From Eagles to English: A Data Dive on Top Albums, Craft Beer, and Global Languages

Three data-driven visuals span America’s music history, U.S. craft beer production, and global language reach. In the album ranking, the Eagles’ Their Greatest Hits 1971–1975 leads with 40 million certified units, Thriller is the top studio album at 34 million, and Adele’s 21 is the only post-2000 title to cross 15 million; the era’s counting methods have shifted with streaming. On craft beer, California tops production with about 3.45 million barrels in 2025, seven states exceed 1 million barrels, and total U.S. craft beer output is around 22 million; per-capita leaders Vermont and Maine shine in relative terms. For languages, English leads with 1.49 billion speakers, Mandarin Chinese follows at 1.18 billion, and Asia accounts for many of the world’s largest language communities, with major European languages like Spanish, French, Portuguese, and Arabic variants also ranking highly.