whitney houston or celine dion

janet jackson

The question itself is wrong, as it presumes that Madonna is THE best-selling female artist of all time.

She is arguably the most well-known, but the best-selling? Nah.

Which of her studio albums has sold more than 20 million copies worldwide? You'd be hard-pressed to find one. Her best-selling, True Blue, sold only an estimated 17 million (although it WAS #1 in 28 countries).

Contrast that with the 28-million selling Falling Into You of Celine Dion and the 24-million selling Music Box of Mariah Carey. And these are just two CDs off of their mega-selling catalogues.

I'd say the best-selling female worldwide is STILL Mariah...due to a combination of her propensity for recording (her latest is now her 11th STUDIO ALBUM, not counting 2 Greatest Hits Compilations, a best-selling Christmas Album, etc.), and the fact that many of her INDIVIDUAL ALBUMS (Music Box, Daydream, Mariah Carey (the debut), #1s, Butterfly, Merry Christmas) have sold more than 15 million albums EACH, worldwide.

And Nana Mouskouri? Please, since when has ANY artist VIRTUALLY UNKNOWN OUTSIDE OF EUROPE been able to sell 450 million albums?

Isn't it ironic that the ones who CLAIM to have sold more are those who are in the MOST DIFFICULT POSITION of proving their alleged sales, when you get right down to it?

janet jackson

Mariah Carey

Whitney Houston

Paris Hilton.