This is a list of the best-selling albums by year in the United States. Billboard magazine began publishing year-end lists for album sales in 1956. Until 1991, the Billboard album chart was based on a survey of representative retail outlets that determined a ranking, not a tally of actual sales. Weekly surveys and year-end charts by Billboard and other publications such as now defunct Cash Box magazine sometimes differed. For instance, during the 1960s and 1970s, the number-one album as determined by these two publications differed in 10 out of 20 years. From 1992 onwards, the Billboard year-end and weekly charts were calculated by Nielsen SoundScan. Note that this slightly differs from prior Billboard year-end album charts, which were a measure of chart performances over twelve months from around December to November (cutoff determined by Billboard´s publication schedule) rather than actual total sales.
1970s
Two of
Elton John's albums each became the best-selling record in the 1970s.
1990s
British pop girl group
Spice Girls had the best-selling album of 1997.
Year[I] |
Performing artist(s) |
Nationality |
Album |
Sales |
Ref. |
1990 |
Janet Jackson |
United States |
Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation 1814 |
|
[35] |
1991 |
Mariah Carey |
United States |
Mariah Carey |
|
[36] |
1992 |
Billy Ray Cyrus |
United States |
Some Gave All |
4,700,000 |
[37] |
1993 |
Whitney Houston/soundtrack |
– |
The Bodyguard |
5,460,000 |
[38] |
1994 |
Elton John/soundtrack |
– |
The Lion King |
4,904,000 |
[39] |
1995 |
Hootie and the Blowfish |
United States |
Cracked Rear View |
7,020,000 |
[40] |
1996 |
Alanis Morissette |
Canada |
Jagged Little Pill |
7,380,000 |
[41] |
1997 |
Spice Girls |
United Kingdom |
Spice |
5,302,000 |
[42] |
1998 |
James Horner/ soundtrack |
– |
Titanic |
9,338,000 |
[41] |
1999 |
Backstreet Boys |
United States |
Millennium |
9,446,000 |
[41] |
2000s
Year[I] |
Performing artist(s) |
Nationality |
Album |
Sales |
Ref. |
2000 |
NSYNC |
United States |
No Strings Attached |
9,936,000 |
[41] |
2001 |
Linkin Park |
United States |
Hybrid Theory |
4,813,000 |
[41] |
2002 |
Eminem |
United States |
The Eminem Show |
7,608,000 |
[43] |
2003 |
50 Cent |
United States |
Get Rich or Die Tryin' |
6,536,000 |
[44] |
2004 |
Usher |
United States |
Confessions |
7,979,000 |
[45] |
2005 |
Mariah Carey |
United States |
The Emancipation of Mimi |
4,968,606 |
[46] |
2006 |
Soundtrack |
– |
High School Musical |
3,719,000 |
[47] |
2007 |
Josh Groban |
United States |
Noël |
3,699,000 |
[48] |
2008 |
Lil Wayne |
United States |
Tha Carter III |
2,880,000 |
[49] |
2009 |
Taylor Swift |
United States |
Fearless |
3,217,000 |
[50] |
2010s
Adele's
21 album was the best seller in 2011 and 2012 while her third studio album
25 was the best seller in 2015
Year[I] |
Performing artist(s) |
Nationality |
Album |
Sales |
Ref. |
2010 |
Eminem |
United States |
Recovery |
3,415,000 |
[51] |
2011 |
Adele |
United Kingdom |
21 |
5,824,000 |
[52] |
2012 |
Adele |
United Kingdom |
21 |
4,410,000 |
[53] |
2013 |
Justin Timberlake |
United States |
The 20/20 Experience |
2,430,000 |
[54] |
2014 |
Taylor Swift |
United States |
1989 |
3,661,000 |
[55] |
2015 |
Adele |
United Kingdom |
25 |
8,008,000† |
[56] |
2016 |
Drake |
Canada |
Views |
4,140,000† |
[57] |
2017 |
Ed Sheeran |
United Kingdom |
÷ |
2,764,000† |
[58] |
Note: † Beginning in 2015, Billboard included Track Equivalent and Streaming Equivalent Album (TEA and SEA) units in determining the year's top album.
Notes
^[I] Each year is linked to the article about music that year.
- After Billboard began obtaining sales and airplay information from Nielsen SoundScan and Nielsen Broadcast Data Systems, the year-end charts are now calculated by a very straightforward cumulative total of yearlong sales points. This gives a more accurate picture of any given year’s most popular titles, as an entry that hypothetically spent nine weeks at number one in March could possibly have earned fewer cumulative points than one spending six weeks at number three 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 expected 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. Sometimes, the best-selling album of the year by Billboard is different than best-selling album of the year of Nielsen SoundScan, because Billboard calculates the year from December to November and Nielsen calculates the year from January to December.
- In this list, from 1956 to 1991, the Billboard year-end tracking was used. From 1992 to date, Nielsen SoundScan's year-end tracking was used.
- The Billboard 200 began including album-equivalent units in its methodology in late 2014, and for 2015 onward the Year End charts include these as well.
References
- ↑ "Year End Charts - Year-end Albums - The Billboard 200". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. Archived from the original on January 17, 2008. Retrieved May 13, 2011.
- ↑ "Year End Charts - Year-end Albums - The Billboard 200". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. Archived from the original on December 11, 2007. Retrieved May 13, 2011.
- ↑ "Year End Charts - Year-end Albums - The Billboard 200". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. Archived from the original on December 11, 2007. Retrieved May 13, 2011.
- ↑ "Year End Charts - Year-end Albums - The Billboard 200". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. Archived from the original on December 11, 2007. Retrieved May 13, 2011.
- ↑ "Year End Charts - Year-end Albums - The Billboard 200". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. Archived from the original on December 11, 2007. Retrieved May 13, 2011.
- ↑ "Year End Charts - Year-end Albums - The Billboard 200". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. Archived from the original on December 11, 2007. Retrieved May 13, 2011.
- ↑ "Year End Charts - Year-end Albums - The Billboard 200". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. Archived from the original on December 11, 2007. Retrieved May 13, 2011.
- ↑ "Year End Charts - Year-end Albums - The Billboard 200". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. Archived from the original on October 11, 2007. Retrieved May 13, 2011.
- ↑ "Year End Charts - Year-end Albums - The Billboard 200". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. Archived from the original on September 30, 2007. Retrieved May 13, 2011.
- ↑ "Year End Charts - Year-end Albums - The Billboard 200". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. Archived from the original on December 11, 2007. Retrieved May 13, 2011.
- ↑ "Year End Charts - Year-end Albums - The Billboard 200". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. Archived from the original on December 11, 2007. Retrieved May 13, 2011.
- ↑ "Year End Charts - Year-end Albums - The Billboard 200". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. Archived from the original on January 24, 2008. Retrieved May 13, 2011.
- ↑ "Year End Charts - Year-end Albums - The Billboard 200". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. Archived from the original on February 14, 2008. Retrieved May 13, 2011.
- ↑ "Year End Charts - Year-end Albums - The Billboard 200". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. Archived from the original on January 16, 2008. Retrieved May 13, 2011.
- ↑ "Year End Charts - Year-end Albums - The Billboard 200". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. Archived from the original on December 11, 2007. Retrieved May 13, 2011.
- ↑ "Year End Charts - Year-end Albums - The Billboard 200". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. Archived from the original on December 11, 2007. Retrieved May 13, 2011.
- ↑ "Year End Charts - Year-end Albums - The Billboard 200". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. Archived from the original on December 11, 2007. Retrieved May 13, 2011.
- ↑ "Year End Charts - Year-end Albums - The Billboard 200". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. Archived from the original on February 14, 2008. Retrieved May 13, 2011.
- ↑ "Year End Charts - Year-end Albums - The Billboard 200". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. Archived from the original on October 11, 2007. Retrieved May 13, 2011.
- ↑ "Year End Charts - Year-end Albums - The Billboard 200". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. Archived from the original on October 11, 2007. Retrieved May 13, 2011.
- ↑ "Year End Charts - Year-end Albums - The Billboard 200". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. Archived from the original on December 11, 2007. Retrieved May 13, 2011.
- ↑ "Year End Charts - Year-end Albums - The Billboard 200". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. Archived from the original on December 11, 2007. Retrieved May 13, 2011.
- ↑ "Year End Charts - Year-end Albums - The Billboard 200". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. Archived from the original on December 11, 2007. Retrieved May 13, 2011.
- ↑ "Year End Charts - Year-end Albums - The Billboard 200". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. Archived from the original on December 11, 2007. Retrieved May 13, 2011.
- ↑ "Year End Charts - Year-end Albums - The Billboard 200". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. Archived from the original on December 11, 2007. Retrieved May 13, 2011.
- ↑ "Year End Charts - Year-end Albums - The Billboard 200". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. Archived from the original on February 10, 2008. Retrieved May 13, 2011.
- ↑ "Year End Charts - Year-end Albums - The Billboard 200". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. Archived from the original on December 11, 2007. Retrieved 2009-08-05.
- ↑ "Year End Charts - Year-end Albums - The Billboard 200". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. Archived from the original on December 11, 2007. Retrieved May 13, 2011.
- ↑ "Year End Charts - Year-end Albums - The Billboard 200". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. Archived from the original on December 11, 2007. Retrieved May 13, 2011.
- ↑ "Year End Charts - Year-end Albums - The Billboard 200". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. Archived from the original on October 11, 2007. Retrieved May 13, 2011.
- ↑ "Year End Charts - Year-end Albums - The Billboard 200". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. Archived from the original on December 11, 2007. Retrieved May 13, 2011.
- ↑ "Year End Charts - Year-end Albums - The Billboard 200". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. Archived from the original on December 22, 2007. Retrieved May 13, 2011.
- ↑ "Year End Charts - Year-end Albums - The Billboard 200". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. Archived from the original on January 21, 2008. Retrieved May 13, 2011.
- ↑ "Year End Charts - Year-end Albums - The Billboard 200". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. Archived from the original on February 12, 2008. Retrieved May 13, 2011.
- ↑ "Year End Charts - Year-end Albums - The Billboard 200". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. Archived from the original on January 21, 2008. Retrieved May 13, 2011.
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20130406203120/http://www.billboard.com/charts/year-end/1991/the-billboard-200. Archived from the original on 2013-04-06.
- ↑ Philips, Chuck (5 January 1993). "Cyrus, Brooks Give Their All to Record Sales". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 25 February 2017.
- ↑ Grein, Paul (December 30, 2011). "Chart Watch Extra: Bad Year For Soundtracks". Yahoo!. Yahoo! Inc. Retrieved May 21, 2017.
- ↑ Philips, Chuck (5 January 1995). "'Lion' Leads Surge in Album Sales". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 3 June 2018.
- ↑ "Hootie Leads '95 Album Sales". The New York Times. The New York Times Company. January 5, 1996. Retrieved May 13, 2011.
- 1 2 3 4 5 Basham, David (January 2, 2002). "Got Charts? Linkin Park, Shaggy, 'NSYNC Are 2001's Top-Sellers". MTV. Viacom. Retrieved May 13, 2011.
- ↑ "Hootie Leads '95 Album Sales". New York Times. The New York Times Company. January 5, 1996. Retrieved May 13, 2011.
- ↑ D'Angelo, Joe (January 3, 2003). "Eminem Sold Most Albums, Nickelback Ruled Radio In '02". MTV. Viacom. Retrieved 2009-08-08.
- ↑ "Nielsen SoundScan and Nielsen BDS 2003 Year End Music Industry Report". Business Wire. Berkshire Hathaway. December 31, 2003. Archived from the original on June 16, 2011. Retrieved May 13, 2011.
- ↑ "More music purchases in 2004: Nielsen SoundScan". CBC News. Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. January 6, 2005.
- ↑ Grein, Paul (December 5, 2007). "Week Of Dec. 3, 2007: Will Josh Groban's Noel Be SoundScan's #1 Album of 2007? Is Santa Jolly?". Yahoo!. Yahoo! Inc. Archived from the original on 7 September 2008. Retrieved 2 June 2018.
- ↑ Metrics 2.0 (2007-01-04). "Metrics 2.0: Music 2006 - Digital Track Sales Rose 65%; Album Sales Fell 4.9%: Nielsen SoundScan". Metrics2.com. Retrieved 2013-11-09.
- ↑ "2007 U.S. Music Purchases Exceed 1.4 Billion". Reuters. Thomson Reuters. January 3, 2008. Retrieved May 13, 2011.
- ↑ "2008 U.S. Music Purchases Exceed 1.5 Billion; Growth in Overall Music Purchases Exceeds 10%". Business Wire. 2008-12-31. Retrieved 2013-11-09.
- ↑ Caulfield, Keith (January 6, 2010). "Taylor Swift Edges Susan Boyle For 2009's Top Selling Album". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. Retrieved May 13, 2011.
- ↑ "The Nielsen Company & Billboard's 2010 Music Industry Report". Business Wire. Berkshire Hathaway. January 7, 2011. Retrieved May 13, 2011.
- ↑ Grein, Paul (December 7, 2011). "Chart Watch Extra: The Year's Top Albums". Yahoo! Music. Nielsen Business Media. Retrieved January 4, 2012.
- ↑ "Adele's '21' 2012's Best Selling Album; Gotye Has Top Song". January 3, 2013. Retrieved January 3, 2013.
- ↑ "Justin Timberlake's '20/20' 2013's Best Selling Album, 'Blurred Lines' Top Song". Billboard. Retrieved 2014-02-04.
- ↑ "Taylor Swift's '1989' Beats 'Frozen' As Top Selling Album of 2014". Billboard. Retrieved 2014-12-31.
- ↑ Caulfield, Keith (January 5, 2016). "Adele's '25' Rules as Nielsen Music's Top Album of 2015 in U.S." Billboard. Retrieved January 6, 2016.
- ↑ Caulfield, Keith (January 5, 2017). "Drake's 'Views' Is Nielsen Music's Top Album of 2016 in the U.S." Billboard. Retrieved January 6, 2017.
- ↑ Caulfield, Keith (2018-01-03). "Ed Sheeran's 'Divide' Is Nielsen Music's Top Album of 2017 in U.S." billboard.com. Billboard Magazine. Retrieved 2018-01-05.
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