Only 25 albums in history have sold 1 million copies in a single week — here they all are
JULIEN DE ROSA/AFP via Getty Images
- Nielsen Music started tracking point-of-sales data for US music releases in 1991.
- In the three decades since, only 25 albums have sold at least 1 million copies in one week.
- Taylor Swift has achieved the feat eight times, most recently with "The Life of a Showgirl."
Throughout history, only musicians with immense commercial power have managed to sell over 1 million copies of an album in just one week.
In the past decade, as streaming services have taken over, it's become rarer for listeners to purchase physical copies of albums or pay for digital downloads, making the seven-figure watermark even less achievable. (As of 2018, Billboard counts 1,250 streams through a paid subscription as one album unit, or 3,750 ad-supported streams.)
In fact, only two artists have scored million-plus sales weeks since 2015, the year Apple entered the streaming game and essentially doomed iTunes in the process.
Most recently, Taylor Swift's "The Life of a Showgirl" set a record for the biggest debut week of all time.
All 25 albums that have achieved the feat are listed below in chronological order.
Arista Records
"The Bodyguard" soundtrack — co-executive produced by Clive Davis and Whitney Houston, who starred in the film — became the first album verified by Nielsen to move more than 1 million units in the US in a single week.
According to Billboard, the album sold 1,061,000 copies in the week ending January 3, 1993, six weeks after its release. The RIAA has since certified it 19x platinum.
Capitol Nashville
"Double Live," the first live album from country star Garth Brooks, sold 1,085,000 copies in the first week after its release.
Jive
"Millennium," the third album by the Backstreet Boys, sold 1,134,000 copies in the first week after its release.
Jive
"No Strings Attached," the third album by *NSYNC, sold 2,416,000 copies in the first week after its release.
Jive
"Oops!... I Did It Again," the second album by Britney Spears, sold 1,319,000 copies in the first week after its release.
Interscope
Eminem's third album, "The Marshall Mathers LP," sold 1,760,000 copies in the first week after its release.
Flip/Interscope
Limp Bizkit's third album, "Chocolate Starfish and the Hot Dog Flavored Water," sold 1,055,000 copies in the first week after its release.
Jive
"Black & Blue," the fourth album by the Backstreet Boys, sold 1,591,000 copies in the first week after its release.
Apple/Parlophone
"1," a post-breakup compilation album by The Beatles, sold 1,259,000 copies in the week ending December 24, 2000, six weeks after its release.
Jive
"Celebrity," the fourth and final album by *NSYNC, sold 1,880,000 copies in the first week after its release.
Aftermath Records
Eminem's fourth album, "The Eminem Show," sold 1,322,000 copies in the first week after its release.
Blue Note Records
"Feels Like Home," the second album by Norah Jonas, sold 1,022,000 copies in the first week after its release.
LaFace Records
Usher's fourth album, "Confessions," sold 1,096,000 copies in the first week after its release.
Shady/Aftermath/Interscope Records
50 Cent's sophomore album, "The Massacre," sold 1,141,000 copies in the first week after its release.
Cash Money Records
Lil Wayne's sixth album, "Tha Carter III," sold 1,006,000 copies in the first week after its release.
Taylor Swift
Taylor Swift's entirely self-written third album, "Speak Now," sold 1,047,000 copies in the first week after its release.
Interscope
Lady Gaga's sophomore album, "Born This Way," sold 1,108,000 copies in the first week after its release.
Taylor Swift
Swift's fourth album, "Red," sold 1,208,000 copies in the first week after its release.
Taylor Swift
Swift's fifth album, "1989," sold 1,287,000 copies in the first week after its release.
XL Recordings
Adele's third album, "25," sold 3,378,000 copies in the first week after its release — handily breaking a single-week record that was previously set by *NSYNC in 2000.
"25" went on to sell 1,160,000 copies in its second week and 1,190,000 in its fifth week.
The album, which was withheld from streaming services for its first seven months, remains the only one in history to sell 1 million copies in at least two different weeks.
Taylor Swift
Swift's sixth album, "Reputation," sold 1,238,000 equivalent album units in the first week after its release.
Swift broke her tie with Adele as the artist with the most million-plus sales weeks overall (four). Adele's three were all achieved with the same album ("25").
Taylor Swift
Swift's 10th album, "Midnights," sold 1,578,000 copies in the first week after its release.
Taylor Swift
"1989 (Taylor's Version)," Swift's fourth rerecorded release, sold 1,653,000 copies in its first week — surpassing the original.
It's the only album in history to debut with more than 1 million sales on two separate occasions.
Beth Garrabrant/TAS Rights Management
Swift's 11th album, "The Tortured Poets Department," sold 2.61 million equivalent album units in its first week.
According to Billboard, "Poets" also broke the record for the biggest streaming week ever. It went on to chart at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 for 17 weeks, a personal best for Swift.
TAS Rights Management
Swift's 12th album, "The Life of a Showgirl," blew past the 1 million mark in just a few days of tracking.
Six days after its release, "Showgirl" had already sold over 3.5 million equivalent album units, breaking the record previously held by Adele's "25" for the biggest sales week of all time.
According to Billboard, 3.2 million of those units were traditional album sales (both physical purchases and digital downloads).
Swift is also the only artist in history to have eight different albums with million-plus sales weeks. Backstreet Boys, *NSYNC, and Eminem trail with two apiece.
Contributer : Business Insider https://ift.tt/jSdrmG8
Reviewed by mimisabreena
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Friday, October 10, 2025
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