List of best-selling music artists in the United Kingdom in singles sales explained

Published by The Official Charts Company in June 2012 to coincide with both the 60th anniversary of the UK Official Singles Chart and the Queen's Diamond Jubilee. At the time of publication, there were twelve artists with more than ten million UK singles sales with Paul McCartney the only artist to achieve this both as part of a group and as a solo artist.^[1]

Many of the artists in the list below have both streaming and sales included in their totals.

1. Coldplay (30,400,000)^[2]
2. Eminem (30,000,000)^[3]
3. Madonna (29,345,000)
4. Rihanna (27,100,000)
5. Michael Jackson (26,995,000)^[4]
6. Little Mix (23,000,000)^[5]
7. The Beatles (22,100,000)^[6]
8. Elton John (21,635,000)
9. Cliff Richard (21,500,000)
10. Beyoncé (14,500,000)^[4]
11. Ariana Grande (13,200,000)^[7]
12. Westlife (12,854,000)^[8]
13. Justin Bieber (12,800,000)^[6]
14. Elvis Presley (12,600,000)
15. David Bowie (12,000,000)^[9]
16. ABBA (11,300,000)^[6]
17. Paul McCartney (10,200,000)
18. Bee Gees (10,165,000)^[10]
19. Kylie Minogue (10,100,000)
20. The Rolling Stones (10,100,000)^[6]
21. Rita Ora (9,800,000)
22. Taylor Swift (9,600,000)^[11]
23. Rod Stewart
24. Take That
25. Stevie Wonder
26. Whitney Houston (9,400,000)^[6]
27. Imagine Dragons (9,400,000)^[12]
28. Oasis (9,079,000)^[6]
29. Spice Girls (8,500,000)^[6]
30. George Michael
31. Robbie Williams
32. Britney Spears (7,635,000)
33. U2 (7,500,000)^[6]
34. Shakin' Stevens
35. Lady Gaga (7,357,000)^[13]
36. Status Quo (7,200,000)^[6]
37. Boyzone (7,100,000)^[6]
38. Blondie (7,037,000)^[6]
39. The Black Eyed Peas (7,034,000)^[13]
40. Boney M (6,859,000)^[13]
41. Slade (6,856,000)^[13]
42. Celine Dion
43. UB40 (6,600,000)^[13]
    1. Olivia Newton-John Mariah Carey
44. Tom Jones
45. Madness (6,150,00)^[13]
46. Police (6,100,000)^[13]
47. Wham!
    1. Phil Collins Diana Ross
48. The Jam
49. Bryan Adams
50. Pet Shop Boys
51. David Guetta
52. Adam Ant
53. Duran Duran
54. Frank Sinatra
55. Frankie Goes To Hollywood
56. Prince
57. Katy Perry
58. Wet Wet Wet
    1. The Everly Brothers The Shadows (not including any with Cliff Richard)
59. Pink

Notes and References

1. News: Official Singles Charts' Biggest Selling Artists of all time revealed . UK Official Charts. 4 June 2012.
2. Web site: 31 March 2023 . Certified Awards Search . 31 March 2023 . BPI.
3. Web site: Charts analysis: Eminem holds off Modfather from albums summit | Analysis | Music Week. Music Week. September 21, 2018.
4. Web site: Certified Awards Search. British Phonographic Industry. March 13, 2013. June 27, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190627040702/https://www.bpi.co.uk/certified-awards.aspx. dead.
5. Web site: Little Mix's Official Top 20 songs revealed. Official Charts.
6. Web site: The Official Top 20 biggest selling groups of all time revealed!. Official Charts Company.
7. chartariana . 1195418764591935489 . Highest certified female artists of All Time in the UK — Singles:
   
   #1. Rihanna — 30,200,000
   #2. Beyoncé — 14,200,000
   #3. Ariana Grande — 13,200,000
   #4. Katy Perry — 13,000,000
   #5. Nicki Minaj — 12,400,000.
8. Web site: Charts analysis: Westlife reach summit with first album in nine years. Jones. Alan. 22 November 2019. Music Week. Intent Media. 27 November 2019. subscription.
9. Web site: Official Charts Analysis: David Bowie's UK chart life. Music Week. 2016-04-16.
10. Web site: BRIT Certified.
11. Web site: BRIT Certified.
12. Imagine Dragons Charts . dragonsonchart . 1472311220560707589 . 18 December 2021 . .@Imaginedragons crossed the mark of 10.4 million sales based in certifications in the United Kingdom. – They're one of the best-selling international groups of all time in the country. https://t.co/IIacNJkE20 . en . 20 March 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20211220031844/https://twitter.com/dragonsonchart/status/1472311220560707589 . 20 December 2021 . live.
13. Web site: Lady Gaga's biggest songs on the Official UK Chart (Updated 2020). Official Charts Company.