It turns out that identifying Canada's best-selling album of all time is a surprisingly complicated task. While many might assume a clear winner exists, the reality is that music sales data over the past few decades is fragmented and often contradictory.
The Challenge of Tracking Music Sales
The Canadian Encyclopedia lists Alanis Morissette's Jagged Little Pill as the top-selling Canadian album in Canada, but it provides no supporting data or methodology. This lack of transparency is common in the industry. In 2015, Guinness World Records recognized Shania Twain's Come On Over as the biggest-selling studio album by a female solo artist, with over 40 million copies worldwide. It remains the best-selling country album and the best-selling album by a Canadian artist, ranking eighth globally all-time.
However, these claims are not definitive. In 2018, David Farrell wrote for Billboard Canada that no definitive source provides a real-time count of who sold precisely what over the years. That same year, veteran music journalist Alan Cross noted that the SoundScan measuring system, which replaced earlier estimates, did not cross into Canada until 1995. This means any album released in Canada before 1995 has sales figures that should be taken with a grain of salt.
Historical Sales Milestones
2018 was a notable year for music sales discussions. That's when an Eagles greatest hits album overtook Michael Jackson's Thriller as the top-selling album in recorded history, with 38 million units compared to Jackson's 33 million. Also in 1995, Alanis Morissette released her seminal album. The Canadian Music Blog estimates that Jagged Little Pill sold at least 33 million copies worldwide, placing it 13th all-time.
The Canadian Encyclopedia's list of the top 30 best-selling Canadian albums in Canada places Jagged Little Pill at number one, followed by Shania Twain's The Woman In Me (1995), Come On Over, and Up!. Bryan Adams appears with Reckless (1984) and Waking Up the Neighbours (1991), followed by Barenaked Ladies' Gordon and Tom Cochrane's Mad, Mad World (both 1992). Celine Dion dominates with six albums in the top 14 and two more at positions 28 and 29.
Current Music Scene
Celine Dion, who was diagnosed with Stiff Person Syndrome in late 2022, recently announced a comeback series of 16 concerts in Paris. Meanwhile, Alanis Morissette is touring the U.K. this year, and Shania Twain has a dozen concerts scheduled at London's Wembley Stadium in June and July. With the hype around these performances, sales figures may shift again, making the quest for Canada's best-selling album even more elusive.
Isn't it ironic?
