Mariah Carey's Highest Grossing Albums Of All Time, Ranked

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The 90s pop star’s success in music is not by luck. Her vocals explain it all. Carey’s unmatched five-octave voice and her signature whistle register have kept her songs on replay for decades. She was among the first pop stars to venture into a rap collaboration, giving her a competitive edge in the industry.

She serves as an inspiration to all the female artists that came after her. Her success can only be matched with pop's greatest, Whitney Houston, who ranks highly among the most bankable female singers in history. Though her spotlight seems to be slowly dimming, she has had many great moments on the airwaves. Here are her highest-grossing albums of all time.

BUTTERFLY, 1997: 4 MILLION COPIES

Carey had a musical transition after her separation with her ex-husband Tommy Mottola who also doubled as her talent manager. She took complete control of her creativity and made a full turn making her first step towards R&B with new collaborations.

She promoted the album with her third concert tour, The Butterfly Tour, in the U.S. Australia and Asia. Despite her heavily publicized conflict with Sony Music, Butterfly was a commercial success topping the charts in several countries. The album was certified platinum and sold over four million units worldwide.

GREATEST HITS, 2001: 5 MILLION COPIES

The 33-track compilation was a double album comprised of Carey’s greatest hits from 1990 to 2000 with one lead single, Never Too Far/Medley Hero. The album became a major flop selling 1.2 million copies in the U.S. and only five million copies worldwide.

Its failure reflected on the little investment put into the collection with no promotional tour. It was later released in 2011 in the U.K. and Ireland repackaged under a new name as The Essential Mariah Carey.

THE EMANCIPATION OF MIMI, 2005: 6 MILLION COPIES

Following four failed album releases, The Emancipation of Mimi came just at the right time to remind her followers that she was still the greatest. She took a big step out of the mud reinventing herself and coming out as an R&B diva with her full voice. It debuted at number one in the U.S grossing at 3.7 million copies.

Billboard 100 with first-week sales of 404, 000 copies. Her collaboration with Fatman Scoop and Jermaine Dupri on Its Like That was a major success topping the charts in several countries. With ten nominations, the album earned her the highest number of Grammy nominations she has ever had in a year. It is estimated to have sold over 6 million copies globally

RAINBOW, 1999: 7 MILLION COPIES

The studio album was her last accomplishment of its kind, after which she had a series of failures before making a comeback in 2005. It came with a mix of hip hop and slow ballads, further showcasing her creativity in incorporating new genres into pop.

For the first time in her career, she included another artist, Jay-Z, in her lead single. Her collaboration with Jay-Z made Rainbow her seventh consecutive album to generate a number one single on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Her sales peaked at seven million copies globally.

MTV UNPLUGGED, 1992: 7 MILLION COPIES

Following the victory in her first two albums, many critics branded Carey as a studio artist for failing to go on the road. MTV Unplugged was an extended play featuring musical performances without studio equipment meant to silence the singer’s critics.

It featured Carey’s a live version of I’ll Be There, which became the bestselling song on the E.P. The E.P. debuted at number four on the Billboard 200, selling over seven million copies worldwide. Carey made a breathtaking performance earning her a Grammy nomination for best female pop vocal performance.

MERRY CHRISTMAS, 1994: 15 MILLION COPIES

Her sales proved her critics wrong, who claimed that the album lacked creativity. Released in between two of her greatest hits, it was the second bestselling holiday album of the year and the album that made her the pop queen of Christmas. The album topped the Billboard Hot 100 charts for 28 weeks selling 15 million copies worldwide.

Its several releases in different formats have contributed significantly to the high sales of five million copies in U.S. Merry Christmas was certified six times platinum in October 2019 by RIAA with sales of 5.7 million in the U.S. She tried her luck in 2010 by releasing a sequel to the album, but unfortunately, it only sold one million copies.

MARIAH CAREY, 1990: 15 MILLION COPIES

Her debut into music was marked by her self-titled album, Mariah Carey, in 1990. The album was a significant hit in the U.S. getting certified nine-times platinum for shipping nine million copies in the country. The reception was similar in Canada and selling 15 million copies globally.

It retained the number one position on the Billboard 100 charts for the longest time in all her albums for 11 consecutive weeks. She set the pace in pop with her vocals on the tracks getting acclaimed by the likes of Beyoncé and Christina Aguilera.

NUMBER 1S, 1998: 15 MILLION COPIES

The number 1s compilation album featured her 13 number-one singles on the Billboard 100 and four new singles. Including All I want for Christmas in the collection made it the bestselling album in Japan by a non-Asian, selling over three million copies. The song was the bestselling single in the 1994 Christmas album in Japan.

The album debuted at number four on the Billboard 100 and sold over 15 million units worldwide. One of the new songs, When You Believe, received an academy award for the best original song. The song also featured as a soundtrack in the DreamWorks animated musical drama, The Prince of Egypt.

DAYDREAM, 1995: 25 MILLION COPIES

Her fans had hardly heard enough of Music Box when she released yet another grand album. It was quite surprising that she did not bag a Grammy after getting six nominations for the award. Daydream’s first single debuted at number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 becoming the first of its kind.

The song was the bestselling single in the United States in 1995. The second single One Sweet Day featuring Boyz II Men also topped the charts for six weeks in the U.S., New Zealand, and Canada. The album made it to the top five in Japan, with 25 million copies sold worldwide.

MUSIC BOX, 1993: 30 MILLION COPIES

Mariah’s greatest hit was her fourth album, Music Box, in 1993. Music Box stands as her most successful album of all time, with sales of 30 million copies worldwide. Her songs blew the airwaves with two tracks in the album topping the Hot 100 charts.

Closely followed by Dreamlover, Without You became her first number-one single to peak in the European charts. The two songs got her two consecutive Grammy nominations for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance in 1994 and 1995. The album was diamond certified by RIAA for shipping 10 million copies in the U.S.

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