Best-Selling Albums of the Year for the Last 20 Years

After Michael Jackson’s legendary album “Thriller” topped the charts for two straight years in 1983 and ‘84, it seemed unfathomable that the music industry would see such dramatic dominance again. And now that the world has so many ways to listen to music and so much more of it than at any time in history — Spotify, for instance, says it holds at least 4 million songs that have never once been played — traditional album sales would certainly never reach “Thriller” or Whitney Houston levels again.

But greatness is greatness — or virality is virality. So whether there’s always an audience for something terrific or always an audience that believes something is terrific, our list of the best-selling albums of the 21st century proves that it’s not impossible to summon the King of Pop.

We sourced this list from the industry-leading Billboard 200 chart, and the sales figures for each album represent only U.S. figures for the year the album was released. All of these albums, save for the ones that were released in more recent years, have gone on to sell many more millions of copies.

You will find many familiar names on this list with few surprises, although a Christmas album and a TV soundtrack somehow made the cut. You will also find a cultural phenomenon on the level of “Thriller” involving an extraordinarily talented woman whose career is really only beginning even if she’d already made history before most of us had graduated from college.

Label: Jive

Copies: 9,936,000

Singles: “Bye Bye Bye”

Weeks at No. 1: Eight

The backstory: Right before this album came out, the boy band led by Justin Timberlake was caught in a messy legal battle over its representation by Trans Continental, saying the label’s “conduct with regard to *NSYNC is the most glaring, overt and callous example of artist exploitation that the music industry has seen in a long time.”

“No Strings Attached” also cemented the group as more than a Backstreet Boys knockoff, as the album sold a then-record 2.4 million copies in its first week.

Where are they now? By 2002 the band was no more. Timberlake remains a megastar in music and is by far the most successful former member (as readers will see later in this story), but a few other members went on to have some post-*NSYNC success as well. Just last year, Life&Style magazine detailed what the boys have been up to.

Joey Fatone starred on Broadway in the musicals “Rent” and “Little Shop of Horrors,” and currently runs the Fat Ones hot dog stand in Florida. JC Chasez put out a solo album in 2004 called “Schizophrenic” and he too has performed in musicals, starring in “Jesus Christ Superstar.” Lance Bass turned his attention to acting and even took third place in the 2008 version of “Dancing With the Stars.” Chris Kirkpatrick has largely avoided the spotlight but did appear in 2008’s “Gone Country” music reality show.

Label: Warner Bros.

Copies: 4,813,000

Singles: “Crawling,” “In the End,” “One Step Closer,” “Papercut”

Weeks at No. 1: None

The backstory: This rap-rock-metal hybrid was Linkin Park’s debut album, but that’s only the beginning. Its accomplishments include: best-selling debut album of the 21st century, with worldwide sales topping 30 million, and spending 150 weeks on the Billboard 200, despite never reaching No. 1.

Where are they now? Chester Bennington, the lead singer and heart and soul of the band, died by suicide in 2017. The remaining members have been on hiatus ever since. In August 2018, Alternative Nation reported that the remaining band members have not decided if they will ever make music or tour together again — however, they will never use a holographic image of Bennington if they do.

And as recently as February of this year, co-founder Mike Shinoda said the band is not looking for a new lead singer but isn’t opposed to something happening “naturally.” Shinoda also put out a solo LP in 2018 that Rolling Stone described as confronting “everything he’s gone through during the past 10 months in gritty detail.”

Labels: Aftermath, Interscope, Shady

Copies: 7,608,000

Singles: “Cleanin’ Out My Closet,” “Sing for the Moment,” “Superman,” “Without Me”

Weeks at No. 1: Six

The backstory: This was a big year for the rap star. Eminem was already an international sensation when “The Eminem Show” dropped, but it also came out the same year as Eminem’s movie, “8 Mile.” Its soundtrack was also a top-10 selling album of 2002. Eminem drew from his love of classic rock growing up to give “The Eminem Show” a unique sound and “to capture like a ’70s rock vibe.”

Where is he now? Eminem is still making music, albeit as a fully grown up father in his mid-40s who has a 20-something daughter and two younger kids. In 2017, he famously told his fanbase that they needed to choose between him or President Trump, of whom the rapper is not a fan. And although he’s put out several popular albums since “The Eminem Show,” nothing quite reached its heights.

He did, however, release two albums in 2018 and several collaborations with other artists. And in February 2019, Eminem dropped an extended version of “The Slim Shady LP” that, according to Rap Up, “consists of the original 20 songs, plus 10 additional tracks including rarities, a capellas [sic], freestyles and instrumentals.”  

Label: Aftermath, Interscope, Shady

Copies: 6,536,000

Singles: “21 Questions,” “If I Can’t,” “In da Club,” “P.I.M.P.”

Weeks at No. 1: Six

The backstory: There’s some debate over whether this is actually 50 Cent’s debut album, but it was certainly his studio debut. And it might not have happened this way if not for Eminem hooking up with 50 after Columbia dropped the Queens, N.Y. native over an incident in which 50 was shot nine times. “Get Rich or Die Tryin’” is also the 10th-best selling rap album of all time, based on U.S. sales.

Where is he now? Since this is the man who survived nine gunshots, it’s no wonder 50 Cent also survived bankruptcy. And in a 2018 profile in The New York Times about how he spends a Sunday morning, the controversial rapper sounds pretty low-key these days. He sleeps well, eats healthy, exercises, focuses on his music label and likes HBO’s “The Deuce.”

50 also apparently forgot that he owned a sizeable amount of bitcoin, until he realized that actually wasn’t true. And the rapper has also made a bit of an acting career for himself.