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Biggest Selling Albums and Singles of the Decade Revealed

9:06 a.m. · December 9, 2009 · by Nick Neyland

Record sales may have declined dramatically during this decade, but it’s still interesting to look over a list of the best-selling artists from the last 10 years. Whether we will be looking over similar lists 10 years from now remains open to speculation, especially as it’s looking likely that some kind of streaming equivalent would make for a more accurate representation of people’s tastes.

But in 2020 we might be listening to music through implants in our brains while zooming around on jet packs (surely someone must invent the jet pack soon?). So, in the jet pack-less present, we have to turn to Nielsen Soundscan, who have compiled the 10 best selling artists in the U.S. during the last decade.

Clearly, we just can’t get The Beatles out of our systems, as the Fab Four have come out on top with 11,499,000 units sold of the 1 album. But The Beatles look like a relatively sane choice compared to the rest of the list. Did that many people really buy Creed and Linkin Park records? Apparently so.

Top 10 selling albums:

01. The Beatles: 1 -11,499,000 units sold

02. 'NSYNC: No Strings Attached - 11,112,000 units sold

03. Norah Jones: Come Away With Me - 10, 546,000 units sold

04. Eminem: The Marshall Mathers LP - 10,204,000 units sold

05. Eminem: The Eminem Show - 9,799,000 units sold

06. Usher: Confessions - 9,712,000 units sold

07. Linkin Park: Hybrid Theory - 9,663,000 units sold

08. Creed: Human Clay - 9,491,000 units sold

09. Britney Spears: Oops! ... I Did It Again - 9,185,000 units sold

10. Nelly: Country Grammar - 8,461,000 units sold

Top 10 selling Singles:

01. Flo Rida feat. T-Pain: "Low" - 5,214,000 units sold

02. Lady Gaga feat. Colby O'Donis: "Just Dance" - 4,690,000 units sold

03. Jason Mraz: "I'm Yours" - 4,619,000 units sold

04. Timbaland feat. OneRepublic: "Apologize" - 4,439,000 units sold

05. The Black Eyed Peas: "Boom Boom Pow" - 4,349,000 units sold

06. Soulja Boy Tell'em: "Crank That" - 4,315,000 units sold

07. Lady Gaga: "Poker Face" - 4,200,000 units sold

08. Coldplay: "Viva la Vida" - 4,140,000 units sold

09. Taylor Swift: "Love Story" - 4,005,000 units sold

10. Katy Perry: "Hot N Cold" - 3,945,000 units sold

[via Gigwise]