Most copies of one album sold in a single year

Adele's (UK) album 21 sold an unprecedented 18 million copies worldwide in 2011, including 5.82 million copies in the USA and 3.73 million in her homeland. By the end of 2013, 21 had shifted 26.4 million copies worldwide. It is the biggest-selling album of the 21st century and is among the 40 biggest-selling albums of all time. With sales of 18 million copies in 2011, 21 accounted for 1.6 per cent of all album sales that year.

Furthermore, 21 boosted the UK's share of the global market, with British acts (led by the likes of Adele, Coldplay and Mumford & Sons) accounting for 12.6 per cent of worldwide sales in 2011 (up from 11.8 per cent in 2010), according to figures from the British Phonographic Industry. That equates to one in eight of all artist albums sold.

Rolling Stone magazine reported in October 2012 that 21 had raked in profits of $67 million for XL Records.