Brooks Beats Out Elvis Once Again

Garth Brooks regains his title from Elvis as the best selling solo artist of all time. Brooks had originally taken the title in 1999, but lost it 5 years later. The Recording Industry Association of America announced on Monday, less than 24 hours before his new three disc set, "The Ultimate Hits" was released on Tuesday morning.

The record only considers American sales, and places Brooks in first with 123 million albums sold, Elvis coming in with 118.5 million sold, and Billy Joel with 79.5 million. Brooks originally lost the top spot when he retired, and Elvis made a come back of sorts in the early 2000s. While Brooks is the best selling solo artist of all time in American sales, it would be interesting to see who would take the world spot, considering Elvis was an international phenomenon.