When discussing the best-selling albums of all time, rock music significantly dominates the rankings. A groundbreaking album from the 1990s has now surpassed AC/DC’s monumental classic Back in Black.

Nirvana’s 1991 album Nevermind, which transformed the music landscape almost overnight alongside several other major releases, is now recognized as the sixth best-selling album of all time, according to the ChartMasters database.

This influential record produced four hit singles — “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” “Come As You Are,” “Lithium,” and “In Bloom” — and currently ranks just behind Michael Jackson’s Bad (1987) in the Top 10.

nirvana nevermind album art

The Top 10 Best-Selling Albums by Equivalent Album Sales (EAS)*

As music streaming continues to impact the music industry, affecting physical album sales, these figures have been adjusted for overall album sales totals.

ChartMasters provides totals for various categories: Studio Album (EAS), Other LPs (EAS), Physical Singles, Digital Singles, Streams, Daily Streams, and Total EAS. Here, we will focus on the Total EAS numbers.

1. Michael Jackson, Thriller (1982) — 131,264,000 Total EAS
2. Eagles, Hotel California (1976) — 74,696,000 Total EAS
3. Bee Gees & Various Artists, Saturday Night Fever (1977) — 73,270,000 Total EAS
4. Fleetwood Mac, Rumours (1977) — 73,113,000 Total EAS
5. Michael Jackson, Bad (1987) — 70,201,000 Total EAS
6. Nirvana, Nevermind (1991) — 66,838,000 Total EAS
7. AC/DC, Back in Black (1980) — 66,834,000 Total EAS
8. Pink Floyd, The Dark Side of the Moon (1973) — 63,626,000 Total EAS
9. The Beatles, Abbey Road (1969) — 61,078,000 Total EAS
10. Led Zeppelin, Led Zeppelin IV (1971) — 60,697,000

*ChartMasters notes: “Please keep in mind that some artists are missing because their analysis has not been done yet. Here is a complete list of covered artists.”

Below is a list of the best rock band for each letter of the alphabet, starting with AC/DC!