Tech: The 30 best-selling music artists of all time, ranked by platinum albums

Using RIAA data, we ranked the best-selling artists of all time — including acts like The Beatles and Elvis Presley — by their number of platinum album sales.

In the decades before streaming-era rules and digital downloads inflated album sales, platinum certification was more difficult for artists to obtain.

When an artist achieved platinum status back then — selling a million or more physical copies of an album — it took a greater, more fervent effort from fans (driving to record stores, finding an album, handing over your hard-earned cash for it), but many acts reached platinum certification routinely nonetheless.

Using RIAA data, we ranked the best-selling artists of all time by the number of platinum albums they've sold in the US.

While some of the results are surprising — country singer Garth Brooks, for instance, has the most diamond (or 10-times platinum) albums of all time with seven — the legendary acts sitting atop the list are the ones you'd probably expect.

Check out the 30 best-selling artists of all time, ranked by platinum albums:

30. Linda Ronstadt — 13

Platinum albums: 13

Multi-platinum: 7

Best-selling album: " target="_blank"Greatest Hits" (7 million copies)

29. Rush — 14

Platinum albums: 14

Multi-platinum: 3

Best-selling album: " target="_blank"Rush In Rio" (7 million copies)

28. Dave Matthews Band — 14

Platinum albums: 14

Multi-platinum: 7

Best-selling album: "Crash" target="_blank" (7 million copies)

27. James Taylor — 14

Platinum albums: 14

Multi-platinum: 5

Diamond: 1

Best-selling album: " target="_blank"James Taylor's Greatest Hits" (11 million copies)

26. The Doors — 14

Platinum albums: 14

Multi-platinum: 5

Diamond: 1

Best-selling album: " target="_blank"The Best of The Doors" (10 million copies)

25. Bob Dylan — 15

Platinum albums: 15

Multi-platinum: 6

Best-selling album: " target="_blank"Bob Dylan's Greatest Hits" (5 million copies)

24. Willie Nelson — 15

Platinum albums: 15

Multi-platinum: 6

Best-selling album: "Stardust" target="_blank" (5 million copies)

23. Alan Jackson — 15

Platinum albums: 15

Multi-platinum: 8

Best-selling album: " target="_blank"The Greatest Hits Collection" (6 million copies)

22. Pink Floyd — 15

Platinum albums: 15

Multi-platinum: 12

Diamond: 2

Best-selling album: " target="_blank"The Wall" (23 million copies)

21. Luther Vandross — 16

Platinum albums: 16

Multi-platinum: 7

Best-selling album: " target="_blank"The Best of Luther Vandross" (3 million copies)

20. U2 — 16

Platinum albums: 16

Multi-platinum: 11

Diamond: 1

Best-selling album: " target="_blank"The Joshua Tree" (1o million copies)

19. Kenny Rogers — 17

Platinum albums: 17

Multi-platinum: 7

Diamond: 1

Best-selling album: " target="_blank"Kenny Rogers' Greatest Hits" (12 million copies)

18. Bruce Springsteen — 17

Platinum albums: 17

Multi-platinum: 11

Diamond: 2

Best-selling album: " target="_blank"Born In The U.S.A." (15 million copies)

17. Billy Joel — 17

Platinum albums: 17

Multi-platinum: 12

Diamond: 2

Best-selling album: " target="_blank"Greatest Hits Volume I & Volume II" (23 million copies)

16. Madonna — 17

Platinum albums: 17

Multi-platinum: 12

Diamond: 2

Best-selling album: " target="_blank"Like A Virgin" (10 million copies)

15. Chicago — 18

Platinum albums: 18

Multi-platinum: 8

Best-selling album: " target="_blank"Chicago 17" (6 million copies)

14. Aerosmith — 18

Platinum albums: 18

Multi-platinum: 12

Diamond: 1

Best-selling album: " target="_blank"Aerosmith's Greatest Hits" (11 million copies)

13. Led Zeppelin — 18

Platinum albums: 18

Multi-platinum: 14

Diamond: 5

Best-selling album: " target="_blank"Led Zeppelin IV" (23 million copies)

12. Reba McEntire — 19

Platinum albums: 19

Multi-platinum: 9

Best-selling album: " target="_blank"Greatest Hits, Volume II" (5 million copies)

11. Rod Stewart — 19

Platinum albums: 19

Multi-platinum: 10

Best-selling album: " target="_blank"Foot Loose & Fancy Free" (3 million copies)

10. Alabama — 20

Platinum albums: 20

Multi-platinum: 10

Best-selling album: " target="_blank"Mountain Music" (5 million copies)

9. AC/DC — 20

Platinum albums: 20

Multi-platinum: 12

Diamond: 1

Best-selling album: " target="_blank"Back In Black" (22 million copies)

8. Neil Diamond — 21

Platinum albums: 21

Multi-platinum: 12

Best-selling album: " target="_blank"The Jazz Singer" (5 million copies)

7. Elton John — 27

Platinum albums: 27

Multi-platinum: 14

Diamond: 1

Best-selling album: " target="_blank"Greatest Hits" (17 million copies)

6. The Rolling Stones — 28

Platinum albums: 28

Multi-platinum: 11

Diamond: 1

Best-selling album: " target="_blank"Four Flicks" (19 million copies)

5. Barbra Streisand — 30

Platinum albums: 30

Multi-platinum: 12

Best-selling album: " target="_blank"Greatest Hits Volume II" (5 million copies)

4. Garth Brooks — 30

Platinum albums: 30

Multi-platinum: 16

Diamond: 7

Best-selling album: " target="_blank"Double Live" (21 million copies)

3. George Strait — 33

Platinum albums: 33

Multi-platinum: 13

Best-selling album: " target="_blank"Strait Out Of The Box" (8 million copies)

2. The Beatles — 42

Platinum albums: 42

Multi-platinum: 26

Diamond: 6

Best-selling album: " target="_blank"The Beatles (The White Album)" (19 million copies)

1. Elvis Presley — 53

Platinum albums: 53

Multi-platinum: 25

Diamond: 1

Best-selling album: " target="_blank"Elvis' Christmas Album" (10 million copies)

Using RIAA data, we ranked the best-selling artists of all time — including acts like The Beatles and Elvis Presley — by their number of platinum album sales. Read Full Story