Top 10 Greatest Pop Stars of All Time

The best-selling female recording artist of all time, Madonna has sold over 300 million records worldwide and holds the record for the highest-grossing concert tour by a solo artist (the Sticky and Sweet Tour, 2008-2009, grossing $408 million). She won 7 Grammy Awards and has placed 38 songs in the US Top 10 — more than any other solo artist in history. Time magazine named her one of the 25 Most Powerful Women of the 20th Century.

Whitney Houston is the most awarded female artist of all time with 2 Emmy Awards, 6 Grammy Awards, 30 Billboard Music Awards, and 22 American Music Awards. Her 1992 recording of I Will Always Love You remains one of the best-selling singles in history at 20 million copies and spent 14 weeks at #1. Houston has sold over 220 million records worldwide and is the only artist to have 7 consecutive #1 US pop singles in the 1980s.

Elton John has sold over 300 million records worldwide across a career spanning more than 55 years and is one of the best-selling music artists of all time. His 1997 re-recording of Candle in the Wind (for Princess Diana's funeral) sold 33 million copies, making it the best-selling single in history since 1958. John has had at least one Top 40 hit in every decade from the 1970s to the 2020s and has performed over 4,000 concerts in 80 countries.

ABBA are the best-selling music act to emerge from Scandinavia and one of the best-selling acts of all time with estimated sales of 385 million records worldwide. The Swedish quartet dominated global pop from 1974-1982, winning Eurovision in 1974 with Waterloo and placing 18 consecutive singles in the UK Top 10. Their Mamma Mia stage musical (1999) has been seen by over 65 million people globally and the 2008 film adaptation grossed $615 million worldwide.

Beyoncé is the most Grammy-awarded artist in history with 32 Grammy Awards from 88 nominations (as of 2024), surpassing Georg Solti's long-standing record of 31. Her 2016 visual album Lemonade sold 2.5 million copies in its first week and her Renaissance World Tour (2023) grossed $579 million, making it the highest-grossing tour by a female artist in history. She has sold over 200 million records as a solo artist and with Destiny's Child.

Mariah Carey has sold over 220 million records worldwide and holds the record for the most #1 singles on the US Billboard Hot 100 by a solo artist with 19. Her 1994 single All I Want for Christmas Is You has become the best-selling Christmas song in history, re-charting every December and grossing an estimated $60 million in royalties since release. Carey is renowned for her 5-octave vocal range and whistle register, which she pioneered in pop music.

Prince is widely considered one of the most gifted musicians in pop history, personally playing over 27 instruments on his recordings and controlling every aspect of his productions. His 1984 album Purple Rain and its accompanying film grossed $68.4 million at the US box office and won him Academy Awards for Best Original Song Score. Prince sold over 150 million records worldwide, won 7 Grammy Awards, and in 1993 famously changed his name to an unpronounceable symbol in protest of his record label.

Taylor Swift's Eras Tour (2023-2024) grossed $2.077 billion, becoming the first concert tour in history to surpass $1 billion in revenue and the highest-grossing tour of all time. She has won 14 Grammy Awards (including 4 Album of the Year — the most by any artist in history) and become the first artist to simultaneously occupy the entire top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100 (October 2022). Time magazine named her Person of the Year in 2023.

David Bowie is one of the most critically acclaimed and influential pop artists of the 20th century, selling over 140 million records worldwide and reinventing his persona across 10 distinct musical phases — from Ziggy Stardust to the Thin White Duke. He won 4 Grammy Awards (including a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2006), a BRIT Award for Outstanding Contribution to Music, and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1996. His 1972-1973 Ziggy Stardust Tour changed the theatrical possibilities of rock performance.

The best-selling female recording artist of all time, Madonna has sold over 300 million records worldwide and holds the record for the highest-grossing concert tour by a solo artist (the Sticky and Sweet Tour, 2008-2009, grossing $408 million). She won 7 Grammy Awards and has placed 38 songs in the US Top 10 — more than any other solo artist in history. Time magazine named her one of the 25 Most Powerful Women of the 20th Century.

Whitney Houston is the most awarded female artist of all time with 2 Emmy Awards, 6 Grammy Awards, 30 Billboard Music Awards, and 22 American Music Awards. Her 1992 recording of I Will Always Love You remains one of the best-selling singles in history at 20 million copies and spent 14 weeks at #1. Houston has sold over 220 million records worldwide and is the only artist to have 7 consecutive #1 US pop singles in the 1980s.

Elton John has sold over 300 million records worldwide across a career spanning more than 55 years and is one of the best-selling music artists of all time. His 1997 re-recording of Candle in the Wind (for Princess Diana's funeral) sold 33 million copies, making it the best-selling single in history since 1958. John has had at least one Top 40 hit in every decade from the 1970s to the 2020s and has performed over 4,000 concerts in 80 countries.

ABBA are the best-selling music act to emerge from Scandinavia and one of the best-selling acts of all time with estimated sales of 385 million records worldwide. The Swedish quartet dominated global pop from 1974-1982, winning Eurovision in 1974 with Waterloo and placing 18 consecutive singles in the UK Top 10. Their Mamma Mia stage musical (1999) has been seen by over 65 million people globally and the 2008 film adaptation grossed $615 million worldwide.

Beyoncé is the most Grammy-awarded artist in history with 32 Grammy Awards from 88 nominations (as of 2024), surpassing Georg Solti's long-standing record of 31. Her 2016 visual album Lemonade sold 2.5 million copies in its first week and her Renaissance World Tour (2023) grossed $579 million, making it the highest-grossing tour by a female artist in history. She has sold over 200 million records as a solo artist and with Destiny's Child.

Mariah Carey has sold over 220 million records worldwide and holds the record for the most #1 singles on the US Billboard Hot 100 by a solo artist with 19. Her 1994 single All I Want for Christmas Is You has become the best-selling Christmas song in history, re-charting every December and grossing an estimated $60 million in royalties since release. Carey is renowned for her 5-octave vocal range and whistle register, which she pioneered in pop music.

Prince is widely considered one of the most gifted musicians in pop history, personally playing over 27 instruments on his recordings and controlling every aspect of his productions. His 1984 album Purple Rain and its accompanying film grossed $68.4 million at the US box office and won him Academy Awards for Best Original Song Score. Prince sold over 150 million records worldwide, won 7 Grammy Awards, and in 1993 famously changed his name to an unpronounceable symbol in protest of his record label.

Taylor Swift's Eras Tour (2023-2024) grossed $2.077 billion, becoming the first concert tour in history to surpass $1 billion in revenue and the highest-grossing tour of all time. She has won 14 Grammy Awards (including 4 Album of the Year — the most by any artist in history) and become the first artist to simultaneously occupy the entire top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100 (October 2022). Time magazine named her Person of the Year in 2023.

David Bowie is one of the most critically acclaimed and influential pop artists of the 20th century, selling over 140 million records worldwide and reinventing his persona across 10 distinct musical phases — from Ziggy Stardust to the Thin White Duke. He won 4 Grammy Awards (including a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2006), a BRIT Award for Outstanding Contribution to Music, and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1996. His 1972-1973 Ziggy Stardust Tour changed the theatrical possibilities of rock performance.