The Garth Brooks Milestone That Knocked Elvis Presley Off His Throne

[NinaFromCanadaEh]

The Garth Brooks Milestone That Knocked Elvis Presley Off His Throne
The country superstar overtook the King of Rock and Roll in one fell swoop

Jan 14, 2026 12:07 PM EST

By Lucille Barilla
Entertainment Writer, Parade

https://parade.com/news/garth-brooks-mi ... off-throne

Key Points
Garth Brooks surpassed Elvis Presley in U.S. album sales with 162M certified units.
Brooks holds nine RIAA Diamond Awards and multiple hall of fame inductions.
Elvis’s global record sales and chart records still underscore his unmatched musical legacy.
Few artists have ever come close to matching Elvis Presley’s legacy, but one jaw-dropping Garth Brooks milestone proves even the King can be dethroned.

“He is the only seven-time recipient of the CMA Entertainer of the Year award. In 2022, Garth was honored with the Kris Kristofferson Lifetime Achievement Award at NSAI’s Nashville Songwriter Awards, and he was awarded Country Touring Artist of the Decade at the 2021 Pollstar Awards. He is a member of the Country Music Hall of Fame, the Songwriters Hall of Fame, the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame, the Musicians Hall of Fame, the Austin City Limits Hall of Fame, and the Grand Ole Opry,” writes his website of Brooks’ accomplishments.

During a hosting gig during TODAY‘s fourth hour in 2015, the entertainer shared his thoughts about being in the same company as the King of Rock and Roll and The Beatles as an artist. “I think it’s got to be a reflection of just how large the country music audience is out there. They take great care of me.”



Despite Brooks passing Presley in overall album sales, the King of Rock and Roll maintains a recording legacy few can match. Graceland’s official website reports that over 1 billion Presley records have been sold worldwide.

Additionally, the site explains “Elvis has had no less than 149 songs to appear on Billboard’s Hot 100 Pop Chart in America. Of these, 114 were in the top forty, 40 were in the top 10, and 18 went to number one. His number one singles spent a total of 80 weeks at number one. More than 90 Elvis Presley records reached the charts, with 10 of them reaching number one. These figures are only for the pop charts and only in America.”

Garth Brooks is gearing up for shows at Summerfest in Milwaukee and BST Hyde Park in London. He released The Anthology Part VI: The Comeback – The Next Five Years on December 5, 2025.

About the author

In January 2015, Brooks took the title of the world’s best-selling solo recording artist from the King of Rock and Roll after the release of his album Man Against Machine. Rolling Stone reported that the album’s success pushed Brooks ahead of Presley in overall sales.

Brooks has certified album sales of around 162M units thus far. Presley has 146.5M. However, the country legend has yet to overtake The Beatles, who land at 178M. These numbers reflect United States sales only.

His official website states that he is the best-selling solo artist in history. Additionally, Brooks “is the first and only artist in history to receive nine RIAA Diamond Awards for nine albums certified at over 10 million.”

[NinaFromCanadaEh]

1 Elvis is not alive

2 Brooks was selling when there were more people on the planet

3 Elvis' sales are unreported