Yourself: Her BTS 759,000 [39]
9 2019 An Ode Seventeen 700,863 [40]
10 2020 The Album Blackpink 689,066 [41]

RIAK and Gaon

The Gaon Album Chart (and also previously the now-defunct Recording Industry Association of Korea) releases sales figures on a monthly basis.
As such, the number of days from each album's release date until the end of the first tracking month is specified, to allow adjustments for the
varying amounts of time from an album's release date to the end of the first month.

Rank Year Title Artist Monthly sales Days to end of month Avg. sales per day Reference(s)
1 2020 Map of the Soul: 7 BTS 4,114,843 9 457,204 [42]
2 2019 Map of the Soul: Persona 3,229,032 19 169,949 [43]
3 2020 Be 2,655,843 11 241,440 [44]
4 2018 Love Yourself: Answer 1,933,450 8 241,681 [45]
5 2000 Let Me Love Jo Sung-mo 1,705,127 30 56,837 [46]
6 2018 Love Yourself: Tear BTS 1,664,041 14 118,860 [47]
7 1999 For Your Soul Jo Sung-mo 1,469,422 30 48,981 [48]
8 2001 Chapter 4 g.o.d 1,441,209 16 90,075 [49]
9 2020 Heng:garæ Seventeen 1,235,853 9 137,317 [50]
10 2017 Love Yourself: Her BTS 1,203,533 13 92,579 [51]

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 7 days.

Rank Year Title Artist Sales Reference
1 2015 25 Adele 803,000 [52]
2 1997 Be Here Now † Oasis 696,000 [53]
3 2017 ÷ Ed Sheeran 672,000 [54]
4 1963 With the Beatles The Beatles 530,000 [55]
5 2010 Progress Take That 518,601 [56]
6 2005 X&Y Coldplay 464,471 [57]
7 2008 The Circus Take That 432,490 [58]
8 2009 I Dreamed a Dream Susan Boyle 411,820 [59]
9 2003 Life for Rent Dido 400,351 [60]
10 2007 Spirit Leona Lewis 375,872 [61]

Notes:
† Be Here Now was unconventionally released on a Thursday and debuted at number one based on three-day sales of 695,761. Sales from its first full week of availability, which went from Thursday to Wednesday were 813,000.[52]

  • The second week's sales for 25 were 439,000.[62]
  • The fifth week's sales for 25 were 450,000.[63]

United States

This is a list of the fastest-selling albums (pure sales) in the United States since Nielsen SoundScan 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 7 days.

Rank Year Title Artist Sales Reference
1 2015 25 Adele 3,378,000 [64]
2 2000 No Strings Attached *NSYNC 2,416,000 [64]
3 2001 Celebrity 1,880,000 [64]
4 2000 The Marshall Mathers LP Eminem 1,760,000 [64]
5 2000 Black & Blue Backstreet Boys 1,591,000 [64]
6 2004 Encore Eminem 1,500,000 [64]
7 2002 The Eminem Show 1,322,000 [64]
8 2000 Oops!... I Did It Again Britney Spears 1,319,000 [64]
9 2014 1989 Taylor Swift 1,287,000 [64]
10 2017 Reputation 1,216,000 [65]
11 2012 Red 1,208,000 [64]
12 2005 The Massacre[I] 50 Cent 1,141,000 [64]
13 1999 Millennium Backstreet Boys 1,134,000 [64]
14 2011 Born This Way Lady Gaga 1,108,000 [64]
15 2004 Confessions Usher 1,096,000 [64]
16 1998 Double Live Garth Brooks 1,095,000 [64]
17 2000 Chocolate Starfish and the Hot Dog Flavored Water Limp Bizkit 1,055,000 [64]
18 2010 Speak Now Taylor Swift 1,047,000 [64]
19 2004 Feels Like Home Norah Jones 1,022,000 [64]
20 2008 Tha Carter III Lil Wayne 1,006,000 [66]

Notes: ^ I The opening number denotes sales from the first four days of availability as The Massacre was unconventionally released in the middle of the week.

Pre-SoundScan era

SoundScan era
  • Although not in its opening week, Whitney Houston's The Bodyguard: Original Soundtrack Album moved 1,061,000 units during Christmas week 1992.[74]
  • Although not in its opening week, the Beatles' compilation 1 moved 1,258,667 units during Christmas week 2000.[75]
  • 25 by Adele sold 1.11 million and 1.16 million copies in its second and fifth weeks of availability, respectively.
  • Taylor Swift is the only artist to have four consecutive albums sell over 1 million copies in their first week.[76]

See also

References
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