Taylor Swift made history again this week and it surprisingly has nothing to do with the release of her highly anticipated 12th studio album, “The Life of a Showgirl.”
On Tuesday, Sept. 30, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) announced that Swift had broken the glass ceiling by becoming the first and only female artist to surpass 100 million RIAA Certified Album Units.
“Congrats to @taylorswift on becoming the first and only female artist in history to surpass 100 million RIAA Certified Album Units!” the RIAA declared in an Instagram post.
The association’s website noted that Swift had reached 105 million certified album units. This figure is sure to rise now that “The Life of a Showgirl” has been released.
To put Swift’s 105 million certified album units in perspective, there are only five other performers or groups that rank ahead of her, all of which are male.
The Beatles hold the top spot with 183 million certified album units, closely followed by Garth Brooks at 162 million. Elvis Presley, the Eagles, and Led Zeppelin rank third, fourth, and fifth, with 146.5 million, 120 million, and 112.5 million certified album units, respectively.
Other notable female artists who have also made their mark on the list include Mariah Carey with 75 million, Madonna with 65.5 million, and Whitney Houston with 62 million certified album units.
For context, a certified album unit is a metric used by the RIAA that combines traditional and digital album sales. Buying a CD, vinyl, or full digital album download counts as one unit.
Taylor Swift’s top-selling albums revealed
The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) website also reveals the number of album units sold for each of Taylor Swift’s album.
Swift’s highest-selling album was her 2014 album “1989″which sold 14 million copies, followed by her 2008 album “Fearless,” which came in second with 11 million copies.
Tying for third place with 8 million album sold a piece is her 2012 album “Red,” 2006 self-titled debut album “Taylor Swift” and her 2024 album “The Tortured Poets Department.” Below, we’ve listed all of her albums in order of how many copies sold.
- “1989″ (2014) : 14 million
- “Fearless” (2008): 11 million
- “Red” (2012) : 8 million
- “Taylor Swift” (2006): 8 million
- “The Tortured Poets Department” (2024): 8 million
- “Reputation” (2017): 7 million
- “Lover” (2019): 7 million
- “Midnights” (2022): 7 million
- “Folklore” (2020): 6 million
- “Red (Taylor’s Version) (2021): 6 million
- “Speak Now” (2010): 4 million
- “Evermore” (2020): 4 million
- “Fearless (Taylor’s Version)” (2021): 4 million
- “Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) (2023): 4 million
- “1989 (Taylor’s Version)” (2023): 4 million
While some artists have achieved higher sales with individual albums—like the Eagles’ “Their Greatest Hits (1971–1975),” which holds the record at an astounding 38 million certified album units—Swift’s albums have consistently garnered impressive sales over time.
Now the big question is: how many certified album units will “The Life of a Showgirl” ultimately sell? Only time will tell.
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