The following diamond-certified albums in Canada have sold at least one million units (individual CDs, tapes or LPs) as determined by Canadian Recording Industry Association, the national music recording sales certification agency. [1]
The first million-selling album in Canada was declared in May 1978 as Rumours by the British band Fleetwood Mac. Seventeen years later, that album was honoured for sales of a second million units.
The following albums have sold at least one million units within Canada. This certification has been attained by 18 Canadian albums, representing 11 artists and one compilation album. A Canadian artist, Celine Dion, holds the record for the most diamond albums, having had six albums reach this sales status in Canada.
Double diamond awards are issued to albums that have sold two million units, representing the highest-selling music albums in Canadian history. Only two Canadian artists, Alanis Morissette and Shania Twain, have attained this level of certification; Twain and Pink Floyd are the only two artists to have reached it with more than one album.
Artist | Album | Date certified |
---|---|---|
Michael Jackson | Thriller | 1984-04-01 |
Eagles | Their Greatest Hits (1971–1975) | 1987-07-30 |
Fleetwood Mac | Rumours | 1995-06-27 |
Led Zeppelin | Led Zeppelin IV | 1995-06-28 |
Meat Loaf | Bat Out of Hell | 1995-08-31 |
Pink Floyd | The Wall | 1995-08-31 |
Alanis Morissette | Jagged Little Pill | 1996-11-12 |
Shania Twain | The Woman in Me | 1999-04-09 |
Shania Twain | Come on Over | 2000-01-21 |
Pink Floyd | The Dark Side of the Moon | 2003-03-14 |
Shania Twain | Up! | 2004-12-21 |
Adele | 21 | 2018-09-20 |
In the United States, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) operates an awards program based on the certified number of albums and singles sold through retail and other ancillary markets. Other countries have similar awards. Certification is not automatic; for an award to be made, the record label must first request certification. The audit is conducted against net shipments after returns, which includes albums sold directly to retailers and one-stops, direct-to-consumer sales and other outlets.
Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type and by nation or territory.
Music Canada is a non-profit trade organization that was founded 9 April 1963 in Toronto to represent the interests of companies that record, manufacture, produce, and distribute music in Canada. It also offers benefits to some of Canada's leading independent record labels and distributors. It was known as the Canadian Record Manufacturer's Association until 1972 and the Canadian Recording Industry Association (CRIA) until 2011.
Up! is the fourth studio album by Canadian singer Shania Twain. It was released on November 19, 2002, by Mercury Nashville. Three versions of the album were released: a pop version, a country version, and a version in the style of Indian film music. The album was heavily hyped by the media due to it being Twain's follow-up to her high-selling 1997 studio album Come On Over.
A music download is the digital transfer of music via the Internet into a device capable of decoding and playing it, such as a personal computer, portable media player, MP3 player or smartphone. This term encompasses both legal downloads and downloads of copyrighted material without permission or legal payment. Music downloads are typically encoded with modified discrete cosine transform (MDCT) audio data compression, particularly the Advanced Audio Coding (AAC) format used by iTunes as well as the MP3 audio coding format.
All the Way... A Decade of Song is the first English-language greatest hits album by Canadian singer Celine Dion. Released by Sony Music on 12 November 1999, it features nine previously released songs on most editions and seven new recordings on all editions. Dion worked on new tracks mainly with David Foster. Other producers include Max Martin, Kristian Lundin, Robert John "Mutt" Lange, James Horner, and Matt Serletic. It is the best-selling greatest hits album in the US during the Nielsen SoundScan era. All the Way... A Decade of Song has sold over 22 million copies worldwide, including over nine million in the United States, five million in Europe, two million in Japan and one million units in Canada.
Thankful is the debut studio album by American singer Kelly Clarkson, released in the United States by RCA Records on April 15, 2003. "Miss Independent" was its first single, followed by "Low" and "The Trouble with Love Is". Initially, the album had been scheduled to be released in November 2002, however, Clarkson's demanding schedule and difficulty finding tracks that suited her taste and image forced the album to be delayed several times. By the time the album was released, over six months had elapsed since "A Moment Like This" had reached number one.
The Bodyguard: Original Soundtrack Album is a soundtrack album from the film of the same name, released on November 17, 1992, by Arista Records. The album's first side features songs recorded by American singer Whitney Houston, who starred in the film, while side two features the work of various artists. Houston and Clive Davis were co-executive producers of the record.
American singer, actress, producer and entertainer Whitney Houston, who is known as “The Voice”, released seven studio albums, eight compilations, three soundtrack albums, five box sets, six extended plays, and 57 singles. She has sold over 220 million records worldwide, becoming one of the best-selling music artists in history. According to the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), Houston is the best-selling female R&B artist of the 20th century, and has sold 100 million certified records in the United States. She is also the fourth best-selling female album artist in the US with 61 million certified album sales. In addition, until the launch of the RIAA's digital certification program in 2004, she had sold 16.5 million physical singles—more than any other female solo artist in history. According to the Official Charts Company in October 2012, Houston is the fourth-biggest-selling female singles artists of all-time list with a sales total of 8.5 million singles in that country.
All the Right Reasons is the fifth studio album by Canadian rock band Nickelback, released on October 4, 2005, on Roadrunner Records. It is the band's first album with former 3 Doors Down drummer Daniel Adair, who replaced Ryan Vikedal in January 2005. The album topped the Canadian Albums Chart and the US Billboard 200 albums chart and has sold 11 million copies worldwide. It is Nickelback's best-selling album to date, according to certifications from the MC, the RIAA, the BPI, and the ARIA. Seven singles were released from the album. The album re-entered the Finland Albums Chart in 2010, setting a new peak position at number 21.
Titanic: Music from the Motion Picture is the soundtrack to the film of the same name composed, orchestrated, and conducted by James Horner. The soundtrack was released by Sony Classical/Sony Music Soundtrax on November 18, 1997.
Canadian singer Shania Twain has released six studio albums, three compilation albums, three remix albums, one box set, two live albums, 45 singles, 38 music videos, six promotional singles, and made six guest appearances. Twain's repertoire has sold over 34 million albums in the United States alone, placing her as the top-selling female artist in country music. Moreover, with 48 million copies shipped, she is ranked as the 26th best-selling artist overall in the US, tying with Kenny G for the spot. She is also recognized as one of the best-selling music artists in history, selling over 100 million records worldwide and thus becoming the top-selling female artist in country music ever.
American rapper Eminem has released 11 studio albums, two compilation albums, and one extended play. His music has been released on record labels Interscope Records and Aftermath Entertainment, along with subsidiaries Web Entertainment and his own Shady Records. Eminem is the best-selling rapper of all time and the best-selling artist of the 2000s with US album sales at over 32.25 million during the decade. With sales of over 220 million records worldwide, he is among of the best-selling music artists of all time. According to the RIAA, Eminem has sold 227.5 million certified albums and singles in the United States. In his home country, he has earned 50 platinum albums and 10 number one albums.[A]
Canadian singer Celine Dion has released 27 studio albums, seven live albums, 19 compilation albums, and 25 box sets. Referred to as the "Queen of Power Ballads", Dion is the best-selling Canadian artist of all time and the best-selling artist in the Nielsen SoundScan era in Canada. Dion is also the second best-selling female artist in the United States since Nielsen began tracking sales in 1991 with over 53.2 million albums sold in the country. Guinness World Records recognises her as the Top Selling Album Act in Europe with 33 million certified album sales since 1996. In 2003, Dion was honored by International Federation of the Phonographic Industry for selling 50 million albums in Europe. Billboard placed her second among the best-selling female album artist of the 2000s Decade in the United States with 17.3 million albums sold via Soundscan. According to Billboard, Dion is the sixth Greatest Billboard 200 female solo artist of all time, as well as the eighth Greatest female solo artist of all time in Billboard's chart history.
This article shows the highest selling contestants from Canadian Idol and the highest selling American Idol albums. These sales are Canadian sales only.