List of best-selling albums in the United States

The following is a list of the best-selling albums in the United States based on RIAA certification and Nielsen SoundScan sales tracking.

The albums released prior to March 1991 should be included with their certified units only, as their Nielsen SoundScan sales are not complete.

Since February 2016, album certifications include "on-demand audio and video streams and a track sale equivalent" units.

As a result of the RIAA's methodology of counting each disc in a multi-disc set as one unit toward certification, most double albums on the list—such as Pink Floyd's The Wall and Outkast's Speakerboxxx/The Love Below—have been certified with a number double the number of copies sold.

Conversely, the certification level for double albums that fit onto one compact disc such as the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack reflect the actual number of copies sold.