There was a time when the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) depended solely on the physical sale of records – singles and albums – to determine the awarding of gold, platinum, multi-platinum, and diamond awards.
Today, streaming services also come into the count and with services nearly as plentiful as radio stations, the numbers can easily add up in a short time.
According to records, streaming a song 1,500 times is equal to one physical until sold. And any combination of 1,500 streams from one album – even if it is just one or two songs – will equal the sale of one physical album.
With those numbers, it doesn’t take long for a single or an album to build up the numbers to earn awards from the RIAA.
The RIAA certifies an album Dimond when it sells 10 million copies. The Eagles “Greatest Hits” album currently sits at the top of the list at 38 million.
While Garth Brooks has several of his albums on the Diamond Award list, Chris Stapleton becomes the first Country music artist to have a single certified two times Diamond for selling 20 million copies with “Tennessee Whiskey”.
But Chris Stapleton isn’t the only Country music artist to earn major RIAA accolades. With song streams in the billions, Morgan Wallen is racking up some once in a lifetime numbers with the RIAA.
Named the Billboard top artist of 2025 and five billion plus streamed singles on Spotify alone; Morgan Wallen has earned his spot as the Highest Certified Country Artist of All Time with 265.5 million RIAA certifications!
His 239.5 million certified singles and 26 million album certifications places him third overall – across all genres – places him in third overall in certifications and second overall in digital singles across genres. And all in seven years.
“Whiskey Glasses” is now certified 13 times platinum for selling (streaming) 13 million copies.
Wallen’s latest album “I’m the Problem” has been certified four times platinum for selling four million copies in the United States. And nearly every song on his albums has also earned at least a gold certification with five of them certified Diamond.
And not to be left out…Carrie Underwood notches her spot in musical history as the top selling female Country music artist with 95 million units certified – 22.5 million albums and 72.5 million singles. The certifications include solo and collaborative work.
The eight time Grammy Award winner is also the season four winner on “American Idol”. Speaking on her historic achievement Underwood said, “accomplishments like this are more than I would have ever dared to dream of when I was starting out. I owe everything to the fans, who have literally voted for me from the beginning of my career and have showed up and given me so much love for over 20 years. I feel truly blessed.”
Her other accomplishments include 16 Academy of Country Music Awards, 25 Country Music Television Awards (the most of any artist), 17 American Music Awards, 10 People’s Choice Awards, and seven Country Music Associaton Awards.