the beatlesThe Beatles.AP
In the decades before streaming-era rules and digital downloads inflated album sales, platinum certification was more difficult for artists to obtain.
When an artist achieved platinum status back then — selling a million or more physicalcopies of an album — it took a greater, more fervent effort from fans (driving to record stores, finding an album, handing over your hard-earned cash for it), but many acts reached platinum certification routinely nonetheless.
Using RIAA data, we ranked the best-selling artists of all time by the number of platinum albums they've sold in the US. 
While some of the results are surprising — country singer Garth Brooks, for instance, has the most diamond (or 10-times platinum) albums of all time with seven — the legendary acts sitting atop the list are the ones you'd probably expect. 
Check out the 30 best-selling artists of all time, ranked by platinum albums: