List of albums with 4M+ US sales since 2003 - The Fame included

[Mills 446]

2003 - the year when the iTunes Store was officially launched, signalling the start of the Digital Era of music, which is the current period wherein the industry saw (and continues to see) the decline of traditional album sales and the rise of individual digital track sales. And because of this shift, it’s even more rare for albums to cross over 4 million in Nielsen Music-reported album sales, compared to the ones released pre-2003. In other words, it takes serious longevity and incredible public interest for these albums to even cross the elusive sales threshold. 

List of studio albums which sold 4 million units or more for the past 12 years (2003-present), chronologically arranged by their release dates:

Albums released since 1/1/03 selling over 10,000,000 units = 2
Albums released since 1/1/03 selling over 7,000,000 units = 6
Albums released since 1/1/03 selling over 6,000,000 units = 12
Albums released since 1/1/03 selling over 5,000,000 units = 20
Albums released since 1/1/03 selling over 4,000,000 units = 41

Title (Year of Release) / Artist / Last Nielsen Music-reported total sales (as of week ending)
Get Rich or Die Tryin (2003) - 50 Cent - 8.273M (6/22/14) [DEBUT]
Fallen (2003) - Evanescence - 7.743M (7/28/13) [DEBUT]
Meteora (2003) - Linkin Park - 6.1M (6/22/14)
Dangerously In Love (2003) - Beyonce - 4.924M (6/22/14) [DEBUT]
A Rush of Blood to the Head (2003) - Coldplay - 4.925M (6/22/14)
Speakerboxxx/The Love Below (2003) - OutKast - 5.717M (7/28/13)
Shock’n Y’all (2003) - Toby Keith - 4.420M (5/24/09)
The Very Best of Sheryl Crow (2003) - Sheryl Crow - 4.062M (5/11/08)
Closer (2003) - Josh Groban - 6.033M (6/22/14)
Number Ones (2003) - Michael Jackson - 5.054M (5/18/14)
The Diary of Alicia Keys (2003) - Alicia Keys - 4.682M (7/28/13)
When the Sun Goes Down (2004) - Kenny Chesney - 4.111M (5/24/09)
Feels Like Home (2004) - Norah Jones - 4.649M (7/28/13)
Greatest Hits (2004) - Guns N’ Roses - 5.540M (3/30/14)
Confessions (2004) - Usher - 10.114M (8/11/13)
Here For The Party (2004) - Gretchen Wilson - 4.594M (3/11/12) [DEBUT]
American Idiot (2004) - Green Day - 6.056M (3/11/12)
Feels Like Today (2004) - Rascal Flatts - 5.230M (4/20/14)
Greatest Hits (2004) - Shania Twain - 4.102M (8/28/11)
Encore (2004) - Eminem - 5.343M (11/10/13)
Love. Angel. Music. Baby. (2004) - Gwen Stefani - 4M (5/17/09) [DEBUT]
Breakaway (2004) - Kelly Clarkson - 6.307M (6/22/14)
The Massacre (2005) - 50 Cent - 5.313M (7/28/13)
The Emancipation of Mimi (2005) - Mariah Carey - 6.027M (3/30/14)
Monkey Business (2005) - The Black Eyed Peas - 4.272M (3/6/11)
All The Right Reasons (2005) - Nickelback - 7.836M (6/22/14)
Some Hearts (2005) - Carrie Underwood - 7.392M (6/22/14) [DEBUT]
High School Musical OST (2006) - High School Musical Cast - 4.878M (12/29/13)
Me and My Gang (2006) - Rascal Flatts - 4.954M (4/20/14)
FutureSex/LoveSounds (2006) - Justin Timberlake - 4.546M (3/30/14)
Taylor Swift (2006) - Taylor Swift - 5.492M (3/8/15) [DEBUT]
Daughtry (2006) - Daughtry - 4.945M (4/23/14) [DEBUT]
Noel (2007) - Josh Groban - 5.71M (11/23/14)
The Fame (2008) - Lady Gaga - 4.6M (3/1/15) [DEBUT]
Fearless (2008) - Taylor Swift - 6.909M (3/8/15)
I Dreamed a Dream (2009) - Susan Boyle - 4.561M (12/24/10) [DEBUT]
Recovery (2010) - Eminem - 4.622M (10/26/14)
Speak Now (2010) - Taylor Swift - 4.480M (3/8/15)
21 (2011) - Adele - 11.1M (1/11/15)
Red (2012) - Taylor Swift - 4.160M (3/8/15)
1989 (2014) - Taylor Swift - 4.505M (3/8/15)

 

About Nielsen Music:
Popularly known as SoundScan, it’s the leading music sales measurement company which collects and tracks over-the-counter record sales at music retail stores, both in-store and digitally, and is the official source of Billboard for their record popularity charts. 

[Spyro 8,429]

Adele...  

[Jesse Pinkman 4,660]

Taylor.  

[uo111 5,201]

Taylor is unreal. I love her but I don't know what demon she sold her soul too for this level of popularity.

[Bloody 64,631]

It's pretty sad that with the begging of digital era, began the decay of music industry.

Most artists now are struggling to even have platinum albums (with a few exceptions).

Anyway, congrats Gaga  

[DeleteMyAccount 11,881]

Taylor is unreal. I love her but I don't know what demon she sold her soul too for this level of popularity.​

I think Kanye helped out a bit. 

[Bloody 64,631]

I think Kanye helped out a bit. 

​What has Kanye to do with Taylor's success? 

[uo111 5,201]

I think Kanye helped out a bit. 

​That would make sense for Speak Now, but her slayage has risen above and beyond whatever help Kanye gave.

Fearless was already slaying lives after all (speaking of which, I still think Fearless is her best album to date)

[DeleteMyAccount 11,881]

​What has Kanye to do with Taylor's success? 

​The public started loving her even more after the VMAs.  That's how I saw it at least.  There was a minor bump for Beck after the Grammys as well.  

​That would make sense for Speak Now, but her slayage has risen above and beyond whatever help Kanye gave.

Fearless was already slaying lives after all (speaking of which, I still think Fearless is her best album to date)

​Exactly, but he definitely played a part in exposing her to the GP.  The rest just builded off of that.

[Redstreak 6,651]

Taylor wow

[Emvee 7,073]

I get that Taylor Swift sells a lot, but I still can't understand what is so goddamn special about her  I can't get into her music. Her image is bland. Like

but I suppose that's what old people or traditionalists felt the same frustration about Lady Gaga's "schitck"  during 2009-2011 so...

[Psychedelic 1,098]

Taylor

[Cody Draco 2,531]

I get that Taylor Swift sells a lot, but I still can't understand what is so goddamn special about her  I can't get into her music. Her image is bland. Like

but I suppose that's what old people or traditionalists felt the same frustration about Lady Gaga's "schitck"  during 2009-2011 so...

​She is having her overexposed period the only difference is that it's super late into her career compared to Gaga's being at the beginning of hers.

[Emvee 7,073]

​She is having her overexposed period the only difference is that it's super late into her career compared to Gaga's being at the beginning of hers.

I feel like she not getting overexposed though. 

She's not a sensation. She doesn't get constant headlines. Her music videos/performances aren't must-see mini-epics. She's just there... but happens to sell a lot of damn albums. 

[Tropico 4,145]

Taylor STAHP.

I thought Dangerously In Love would've sold more tho. Hmmm. Well still good.  

Congrats Gaga!