Key Takeaways
Best-Selling Album by State
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1
California leads the state ranking through the Eagles' Their Greatest Hits 1971-1975, the top RIAA-certified U.S. album at 40 million units.
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2
Indiana ranks second through Michael Jackson's Thriller (34 million units, 1982), and Oklahoma ranks third through Garth Brooks's Double Live (25 million units, 1998).
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3
California-linked acts account for 6 of the RIAA's top 25 albums: two by the Eagles and one each by Green Day, Metallica, Guns N' Roses, and Journey.
Map
Best-Selling Album by State Map
| Rank | State | Certified Units (Millions) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | California | 40 |
| 2 | Indiana | 34 |
| 3 | Oklahoma | 25 |
| 4 | New York | 23 |
| 5 | South Carolina | 22 |
| 6 | New Jersey | 19 |
| 7 | Massachusetts | 17 |
Seven states have a homegrown artist or band in the RIAA top 25. California leads at 40 million certified units, while Massachusetts has the lowest state-leading total at 17 million. States without a qualifying album are gray.
Best-Selling Albums by State
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|
Rank
|
State
|
Artist
|
Album
|
Certified Units (Millions)
|
Year
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
California
|
Eagles | Their Greatest Hits 1971-1975 | 40 | 1976 |
| 2 |
Indiana
|
Michael Jackson | Thriller | 34 | 1982 |
| 3 |
Oklahoma
|
Garth Brooks | Double Live | 25 | 1998 |
| 4 |
New York
|
Billy Joel | Greatest Hits Volume I & Volume II | 23 | 1985 |
| 5 |
South Carolina
|
Hootie & the Blowfish | Cracked Rear View | 22 | 1994 |
| 6 |
New Jersey
|
Whitney Houston | The Bodyguard (Soundtrack) | 19 | 1992 |
| 7 |
Massachusetts
|
Boston | Boston | 17 | 1976 |
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States With a Top-25 RIAA Album
Only 7 states place an album in the RIAA's top 25 best-sellers. California leads by a wide margin, and the other six states each carry a distinct story.
California
- Top Artist
- Eagles
- Certified Units
- 40 million (1976)
California is tied to six of the top 25 best-selling U.S. albums, more than any other state. The Eagles, formed in Los Angeles in 1971, hold two of them: Their Greatest Hits 1971-1975 (40 million units) and Hotel California (28 million units), both released in 1976. Green Day (Berkeley), Metallica (Los Angeles), Guns N' Roses (Los Angeles), and Journey (San Francisco) add four more.
No other state comes close to that count. New Jersey and Oklahoma are the next closest with two albums apiece, and four of the seven states on this list place only one album in the top 25.
Indiana
- Artist
- Michael Jackson
- Certified Units
- 34 million (1982)
Michael Jackson was born in Gary, Indiana, in 1958. Thriller, his 1982 studio album, is certified for 34 million units, the highest total of any non-compilation album in U.S. chart history.
Indiana's total rests on one album, but that album outsells every other state's best entry except California's Eagles compilation.
Oklahoma
- Artist
- Garth Brooks
- Certified Units
- 25 million (1998)
Garth Brooks, born in Tulsa, Oklahoma, released Double Live in 1998, certified for 25 million units. His 1990 album No Fences adds a second Oklahoma entry to the top 25, certified for 18 million units.
Oklahoma is one of only two states to place two albums in the top 25, and both of its entries come from the same artist.
New York
- Artist
- Billy Joel
- Certified Units
- 23 million (1985)
Billy Joel, born in the Bronx and raised on Long Island, released Greatest Hits Volume I & Volume II in 1985. The compilation is certified for 23 million units, tied for eighth place overall with Pink Floyd's The Wall.
New York's single entry outranks every state's best album except California, Indiana, and Oklahoma, keeping it among the top four state-linked albums on the list.
South Carolina
- Artist
- Hootie & the Blowfish
- Certified Units
- 22 million (1994)
Hootie & the Blowfish formed in 1986 at the University of South Carolina in Columbia. Cracked Rear View, the band's 1994 debut, is certified for 22 million units, the tenth-highest total in U.S. chart history.
Cracked Rear View is the highest-certified debut among the seven state-leading albums. That distinction puts South Carolina fifth even though the state has no second entry in the RIAA top 25.
New Jersey
- Top Artist
- Whitney Houston
- Certified Units
- 19 million (1992)
Whitney Houston, born in Newark, New Jersey, released The Bodyguard soundtrack in 1992, certified for 19 million units. Bruce Springsteen, born in Long Branch, New Jersey, adds Born in the U.S.A. (17 million units, 1984) as the state's second top-25 album.
New Jersey is the only state on this list where a soundtrack, rather than a studio or live album, produces the higher-certified of its two entries.
Massachusetts
- Artist
- Boston
- Certified Units
- 17 million (1976)
Boston formed in the city of the same name in 1976, and the band's self-titled debut album is certified for 17 million units, tied for the lowest total among this list's seven states.
Massachusetts closes out the ranking, but a 17-million-unit debut is still enough to make the RIAA top 25, a list only seven states appear on at all.
International Artists With Top-25 U.S. Albums
Eleven of the top 25 best-selling U.S. albums come from artists with no single U.S. state of origin. Seven trace to Britain: Led Zeppelin's Led Zeppelin IV (24 million units, 1971), two Beatles compilations (24 million units in 1968 and 17 million units in 1973), Pink Floyd's The Wall (23 million units), Fleetwood Mac's Rumours (21 million units), Adele's 21 (17 million units), and Elton John's Greatest Hits (17 million units).
The remaining four come from three other countries. AC/DC's Back in Black (27 million units, 1980) is Australian. Shania Twain's Come On Over (20 million units) and Alanis Morissette's Jagged Little Pill (17 million units) are both Canadian. Bob Marley & The Wailers' Legend (18 million units) traces to Jamaica.
Quick Answers
Which state has the best-selling album in U.S. history?
What is the best-selling non-compilation album in the U.S.?
Is Thriller the best-selling album of all time in the U.S.?
How many states have an album in the RIAA top 25?
How many top-25 U.S. albums are by international artists?
Which states have more than one album in the RIAA top 25?
Methodology
The ranking takes the highest-certified album for each U.S. state represented in the RIAA top 25 as of June 2026, using certified units that include qualifying U.S. sales and streams. Solo artists are assigned by birthplace, bands by founding city, and acts without one U.S. home state to the international group.
Sources
Compare all 50 states by population, land area, statehood date, and more.
Themed lists - states sharing the same bird, oldest symbols, flags with bears, and more.
Side-by-side comparison of population, area, income, taxes, climate, and more.
Top 20 most common surnames per state - with origins, meanings, and heritage context. Is yours on the list?
