The Top 20 Best-Selling New Acts of the 2000's

The 2000's era is fastly coming to an end! And to celebrate what a wonderful decade it has been, here's a list of the top new acts of the 2000's. Of the thousands of acts that have made their first appearances on The Billboard 200 since Jan. 1, 2000, these are the 20 that have sold the most albums. The list includes six pop stars, five rock groups, four rappers, three country acts and two R&B divas.

Artists who emerged early in the decade stood a much better chance of making the list than artists who broke through later. Sales peaked around 2000, and have been dropping since about 2004. So it's hard for even the hottest acts of recent years to compete with the eye-popping sales totals from the turn of the last decade.

But all in all, Here are the top 20 new acts of the 2000's! You will find the artist's name followed by the total album sales and the year in which they made a debut. - Source: Paul Grein in Chart Watch

#1. Linkin Park- 21,223,000
Debut: 2000

#2. Nelly- 21,215,000
Debut: 2000

#3. Nickelback- 19,414,000
Debut: 2000

#4. Josh Groban- 19,147,000
Debut: 2001

#5. Rascal Flatts- 19,083,000
Debut: 2000

#6. Norah Jones- 16,728,000
Debut: 2002

#7. 50 Cent- 15,589,000
Debut: 2003

#8. Alicia Keys- 15,520,000
Debut: 2001

#9. Coldplay- 14,426,000
Debut: 2000

#10. Ludacris- 13,411,000
Debut: 2000

#11. 3 Doors Down- 12,472,000
Debut: 2000

#12. John Mayer- 11,467,000
Debut: 2001

#13. Avril Lavigne- 11,404,000
Debut: 2002

#14. Keith Urban- 10,858,000
Debut: 2000

#15. Beyoncé Knowles- 10,565,000
Debut: 2003

#16. Kelly Clarkson- 10,276,000
Debut: 2003

#17. P!nk- 10,005,000
Debut: 2001

#18. Evanescence- 9,965,000
Debut: 2003

#19. Kanye West- 9,922,000
Debut: 2004

#20. Carrie Underwood- 9,751,000
Debut: 2005