Bestselling Albums of the 2010s Decade, Broken Down by Year

Credit: Big Machine Records

Bestselling Albums of the 2010s Decade, Broken Down by Year

Judging by album sales, Adele, Drake and Taylor Swift ruled the 2010s hands down. The powerhouse trio took turns topping the U.S. charts throughout much of the decade, battling fellow hitmakers including Eminem, Justin Timberlake, Ed Sheeran and Beyoncé. Adele had the bestselling album three out of 10 years, with 21 reigning supreme in both 2011 and 2012 and 25 outselling the competition in 2015. Drake, meanwhile, finished strong in 2016 and 2018 with Views and Scorpion, respectively, outperforming his rivals. Swift, for her part, had the bestselling record in 2014 with 1989 — and almost achieved the feat again in 2019 with Lover. Of course, all of the aforementioned albums were critically acclaimed to boot. 21, 25 and 1989 won Grammys for Album of the Year, while Views and Scorpion were both nominated in the top category. As 2020 approaches, Us Weekly compiled data from Nielsen SoundScan — which has been tracking music releases since 1991 — to find out which albums were the bestsellers each year from 2010 to 2019. Scroll down to see the list!

Credit: Big Machine Records

Bestselling Albums of the 2010s Decade, Broken Down by Year

Judging by album sales, Adele, Drake and Taylor Swift ruled the 2010s hands down. The powerhouse trio took turns topping the U.S. charts throughout much of the decade, battling fellow hitmakers including Eminem, Justin Timberlake, Ed Sheeran and Beyoncé. Adele had the bestselling album three out of 10 years, with 21 reigning supreme in both 2011 and 2012 and 25 outselling the competition in 2015. Drake, meanwhile, finished strong in 2016 and 2018 with Views and Scorpion, respectively, outperforming his rivals. Swift, for her part, had the bestselling record in 2014 with 1989 — and almost achieved the feat again in 2019 with Lover. Of course, all of the aforementioned albums were critically acclaimed to boot. 21, 25 and 1989 won Grammys for Album of the Year, while Views and Scorpion were both nominated in the top category. As 2020 approaches, Us Weekly compiled data from Nielsen SoundScan — which has been tracking music releases since 1991 — to find out which albums were the bestsellers each year from 2010 to 2019. Scroll down to see the list!

Credit: Aftermath Entertainment

Eminem, ‘Recovery’ (2010)

The rapper’s seventh album, which included the singles “Not Afraid” and “Love the Way You Lie” featuring Rihanna, sold 3.42 million copies in 2010. Lady Antebellum’s Need You Now and Taylor Swift’s Speak Now were the year’s second and third bestselling albums with 3.09 million and 2.96 million, respectively.

Credit: XL Recordings

Adele, ‘21’ (2011 and 2012)

The singer’s sophomore record, which featured the hits “Rolling in the Deep,” “Someone Like You” and “Set Fire to the Rain,” sold 5.82 million copies in 2011. It topped Michael Bublé’s Christmas (2.45 million) and Lady Gaga’s Born This Way (2.1 million).

21 was the bestselling album again in 2012 with 4.41 million copies sold, besting Swift’s Red (3.11 million) and One Direction’s Up All Night (1.62 million).

Credit: RCA Records

Justin Timberlake, ‘The 20/20 Experience’ (2013)

The entertainer’s third album, which included “Suit & Tie” and “Mirrors,” sold 2.43 million copies in 2013, beating out Eminem’s The Marshall Mathers LP 2 (1.73 million) and Luke Bryan’s Crash My Party (1.52 million).

Credit: Big Machine Records

Taylor Swift, ‘1989’ (2014)

The country-turned-pop star’s fifth disc, which featured “Shake It Off,” “Blank Space,” “Style” and “Bad Blood,” sold 3.66 million copies in 2014, topping the Frozen soundtrack’s 3.53 million.

Credit: XL Recordings

Adele, ‘25’ (2015)

The Grammy winner’s third album, which included “Hello” and “When We Were Young,” earned 8.01 million equivalent album units in 2015, with 7.44 million in traditional sales. Swift’s 1989 moved 3.1 million units, while Justin Bieber’s Purpose had 2.23 million.

Credit: Cash Money Records

Drake, ‘Views’ (2016)

The rapper’s fourth record, which featured “Hotline Bling,” “One Dance” and “Too Good” featuring Rihanna, had 4.14 million equivalent album units in 2016, with 1.61 in traditional sales. It bested Adele’s 25 (2.37 million) and Beyoncé’s Lemonade (2.19 million).

Credit: Asylum Records

Ed Sheeran, ‘Divide’ (2017)

The singer-songwriter’s third album, which included “Shape of You” and “Perfect,” earned 2.76 million equivalent album units in 2017, with 1.1 million in traditional sales. Kendrick Lamar’s Damn. had 2.75 million units and Swift’s Reputation scored 2.34 million.

Credit: Cash Money Records

Drake, ‘Scorpion’ (2018)

The Toronto native’s double album, which featured “God’s Plan,” “Nice for What,” “I’m Upset” and “In My Feelings,” moved 3.905 million equivalent album units in 2018, beating out Post Malone’s Beerbongs & Bentleys (3.25 million) and the Greatest Showman soundtrack (2.5 million).

Credit:

Post Malone, ‘Hollywood’s Bleeding’ (2019)

The rapper’s third album, which included the singles “Wow” and “Circles,” was the bestseller of 2019 with 3.001 million equivalent album units. Music industry newcomer Billie Eilish and Swift followed close behind with When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? (2.518 million) and Lover (2.191 million), respectively.