All those box sets paid off.
Garth Brooks is one of the only artists still selling CDs these days, because he has so far refused to put his music on the major streaming services like Spotify and Apple Music (though he does have a deal with Amazon Music).
The “Friends In Low Places” singer has defended his decision as a way to protect songwriters, but as a side effect of his music not being available on streaming, Garth is also conveniently able to continue to sell physical copies of his music – and he’s taken advantage of that by releasing numerous CD box sets over the years.
Since 1998, Garth has released a grand total of 16 box sets, including his recent “Anthology” series and a handful of exclusive released through Walmart, Target and Bass Pro Shop. In fact, his latest album Time Traveler, which was released in 2023, was only available through a box set so if fans wanted the new album they ALSO had to buy a box set containing albums like Man Against Machine, Gunslinger, and Triple Live.
The result is that fans often end up with multiple copies of the same album whenever they buy a new box set, making Garth one of the best at actually moving physical media – and racking him up the certifications that prove it.
Garth has had 10 albums certified Diamond by the RIAA, meaning they sold at least 10 million units (or the equivalent in streams). His most recent Diamond certification came back on March 17, 2026 when his Triple Live album reached the milestone after having been included in three different box sets.
As a result of the unprecedented 10 Diamond certifications, the RIAA has announced that Garth will be recognized with the Artist of a Lifetime Award at the upcoming RIAA Honors on June 3, 2026.
In announcing the award, RIAA chairman and CEO Mitch Glazier said that the organization has run out of room to display all of Garth’s awards:
“At the RIAA headquarters, we have a wall that has every diamond album ever certified, but Garth has 10. The wall won’t fit Garth.”
Garth, for his part, insists that the honor should go to country radio for supporting his career:
“It’s not about numbers, it is about the music. This milestone goes directly to country radio. It introduced me to the world’s biggest, best, and most loyal audience: the country music audience.”
(Well, them and the fans who bought 3 copies of Triple Live because they bought three different box sets).
Now, it doesn’t really matter how he did it: It’s impressive when any artist can sell that many albums, especially at a time when albums just aren’t selling and most artists have to rely on streaming to achieve RIAA certifications. And while it would be interesting to see if any other artists could pull off what Garth has by keeping their music off streaming, I have a feeling it would be nearly impossible for someone who doesn’t have Garth’s star power to achieve the same sales in this day and age.
Artist of a Lifetime, indeed.
