Best Selling Albums of 2016: Top 10 Most Popular Recordings, From Adele To Twenty One Pilots [VIDEO]
Another year has come and gone in the music industry, and while album sales are down overall, many of today's hottest artists sold a boatload of albums in 2016.
Some of music's most popular artists continue to prove why they are at the top of their respective games, while a few newer artists have shown that they might be here to stay. From well-established acts like Adele and Beyoncé to acts that broke out in a major way like Twenty One Pilots and Chris Stapleton, music buyers couldn't resist these 10 albums in 2016.
Without further ado, here is the list of top 10 albums sold in the United States in 2016, as recorded by Nielsen Music:
10. Justin Bieber - Purpose
Bieber's fourth studio album, Purpose allowed the controversial pop star to flourish like never before, creatively and commercially. With hits like "What Do You Mean?", "Sorry", "Love Yourself" and "Where Are Ü Now", his fans couldn't get enough. The album had already sold 1.27 million copies in 2015 when it was released, but it added an additional 543,000 copies in 2016, making it the 10th biggest album of the year.
9. Rihanna - Anti
Rihanna's long-awaited eighth studio album, Anti, arrived on Jan. 28 on Tidal for free download. Despite this move, the album went on to sell 591,000 copies off the back of signature song "Work" in addition to rising hits like "Kiss It Better", "Needed Me" and "Love on the Brain".
8. Pentatonix - A Pentatonix Christmas
The most recent entry in this list, A Pentatonix Christmas was released on Oct. 21 and has already sold 639,000 copies. The a cappella group continues to soar in popularity, and even showed up high on the singles chart with their cover of "Hallelujah". The group has sold over 1 million copies of its first Christmas album, 2014's That's Christmas to Me.
7. Prince - The Very Best of Prince
Prince's death on April 21 sent shockwaves around the world, and those who hadn't already owned the legendary's artist incredible collection of music rushed to buy his greatest hits album, The Very Best of Prince. The album, which features such hits as "Purple Rain", "Kiss" and "When Doves Cry", has sold 660,000 copies thus far.
6. Twenty One Pilots - Blurryface
Rock duo Twenty One Pilots skyrocketed in popularity in 2016 from songs like "Stressed Out" and "Ride". Largely a concept album, Blurryface resonated with many music fans who related to the title character's insecurities. It went on to sell 678,000 copies, having previously sold 592,000 in 2015.
5. Hamilton - Original Broadway Cast Recording
The Hamilton Broadway musical phenomenon barely slowed through the entirety of 2016, with creator Lin-Manuel Miranda reaping the benefits. The lengthy cast album managed to sell 739,000 copies in 2016, an addition to the 169,000 it sold in 2015. This is by far the most successful Broadway cast album in years.
4. Chris Stapleton - Traveller
2016's highest charting album for a new artist came in the form of Stapleton's Traveller. The album sold 1.04 million copies in 2016, on top of the 685,000 sold in 2015. Stapleton's unique blend of country and soul clearly appealed to fans in both genres.
3. Beyoncé - Lemonade
Queen Bey has sold over 1.5 million copies of her surprise album Lemonade, which first debuted through a visual presentation on HBO. The album saw Beyoncé exploring all types of music genres, from hard rock ("Don't Hurt Yourself" featuring Jack White) to country ("Daddy Lessons") to reggae fusion ("Hold Up"), but it all came together to create one of the biggest critic and commercial successes of the year.
2. Drake - Views
Drake continues to grow in popularity with each album, with Views allowing the R&B singer to reach new heights. Coming in at no. 2, Drake sold 1,579,000 copies of Views, which featured "One Dance", "Hotline Bling" and "Too Good". It is the highest charting album for a male artist and a hip-hop artist this year.
1. Adele - 25
Adele's 25 ranks as the highest selling album for second year in a row, much like her 21 album, with was no. 1 in 2011 and 2012. The album sold a whopping 7,441,000 copies in 2015 having come out in November of that year, and is now well on its way to selling 10 million copies overall. This year, the album sold 1,684,000 copies, proving that Adele has truly become the queen of music.
