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- Artist: *NSYNC. Album: No Strings Attached. Released: March 2000. Sales: 2.416 million, the grand daddy of all first-week sales figures and a tally that might never be topped.
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- Artist: *NSYNC. Album: Celebrity. Released: July 2001. Sales: 1.880 million, the second fastest selling album of all-time, second only to *NSYNC’s own “No Strings Attached.”
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- Artist: Eminem. Album: The Marshall Mathers LP. Released: May 2000. Sales: 1.76 million, the fastest selling rap record in history and a record for a solo artist.
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- Artist: Backstreet Boys. Album: Black & Blue. Released: November 2000. Sales: 1.591 million, making Backstreet the first group to achieve debut weeks of more than 1 million sales with back-to-back releases.
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- Artist: Eminem. Album: The Eminem Show. Released: May 2002. Sales: 1.322 million, a deflated figure due to the album being released ahead of schedule due to a widespread leak.
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- Artist: Britney Spears. Album: Oops! I Did It Again. Released: May 2000. Sales: 1.319 million, a record at the time for a solo artist.
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- Artist: The Beatles. Album: 1. Released: November 2000. Sales: 1.259 million, a figure which came several weeks after its release during a busy holiday sales frame.
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- Artist: Taylor Swift. Album: Red. Released: October 2012. Sales: 1.208 million, the biggest first-week sales for any album in more than 10 years.
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- Artist: 50 Cent. Album: The Massacre. Released: March 2005. Sales: 1.141 million, the third highest tally ever for a hip-hop album, behind two Eminem titles.
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- Artist: Backstreet Boys. Album: Millennium. Released: May 1999. Sales: 1.134 million, a record at the time.
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- Artist: Lady Gaga. Album: Born This Way. Released: May 2011. Sales: 1.108 million, though the figure was controversial because of deep discounts at Amazon.com, which sold the album for 99 cents.
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- Artist: Usher. Album: Confessions. Released: March 2004. Sales: 1.096 million, fueled largely by the enormous success of lead single “Yeah.”
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- Artist: Garth Brooks. Album: Double Live. Released: November 1998. Sales: 1.085 million, a record at the time, and still the best first-week sales for a live album.
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- Artist: Whitney Houston, various artists. Album: The Bodyguard: Original Soundtrack Album. Released: November 1992. Sales: 1.061 million, the first album to ever sell more than 1 million copies in one week, though that figure came in its sixth week in stores. Its first week, the album sold just 144,500 copies and debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200.
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- Artist: Limp Bizkit. Album: Chocolate Starfish and the Hot Dog Flavored Water. Released: October 2000. Sales: 1.055 million, a record for an album with such a disgusting title and album cover.
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- Artist: Taylor Swift. Album: Speak Now. Released: Oct. 2010. Sales: 1.047 million, a significant jump from the 592,000 first-week sales of her previous album, 2008′s “Fearless.”
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- Artist: Norah Jones. Album: Feels Like Home. Released: February 2004. Sales: 1.022 million, which shows how much anticipation had built up following her 2002 debut “Come Away With Me.” Jones’ next album, 2007′s “Not Too Late,” sold 405,000 copies its first week.
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- Artist: Lil Wayne. Album: Tha Carter III. Released: June 2008. Sales: 1.006 million, a crowning achievement for Wayne after several years of mixtape and internet buzz.
It is one of the music industry’s most exclusive clubs. It’s tough to get in, and once you’re in, it’s even tougher to stay.
It’s the 1-million sales week club, and since Nielsen SoundScan began tracking sales data in 1991, only 18 albums have managed to sell more than 1 million copies in one week.
Taylor Swift is a two-time member, so is Eminem. Backstreet Boys and *NSYNC are also two-timers, while artists such as Usher, 50 Cent and Lil Wayne have only managed to get in the door once. Meanwhile, mega-megastars like Madonna and Kanye West can only wonder what it’s like inside.
Click through the gallery above for a list of all the albums that have managed to sell 1-million copies or more in one week.
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