Amazon today revealed its all-time best-selling albums and songs. The online retailer isn’t releasing specific sales numbers with the rankings, but the lists still provide an interesting peek at pop culture trends and the music Amazon’s customers have flocked to — for better or worse. Carly Rae Jepsen’s “Call Me Maybe” is the most popular MP3 of all time. She appears in a top 10 list that’s dominated by newer acts including The Lumineers, Fun (who appear twice), Psy, and Gotye.
Amazon reveals best-selling music: ‘Call Me Maybe’ is most popular song of all time
Adele tops the CD sales chart
Turning to albums, Adele’s 21 ranks as the best-selling CD of all time, followed by Susan Boyle’s I Dreamed a Dream and the original Broadway cast recording of Wicked. Amy Winehouse — who died in 2011 — also charts on the list, as does Raising Sand, the Grammy-winning album from Robert Plant and Alison Krauss. Amazon breaks MP3 album sales into a separate chart, and the list looks very different. Lady Gaga’s Born This Way takes the top slot, with Sigh No More by Mumford & Sons and The Lumineers rounding out the top three. Of Monsters and Men, Arcade Fire, and The Black Keys also appear in the top 10.
Amazon is also providing stats for 2013. Heartthrob by Tegan & Sara is this year’s best-selling MP3 album, with Modern Vampires of the City by Vampire Weekend coming in second. A digital compilation of Mozart’s classical work surprisingly ranks right behind them, offering hope that new listeners still exist for artists other than Katy Perry, Justin Timberlake, and The Black Eyed Peas. As for the most popular song of 2013, you probably already guessed correctly: it’s Robin Thicke’s “Blurred Lines.”
Above all else, Amazon’s charts prove that viral internet sensations can also bring in huge sales. Susan Boyle rocketed to fame seemingly overnight after a stunning performance on Britain’s Got Talent (which has since been viewed over 139 million times on YouTube). Psy’s “Gangnam Style” made history when it became the first YouTube clip to surpass 1 billion views. Amazon’s full bestseller lists can be found below.
Top 10 best-selling CDs of all time
- 21 — Adele
- I Dreamed A Dream — Susan Boyle
- Wicked (original Broadway cast) — Stephen Schwartz
- Raising Sand — Robert Plant and Alison Krauss
- Sigh No More — Mumford & Sons
- Fearless — Taylor Swift
- Back to Black — Amy Winehouse
- 19 — Adele
- Taking the Long Way — Dixie Chicks
- Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends — Coldplay
- Top 10 best-selling MP3 albums of all timeBorn This Way — Lady Gaga
- Sigh No More — Mumford & Sons
- The Lumineers — The Lumineers
- 21 — Adele
- Mylo Xyloto — Coldplay
- Some Nights — Fun.
- My Head Is An Animal — Of Monsters And Men
- El Camino — The Black Keys
- Speak Now — Taylor Swift
- The Suburbs — Arcade Fire
- Top 10 best-selling MP3s of all time“Call Me Maybe” — Carly Rae Jepsen
- “Somebody That I Used To Know” — Gotye
- “We Are Young” — Fun.
- “I Gotta Feeling” — The Black Eyed Peas
- “Rolling In The Deep” — Adele
- “Gangnam Style” — Psy
- “Dynamite” — Taio Cruz
- “Where We Came From” — Phillip Phillips
- “Hey Ho” — The Lumineers
- “Some Nights” — Fun.
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