Even when Eminem achieved multi-platinum success as Dr. Dre‘s protege in 1999, no one could imagine the success the rapper from Detroit would have in the following decade.
Neilson Soundscan revealed on Tuesday (Dec. 8), that the rapper was not only the most successful Hip Hop artist of the decade, but the best-selling artist of any kind in the 2000s.
Eminem sold over 32.2 million records in this decade, beating out the Beatles. But fans of the English legends shouldn’t fret, as the Beatles landed the number one spot with the decade’s best-selling album, 1.
Of the ten albums that sold more than any other this decade, Eminem‘swere the only ones that placed twice, with 2000’s Marshall Mathers LP (10.2 million) and 2003’s Eminem Show (9.8 million copies) landing at the fourth and fifth spots, respectively. At the time of its release, Marshall Mathers LP had the fastest-selling solo album debut of all time, with 1.8 million sold in its first week.
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Nielsen SoundScan‘s top-selling albums of the decade:
1. The Beatles, 1,11,499,000 units sold
2. ‘NSYNC, No Strings Attached, 11,112,000 units sold
3. Norah Jones, Come Away With Me, 10, 546,000 units sold
4. Eminem, The Marshall Mathers LP, 10,204,000 units sold
5. Eminem, The Eminem Show, 9,799,000 units sold
6. Usher, Confessions, 9,712,000 units sold
7. Linkin Park, Hybrid Theory, 9,663,000 units sold
8. Creed, Human Clay, 9,491,000 units sold
9. Britney Spears, Oops! … I Did It Again, 9,185,000 units sold
10. Nelly, Country Grammar, 8,461,000 units sold
Nielsen SoundScan‘s top-selling digital songs of the decade:
1. Flo Rida feat. T-Pain, “Low” 5,214,000 units sold
2. Lady Gaga feat. Colby O’Donis, “Just Dance,” 4,690,000 units sold
3. Jason Mraz, “I’m Yours,” 4,619,000 units sold
4. Timbaland feat. OneRepublic, “Apologize,” 4,439,000 units sold
5. The Black Eyed Peas, “Boom Boom Pow,” 4,349,000 units sold
6. Soulja Boy Tell’em, “Crank That,” 4,315,000 units sold
7. Lady Gaga, “Poker Face,” 4,200,000 units sold
8. Coldplay, “Viva la Vida,” 4,140,000 units sold
9. Taylor Swift, “Love Story,” 4,005,000 units sold
10. Katy Perry, “Hot N Cold,” 3,945,000 units sold
