Published: January 11, 2009
How the kings of metal dominated U.S. sales and carved their place in music history
When Nielsen SoundScan revolutionized the way record sales were measured in May 1991, few could have predicted how dramatically it would reshape the music industry. Yet one band stood ready to dominate the charts for decades to come Metallica.
By the end of 2008, Metallica ranked fourth among all artists in U.S. sales since SoundScan began tracking data, with an astonishing 51.1 million copies sold. Their self-titled 1991 album, better known as The Black Album, stood proudly as the second best-selling record of the entire SoundScan era, moving 15.3 million copies in the United States alone.
That achievement placed Metallica shoulder to shoulder with pop titans like Garth Brooks, The Beatles, and Mariah Carey proof that heavy metal could conquer the mainstream on its own terms.
The Titans of the SoundScan Era (1991-2008)
Garth Brooks – 68,143,000
The Beatles – 57,088,000
Mariah Carey – 51,569,000
Metallica – 51,136,000
Celine Dion – 50,571,000
George Strait – 40,619,000
Tim McGraw – 37,591,000
Alan Jackson – 36,520,000
Pink Floyd – 36,520,000
Shania Twain – 33,707,000
The Best-Selling Albums (1991-2008)
Come On Over – Shania Twain – 15,473,000
Metallica – Metallica – 15,319,000
Jagged Little Pill – Alanis Morissette – 14,607,000
Millennium – Backstreet Boys – 12,104,000
The Bodyguard Soundtrack – 11,805,000
Supernatural – Santana – 11,673,000
Human Clay – Creed – 11,525,000
1 – The Beatles – 11,345,000
No Strings Attached – *NSYNC – 11,109,000
Falling Into You – Celine Dion – 10,777,000
Metallica’s SoundScan Legacy
Metallica (1991) – 15,319,000
…And Justice for All (1988) – 5,229,000*
Load (1996) – 5,020,000
Master of Puppets (1986) – 4,475,000*
Ride the Lightning (1984) – 4,247,000*
Reload (1997) – 4,002,000
* Does not include pre-SoundScan sales prior to May 1991.
At the time, their then-new record Death Magnetic (2008) had already sold 1.56 million copies, reaffirming the band’s continued dominance well into the digital age.
More than a chart statistic, these numbers captured the essence of Metallica’s cultural impact a band that carried the flag of heavy metal from underground rebellion to global legacy.
