The world's Best-selling Music Artists
The best-selling musical act in history can not be accurately determined. U.S. sales data before 1952 are incomplete. International sales, particularly in the developing world, continue to be poorly tracked, and sales data before the 1980s is rare or dubious. The Beatles, Michael Jackson, and Elvis Presley have all been given the title by various sources and not Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby?. Claims are made for a number of less common artists.
This page lists those artists who have had claims made to be among the top sellers. Within their sales brackets, artists are listed here in alphabetical order, rather than by number of records sold. Equal weight is given to album and single sales, as well as paid downloads. Sources are typically fan sites, record labels, newspaper articles or manual addition of figures from various official sources. This means that these figures should be considered claims, not facts.

#500 million records or more: [Artist. Nation, Decade, Genre/s/]
The Beatles. UK 60s-70s Rock / Arena Rock / Pop / Psychedelic Rock.
Bing Crosby. U.S. 20s-70s Jazz / Swing / Vocal / Easy Listening / Pop.
Michael Jackson. U.S. 60s-00s Pop / New Jack Swing / R&B / Rock / Funk / Disco / Gospel.
Elvis Presley. U.S. 50s-70s Rock / R&B / Gospel / Blues / Rockabilly / Pop / Country.
Frank Sinatra. U.S. 30s-90s Pop / Easy Listening / Vocal / Jazz / Swing.

so Dad was right that Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra up there with Michael Jackson, Elvis Presley, The Beatles. still ~ he says I am overestimating M Jackson bcs he's of my age, but no, he is wildly underestimating his reach, influence, stardom.

#250 million records or more:
ABBA. Sweden 70s-80s Pop / Disco.
Alla Pugacheva. Soviet Union 60s-00s Russian pop.
Cliff Richard. UK 50s-00s Pop / Rock / Adult Contemp. (who?)
Elton John. UK 60s-00s Pop / Rock / Adult Contemp.
Julio Iglesias. Spain 60s-00s Latin Pop.
Mariah Carey. U.S. 90s-00s R&B / Pop. ok so that's a star who came on the scene later for me. ie I knew no world before MJackson. so he was It. but I knew a world without Mariah. so she was just a woman who put out an album. ~ rui yesterday evening leaving work unimpressed re MJackson, paertly that's just rui, but moved me to think about difference btw being 5yrld when Thriller came out (MJackson's second album, after 1979 Off the Wall) and being what well 8 years older so 13. which, yes, I was in 8th grade when Mariah Carey's Vision of Love came out. or at lst that's when I listened to it. Lynette's home, I remember. I was pretty into it for a bit, really. but that's the point, she was still a person in the world, who had made a record. not formative of The World like Michael Jackson and Madonna. they *were* It. what's on. what music is. what's happening. the moonwalk. material girl. mockery by Weird Al: Eat it, Like a Surgeon. those were the songs. it's like TSE re Shakespeare & Dante dividing the world between them, there are no others.
Led Zeppelin. UK 60s-80s Hard Rock / Blues Rock / Heavy Metal / Folk Rock.
Madonna. U.S. 80s-00s Pop / Dance / Electronica. for me she's up there w MJackson, the world as I found it. mocked by Weird Al: Like a Surgeon!
Nana Mouskouri. Greece 50s-00s Pop / Folk / Jazz. dad says she's top-selling female artist all time.
Pink Floyd. UK 60s-90s Progressive Rock / Psychedelic Rock / Art Rock / Hard Rock
Queen UK. 70s-00s Hard Rock / Glam Rock / Heavy Metal

then lists 100 million records sold ... 50 million.... (much longer lists).

any solo act since Michael Jackson with anything like his stardom?
I mean, is Mariah Carey the closest thing to a star in & of the 90s?!
what comes to my mind ~ groups ~ grunge ~ Kurt Cobain (Nirvana) 50 million records. Pearl Jam (Eddie Vedder) also.

searching the page of for '90s-'
ok the disney kids like Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera. c'mon, no comparison. I mean, as icons? does it seem like culture would be different without them?
and Shania Twain.
and some hip hop: Eminem. Tupac Shakur.