List of highest-grossing concert tours

[1] Pollstar began reporting box office data on November 29, 1981,[2] but it has relatively little information about pre-2000 tours.

[3] In the early 21st century, tour revenue skyrocketed as record sales collapsed and musicians began relying on live shows for their income.

The Rolling Stones and U2 have mounted the highest-grossing tour of the year at least eight times, more than any other act.

This list represents the top-grossing tour of each year according to either Pollstar or Billboard Boxscore (formerly Amusement Business).

For example, Pollstar listed Madonna's Sticky & Sweet Tour as the top tour of 2008 with $281.6 million, but Billboard ranked it third on their year-end chart whose tracking period ended on November 11, 2008, thus excluding 20 shows by Madonna.