Johnson's first album was the result of his primary hobbies, film-making and surfing.

He used his songs in his personal surf videos, and released a soundtrack accompanying his film Thicker Than Water.

His first commercial record was Brushfire Fairytales, and the highest selling of his albums is Sleep Through the Static.

As of 2010, Johnson has sold 10.8 million copies of albums in the United States according to Nielsen SoundScan.

[1] As of 2015, Johnson has sold 20 million albums worldwide.