10 timelines of albums by the top selling bands of all time

By Sean McBirnie

To celebrate a time when there was no greater musical aspiration than to join a rock band, we take a look at the albums of the top selling bands of all time.

We’ve listed the top 10 selling bands, each one with a link to view an interactive timeline of their albums. The timelines are combinations of studio, live and compilation albums.

Reading window related content:

For a truly complete experience open the reading window by double clicking on any of the events on the timeline. You can read the entire Wikipedia article, check what people are saying on twitter and explore related videos on YouTube!
The Beatles
The Beatles – 600 million records
  • Years active: 1960 – 10 April 1970
  • Origin: Liverpool, England
  • Genre: Rock / Pop
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin – 200-300 million records
  • Years active: 1968 – 25 September 1980
  • Origin: London, England
  • Genre: Hard Rock / blues rock / folk rock / heavy metal
Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd – 200-250 million records
  • Years active: 1965 – 1994 / 2012 – 2014 (one-off reunion: 2005)
  • Origin: London, England
  • Genre: Progressive rock / psychedelic rock / art rock / blues rock
AC/DC
AC/DC – 150-200 million records
  • Years active: 1973 - present
  • Origin: Sydney, Australia
  • Genre: Hard rock / blues rock / rock and roll
Queen
Queen – 150-200 million records
  • Years active: 1970 – present
  • Origin: London, England
  • Genre: Rock
Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones – 200 million records
  • Years active: 1962 – present
  • Origin: London, England
  • Genre: Rock / blues / pop
ABBA
ABBA – 100-200 million records
  • Years active: 1972 - 1982
  • Origin: Stockholm, Sweden
  • Genre: Pop / pop rock / disco
Eagles
Eagles – 150 million records
  • Years active: 1971 – present
  • Origin: Los Angeles, United States
  • Genre: Rock
U2
U2 – 150 million records
  • Years active: 1976 - present
  • Origin: Dublin, Ireland
  • Genre: Rock / alternative rock / post-punk
Aerosmith
Aerosmith – 150 million records
  • Years active: 1970 - present
  • Origin: Boston, Unites States
  • Genre: Hard rock / rock and roll / blues rock / heavy metal / glam metal

Honourable mentions:

They didn't quite make the top 10, but these three bands we're very close. Genesis – 145 million records: Timeline of Genesis albums Bee Gees – 120 million records: Timelines of Bee Gees albums Dire Straits – 120 million records: Timeline of Dire Straits albums

Hungry for more timelines?

Histropedia has timelines of albums for almost every major band and solo artist in the world. Just head to histropedia.com/timeline and search for your favourite musical artists.
What do you think of this list of top selling bands of all time? do the sales match the quality of the bands? What do you think of the timelines? are there any events missing? would you prefer see only studio albums? Let us know in the comments below!!

References and sources

All sales figures taken from the Wikipedia article: List of best-selling music artists. Other band info and all images (including those used in the cover image) have been taken from the Wikipedia page of the band: The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, AC/DC, Queen, The Rolling Stones, ABBA, Eagles,  U2, Aerosmith

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