The Top 10 Best-Selling Rolling Stones Albums of All Time
One of the Rolling Stones’ greatest albums barely makes the Top 10.
For more than six decades, The Rolling Stones have been one of the biggest rock bands on the planet.
Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and company have produced some of the most celebrated albums in rock history — but there’s a big difference between an album being loved by critics and actually selling millions of copies.
So which Rolling Stones albums did the public buy the most?
In our latest SoundJamm video, we count down the Top 10 best-selling Rolling Stones albums
of all time, using sales data rather than reviews, personal favourites or critical acclaim.
And there are some big surprises.
Critics vs the Record-Buying Public
Ask a Rolling Stones fan to name the band's greatest album, and records such as Exile on Main St., Sticky Fingers, Let It Bleed and Beggars Banquet are likely to enter the conversation.
But being regarded as a masterpiece doesn't necessarily mean being the band's biggest commercial success.
Using data from ChartMasters, our countdown looks at the Stones' commercial performance to discover which albums have reached the biggest audiences.
The results reveal a fascinating difference between the albums the critics celebrate and the records the public actually bought.
And remarkably, one album now widely regarded as one of the Stones' greatest ever only just makes our Top 10.
When the Rolling Stones Went Disco
The Stones have never been afraid to change with the times.
By the late 1970s and early 1980s, rock music had changed dramatically. Punk, disco and new wave were competing for attention, and bands from the 1960s risked suddenly looking like yesterday's news.
The Rolling Stones responded by absorbing some of those new influences into their own music.
Albums such as Emotional Rescue demonstrated how far the band's sound could move while still remaining unmistakably the Stones.
But how did those experiments translate into record sales?
That's where things become interesting.
The Remarkable Story of Tattoo You
Then there is Tattoo You.
Released in 1981, the album has an unusual history because much of its material originated during earlier Rolling Stones recording sessions.
Rather than simply representing one concentrated period in the studio, songs and recordings from different points in the band's recent past were revisited and assembled into a new album.
And it worked.
Tattoo You became a major commercial success and produced one of the band's most recognisable later hits, “Start Me Up.”
Its success is another reminder that an album doesn't necessarily need a straightforward creation story to connect with millions of listeners.
Some Girls and a Band Fighting Back
Perhaps an even more important moment arrived with Some Girls in 1978.
The Stones were now veterans of the rock scene, while punk and new wave were challenging the established order.
For a band that had originally represented youthful rebellion themselves, there was an obvious danger of suddenly being viewed as part of the old guard.
Instead, the Stones fought back.
Some Girls delivered a harder, leaner sound while also embracing influences from the changing musical landscape around them.
It became one of the defining albums of their career.
But just how high does it appear among their biggest-selling records?
From Brian Jones to Mick Taylor
The countdown also takes us through different eras of Rolling Stones history.
The early years were shaped heavily by founding member Brian Jones, whose musical versatility helped define the band's original sound.
Following Jones' departure and death in 1969, Mick Taylor entered the picture.
Taylor's guitar playing became an important ingredient during a period that produced several albums now regularly ranked among the greatest rock records ever made.
Yet critical reputation and commercial performance don't always tell the same story.
Some of the records now considered essential Rolling Stones listening didn't necessarily outsell everything that followed.
Where Does Exile on Main St. Rank?
And then we have Exile on Main St.
Released in 1972, the sprawling double album has grown into one of the most celebrated records in the Rolling Stones catalogue.
For many fans and critics, it's not simply one of the Stones' greatest albums — it's one of the greatest rock albums ever recorded.
So surely it must be near the very top of the band's all-time sales ranking?
You might be surprised.
Watch the Full Top 10 Countdown
So what really is the best-selling Rolling Stones album of all time?
And where do albums including Exile on Main St., Some Girls, Tattoo You and Emotional Rescue actually finish?
We're not spoiling the full ranking here.
👇 Watch our complete Top 10 countdown on SoundJamm to discover which Rolling Stones album takes the No. 1 spot.
🎬 WATCH THE VIDEO HERE:
Then tell us in the comments:
What is the greatest Rolling Stones album ever made — regardless of how many copies it sold?
And which Stones album do you think deserves far more recognition?
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