This article is about the album chart concerning the United States. For the global song chart, seeBillboard Global 200.
Billboard logo since 2013
TheBillboard 200 is arecord chart ranking the 200 most popularmusic albums andEPs in the United States. It is published weekly byBillboard magazine to convey the popularity of anartist or groups of artists. Sometimes, a recording act is remembered for its "number ones" that outperformed all other albums during at least one week. The chart grew from a weekly top 10 list in 1956 to become a top 200 list in May 1967, acquiring its existing name in March 1992. Its previous names include theBillboard Top LPs (1961–1972),Billboard Top LPs & Tape (1972–1984),Billboard Top 200 Albums (1984–1985),Billboard Top Pop Albums (1985–1991), andBillboard 200 Top Albums (1991–1992).
The chart is based mostly on sales—both atretail anddigital – of albums in the United States. The weekly sales period was Monday to Sunday whenNielsen started tracking sales in 1991, but since July 2015, the tracking week begins on Friday (to coincide with theGlobal Release Day of themusic industry) and ends on Thursday. A new chart is published the following Tuesday, post dated to the Saturday of that week, four days later.[1] The chart'sstreaming schedule is also tracked from Friday to Thursday.[2] Digital downloads of albums are included inBillboard 200 tabulation. Albums that are not licensed for retail sale in the United States (yet purchased in the U.S. as imports) are not eligible to chart. A long-standing policy rendering titles that are sold exclusively by specific retail outlets (such asWalmart andStarbucks) ineligible for charting, was reversed on November 7, 2007, and took effect in the issue dated November 17, 2007.[3]
On December 13, 2014,Billboard began to include on-demand streaming and digital track sales (as measured by Nielsen SoundScan) using a new algorithm with data from all major on-demand audio subscription andonline music sales services in the U.S.[4][5] Starting on the issue dated January 18, 2020,Billboard updated its method again by incorporating video data fromYouTube, along with visual plays from digital platforms likeApple Music,Spotify,Tidal,Vevo and, as of the issue dated March 23, 2021, fromFacebook.[6][7]
As of the issue dated March 22, 2025, the number-one album on the chart isMayhem byLady Gaga.[8]
History
Billboard began an album chart in 1945. Initially only five positions long, the album chart was not published on a weekly basis, with weeks sometimes passing before it was updated. A biweekly (though with a few gaps), 15-position "Best-Selling Popular Albums" chart appeared in 1955. With the increase inalbum sales as the early 1950s format wars stabilized into market dominance by 45 RPM singles and long-playing 12-inch albums – and with 78 RPM record and long-playing 10-inch album sales decreasing dramatically –Billboard premiered a weekly "Best-Selling Popular Albums" chart on March 24, 1956. The position count varied anywhere from 10 to 30 albums. The first no. 1 album on the new weekly list wasBelafonte byHarry Belafonte. The chart was renamed "Best-Selling Pop Albums" later in 1956, and then "Best-Selling Pop LPs" in 1957.
Beginning on May 25, 1959,Billboard split the ranking into two charts: "Best-Selling Stereophonic LPs" forstereo albums (30 positions) and "Best-Selling Monophonic LPs" formono albums (50 positions). These were renamed "Stereo Action Charts" (30 positions) and "Mono Action Charts" (40 positions), respectively, in 1960. In January 1961, they became "Action Albums – Stereophonic" (15 positions) and "Action Albums – Monophonic" (25 positions), and three months later, they became "Top LPs – Stereo" (50 positions) and "Top LPs – Monaural" (150 positions).
On August 17, 1963, the stereo and mono charts were combined into a 150-position chart called "Top LPs". On April 1, 1967, the chart was expanded to 175 positions, and then finally to 200 positions on May 13, 1967. In February 1972, the album chart's title was changed to "Top LPs & Tape"; in 1984, it was retitled "Top 200 Albums"; in 1985, it was retitled again to "Top Pop Albums"; in 1991, it became the "Billboard 200 Top Albums"; and it was given its current title of the "Billboard 200" on March 14, 1992.
From the end of 1970 to 1985,Billboard also printed a "Bubbling Under the Top LPs" albums chart paired with the "Bubbling Under the Hot 100" singles chart, which listed albums that had not yet charted on what was then the "Top LPs & Tape" chart.
Catalog albums
In 1960,Billboard began concurrently publishing album charts that ranked sales of older or mid-priced titles. These "Essential Inventory" charts were divided by stereo and mono albums, and featured titles that had already appeared on the main stereo and mono album charts. Mono albums were moved to the "Essential Inventory – Mono" chart (25 positions) after spending 40 weeks on the "Mono Action Chart", and stereo albums were moved to the "Essential Inventory – Stereo" chart (20 positions) after 20 weeks on the "Stereo Action Chart".
In January 1961, the "Action Charts" became "Action Albums – Stereophonic" (15 positions) and "Action Albums – Monophonic" (24 positions). Albums appeared on either chart for up to nine weeks, and were then moved to an "Essential Inventory" list of approximately 200 titles and with no numerical ranking. This list continued to be published until the consolidated "Top LPs" chart debuted in 1963.
In 1982,Billboard began publishing a "Midline Albums" chart (alternatively titled "Midline LPs"), which ranked older or mid-priced titles. The chart held 50 positions and was published on a biweekly (and later triweekly) basis.
On May 25, 1991,Billboard premiered the "Top Pop Catalog Albums" chart, the criteria for which were albums that were more than 18 months old and had fallen below no. 100 on theBillboard 200.[9]
"BothDark Side of the Moon andThe Wall should be in the Billboard Top 200," said formerPink Floyd memberRoger Waters in 1992. "The Wall still does anything up to four million each year... They've created a catalog chart in which to place all these old albums, leaving the main chart free for all the artists the record companies will want to book advertising space for. It just offers further evidence of the dishonesty that's rife in this business."[10]
Starting with the issue dated December 5, 2009, however, the catalog limitations – which removed albums over 18 months old that had dropped below No. 100 and had no currently running singles – for theBillboard 200 were lifted, turning the chart into an all-inclusive list of the 200 highest-selling albums in the country (essentially changing "Top Comprehensive Albums" into theBillboard 200). A new chart that keeps the previous criteria for theBillboard 200 – dubbed the "Top Current Albums" chart – was also introduced in the same issue.[11]
Holiday albums
Billboard has adjusted its policies forChristmas[12] and holiday[12] albums several times. The albums were eligible for the main album charts until 1963, when a "Christmas Albums" chart was created. Albums appearing here were not listed on the "Top LPs" chart, and in 1974, this rule was reverted and holiday albums again appeared within the main list.
In 1983, the "Christmas Albums" chart was resurrected, but a title's appearance here did not disqualify it from appearing on the "Top Pop Albums" chart. In 1990, the chart was retitled "Top Holiday Albums"; as of 2009[update], it holds 50 positions and runs for several weeks during the end-of-calendar-year holiday season. Its current policy allows holiday albums to concurrently chart on the "Top Holiday Albums" list and theBillboard 200.
Nielsen SoundScan
Since May 25, 1991, theBillboard 200's positions have been derived fromNielsen SoundScan sales data; as of 2008[update], it is contributed to by approximately 14,000 music sellers. Because these numbers are supplied by a subset of sellers rather thanrecord labels, it is common for these numbers to be substantially lower than those reported by theRecording Industry Association of America whenGold, Platinum and Diamond album awards are announced. (RIAA awards reflect wholesaleshipments, not retailsales.)
Beginning with the December 13, 2014, issue,Billboard updated the methodology of its album chart again, changing from a "pure sales-based ranking" to one measuring "multi-metric consumption".[4] With this overhaul, theBillboard 200 includes on-demand streaming and digital track sales (as measured by Nielsen SoundScan) by way of a new algorithm, utilizing data from all of the major on-demand audio subscription services, includingSpotify,Apple Music,Google Play andGroove Music. Under the new methodology, 10 track sales or 1,500 song streams from an album are treated as equivalent to one purchase of the album.Billboard continues to publish a purealbum sales chart, called "Top Album Sales", that maintains the traditionalBillboard 200 methodology but is based exclusively on SoundScan's sales data.[4]
Beginning on January 18, 2020,Billboard incorporated video and audio data fromYouTube, along with visual plays from streaming services likeApple Music, Spotify,Tidal andVevo, into theBillboard 200. The change has also impactedBillboard's genre-specific album charts.[6]
Year-end charts
Billboard's "chart year" runs from the first week of December to the final week in November. This altered calendar allows forBillboard to calculate year-end charts and release them in time for its final print issue in the last week of December. Prior to Nielsen SoundScan, year-end charts were calculated by an inverse-point system based solely on an album's performance on theBillboard 200 (e.g., an album would be given one point for a week spent at No. 200, two points for a week spent at No. 199, etc., up to 200 points for each week spent at No. 1). Other factors, including an album's total weeks spent on the chart and its peak position, are calculated into an album's year-end total.
SinceBillboard began obtaining sales information from Nielsen SoundScan, the year-end charts are now calculated by a very straightforward cumulative total of yearlong sales. This gives a more accurate picture of any given year's best-selling albums, as a title that hypothetically spent nine weeks at No. 1 in March could possibly have sold fewer copies than one spending six weeks at No. 3 in January. Albums at the peak of their popularity at the time of the November/December chart-year cutoff many times end up ranked lower than one would expect on a year-end tally, yet are ranked on the following year's chart as well, as their cumulative points are split between the two chart-years.
All-TimeBillboard 200 achievements (1963–2015)
In 2015,Billboard compiled a ranking of the 100 best-performing albums on theBillboard 200 over its 52 years, along with the best-performing artists.[13] Shown below are the top 10 albums and top 10 artists over the 52-year period of theBillboard 200, through October 2015. Also shown are the artists placing the most albums on the overall "all-time" top 100 album list.
As a musician,Paul McCartney has the most number-one albums, with 27. This includes 19 albums from his work withthe Beatles, three solo albums and five albums as a part of his 1970s groupWings.[22][23][24]John Lennon is in second place with 22, including 19 albums with the Beatles, two solo albums, and one album credited to him and his wifeYoko Ono.[25]George Harrison had 19 number-one albums with the Beatles and two as a solo artist.[26]
Barbra Streisand is the only artist to have number-one albums in six different decades. Her first was the 1964 albumPeople, and her most recent was the 2016 albumEncore: Movie Partners Sing Broadway, with a few weeks shy of 52 years between the two hitting number one.[27]
On May 1, 2016, Beyoncé became the only artist to have their first six studio albums debut at number one on theBillboard 200 chart, following the release of her sixth studio album,Lemonade, surpassing DMX.[52] Following the release ofRenaissance and its debut atop the August 7, 2022, chart, she become the first female artist to debut their first seven albums atop the chart.[53][54]
On April 3, 2021, Justin Bieber became the first male act to have his first six studio albums debut at number one on theBillboard 200 chart, following the release of his sixth studio album,Justice.[55]
Most cumulative weeks at number one
List of acts with the most weeks at number one on theBillboard 200 since August 17, 1963.
Note: As a musician,Paul McCartney has the most top-10 albums, with 51. This includes 32 withThe Beatles, 11 solo albums, seven albums with the groupWings, and one album credited to him and his first wife,Linda McCartney.[22][23]
Note: Swift is the first living artist to chart five albums in the top 10 simultaneously.[65] She was previously the first living soloist to have four albums simultaneously chart in the top 10 for 5 consecutive weeks.[61]
Note: Had the Billboard 200 allowed catalog albums to chart previous to December 5, 2009,Michael Jackson would have claimed six simultaneous top 10 titles for two consecutive weeks and The Beatles would have claimed five simultaneous top 10 titles that year.[64]
† TheWest Side Story soundtrack ran for 53 weeks at number one on the stereo album chart; it was number one for 12 weeks on the mono album chart.
‡ TheSouth Pacific soundtrack ran for 28 weeks at number one on the stereo album chart; it was number one for three weeks on the mono album chart.
§ This is theBlue Hawaii album's run on the mono album chart; it was number one for four weeks on the stereo album chart.
Tapestry byCarole King holds the record for the most consecutive weeks at number one on theBillboard 200 for any one album by a female solo artist with 15 weeks.[97]
The albumMusic to Be Murdered By byEminem has the largest rise for an album that did not top the chart; on January 2, 2021, it jumped from number 199 the previous week to number 3 on the chart.[139]
The mixtapeDays Before Rodeo byTravis Scott dropped off the chart entirely after reaching number one the previous week (October 5, 2024), becoming the first project to do so.[140]
The albumHello from Las Vegas byLionel Richie dropped off the chart entirely without ever reaching the top spot; on September 7, 2019, it exited the chart after debuting at number 2 the previous week.[141]
Longest climbs to number one in the SoundScan era
Here are the albums to complete the 10 longest rises to number one on theBillboard 200 since the adoption of Nielsen Music data in 1991.[142]
Forever Your Girl byPaula Abdul spent 64 consecutive weeks on theBillboard 200 before hitting number one in 1989, making it the longest time spent on the chart before reaching the number one spot.[143]
Albums to top theBillboard 200 by artists who have never appeared on the Hot 100
Note: Newhart, Meader and Fontaine's albums were all number one on the mono chart but not on the stereo chart. Garland is listed on a technicality; she has 17 pop hits, but all were from 1939 to 1955 – all before the 1958 establishment of the Hot 100.
The Sound of Music set the record of 109 non-consecutive weeks in the top 10 from May 1, 1965, to July 16, 1966, but only spent two weeks at number one on theBillboard 200.[175]
The first U.K. solo artist to debut at number one with a debut album isLeona Lewis on April 26, 2008, with the albumSpirit.[176] The first U.K. group to debut at No. 1 with a debut album isOne Direction on March 31, 2012, with the albumUp All Night.[177]
Justin Bieber became the first artist in history to have five albums top theBillboard 200 at the age of 18, asBelieve Acoustic debuted at number one on February 16, 2013. He also became the youngest solo artist to achieve this feat. Subsequently, Bieber (25 years, 360 days) became the youngest solo artist to achieve seven No. 1 albums on the chart withChanges, breaking a 59-year-old record set byElvis Presley at the age of 26. He further extended his record, after turning 27, by becoming the youngest soloist to have eight albums top theBillboard 200, following the release of his sixth studio album,Justice, breaking yet another chart record held by Elvis Presley at the age of 29.[178][179]
Tony Bennett became the oldest male to debut at number one on October 8, 2011 (85 years, 66 days old), with the albumDuets II. Bennett, who was born on August 3, 1926, later surpassed his own record when his collaborative album withLady Gaga,Cheek to Cheek, debuted at number one on October 11, 2014 (88 years, 69 days old).[180]
The issue dated July 11, 2009, was the first time any catalog album outsold the number one album on theBillboard 200. Three ofMichael Jackson's albums –Number Ones,The Essential Michael Jackson andThriller – claimed positions 1–3, respectively, on "Top Pop Catalog Albums" and "Top Comprehensive Albums" in the week following Jackson's death.[181][182][183]
Jackie Gleason, at least for a time, held the record for the most albums to top theBillboard 200 without charting any songs in the top 40 of the Hot 100; five of Gleason's mood music albums topped theBillboard 200 in the mid-1950s.[186]
One Direction became the first group to debut at number one with its first three albums whenMidnight Memories debuted atop theBillboard 200 chart dated December 14, 2013. It later became the first group to debut at number one with its first four albums whenFour debuted atop the chart on November 26, 2014.[187]
Led Zeppelin holds the record for the longest gap between an album returning to the Top 10.Led Zeppelin first hit the Top 10 on theBillboard "Top LP's" chart for the week ending May 17, 1969,[188] and returned 45 years and 35 days later at number 7 on theBillboard 200, for the week ending June 21, 2014.[189]
On November 29, 2015,25 byAdele registered the highest weekly sales figure for a number one album in theBillboard 200 chart history, with 3.38 million units sold.[190] It also became the first album to sell 1 million copies in different weeks, with 1.11 million sold in its second week and 1.16 million sold in its fifth week on the chart.[191]
On May 22, 2016,Coloring Book byChance the Rapper became the first streaming-only album to chart on theBillboard 200, debuting at number 8, with the album being streamed 57.3 million times in its first week, which was equivalent to 38,000 units sold.[192]
On March 18, 2017,Future made history by achieving back-to-back number-one album debuts in successive weeks withFuture andHndrxx for the first time in the chart's history.[174]
On June 2, 2018,BTS became the first Korean artist to reach number one with its albumLove Yourself: Tear.[193]
On January 19, 2019,A Boogie wit da Hoodie'sHoodie SZN became the album with the lowest weekly sales figure for a number-one album, with 1,000 sales. It subsequently did not sell enough to enter the sales-only "Top 100 Album Sales" chart.[194] A week later, the album broke its own record when it stayed at number one for a second week, selling 749 copies.[195]
Swift charted 10 of her albums on May 6, 2023, breaking a number of records, including the first living act to chart eight albums in the top 40 simultaneously, the first act to chart 9 albums in the top 50 simultaneously, and the first living act to chart ten albums in the top 100 simultaneously.[199][79] She is also the first act to chart 10 albums simultaneously for four separate times,[200] and the first living soloist to place four albums in the top 10.[61]
In July 2023, Swift became the first artist sinceLuminate tracking began in 1991 to have nine albums sell over 500,000 copies in pure sales in a single week.[61] In November 2023, Swift extended the record to ten. In April 2024, she extended it yet again to eleven.[30]
In September 2023, Swift became the first artist to have five albums sell more than 1 million units in a calendar year withMidnights (3.810M),Lover (1.350M),Speak Now (Taylor's Version) (1.260M),Folklore (1.190M) and1989 (1M). In November 2023, she extended the record to six albums with1989 (Taylor's Version). In April 2024, she extended this to seven albums withThe Tortured Poets Department[30]
In October 2023, Swift also became the first artist to have 11 albums charting for at least 100 weeks each afterRed (Taylor's Version) achieved the mark.[201]
On October 23, 2023, Swift became the first artist to have four albums charting for at least 52 weeks (1 full year) in the top 10 of the chart withFearless,1989,Lover andMidnights - the latter two doing so consecutively.Midnights is the first album released in the 2020s to achieve the mark.[202]
On November 4, 2023,The Rolling Stones became the first act with newly charted top 10 albums in seven different decades (1960s to 2020s), when the band's new studio albumHackney Diamonds debuted at number 3.[203]
TheGrateful Dead hold the record for the most Top 40 albums on theBillboard 200, with 60 having charted at number 40 or higher.[204]
^Lindsay, Jay (September 17, 2009)."Mary Travers of Peter, Paul And Mary Dead at 72".Billboard.Archived from the original on May 15, 2018. RetrievedMarch 15, 2018.At one point in 1963, three of their albums were in the top six Billboard best-selling LPs as they became the biggest stars of the folk revival movement.
^"Lecrae Chart History".Billboard.Archived from the original on October 2, 2018. RetrievedMay 30, 2018.Billboard's chart history shows Lecrae has no songs that charted on Hot 100.
^"Slipknot Chart History".Billboard.Archived from the original on June 14, 2018. RetrievedJune 10, 2018.Billboard's chart history shows Slipknot has no songs that charted on the Hot 100.
^"Brand New Chart History".Billboard.Archived from the original on October 2, 2018. RetrievedMay 30, 2018.Billboard's chart history shows Brand New has no songs that charted on the Hot 100.
^"LCD Soundsystem Chart History".Billboard.Archived from the original on May 4, 2018. RetrievedMay 30, 2018.Billboard's chart history shows LCD Soundsystem has no songs that charted on the Hot 100.
^Gael Fashingbauer Cooper (June 15, 2014).Casey Kasem's 'American Top 40' reached for the starsArchived June 15, 2014, at theWayback Machine. NBC News. Retrieved June 15, 2014. "An unparalleled storyteller, Kasem loved to drop a teasing question about a song or a band, then cut to commercial, making his trivia so tantalizing that listeners just had to stay tuned to find out the answer. (...) Who had the most No. 1 albums without a Top 40 single? (Comic and mood-music expert Jackie Gleason, at least at the time.)"
