This is a list of the best-selling albums in Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

that have been certified by the Canadian Recording Industry Association

Canadian Recording Industry Association

Music Canada is a Toronto-based, non-profit trade organization that was founded 9 April 1963 to represent the interests of companies that record, artists, manufacture, production, promotion and distribution of music in Canada...

 (CRIA).

Album certifications

The CRIA provides "certifications" for album sales, similar to the RIAA's

RIAA certification

In the United States, the Recording Industry Association of America awards certification based on the number of albums and singles sold through retail and other ancillary markets. Other countries have similar awards...

. The certification levels for albums released after May 1, 2008 are:

• Gold: 40,000 units (previously 50,000)
• Platinum: 80,000 units (previously 100,000)
• Diamond: 800,000 units (previously 1,000,000)

Note: Multi-Platinum certification refers to albums that have sold 160,000 units or more (i.e. 160,000 is double Platinum) but have not yet sold 800,000 units (Diamond certification).

Top 10 Best-Selling Albums in Canada

Since Nielsen SoundScan

Nielsen SoundScan

Nielsen SoundScan is an information and sales tracking system created by Mike Fine and Mike Shalett. Soundscan is the official method of tracking sales of music and music video products throughout the United States and Canada...

 tracking began

Rank	Year	Title	Artist	Certification	Units Sales
1	1997	Come On Over Come on Over (Shania Twain album) Come On Over is the third studio album recorded by Canadian singer Shania Twain. It was released on November 4, 1997. It became the world's best-selling country music album and the best-selling studio album ever released by a female artist in any genre...	Shania Twain Shania Twain Shania Twain, OC is a Canadian country pop singer-songwriter. Her album The Woman in Me , brought her fame and her 1997 album Come On Over, became the best-selling album of all time by a female musician in any genre, and the best-selling country album of all time. It has sold over 40 million...	2x Diamond	1,926,000
2	1997	Let's Talk About Love Let's Talk About Love Let's Talk About Love is an album by Canadian singer Céline Dion, released on November 18, 1997. It is her fifth English-language album and twenty-third in total. Let's Talk About Love remains one of the best-selling albums in history with over 31 million copies sold worldwide...	Celine Dion Celine Dion Céline Marie Claudette Dion, , , is a Canadian singer. Born to a large family from Charlemagne, Quebec, Dion emerged as a teen star in the French-speaking world after her manager and future husband René Angélil mortgaged his home to finance her first record...	Diamond	1,490,000
3	1997	Big Shiny Tunes 2 Big Shiny Tunes 2 "Big Shiny Tunes 2" is the second edition of the MuchMusic compilation series, Big Shiny Tunes. It was the most successful album of the series, debuting at #1 on the Canadian Albums Chart and being certified Diamond by the CRIA....	Various Artists	Diamond	1,233,000
4	1997	Romanza Romanza -Commercial performance:First in Europe, then charts around the world, the album amassed a multitude of platinum and multi-platinum awards, outselling even Bocelli's 1995 album, Bocelli, with worldwide sales in excess of 20 million copies to date....	Andrea Bocelli Andrea Bocelli Andrea Bocelli, is an Italian tenor, multi-instrumentalist and classical crossover artist. Born with poor eyesight, he became blind at the age of twelve following a soccer accident....	Diamond	1,123,000
5	2000	1	The Beatles The Beatles The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...	Diamond	1,103,000
6	2002	Up! Up! (album) -Critical reception:Upon its release, the album received very positive reviews from most music critics, based on an aggregate score of 72/100 from Metacritic...	Shania Twain Shania Twain Shania Twain, OC is a Canadian country pop singer-songwriter. Her album The Woman in Me , brought her fame and her 1997 album Come On Over, became the best-selling album of all time by a female musician in any genre, and the best-selling country album of all time. It has sold over 40 million...	2x Diamond	1,092,000
7	1997	Aquarium	Aqua Aqua (band) Aqua is a Danish dance-pop group, best known for their 1997 breakthrough single "Barbie Girl". The group formed in 1989 and achieved huge success across the globe in the late 1990s and early 2000s. The group managed to top the UK Singles Chart with their first three singles. The group released two...	Diamond	1,086,000
8	1997	Surfacing Surfacing (album) Surfacing is the fourth studio album by Canadian singer-songwriter Sarah McLachlan. Released on July 15, 1997, it was produced by McLachlan's frequent collaborator, Pierre Marchand. McLachlan set about writing Surfacing in 1996, after two and a half years touring for her previous album, 1994's...	Sarah McLachlan Sarah McLachlan Sarah Ann McLachlan, OC, OBC is a Canadian musician, singer and songwriter. Known for her emotional ballads and mezzo-soprano vocal range, as of 2006, she has sold over 40 million albums worldwide. McLachlan's best-selling album to date is Surfacing, for which she won two Grammy Awards and four...	Diamond	1,076,000
9	1999	Millennium Millennium (Backstreet Boys album) Millennium is the third album by American boyband Backstreet Boys. It was a highly anticipated follow-up to both their United States debut album, and their second internationally released album. It was their first album to be released in both the U.S...	Backstreet Boys Backstreet Boys The Backstreet Boys are an American vocal group, formed in Orlando, Florida in 1993. The band originally consisted of A. J. McLean, Howie Dorough, Brian Littrell, Nick Carter and Kevin Richardson. They rose to fame with their debut international album, Backstreet Boys...	Diamond	1,073,000
10	1997	Backstreet's Back Backstreet's Back Backstreet's Back is an album by the Backstreet Boys released internationally in 1997, but not in the United States. It was a follow-up to their successful self-titled international debut. Some songs from this album, and the prior release were compiled into a second self-titled album whose release...	Backstreet Boys Backstreet Boys The Backstreet Boys are an American vocal group, formed in Orlando, Florida in 1993. The band originally consisted of A. J. McLean, Howie Dorough, Brian Littrell, Nick Carter and Kevin Richardson. They rose to fame with their debut international album, Backstreet Boys...	Diamond	1,048,000

Top 5 National Artists

Since Nielsen SoundScan tracking began

Rank	Artists	Period	Sales
1	Celine Dion Celine Dion Céline Marie Claudette Dion, , , is a Canadian singer. Born to a large family from Charlemagne, Quebec, Dion emerged as a teen star in the French-speaking world after her manager and future husband René Angélil mortgaged his home to finance her first record...	80s-10s	11,4 million
2	Shania Twain Shania Twain Shania Twain, OC is a Canadian country pop singer-songwriter. Her album The Woman in Me , brought her fame and her 1997 album Come On Over, became the best-selling album of all time by a female musician in any genre, and the best-selling country album of all time. It has sold over 40 million...	90s-10s	Over 4,2 million
3	Sarah McLachlan Sarah McLachlan Sarah Ann McLachlan, OC, OBC is a Canadian musician, singer and songwriter. Known for her emotional ballads and mezzo-soprano vocal range, as of 2006, she has sold over 40 million albums worldwide. McLachlan's best-selling album to date is Surfacing, for which she won two Grammy Awards and four...	80s-10s	Over 3,1 million
4	Tragically Hip	80s-10s	Over 3 million
5	Diana Krall Diana Krall Diana Jean Krall, OC, OBC is a Canadian jazz pianist and singer, known for her contralto vocals. She has sold more than 6 million albums in the US and over 15 million worldwide; altogether, she has sold more albums than any other female jazz artist during the 1990s and 2000s...	90s-10s	Over 2,8 million

Top 5 International Artists

Using the CRIA Database

Rank	Artists	Period	Sales
1	The Beatles The Beatles The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...	60s-10s	13,5 million
2	U2 U2 U2 are an Irish rock band from Dublin. Formed in 1976, the group consists of Bono , The Edge , Adam Clayton , and Larry Mullen, Jr. . U2's early sound was rooted in post-punk but eventually grew to incorporate influences from many genres of popular music...	70s-10s	7,2 million
3	Pink Floyd Pink Floyd Pink Floyd were an English rock band that achieved worldwide success with their progressive and psychedelic rock music. Their work is marked by the use of philosophical lyrics, sonic experimentation, innovative album art, and elaborate live shows. Pink Floyd are one of the most commercially...	60s-90s	6,4 million
4	Madonna Madonna (entertainer) Madonna is an American singer-songwriter, actress and entrepreneur. Born in Bay City, Michigan, she moved to New York City in 1977 to pursue a career in modern dance. After performing in the music groups Breakfast Club and Emmy, she released her debut album in 1983...	80s-10s	5,4 million
5	Backstreet Boys Backstreet Boys The Backstreet Boys are an American vocal group, formed in Orlando, Florida in 1993. The band originally consisted of A. J. McLean, Howie Dorough, Brian Littrell, Nick Carter and Kevin Richardson. They rose to fame with their debut international album, Backstreet Boys...	90s-10s	3,5 million

See also

• The Top 100 Canadian Albums
  The Top 100 Canadian Albums
  The Top 100 Canadian Albums is a book by Bob Mersereau, published in 2007 by Goose Lane Editions.Mersereau acknowledged that the list will cause heated debate among music fans across the country. "The important part is to talk about Canadian music and enjoy it", he said...
  
  
• List of diamond-certified albums in Canada
• List of number-one singles (Canada)

External links

• CRIA: music certification