List of best-selling female music artists

Madonna is recognized by Guinness World Records as the "Best-selling female recording artist of all time".

The following is a list of the world's best-selling female music artists of all time. The criteria for inclusion are women whose claimed record sales have at least reached 75 million or more of their musical productions. Artists are listed in order of the number of records sold alongside available cross-referenced music recording certifications; the highest being for claims of at least 300 million records, and the lowest for claims of 75 million records.

Since there is no official entity that certifies sales in their totality; the artists' sales figure must have been published by a reliable source (news organizations and highly regarded music industry-related organization) such as Billboard, Rolling Stone, MTV, and VH1.

Madonna is believed to have sold the most records among any female music artists in history, with 300 million records sold worldwide.

Female artists by reputed sales

300 million or more records sold

Artist Country of origin Period of activity Genre(s) Estimated sales
Madonna  United States 1982–present Pop / dance / electronic 300 million

200 million to 299 million records

Artist Country of origin Period of activity Genre(s) Estimated sales
Rihanna  Barbados 2005–present Pop / R&B / Dance 250 million
Mariah Carey  United States 1990–present R&B / Pop 220 million
Whitney Houston  United States 1977–2012 R&B / Pop / Soul 200 million
Céline Dion  Canada 1981–present Pop / adult contemporary 200 million
Taylor Swift  United States 2006–present Pop / Country / Folk 200 million
Beyoncé  United States 1997–present R&B / pop / dance 200 million

100 million to 199 million records

Artist Country of origin Period of activity Genre(s) Estimated sales
Barbra Streisand  United States 1962–present Pop / adult contemporary 150 million
Tina Turner  United States 1957–2023 Rock / Pop


150 million
Katy Perry  United States 2001–present Pop 143 million
Shirley Bassey  United Kingdom 1953–present Pop 140 million
P!nk  United States 2000–present Pop / pop rock / R&B 135 million
Lady Gaga  United States 2005–present Pop / dance / electronic / jazz / pop rock 124 million
Adele  United Kingdom 2007–present Pop / soul 120 million
Britney Spears  United States 1998–present Pop / dance / electronic 100 million
Shania Twain  Canada 1993–present Country Pop 100 million
Janet Jackson  United States 1982–present R&B / pop 100 million
Cher  United States 1965–present Pop / rock / dance / folk 100 million
Olivia Newton-John  Australia 1966–2022 Pop 100 million
Linda Ronstadt  United States 1967–present Rock / folk / country 100 million
Donna Summer  United States 1968–2012 Disco / R&B / Pop 100 million
Dolly Parton  United States 1959–present Country 100 million
Diana Ross  United States 1970–present R&B / Pop 100 million
Dionne Warwick  United States 1962–present R&B / Soul 100 million
Spice Girls  United Kingdom 1994-present Pop 100 million
Nicki Minaj  Trinidad and Tobago 2004–present Hip-hop / pop 100 million

75 million to 99 million records

Artist Country of origin Period of activity Genre(s) Estimated sales
Shakira  Colombia 1991–present Latin pop 95 million
Alicia Keys  United States 2001–present Hip-hop / R&B / pop 90 million
Christina Aguilera  United States 1999–present R&B / pop / rock 90 million
Avril Lavigne  Canada 2002–present Pop punk / Pop rock 90 million
Reba McEntire  United States 1976–present Country/Gospel 90 million
Ariana Grande  United States 2011–present Pop/R&B 85 million
Ayumi Hamasaki  Japan 1998–present J-pop / pop / dance 80 million
Kylie Minogue  Australia 1987–present Disco-pop 80 million
Enya  Ireland 1987–present New-age / Celtic 75 million
Miley Cyrus  United States 2007–present Pop 75 million
Gloria Estefan  Cuba 1977–present Latin Pop / pop rock 75 million
Aretha Franklin  United States 1954–2018 Soul/R&B 75 million
Carole King  United States 1958–present Pop/soft-rock 75 million
Alanis Morissette  Canada 1991–present Alternative rock 75 million

See also


This page was last updated at 2023-06-07 10:28 UTC. Update now. View original page.

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