Eminem Named Best-Selling Artist of the Decade

When MTV finally announced their lineup for 'Hottest MC of 2009,' Jay-Z and Lil Wayne both questioned Eminem's absence from the list, with Jay-Z even citing Em's successful 2009 album sales as proof of an error. But while that might have been an "Oops!" moment for the MTV camp, making the cut for MC of the year seems like small beans now, compared to Eminem's new status as best selling artist of the decade.

On Dec. 8th, Nielsen Soundscan released their list of best-selling artists and albums of the 00's, with Eminem surpassing the Beatles, to chart in at Number One. Over the past decade Slim Shady has sold over 32.2 million albums, thanks to monster albums like 2000's 'The Marshall Mathers LP' and 2002's 'The Eminem Show," which sold 10.2 million and 9.8 million copies respectively. The albums landed at Numbers Four and Five on the best-seller list, making Eminem the only artist to score two albums in the category. The Beatles followed behind Em, grabbing honors for best-selling album of the decade, with their 2000 greatest hits compilation, which sold almost 11.5 million copies.

Although Eminem scored the title for most albums sold, he didn't make the cut for most digital sales, which went to Flo Rida's 'Low' with more than 5.2 million downloads, followed by Lady Gaga's 'Just Dance' with almost 4.7 million downloads. The top spot for the songs with the most radio play went to alternative bands like Nickelback and Train, who's songs 'How You Remind Me,' and 'Drops of Jupiter,' pulled in over 1.2 million and 1.1 million spins on the airwaves.

Eminem's 2009 'Relapse' album sold over 1.5 million copies, rounding out his impressive sales record before the dawn of a new decade.