The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists. Often, a recording act will be remembered by its "number ones", those of their albums that outsold all others during at least one week.

The chart is based solely on sales (both at retail and digitally) of albums in the United States. The sales tracking week begins on Monday and ends on Sunday. A new chart is published the following Thursday with an issue date of the following Saturday. :Example: ::Monday January 1 – sales tracking week begins ::Sunday January 7 – sales tracking week ends ::Thursday January 11 – new chart published, with issue date of Saturday January 20.

Normally new products are released to the American market on Tuesdays. Digital downloads are included in Billboard 200 tabulation, as long as the entire album is purchased as a whole. 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 which made ineligible titles that are sold exclusively by specific retail outlets, such as Wal-Mart or Starbucks, was reversed on November 7, 2007, and took effect in the issue dated November 17.

The current number-one album (as of the issue dated September 10, 2011) on the Billboard 200 is The R.E.D. Album by Game.

History

Billboard began an album chart in 1945. Initially only five positions long, the album chart was not published on a weekly basis, sometimes three to seven weeks passing before it was updated. A biweekly (though with a few gaps), 15-position Best-Selling Popular Albums chart appeared in 1955. With the explosion of rock and roll music, 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 number-one album on the new weekly list was Belafonte by Harry Belafonte. The chart was renamed to Best-Selling Pop Albums later in 1956, and then to Best-Selling Pop LPs in 1957.

Beginning on May 25, 1959, Billboard split the ranking into two charts Best-Selling Stereophonic LPs for stereo albums (30 positions) and Best-Selling Monophonic LPs for mono albums (50 positions). These were renamed to Stereo Action Charts (30 positions) and Mono Action Charts (40 positions) in 1960. In January 1961, they became Action Albums—Stereophonic (15 positions) and Action Albums—Monophonic (25 positions). 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, then finally to 200 positions on May 13, 1967. In 1972 the album chart's title was changed to Top LPs & Tapes; 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.

Catalog albums

In 1960, Billboard began concurrently publishing album charts which 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—Monophonic (24 positions), and Action Albums—Stereophonic (15 positions). Albums appeared on either chart for up to nine weeks, then were moved to an Essential Inventory list of approximately 200 titles, 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 which ranked older or mid-priced titles. The chart held 50 positions and was published on a bi-weekly (and later tri-weekly) basis.

On March 25, 1991 Billboard premiered the Top Pop Catalog Albums chart. The criteria for this chart were albums that were more than 18 months old and had fallen below position 100 on the Billboard 200. An album needed not have charted on the Billboard 200 at all to qualify for catalog status.

Starting with the issue dated December 5, 2009, however, the catalog limitations which removed albums over 18 months old, that have dropped below position 100 and have no currently-running single, from the Billboard 200 was lifted, turning the chart into an all-inclusive list of the 200 highest-selling albums in the country (essentially changing Top Comprehensive Albums into the Billboard 200). A new chart that keeps the previous criteria for the Billboard 200 (dubbed Top Current Albums) was also introduced in the same issue.

Holiday albums

Billboard has adjusted its policies for Christmas and holiday albums several times. The albums were eligible for the main album charts until 1963, when a Christmas Albums list was created. Albums appearing here were not listed on the Top LPs chart. 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 1994 the chart was retitled Top Holiday Albums. As of 2009 the chart holds 50 positions and is run 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 the Billboard 200.

Nielsen SoundScan

Since May 26, 1991, the Billboard 200's positions have been derived from Nielsen SoundScan sales data, contributed by approximately 14,000 music sellers. Because these numbers are supplied by a subset of sellers rather than record labels, it is common for these numbers to be substantially lower than those reported by the Recording Industry Association of America when Gold, Platinum and Diamond album awards are announced (RIAA awards reflect wholesale shipments, not retail sales).

Year-end charts

Billboard’s "chart year" runs from the first week of December to the final week in November. This altered calendar allows for Billboard to calculate year-end charts and release them in time for its final print issue on 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 the Billboard 200 (for example, an album would be given one point for a week spent at position 200, two points for a week spent at position 199… up to 200 points for each week spent at number one). Other factors including the total weeks on the chart and at its peak position were calculated into an album's year-end total.

After Billboard 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 number one in March could possibly have sold fewer copies than one spending six weeks at number three in January. Interestingly, 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.

Uses

The Billboard 200 can be helpful to radio stations as an indication of the types of music listeners are interested in hearing. Retailers can also find it useful as a way to determine which recordings should be given the most prominent display in a store. Other outlets, such as airline music services, also employ the Billboard charts to determine their programming.

Limitations

The chart omits unit sales for listed albums and total recorded sales, making it impossible to determine, for example, if the number one album this week sold as well as the number one from the same period in the prior year. It is also impossible to determine the relative success of albums on a single chart; there is no indication of whether the number one album sold thousands more copies than number 50, or only dozens more. All music genres are combined, but there are separate Billboard charts for individual market segments. The complete sales data broken down by location is made available, but only in the form of separate SoundScan subscriptions. Declining CD sales and the widespread sale of singles via the internet further reduce the relevance of the Billboard 200.

Artist milestones

Most top-ten albums

The Rolling Stones (36)

Frank Sinatra (33)

The Beatles (30)

Barbra Streisand (30)

Elvis Presley (27)

Most number-one albums

The Beatles (19)

Jay-Z (12)

Elvis Presley (10)

The Rolling Stones (9) (tie)

Bruce Springsteen (9) (tie)

Barbra Streisand (9) (tie)

Most cumulative weeks at number one

The Beatles (132)

Elvis Presley (67)

Michael Jackson (51) (tie)

Garth Brooks (51) (tie)

Whitney Houston (46) (tie)

The Kingston Trio (46) (tie)

Album milestones

Most weeks at number one

(54 weeks) West Side Story – Soundtrack (1962–63)

(37 weeks) Thriller – Michael Jackson (1983–84)

(31 weeks) Calypso – Harry Belafonte (1956–57)

(31 weeks) South Pacific – Soundtrack (1958–59)

(31 weeks) Rumours – Fleetwood Mac (1977–78)

(24 weeks) Saturday Night Fever – Bee Gees/Soundtrack (1978)

(24 weeks) Purple Rain – Prince and the Revolution (1984–85)

(21 weeks) Please Hammer Don't Hurt 'Em – MC Hammer (1990)

(20 weeks) The Bodyguard – Whitney Houston/Soundtrack (1992–93)

(20 weeks) Blue Hawaii – Elvis Presley (1961–62)

Most weeks on the chart

:''Note that totals are for the main albums chart only, catalog chart totals are not factored in. (780 weeks) The Dark Side of the Moon – Pink Floyd

(490 weeks) Johnny's Greatest Hits – Johnny Mathis

(482 weeks) My Fair Lady – Original Cast

(331 weeks) Highlights from the Phantom of the Opera – Original Cast

(306 weeks) Tapestry – Carole King

(295 weeks) Heavenly – Johnny Mathis

(283 weeks) Oklahoma! – Soundtrack

(282 weeks) MCMXC a.D. – Enigma

(282 weeks) Metallica – Metallica

(277 weeks) The King and I – Soundtrack

(277 weeks) Hymns – Tennessee Ernie Ford

Biggest jumps to number-one

(176-1) Life After Death – The Notorious B.I.G. (April 12, 1997)

(173-1) Vitalogy – Pearl Jam (December 24, 1994)

(156-1) In Rainbows – Radiohead (January 19, 2008)

(137-1) Ghetto D – Master P (September 20, 1997)

(122-1) More Of The Monkees – The Monkees (February 11, 1967)

(112-1) MP Da Last Don – Master P (June 20, 1998)

(98-1) Beatles '65 – The Beatles (January 9, 1965)

(61-1) Help! – The Beatles (September 11, 1965)

(60-1) Rubber Soul – The Beatles (January 8, 1966)

(53-1) Ballad of the Green Berets – SSgt. Barry Sadler (March 12, 1966)

Biggest drops from number-one

(1-37) Light Grenades – Incubus

(1-26) Mission Bell — Amos Lee (1-25) Showroom of Compassion — Cake

(1-21) The Golden Age of Grotesque – Marilyn Manson

(1-19) The Circle – Bon Jovi

(1-18) The Inspiration – Young Jeezy

(1-16) The Fragile – Nine Inch Nails

(1-15) Greatest Hits – The Notorious B.I.G.

(1-14) Born Again – The Notorious B.I.G.

(1-13) Faceless – Godsmack

(1-13) Loyal to the Game – 2Pac

(1-13) Doctor's Advocate – The Game

(1-13) Battle Studies – John Mayer

Additional milestones

The first number one album of the SoundScan era (1991 to present) is Time, Love & Tenderness by Michael Bolton.

The only album to attain the pole position before and after the May 25, 1991 introduction of SoundScan is R.E.M.'s album Out of Time.

The first album to debut at number one was Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy by Elton John. John repeated the same feat with the album Rock of the Westies – the second album to debut at number one – making John the first artist to have two consecutive studio albums debut at number one. Whitney Houston's second album Whitney was the first album by a female artist to debut at number one.

In the early 1960s, Bob Newhart had the accomplishment of having the number one and number two albums simultaneously on the Billboard 200, with The Button-Down Mind and The Button-Down Mind Strikes Back! This feat was equaled in 1991, with Guns N' Roses Use Your Illusion I and Use Your Illusion II, and in 2004, with Nelly's Suit and Sweat.

As of 2008, Pink Floyd's The Dark Side of the Moon has been on the charts for over 1,630 weeks, or approximately thirty-one years. Consecutively, the album spent a record 773 weeks on the Billboard 200. The other weeks were spent on the Top Pop Catalog Albums chart. Its closest rival is Bob Marley's Legend, checking in at over 975 weeks (Billboard 200 and Top Pop Catalog Albums combined).

With 15 weeks at #1 for her album Tapestry, Carole King holds the record for the longest time for a solo album by a female to remain at the top of the Billboard 200. Additionally, she holds the record for the longest time for an album by a female solo artist to remain on the Billboard 200, with nearly six years. King also holds the record for most consecutive weeks at #1 on the Billboard 200 for any one album by a female solo artist with 15 weeks. All records are for her Tapestry album.

Forever Your Girl by Paula Abdul spent sixty-four consecutive weeks on the Billboard 200 before hitting number one, making it the longest time for an album to reach the number one spot, while Lives Throwing Copper took 52 weeks to reach number one in 1995 making it the longest run since Nielsen SoundScan began tracking sales.

At one point in early 1980s, all nine studio albums released to that date by Led Zeppelin were on the Billboard 200 chart, and is the most studio albums by a single artist to chart at the same time.

The only EP's to reach number one on the chart are Alice in Chains's Jar of Flies in 1994, Linkin Park and Jay-Z's collaboration EP, Collision Course in 2004, the cast of the television series Glee with Glee: The Music, The Power of Madonna and Glee: The Music, Journey to Regionals in 2010, and Bad Meets Evil's Hell: The Sequel.

The Monkees are only band to have had four number one albums in the same year. Elvis Presley, The Kingston Trio, The Beatles, and the cast of the television series Glee had three different albums hit number one in the same year. Nine artists have had two different albums hit number one in the same year: The Kingston Trio in 1959, Led Zeppelin, DMX, Jay-Z, Garth Brooks, 2Pac, System of a Down, Eminem and Susan Boyle. The Kingston Trio is the only artist to have four albums simultaneously in the Top Ten, which occurred for five consecutive weeks in November and December 1959.

The only artist in history to have his first five albums debut at number one is DMX.

The only artists to have five consecutive albums debut at number one are Dave Matthews Band, Jay-Z, DMX and Metallica.

The most consecutive albums to debut at number one by a solo artist is Eminem, with six. The Beatles have the most consecutive number one albums with eight. In 2001, Britney Spears became the first female artist in the charts history to have their first three albums debut at number one. She broke this record two years later with a fourth number one debut. With the number one debut of her Circus album in 2008, Spears also became the youngest female artist in history to have five number one albums. She later beat the record when her 7th studio album, Femme Fatale debuted at number one on April, 2011.

Oldest male to debut at # 1: Bob Dylan on May 16, 2009 (67 years, 11 months, and 22 days old) with the album Together Through Life. He was born May 24, 1941.

Oldest female to debut at # 1: Barbra Streisand on October 17, 2009 (67 years, 5 months, and 23 days old) with the album Love Is the Answer. She was born April 24, 1942.

The issue dated July 11, 2009 was the first time any catalog album outsold the number-one album on the Billboard 200. Three of Michael Jackson's albums (Number Ones, The Essential Michael Jackson and Thriller) claimed positions 1-3 respectively on Top Pop Catalog Albums and Top Comprehensive Albums in the week following Jackson's death. There have been 16 albums released on an independent label to reach #1 on the Billboard 200. Only seventeen artists have topped the Billboard 200 without having had any single appear in the Hot 100: Van Cliburn, Bob Newhart, Judy Garland (who had hit singles which predated the Hot 100), Frank Fontaine, Blind Faith, N.W.A., Soundgarden, Pantera, Makaveli (alter-ego of 2Pac), Bob Carlisle, Slipknot, Vampire Weekend, Arcade Fire, The Decemberists, and Amos Lee.

See also

List of number-one albums (United States)

Sources

Joel Whitburn Presents the Billboard Albums, 6th edition, ISBN 0-89820-166-7

Additional information obtained can be verified within Billboard's online archive services and print editions of the magazine.

References

External links

Current Billboard 200

Billboard methodology

Predict the Billboard 200 Weekly Game

Category:Billboard charts

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