Germany is the fourth largest music industry in the world, but in Europe, it is the second largest. This is a list of the best-selling albums in Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

that have been certified by the Bundesverband Musikindustrie

Bundesverband Musikindustrie

The Bundesverband Musikindustrie or simply BVMI represents the music industry in Germany. The association represents the interests of nearly 350 labels and music industry related enterprises....

 (BVMI). Since January 1, 2003, BVMI certifies an album platinum for the shipment of 200,000 copies across Germany.

All albums in this list must have been certified for at least a million copies.

Certifications for albums released in Germany depend upon their release date.

Gold and Platinum certification awards (Timeline)

Albums

Certification	Before September 24, 1999	Before January 1, 2003	After January 1, 2003
Gold	250,000	150,000	100,000
Platinum	500,000	300,000	200,000

The List of Best-Selling Albums in Germany

Sortable table

Year	Title	Artist	Certification	Shipments
Bochum	Herbert Grönemeyer	5x Platinum	2.5 million	2002	Mensch Mensch (album) Mensch, released in 2002, is the 20th music release by prominent German rock/pop artist Herbert Grönemeyer. Mensch is Grönemeyer's 11th full-length album of original compositions. The title track Mensch became Grönemeyer's first number-one single in Germany...	Herbert Grönemeyer Herbert Grönemeyer Herbert Grönemeyer is a German musician and actor, popular in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. He starred as war correspondent Lieutenant Werner in Wolfgang Petersen's movie Das Boot, but later concentrated on his musical career...	21x Gold	3.15 million
1989	...But Seriously ...But Seriously -Instrumental contributions:*Phil Collins — keyboards, drums, percussion, tambourine, vocals*Nathan East — bass guitar*Daryl Stuermer — guitar*Dominic Miller — guitar*The Phoenix Horns:**Don Myrick — saxophone...	Phil Collins Phil Collins Philip David Charles "Phil" Collins, LVO is an English singer-songwriter, drummer, pianist and actor best known as a drummer and vocalist for British progressive rock group Genesis and as a solo artist....	6x Platinum	3 million
1984	Bochum	Herbert Grönemeyer	11x Gold	2.75 million
1992	ABBA Gold: Greatest Hits ABBA Gold: Greatest Hits Gold: Greatest Hits is a compilation album of recordings by Swedish pop group ABBA. It was released on September 21, 1992 through PolyGram, the first compilation to be released after the company had acquired Polar Music and thus the rights to the ABBA back catalogue. In 1998, PolyGram was in turn...	ABBA ABBA ABBA was a Swedish pop group formed in Stockholm in 1970 which consisted of Anni-Frid Lyngstad, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson and Agnetha Fältskog...	5x Platinum	2.5 million
1988	Tracy Chapman Tracy Chapman (album) Tracy Chapman is the self-titled debut album by singer-songwriter Tracy Chapman, released in 1988.-History:Tracy Chapman hit #1 on both the US & UK album charts. The album was critically acclaimed and helped to launch the 1990s female singer-songwriter movement, which included artists like Tori...	Tracy Chapman Tracy Chapman Tracy Chapman is an American singer-songwriter, best known for her singles "Fast Car", "Talkin' 'bout a Revolution", "Baby Can I Hold You", "Give Me One Reason" and "Telling Stories". She is a multi-platinum and four-time Grammy Award-winning artist.-Biography:Tracy Chapman was born in Cleveland,...	9x Gold	2.25 million
1991	We Can't Dance We Can't Dance Rolling Stone chiefly commented on the album's lyrics. They criticized "Tell Me Why" and "Way of the World" for being soulless and impersonal social commentaries, but regarded most of songs as outstanding, and summarized "Although We Can't Dance doesn't quite achieve the vulnerable grace of Duke or...	Genesis Genesis (band) Genesis are an English rock band that formed in 1967. The band currently comprises the longest-tenured members Tony Banks , Mike Rutherford and Phil Collins . Past members Peter Gabriel , Steve Hackett and Anthony Phillips , also played major roles in the band in its early years...	9x Gold	2.25 million
1994	Over The Hump Over the Hump Over the Hump is the eighth regular studio album by European-American pop group The Kelly Family. Co-produced by Hartmut Müller and Kathy Kelly, it was released in 1994 throughout most of Europe....	The Kelly Family The Kelly Family The Kelly Family is an Irish-American-European music group consisting of a multi-generational family, who play a repertoire of rock, pop and folk music. They have had chart and concert success in Europe and other parts of the world, especially in Germany, the Benelux countries, Scandinavia, Eastern...	9x Gold	2.25 million
1991	Greatest Hits II	Queen Queen (band) Queen are a British rock band formed in London in 1971, originally consisting of Freddie Mercury , Brian May , John Deacon , and Roger Taylor...	9x Gold	2.25 million
1973	1962–1966	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...	4x Platinum	2 million
1995	Bocelli	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....	4x Platinum	2 million
1987	Bad	Michael Jackson Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson was an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. Referred to as the King of Pop, or by his initials MJ, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records...	4x Platinum	2 million
1991	Dangerous	Michael Jackson	4x Platinum	2 million
1987	Dirty Dancing Dirty Dancing (soundtrack) Dirty Dancing is the original soundtrack of the 1987 film Dirty Dancing. The album became a huge commercial success in the USA. It spent 18 weeks at #1 on the Billboard 200 album sales charts and went multi-platinum. It spawned a follow-up album entitled More Dirty Dancing . Executive Produced by...	O.S.T. - Various	4x Platinum	2 million
1995	Abenteuerland	Pur Pur (band) -History:The group was initially founded in 1975 under the name Crusade by Roland Bless and Ingo Reidl. Their first releases came out under the name Opus, but after an Austrian band with the same name had a huge hit single in Germany in 1985, they switched to the name Pur. Pur's first hit single in...	4x Platinum	2 million
1996	Alles	Wolfgang Petry Wolfgang Petry Wolfgang "Wolle" Petry is a former musician from Cologne, Germany. He was the leading German language musician in terms of chart figures in 1997, with his most successful album "Alles".- Awards :Echo awards...	4x Platinum	2 million
2001	Best Of	Andrea Berg Andrea Berg Andrea Berg is a German singer in the schlager genre.Berg was born in Krefeld. As a child she would experiment with performing short sketches at carnivals and other celebrations. She later played with a band, and also worked backstage on stage set-up and drove the band's van...	13x Gold	1.95 million
1981	Face Value	Phil Collins	7x Gold	1.75 million
1988	Ö	Herbert Grönemeyer	7x Gold	1.75 million
1994	Affentheater	Marius Müller-Westernhagen Marius Müller-Westernhagen Marius Müller-Westernhagen is a German actor and musician.Possibly best known for the maudlin hit "Johnny Walker", Marius Müller Westernhagen has been a feature in German rock music since the mid seventies...	7x Gold	1.75 million
1979	The Wall The Wall The Wall is the eleventh studio album by English progressive rock group Pink Floyd. Released as a double album on 30 November 1979, it was subsequently performed live with elaborate theatrical effects, and adapted into a feature film, Pink Floyd—The Wall.As with the band's previous three...	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...	7x Gold	1.75 million
1981	Greatest Hits	Queen	7x Gold	1.75 million
1991	Joyride	Roxette Roxette Roxette are a Swedish pop music duo, consisting of Marie Fredriksson and Per Gessle . Formed in 1986, the duo became an international act from the late 1980s, when they released their breakthrough album Look Sharp!...	7x Gold	1.75 million
2000	1	The Beatles	11x Gold	1.65 million
1993	Happy Nation Happy Nation Happy Nation is the debut album of Ace of Base, a pop music group based in Sweden. It was released in early 1993 in Europe, Africa and Latin America on Festival Records. The album is the third highest-selling debut album by a group after Guns N' Roses and Linkin Park...	Ace Of Base Ace of Base Ace of Base is a pop band based in Gothenburg, Sweden. Its original lineup consisted of Ulf "Buddha" Ekberg, and three siblings, Jonas "Joker" Berggren, Malin "Linn" Berggren and Jenny Berggren...	3x Platinum	1.5 million
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...	3x Platinum	1.5 million
1995	The Lion King (Audio Book) The Lion King The Lion King is a 1994 American animated film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures. It is the 32nd feature in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series...	Diverse	3x Platinum	1.5 million
1997	Eros Eros (Eros Ramazzotti album) Eros is the first greatest hits album by Italian pop/rock singer Eros Ramazzotti, released in 1997 on the BMG label. Of the album's 16 tracks, five are original recordings, nine re-recordings and two new tracks. Two of the re-recorded tracks are duets; "Musica è" featuring Andrea Bocelli and...	Eros Ramazzotti Eros Ramazzotti Eros Luciano Walter Ramazzotti , known simply as Eros Ramazzotti, is an Italian singer and songwriter. Ramazzotti is enormously popular in Italy, and is well known in most non-English-speaking European countries and in the Spanish-speaking world, as he has released most of his albums in both...	3x Platinum	1.5 million
1998	Ray Of Light Ray of Light Ray of Light is the seventh studio album by American singer-songwriter Madonna, released on March 3, 1998 by Maverick Records and distributed by Warner Bros. Records. After giving birth to her daughter Lourdes, Madonna collaborated with Patrick Leonard and William Orbit in developing the album...	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...	3x Platinum	1.5 million
1998	Westernhagen - Live	Marius Müller-Westernhagen	3x Platinum	1.5 million
1995	HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I	Michael Jackson	3x Platinum	1.5 million
1982	Thriller Thriller (album) Thriller is the sixth studio album by American recording artist Michael Jackson. It was released on November 30, 1982, by Epic Records as the follow-up to Jackson's critically and commercially successful 1979 album Off the Wall...	Michael Jackson	3x Platinum	1.5 million
1992	The Bodyguard: Original Soundtrack Album	Whitney Houston Whitney Houston Whitney Elizabeth Houston is an American singer, actress, producer and a former model. Houston is the most awarded female act of all time, according to Guinness World Records, and her list of awards include 1 Emmy Award, 6 Grammy Awards, 30 Billboard Music Awards, 22 American Music Awards, among...	3x Platinum	1.5 million
1985	No Jacket Required No Jacket Required The album is named after an incident at The Pump Room restaurant in Chicago, Illinois. Collins , was denied admittance because he did not meet the restaurant's dress code of "jacket required" for dinner, while Plant was allowed in. Collins was wearing a jacket, and argued about it. The Maître d'...	Phil Collins	3x Platinum	1.5 million
1990	Serious Hits... Live!	Phil Collins	3x Platinum	1.5 million
1993	Seiltänzertraum	Pur	3x Platinum	1.5 million
1995	Made In Heaven Made in Heaven Made in Heaven is the fifteenth studio album by British rock group Queen and the final one to feature lead singer Freddie Mercury and bassist John Deacon, released on 6 November 1995...	Queen	3x Platinum	1.5 million
2001	Swing When You're Winning Swing When You're Winning Swing When You're Winning is a swing cover album by English singer-songwriter Robbie Williams.-Background:After the success of his third studio album, Sing When You're Winning, Williams wanted to take another musical direction...	Robbie Williams Robbie Williams Robert Peter "Robbie" Williams is an English singer-songwriter, vocal coach and occasional actor. He is a member of the pop group Take That. Williams rose to fame in the band's first run in the early- to mid-1990s. After many disagreements with the management and certain group members, Williams...	5x Platinum	1.5 million
1973	1967-1970	The Beatles	3x Platinum	1.5 million
2010	Grosse Freiheit	Unheilig Unheilig Unheilig is a German Neue Deutsche Härte band with various pop and electronic influences. The band founded in 2000 and now consists of principally Der Graf , with his live musicians Licky, Henning Verlage and Potti.-Early years 1999–2009:In 1999, together with Grant Stevens Unheilig (German for...	7x Platinum	1.4 million
1979	Weihnachten mit Andrea Jürgens - Meine 20 schönsten Weihnachtslieder	Andrea Jürgens Andrea Jürgens Andrea Elisabeth Maria Jürgens is a German schlager singer. She became famous as a child star in the late 1970s when she had her first hit with "Und dabei liebe ich euch beide" at the age of ten...	5x Gold	1.25 million
1979	Benjamin Blümchen und die Schule (Audio Book)	Benjamin Blümchen	5x Gold	1.25 million
1988	Unplugged Unplugged (Eric Clapton album) Unplugged is a live album by Eric Clapton released in 1992. It was recorded live in England for the MTV Unplugged series and includes both the hit single "Tears in Heaven" and a heavily reworked acoustic version of "Layla"....	Eric Clapton Eric Clapton Eric Patrick Clapton, CBE, is an English guitarist and singer-songwriter. Clapton is the only three-time inductee to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame: once as a solo artist, and separately as a member of The Yardbirds and Cream. Clapton has been referred to as one of the most important and...	5x Gold	1.25 million
1977	Rumours Rumours Rumours is the eleventh studio album by British-American rock band Fleetwood Mac. Largely recorded in California during 1976, it was produced by the band with Ken Caillat and Richard Dashut and was released on 4 February 1977 by Warner Bros. Records. The record peaked at the top of both the...	Fleetwood Mac Fleetwood Mac Fleetwood Mac are a British–American rock band formed in 1967 in London.The only original member present in the band is its eponymous drummer, Mick Fleetwood...	5x Gold	1.25 million
1991	Use Your Illusion II Use Your Illusion II Use Your Illusion II is the fourth studio album by the American rock band Guns N' Roses. It was one of two albums released in conjunction with the Use Your Illusion Tour, and as a result the two albums are sometimes considered a double album...	Guns N' Roses Guns N' Roses Guns N' Roses is an American hard rock band, formed in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, in 1985. The band has released six studio albums, three EPs, and one live album...	5x Gold	1.25 million
1998	Radio Maria	Marius Müller-Westernhagen	5x Gold	1.25 million
1998	Back for Good Back For Good (Modern Talking album) -Chart position:-External links:*...	Modern Talking Modern Talking Modern Talking was a German dance pop duo consisting of Thomas Anders and Dieter Bohlen. Their music has often been classified as Europop. They have been referred to as Germany's most successful pop duo, and have had a number of hit singles, reaching the top 5 in many countries...	5x Gold	1.25 million
1978	Grease: The Original Soundtrack from the Motion Picture	O.S.T. - Various	5x Gold	1.25 million
1997	Titanic: Music from the Motion Picture	O.S.T. - Various	5x Gold	1.25 million
1991	Out of Time Out of Time (album) Out of Time is the seventh album by the American alternative rock band R.E.M., released on Warner Bros. Records in 1991. With Out of Time R.E.M.'s status grew from that of a cult band to a massive international act. The record topped the album sales charts in both the U.S...	R.E.M. R.E.M. R.E.M. was an American rock band formed in Athens, Georgia, in 1980 by singer Michael Stipe, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills and drummer Bill Berry. One of the first popular alternative rock bands, R.E.M. gained early attention due to Buck's ringing, arpeggiated guitar style and Stipe's...	5x Gold	1.25 million
1992	Automatic for the People Automatic for the People Automatic for the People is the eighth album by the American alternative rock band R.E.M., released in 1992 on Warner Bros. Records. While R.E.M...	R.E.M. R.E.M. R.E.M. was an American rock band formed in Athens, Georgia, in 1980 by singer Michael Stipe, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills and drummer Bill Berry. One of the first popular alternative rock bands, R.E.M. gained early attention due to Buck's ringing, arpeggiated guitar style and Stipe's...	5x Gold	1.25 million
1987	Winterkinder	Rolf Zuckovski	5x Gold	1.25 million
1991	Stars	Simply Red Simply Red Simply Red were a British soul band that sold more than 50 million albums over a 25-year career. Their style drew influences from blue-eyed soul, new romantic, rock, reggae and jazz...	5x Gold	1.25 million
1984	Private Dancer Private Dancer Private Dancer is the fifth solo album by Tina Turner, released on Capitol Records in 1984, which became her breakthrough solo album. Turner's success with the album came after several challenging years of going solo after a public divorce from husband and performing partner Ike Turner. It is her...	Tina Turner Tina Turner Tina Turner is an American singer and actress whose career has spanned more than 50 years. She has won numerous awards and her achievements in the rock music genre have led many to call her the "Queen of Rock 'n' Roll".Turner started out her music career with husband Ike Turner as a member of the...	5x Gold	1.25 million
1992	1492: Conquest of Paradise 1492: Conquest of Paradise (album) 1492: Conquest of Paradise is a 1992 music score by Greek electronic composer and artist Vangelis. The film, a recount of the voyage to America in 1492 by Christopher Columbus, was directed by Ridley Scott, for whom Vangelis had previously composed the music score for Blade Runner, in 1982...	Vangelis Vangelis Evangelos Odysseas Papathanassiou is a Greek composer of electronic, progressive, ambient, jazz, pop rock and orchestral music, under the artist name Vangelis...	5x Gold	1.25 million
2006	Back To Black Back to Black Back to Black is the second studio album by English recording artist Amy Winehouse, released on 27 October 2006 by Island Records. It is the last album released in her lifetime. The album incorporates 1960s soul music styles and modern R&B production, with subjective lyrics that concern...	Amy Winehouse Amy Winehouse Amy Jade Winehouse was an English singer-songwriter known for her powerful deep contralto vocals and her eclectic mix of musical genres including R&B, soul and jazz. Winehouse's 2003 debut album, Frank, was critically successful in the UK and was nominated for the Mercury Prize...	6x Platinum	1.2 million
2007	Vom selben Stern	Ich + Ich Ich + Ich Ich + Ich , also pronounced "Ich und Ich", is the name of a musical project by the German musicians Annette Humpe and Adel Tawil. They met in a Berlin recording studio in 2002 when Tawil sang on a production that Humpe had written...	6x Platinum	1.2 million

• Tracy Chapman
  Tracy Chapman
  Tracy Chapman is an American singer-songwriter, best known for her singles "Fast Car", "Talkin' 'bout a Revolution", "Baby Can I Hold You", "Give Me One Reason" and "Telling Stories". She is a multi-platinum and four-time Grammy Award-winning artist.-Biography:Tracy Chapman was born in Cleveland,...
  
  's eponymous debut album was certified 9x Gold in 2010. Since this album was released prior to September 24, 1999, every Gold certification it receives denotes 250,000 copies shipped. Thus at 9x Gold, 2.25 million copies of the album have been shipped across Germany.

• 1 by 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...
  
  was certified 11x Gold in 2007. Since this album was released prior to January 1, 2003, every Gold certification it receives denotes 150,000 copies shipped. Thus at 11x Gold, 1.65 million copies of the album have been shipped across Germany.