List of best-selling Christmas albums in the United States


This page shows the best-selling Christmas albums in the United States. It includes artists from all over the world, but it only includes sales in the United States of America.
Prior to March 1, 1991, the only means of tracking sales figures for record albums and singles in the United States was via the certification system of the Recording Industry Association of America, based specifically on shipments on a long-term basis. According to the most recent record album certifications, the holiday album title that has shipped the most copies in the United States is Elvis Presley's 1957 LP Elvis' Christmas Album, which is certified by the RIAA for shipment of 17 million copies in the U.S..
From March 1, 1991, through the present day, the Nielsen SoundScan tracking system has been more widely used to accurately track sales of record albums and singles at the point of sale based on inventory bar code scans.

Best-selling Christmas albums (using RIAA certifications and Nielsen SoundScan sales through November 2016)

In November 2016, Billboard has compiled a list of the top ten selling Christmas albums, using both RIAA certification information and actual point-of-sale data from Nielsen SoundScan. For albums released before SoundScan started collecting data in 1991, Billboard used their RIAA certification to determine sales.
  1. Elvis' Christmas Album / Elvis Presley ~ 20,000,000
  2. / Kenny G ~ 7,370,000
  3. The Christmas Song / Nat King Cole ~ 6,000,000
  4. Mannheim Steamroller Christmas / Mannheim Steamroller ~ 6,000,000
  5. A Fresh Aire Christmas / Mannheim Steamroller ~ 6,000,000
  6. Noël / Josh Groban ~ 5,890,000
  7. Merry Christmas / Mariah Carey ~ 5,500,000
  8. These Are Special Times / Celine Dion ~ 5,440,000
  9. A Christmas Album / Barbra Streisand ~ 5,370,000
  10. Merry Christmas / Johnny Mathis ~ 5,240,000

    Best-selling Christmas albums from Nielsen SoundScan tracking data (through December 1, 2014)

This is a list of the 25 best-selling Christmas albums of the Nielsen SoundScan era in the United States for cumulative sales as tracked by Nielsen SoundScan through December 1, 2014. Nielsen Music began tracking sales data for Billboard on March 1, 1991.
  1. ' / Kenny G ~ 7,310,000
  2. Noël / Josh Groban ~ 5,710,000
  3. Merry Christmas / Mariah Carey ~ 5,370,000
  4. These Are Special Times / Celine Dion ~ 5,310,000
  5. Christmas in the Aire / Mannheim Steamroller ~ 3,740,000
  6. A Fresh Aire Christmas / Mannheim Steamroller ~ 3,660,000
  7. Mannheim Steamroller Christmas / Mannheim Steamroller ~ 3,500,000
  8. Now That's What I Call Christmas! / various artists ~ 3,480,000
  9. Christmas Eve and Other Stories / Trans-Siberian Orchestra ~ 3,430,000
  10. A Charlie Brown Christmas / Vince Guaraldi Trio ~ 3,410,000
  11. Christmas / Michael Bublé ~ 3,390,000
  12. When My Heart Finds Christmas / Harry Connick, Jr. ~ 3,150,000
  13. My Christmas / Andrea Bocelli ~ 3,010,000
  14. Christmas Extraordinaire / Mannheim Steamroller ~ 2,920,000
  15. Home for Christmas / *NSYNC ~ 2,760,000
  16. ' / Kenny G ~ 2,750,000
  17. Beyond the Season / Garth Brooks ~ 2,650,000
  18. Home for Christmas / Amy Grant ~ 2,540,000
  19. A Very Special Christmas / various artists ~ 2,520,000
  20. The Lost Christmas Eve / Trans-Siberian Orchestra ~ 2,380,000
  21. A Very Special Christmas 2 / various artists ~ 2,200,000
  22. The Gift / Susan Boyle ~ 2,180,000
  23. Christmas Portrait / The Carpenters ~ 1,950,000
  24. White Christmas / Bing Crosby ~ 1,950,000
  25. The Christmas Album / Neil Diamond ~ 1,910,000

    Best-selling Christmas albums by RIAA certification

This is an incomplete list of the best-selling Christmas albums in the United States based on shipment certification by the RIAA. This list provides a more complete representation of the best-selling Christmas albums in history, as it includes those released well before the Nielsen/SoundScan era of music sales.
Year of ReleaseArtistTitleLabelCertification Award
1970Elvis' Christmas Album
RCA Camden/PickwickDiamond
1994'Arista8× Platinum
2007NoëlWEA/Reprise6× Platinum
2001VariousNow That's What I Call Christmas!UTV6× Platinum
1994Merry ChristmasColumbia6× Platinum
1988Mannheim SteamrollerA Fresh Aire ChristmasAmerican Gramaphone6× Platinum
1984Mannheim SteamrollerMannheim Steamroller ChristmasAmerican Gramaphone6× Platinum
1963The Christmas Song
Capitol6× Platinum
1998These Are Special TimesEpic5× Platinum
1967A Christmas AlbumColumbia5× Platinum
1958Merry ChristmasColumbia5× Platinum
1995White Christmas
Decca4× Platinum
1995Mannheim SteamrollerChristmas in the AireAmerican Gramaphone4× Platinum
1987VariousA Very Special ChristmasA&M4× Platinum
1985It's Christmas Time
BMG4× Platinum
1984VariousChristmas Through the YearsReader's Digest Music4× Platinum
1965A Charlie Brown ChristmasFantasy4× Platinum
2010The GiftSyco/Columbia3× Platinum
2001Mannheim SteamrollerChristmas ExtraordinaireAmerican Gramaphone3× Platinum
1999'Arista Records3× Platinum
1996Trans-Siberian OrchestraChristmas Eve and Other StoriesLava3× Platinum
1993When My Heart Finds ChristmasSony/Columbia3× Platinum
1992Beyond the SeasonLiberty3× Platinum
1992Home for ChristmasA&M3× Platinum
1982DecemberWindham Hill3× Platinum
1971Elvis Sings the Wonderful World of ChristmasRCA3× Platinum
1957Elvis' Christmas Album
RCA Victor3× Platinum
2014PentatonixThat's Christmas to MeRCA2x Platinum
2009My ChristmasDecca2× Platinum
2004Trans-Siberian OrchestraThe Lost Christmas EveLava2× Platinum
2003VariousCapitol2× Platinum
1998White ChristmasRCA2x Platinum
1998*NSYNCHome for ChristmasRCA2× Platinum
1998Trans-Siberian OrchestraThe Christmas AtticLava2x Platinum
1993Boyz II MenChristmas InterpretationsMotown2× Platinum
1993Let There Be Peace on EarthMCA Nashville2× Platinum
1992The Christmas AlbumColumbia2× Platinum
1992VariousA Very Special Christmas 2A&M2× Platinum
1989New Kids on the BlockMerry, Merry ChristmasColumbia2× Platinum
1987Merry Christmas to YouMCA Nashville2× Platinum
1986Merry Christmas Strait to You!MCA Nashville2× Platinum
1985AlabamaAlabama ChristmasRCA2× Platinum
1984 & Once Upon a ChristmasRCA2× Platinum
1981Christmas WishesCapitol2× Platinum
1981ChristmasLiberty2× Platinum
1979VariousDisney's Christmas FavoritesDisneyland2× Platinum
1975Rocky Mountain ChristmasRCA2× Platinum

Best-selling Christmas albums by year

In 1963, Billboard magazine began publishing a special weekly sales charts for Christmas album sales named "Christmas Albums" for three to four weeks during each holiday season. Titles that appeared on these charts were excluded from the regular Billboard 200 album sales charts. These special, year-end "Christmas Albums" charts were published from 1963 to 1973. The chart was discontinued from 1974 to 1982, when holiday titles were once again included in the regular Billboard 200 chart. "Christmas Albums" started up again in 1983 and appeared each year until 1985. It was discontinued in 1986, but resumed in 1987 and continued each year under the "Christmas Albums" name until 1993. In 1994, the chart was renamed to "Holiday Albums" and has been published by Billboard each year since. Billboard's special Christmas albums sales charts have varied in size over the years, from a low of 5 chart positions to a high of 117 chart positions.

1940s