Metallica # 3

According to Billboard.biz, Metallica is the third-best-selling artist of the SoundScan era, with 54.26 million albums sold since 1991. Garth Brooks boasts the most albums sold, with 69.52 million. The Beatles ranks second (65.55 million), while Mariah Carey (54.24 million) and Celine Dion (52.21 million) round out the top five. The Nielsen SoundScan system began compiling sales electronically 23 years ago on a weekly basis, providing more accurate sales figures that form the basis for the Billboard music charts. As previously reported, Metallica's self-titled 1991 album should surpass 16 million copies sold in the U.S., according to Nielsen SoundScan, in about three or four months at its current rate of sales (about 2,000 to 3,000 per week).