In a band's discography, there are albums that are eternally memorable and end up becoming popular and iconic. Therefore, Loudwire published on its website a list containing the best-selling albums of 16 major bands.
The data is from sales in the United States and was obtained by Luminate , a data provider that has been tracking sales since 1991, the year of the first album mentioned on the list, up to 2024.
Metallica in sales, with 17.81 million copies sold to date in the country.
For comparison, this number is greater than the combined sales of the best-selling albums by Korn , Pantera , Disturbed , and Megadeth , and even surpasses Nirvana 's Nevermind , also released in 1991, by 7 million copies.
New generation bands like Bring Me The Horizon and Ghost also appear on the list, while simultaneously facing declining sales and the consolidation of streaming platforms.
Below you can see the list, which is organized from best-selling album to least-selling album.
16 best-selling albums by rock and metal bands
Metallica – Metallica (1991) – 17.81 million
Korn – Follow the Leader (1998) – 4.17 million
System Of A Down – Toxicity (2001) – 4.86 million
Tool – Aenima (1996) – 3.81 million
Megadeth – Countdown to Extinction (1992) – 2.53 million
Slipknot – Slipknot (1999) – 2.47 million
Pantera – Vulgar Display of Power (1992) – 2.35 million
Rammstein – Sehnsucht (1997) – 1.34 million
Avenged Sevenfold – Avenged Sevenfold (2007) – 1.18 million
Type O Negative – Bloody Kisses (1993) – 1.04 million
Faith No More – Angel Dust (1992) – 715,000
Dream Theater – Images and Words (1992) – 679,000
Lamb of God – Ashes of the Wake (2004) – 532,000
Bring Me The Horizon – Sempiternal (2013) – 380,000
Mastodon – Crack the Skye (2009) – 295,000
Ghost – Meliora (2015) – 251,000
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