The Bestselling Albums Of All Time In Canada

By JC Villamere. 26 Jun 2017 7:04 AM

These albums aren’t necessarily by Canadians (although there’s a surprising amount of hosers here), these are the albums that you and your countryfolk have purchased the very most of over the decades — although (spoiler alert?) all the entries on our list have been released since 1980. And although we’re counting down the top 15 albums, they’re by only nine different artists, so get ready for some of your fave stars to get some repeat love. Also? About 80 per cent of the top sellers are by women. Will your favourite chanteuse (or chanteur) top the list? Let’s find out!

Apple

EMI

#13: 'Big Shiny Tunes 2' by Various Artists

Universal

#12 'The Bodyguard Soundtrack' featuring Whitney Houston

Arista

#10 'All the Way... A Decade of Song' by Celine Dion

Sony

Mercury

Sony

#7 'Jagged Little Pill' by Alanis Morissette

Maverick

#6 'These Are Special Times' by Celine Dion

Sony

#5 'The Colour Of My Love' by Celine Dion

Sony

MJJ

Sony

#1: 'Let's Talk About Love' by Celine Dion

Sony

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#15 '1' by The Beatles
Apple
No surprise this chart-topping, world-changing Liverpudlian quartet is on the list. This greatest hits package, which includes all the band's #1 hits, was originally released in 2000. It was re-released in 2015 with new stereo mixes by Giles Martin (son of famed Beatles producer George Martin) and Sam Okell at Abbey Road Studios where The Beatles recorded through the '60s. Upon its release, it became the fastest-selling album of all time.
#14 'Romanza' by Andrea Bocelli
EMI
If you're not a fan of classical crossovers, this entry might be a surprise to you. Featuring the anthem "Con Te Partiro," (a.k.a. "Time To Say Goodbye") the Italian tenor's 1997 album is certified diamond and has sold more than 1.1 million copies.
#13: 'Big Shiny Tunes 2' by Various Artists
Universal
Wow, we REALLY loved our 'Big Shiny Tunes' in the '90s, eh? 'Big Shiny Tunes 2' is the second release from the MuchMusic compilation series, and its most successful. Here's the complete track listing and you'll notice that one of the nice things about these albums is that they interspersed then-emerging Canadian artists like Holly McNarland, Age of Electric, and The Tea Party alongside established international acts like Marilyn Manson, Matchbox 20 and Stone Temple Pilots.

The Prodigy - "Breathe (Edit)"
Blur - "Song 2"
Third Eye Blind - "Semi-Charmed Life"
Smash Mouth - "Walkin' on the Sun"
Sugar Ray - "Fly" (featuring Supercat)
Bran Van 3000 - "Drinking in L.A."
Marilyn Manson - "The Beautiful People"
Holly McNarland - "Numb"
Bush - "Swallowed"
Matchbox 20 - "Push"
Collective Soul - "Precious Declaration (Remix)"
The Tea Party - "Temptation (Edit) (Tom Lord-Alge Mix)"
The Chemical Brothers - "Block Rockin' Beats (Radio Edit)"
Wide Mouth Mason - "My Old Self"
Radiohead - "Paranoid Android"
The Age of Electric - "Remote Control"
Stone Temple Pilots - "Lady Picture Show"
#12 'The Bodyguard Soundtrack' featuring Whitney Houston
Arista
All together now: "And iiiiii-eeee-iiiiii-eeeeee-iiiiii will al-ways love you-ooo-wooo-woo-wo-oooooo-ooohhhhhh-whooooa!" As if six smash-up, knock-out, all-out classic Whitney performances like the aforementioned "I Will Always Love You" plus "I'm Every Woman" weren't enough, this 1992 soundtrack also includes tracks by Aaron Neville, Kenny G, Lisa Stansfield, and Joe Cocker featuring Canadian Sass Jordan.
#11 '21' by Adele
XL
We all knew this one would be on the list, right? Adele's sophomore album, which features the smash hits "Rolling in the Deep," "Someone Like You," "Rumour Has It," and "Set Fire to the Rain," has sold over 1.4 million copies since its 2011 release.
#10 'All the Way... A Decade of Song' by Celine Dion
Sony
Here we go: We're into Celine territory here, folks, and this is not the last time you'll see the Quebecoise superstar on this list. This certified diamond 1997 compilation features all of Dion's early smash hits, from "The Power of Love" to "My Heart Will Go On."
#9 'Up!' by Shania Twain
Mercury
It was 15 years ago that Our Lady of the Exposed Midrift last topped the charts — or released any new material. Now she's back with 'Now' and back on top but in 2002, Twain was releasing three full versions of her fourth album, 'Up!': a pop version in a red cover, a country version in a green cover, and an international version that's inspired by Indian movie soundtra--wha? There's an international version of Shania Twain's 'Up!' that's inspired by Indian movie soundtracks? Excuse us, we must hear this immediately. See you at #8.
#8 'Celine Dion' by Celine Dion
Sony
Imagine if there was an album named 'Celine Dion' but it wasn't by Celine Dion? Wow, that'd be weird. You know what's not weird? Seeing Dion appear again on this list. This was her second English record, released in 1992, but she had already released over a dozen French albums by then. This was really the start of her huge success south of the border as it includes the Grammy- and Academy Award-winning track, "Beauty and the Beast."
#7 'Jagged Little Pill' by Alanis Morissette
Maverick
Ah, it was the soundtrack to 1995 ... and 1996 ... and 1997. Who were we as a nation before "You Oughta Know" was released? Guys, this record sold two million copies in a country of, like, 30 million people. When you factor in dubbed copies and everything, it's like every household in the nation had this cassette. Soooo ironic. But even more iconic.
#6 'These Are Special Times' by Celine Dion
Sony
You just cannot overestimate how many Canadians love a good Christmas album. And you just cannot overestimate how many Canadians love Celine Dion. So it's no surprise that this, Dion's 1998 Christmas album (holiday album? "special times" album?), was certified two times diamond. Add an appearance by #14 on our list, Andrea Bocelli, and also one by R. Kelly and you've got yourself a party that's guaranteed to include special times.
#5 'The Colour Of My Love' by Celine Dion
Sony
Dude. She's back. And we're just cracking the top five here. Don't fight your love of Dion. The voice of Dion is too strong. Give in, give in to the colour of her love. You know why? Because she's talent personified, because her voice is clear as a bell, because she owns the charts in two official languages and most of all, because she spells "Colour" with a u like a true Canadian. Vive la Canada! Vive la Dion!
#4 'Come On Over' by Shania Twain

OMG, remember that version of the cover track that's a duet with Mark McGrath? We do. So great. OK, Twain's third album became the best-selling country music album ever and the best-selling studio album by a female act ever when it was released in 1997. It spent 50 weeks (that's almost a whole year) at the top of the Billboard Top Country Albums chart and it spent almost three years (151 weeks) in the Top Ten. To date, the album has sold more than 40 million copies worldwide.
#3 'Thriller' by Michael Jackson
MJJ
Released in 1982, this is the only album on the list from the 1980s, a testament to an album with sales figures that will stand the test of time. This is Jackson's sixth studio album and the follow-up to his popular 'Off The Wall' album, but no one could have expected the cultural juggernaut that 'Thriller' would become. It is the world's bestselling album with estimated sales of 65 million. With eight wins, it won a record-breaking number of Grammy Awards in 1984, including Album of the Year. In Canada, it's certified 2x diamond with about 2.4 million copies sold here. But with 'Thriller,' America's bestselling record and the world's bestselling record out of the way, which albums could possibly capture the top two spots on Canada's list of bestsellers ever? Let's see those top two ...
#2 'Falling Into You' by Celine Dion
Sony
The Quebecoise queen hangs on to the #2 spot with her 1996 release, which became one of the bestselling albums in history with sales of over 32 million copies internationally. Hits like "Because You Loved Me," "It's All Coming Back to Me Now," and the title track, "Falling Into You" helped the album earn the Grammy Award for Album of the Year and the World Music Award for the Bestselling Artist of the Year. It was Dion's first #1 album on the Billboard 200. But wait, there's more.
#1: 'Let's Talk About Love' by Celine Dion
Sony
The whole world wants to talk to Celine Dion about love. Everyone's in on that convo, yo. She was, like, "Let's talk about love," and Earth was, like, "Let's." In Canada, 3.2 million copies of the album have sold. In a country of about 35 million, that's like one in 10 Canadians bought this album. If you take babies out of the equation and people like the dad in 'Footloose' who aren't into music, it's like every household, dorm room, preschool and dentist office in the country had this record on hand. And of course they did, because this is the album with the 'Titanic' theme, "My Heart Will Go On." The album has sold 31 million copies worldwide and was certified 4x diamond in Canada with sales of 3.2 million. You don't have to be a fan of soft rock to salute the unending accomplishments of this homegrown diamond. Just take a tip from Drake and bow down, as he did to Dion at this year's Billboard Music Awards.

The Bestselling Albums Of All Time In Canada

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