He is. And here’s your goddamn receipts.
Top Artists - Decade-End | Billboard
At decade’s end, he ranked 30 in the top 100 artists of the 2010. For comparison, Beyoncé is number 23. In the RnB charts, he’s number 3 overall— only Drake and Rihanna are above him. So yeah, I’d say he’s damn well in the top of the game. How is this contentious? I mean... do they not have any kind of radio or internet where y’all live?
I think there's some nuance here. You can sell bucket loads without making much impact, which is where its disingenuous to compete to someone like Beyonce. He might not be so far behind in overall sales, but its absurd to suggest he's on her level in terms of impact.
Like, Garth Brooks is the second biggest selling artist of all time in America. But who you wouldn't put him up there with Madonna, Jackson, Nirvana, Led Zeppelin, whoever else in terms of impact. Even in purely country terms, you wouldn't put him on Dolly Parton's level. Dolly is just on another level.
You take CB out of the picture and nothing much changes. You take Beyonce out of the picture and lots of things change.