Top 21 Albums of the 21st Century: Which is the Best? (2024)

Adele tops the list of 21st century bestsellers with her 2011 album,21. She sold a whopping 31 million copies of this record, which beats the #2 bestseller by over 4 million sales!

This was Adele's second studio album and was recorded between May 2009 and October 2010. It included many of her best-known singles, including "Rolling in the Deep", "Someone Like You", and "Set Fire to the Rain."

Norah Jones set a 21st century record all the way back in 2002 with her debut album,Come Away With Me. Since its release, the album has sold 27 million copies, giving it the #2 spot for best sellers of the era.

Come Away With Meincorporated elements of folk, blues, and jazz and helped cement Norah Jone's musical style. Singles off the album included "Come Away With Me" and "Don't Know Why."

Eminem didn't waste any time in making one of the best selling albums of the 21st century. His 2002 release,The Eminem Show, quickly rose through the charts and has currently sold 27 million copies.

The Eminem Showwas the fourth studio album from the rapper and marked a change in style for the rapper. Critics cite this as one of his most personal albums and a step away from his on-stage alter ego, Slim Shady.

Not content with just one best-selling album of the century, Adele decided that her 2015 album,25, should repeat the popularity that her previous one brought her. This one managed to sell 23 million copies.

25contained four singles for the British singer, but by far the most popular was "Hello." The single alone sold millions of copies within weeks of being released.

This has to be a mistake, right? Evanescence isn't the worst band ever, but isFallenreally one of the best albums of the 21 century? If we're judging by sales, absolutely.

This debut album from an Arkansas rock band managed to sell 17 million copies worldwide. The album also featured two of the band's best known songs: "Bring Me to Life" and "My Immortal."

Amy Winehouse was at her peak when she released her 2006 album,Back to Black. Unfortunately, this would be the second and final studio album of her career.

Back to Blackmanaged to sell an impressive 16 million copies and was a critical succes as well. The album also features possibly her most famous single of all time,"Rehab."

2003'sMeteorawas Linkin Park's follow-up album to their debut hit,Hybrid Theory, and this new album was even more of a commercial (and critical) hit. It hassold over 16 million copies.

Major hits off the album include "Numb" and "Somewhere I Belong" and a few tracks were even used on the remix album they did with Jay-Z a few years later.

However you feel about Avril Lavigne and her music, you can't argue with the numbers behind it. Her 2002 debut album,Let Go, managed to sell over 16 million copies--putting it in the top 10 best-selling albums of the century.

The album included some of her most famous hits like "Sk8er Boi" and "Complicated", which performed just as well as standalone songs.Let Gois also Lavigne's best-selling album to date.

Usher's fourth studio album,Confessions, was a hit at the time and continues to be to this day. With over 15 million total sales, it was the second best-selling album of the 2000s and one of the top ten bestsellers of the 21st century.

When Usher brought the album to producers, it was a whopping 40 songs long. However, it eventually got whittled down into the hit album that we know it as today.

If Lady Gaga was looking for fame with her 2008 debut album, The Fame, she definitely found it! The album has sold over 15 million copies since it was released.

The Fameintroduced the world to Lady Gaga with hits like "Just Dance" "Poker Face" and "Paparazzi." The album racked up five Grammy nominations and two wins, and it was definitely not the last we'd hear from Lady Gaga!

Singer-songwriter Sufjan Stevens probably realized he didn't have an instant hit on his hands when he was working on his 2005 releaseIllinois. The concept album, whose songs are all about the state, features arcane references, unusual instrumentation, and weird lyrics.

However, this indie album has withstood the test of time. In addition to being critically acclaimed at the time of its release, it finally achieved gold status a full ten years after it was released.

Loretta Lynn has had a long, accomplished career--if she didn't release a thing in the 21st century, she'd still be one of the most iconic country musicians of all time. However, she delighted all her fans with the 2004 release of her album,Van Lear Rose.

This was Lynn's 42nd (yes, you read that right), and it was produced by Jack White of The White Stripes fame. The blending of her and White's musical styles was a match made in heaven, and the album quickly became the most successful one of her career.

To say that Kendrick Lamar's 2015 album,To Pmp a Butterfly, took the world by storm would be an understatement. Lamar had a respectable career before the release of this album, butButterflycatapulted him into the upper echelons of fame.

This was no simple rap offering from Lamar--the album includes jazz, funk, and soul influences, just to name a few. By 2017 the album had gone platinum and racked up 11 Grammy nominations and one win.

Lana Del Rey has tried on a number of different styles and sensibilities throughout her career, but she was absolutely at her best with the old school Hollywood glam of 2012'sBorn to Die. At a time when popular musicians were leaning heavy into the party worldelectronica, Lana was going all in with beautiful, bleak love songs accompanied by a string orchestra.

Born to Diewas one of the best-selling albums of the year, with over 7 million copies sold by 2014. Singles from the album included "Video Games", "Born to Die", and "Summertime Sadness."

Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robotswas The Flaming Lips' first 21st century album, and it ended up being one of the best of all time. The songs on the album loosely follow the story of Yoshimi as she (surprise, surprise) battles the pink robots.

This was the 10th album by the band, but it was really the first time they saw major mainstream success.Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robotswent gold in 2009 and has sold over 550,000 copies.

No matter how you feel about the actual suburbs, there's no denying that Arcade Fire's 2010 album,The Suburbs, is one of the best the band has ever put out. According to band member Win Butler, the album "is neither a love letter to, nor an indictment of, the suburbs – it's a letter from the suburbs."

The album was both a critical and commercial success for the band--including a Grammy win for Best Album of the Year. Additionally, it has sold over 1 million copies worldwide.

Joanna Newsom's creaky voice and harp playing might not be everyone's cup of tea, but there's no denying she's a songwriter to be reckoned with. Her 2006 release,Ys, proved that you didn't have to be conventional to be good.

The album is only five tracks long, with songs ranging from seven minutes to almost twenty and features all the dense, arcane imagery that fans have come to expect from her. Whether you need a song about birds rising from the dead or trickster monkeys,Yshas something unusual and lovely for you.

Decoration Dayis not the Drive-By Truckers most uplifting album, but it's absolutely a must-listen for fans of country rock. This is also the first DBT album to feature Jason Isbell, who would later go on to pursue a successful solo career.

Love, death, divorce--Decoration Daycovers all the major themes you'll find in country music and then some.

Washington rock band Sleater-Kinney had released six albums before 2005'sThe Woods, but this would be their debut on a major label. Considering its success, this was the best decision the band ever made.

The album as a whole lacked a lot of the raucuous grittiness of their older albums, but it was replaced by a more polished sound that fans responded well too. While the album sold less than 100,000 copies, it more than made up for that with critical acclaim.

If you're sick of mainstream musicians who don't write their own songs and don't play an instrument, then look no further than St. Vincent (aka Annie Clark). Album after album she's proven that she knows how to write a line and play a guitar riff, but she's definitely at her best on her 2014 self-titled album.

St. Vincent won the Grammy for Best Alternative Album in 2015, as well as a slew of praise from critics and fans. At different times, Clark has described the album as "brighter" than her previous work but also as "a party record you could play at a funeral."

The album artwork forAnimal Collective'sMerriweather Post Pavilionis so trippy you might not make it past the cover, but if you do, you'll discover an unusual hit from one of America's strangest bands.

Heavy on electronics and digital sampling,Merriweather Post Pavilionis absolutely a product of its time. But still, the group managed to transcend a lot of the cliches and pitfalls of electronic and experimental music to create one of the most unique and memorable albums of the 21st century.