Inside Music with Melinda Newman

Who's the top seller of 2009? Taylor Swift, Susan Boyle or Michael Jackson?

Does Boyle's "Dream" surpass "Swift's "Fearless?"

By Melinda Newman Thursday, Jan 7, 2010 2:34 PM

Taylor Swift

Credit: AP

In was an amazing run down the final stretch, but Taylor Swift’s “Fearless” held off an thrilling streak my late-arrival, Susan Boyle’s “I Dreamed a Dream,” to remain the top-selling album of 2009. “Dream,” which stays No. 1 on the Billboard 200 for the sixth week this week, sold 3.1 million since its November release. That was almost enough to knock “Fearless,” which benefitted from a full year of sales in 2009, from the top, but not quite. “Fearless” sold 3.2 million in 2009.

Last year marks the first year since 2006 that more than one album has sold more than 3 million during the calendar year according to Billboard. Plus, Boyle’s “Dream” is the only released in 2009 (“Fearless” came out in 2008) to surpass that mark.

In other highlights, Michael Jackson was the year’s top selling artist as more than 8.2 million copies of Jackson’s assorted albums sold in 2009, the vast majority after his untimely death in June. Jackson’s “Number Ones” sold 2.36 million, making it the third best-selling album of the year behind “Fearless” and “Dream.”

Rounding out the top five are Lady Gaga’s “The Fame,” which sold 2.24 million, and another latecomer, Andrea Bocelli’s “My Christmas,” which, like “Dream” managed to rack up impressive sales, 2.21 million copies, in only a few weeks.