The 30 best-selling music artists of all time, ranked by platinum albums

APThe Beatles.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 physical copies 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 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: