The 50 best-selling music artists of all time

Many of those polled said they would love to relive The Beatles era

(Getty Images)

England's greatest rock band holds the top spot on the all-time ranking of best-selling artists by album sales, and it looks untouchable on a bizarre list filled with a number of surprising appearances.

It's somewhat shocking to find out, for instance, that smooth-jazz saxophonist Kenny G has sold more albums than Eminem, and that Garth Brooks has sold more than Elvis Presley and Michael Jackson.

We compiled this list by ranking the most successful acts in music history according to their total certified album units sold in the US, as provided by the RIAA.

Check out the 50 best-selling music artists of all time by album sales:

50. Dave Matthews Band -- 33.5 million units

(Fergus McDonald/Getty

(Fergus McDonald/Getty)

49. Phil Collins -- 33.5 million units

48. Britney Spears -- 34 million units

47. Bon Jovi -- 34.5 million units

46. Queen -- 34.5 million units

45. Def Leppard -- 35 million units

44. Bob Dylan -- 36 million units

(Getty Images

(Getty Images)

43. Tupac Shakur -- 36.5 million units

41. Backstreet Boys -- 37 million units

(Getty

(Getty)

T39. Tim McGraw -- 37.5 million units

T39. Foreigner -- 37.5 million units

38. Rod Stewart -- 38 million units

37. Simon & Garfunkel -- 38.5 million units

36. Chicago -- 38.5 million units

35. Eric Clapton -- 40 million units

34. Reba McEntire -- 41 million units

(Charley Gallay/Getty

(Charley Gallay/Getty)

33. Santana -- 43.5 million units

32. Alan Jackson -- 43.5 million units

T30. Eminem -- 44.5 million units

(Kevork Djansezian/Getty

(Kevork Djansezian/Getty)

T30. Guns N' Roses -- 44.5 million units

T30. Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band -- 44.5 million units

29. Alabama -- 46.5 million units

28. Kenny Rogers -- 47.5 million units

T25. Shania Twain -- 48 million units

(Al Bello/Getty

(Al Bello/Getty)

T25. Kenny G -- 48 million units

T25. Journey -- 48 million units

T23. Neil Diamond -- 49.5 million units

T23. Fleetwood Mac -- 49.5 million units

22. Celine Dion -- 50 million units

21. U2 -- 52 million units

(Flickr/Peter Neill

(Flickr/Peter Neill)

20. Van Halen -- 56.5 million units

19. Whitney Houston -- 57 million units

18. Metallica -- 63 million units

17. Mariah Carey -- 64 million units

16. Madonna -- 64.5 million units

(Bobby Yip/Reuters

(Bobby Yip/Reuters)

T13. Bruce Springsteen -- 65.5 million units

T13. Aerosmith -- 66.5 million units

T13. The Rolling Stones -- 66.5 million units

12. Barbara Streisand -- 68.5 million units

11. George Strait -- 69 million units

10. AC/DC -- 72 million units

(Kevin Winter/Getty Images for Coachella

(Kevin Winter/Getty Images for Coachella)

9. Pink Floyd -- 75 million units

8. Elton John -- 78 million units

7. Michael Jackson -- 81 million units

6. Billy Joel -- 82.5 million units

5. Eagles -- 101 million units

(Getty

(Getty)

4. Led Zeppelin -- 111.5 million units

3. Elvis Presley -- 136 million units

2. Garth Brooks -- 148 million units

1. The Beatles -- 178 million units

The Beatles.

(Getty Images)

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