Higher-or-Lower Quiz · Last updated: October 2026
Which albums have sold the most copies? This category compares worldwide sales figures of famous albums in millions.
With around 70 million copies sold, Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” is far ahead – the runner-up, AC/DC’s “Back in Black”, comes in at about 50 million. Michael Jackson even appears on the list with four albums. Film soundtracks are surprisingly strong too: “The Bodyguard”, “Saturday Night Fever” and “Dirty Dancing” are among the best-sellers. Which do you think sold more – Adele’s “21” or the Beatles’ “Abbey Road”?
Album sales figures are often provided by record labels and industry bodies and are estimates. Depending on the source and how they are counted – for example with or without streaming equivalents – the numbers differ. Our values in millions are rounded approximations.
Strikingly, many of the best-selling albums come from a time when CDs and vinyl dominated. So for estimating: a well-known album from the 1970s to the 1990s often has higher sales than a current one.
All values are rounded approximations (as of 2024/25) meant for fun, not as a factual source.
Test your feel for these numbers in the game: pick the category and try to get 10 correct answers in 60 seconds.