Taylor Swift sold a fuck-ton of records:
Taylor Swift achieves her 11th No. 1 album on the Billboard 200 chart (dated Nov. 5) as Midnights arrives with the biggest week for any album in nearly seven years. The set launches with 1.578 million equivalent album units earned in the U.S. in the week ending Oct. 27, according to Luminate.
Bad Bunny has the number one album in the country:
Bad Bunny’s Un Verano Sin Ti bounces back to No. 1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart (dated July 9) for a third nonconsecutive week on top, as the set climbs 2-1 in its eighth week. The album earned 115,000 equivalent album units in the U.S. in the week ending June 30 (down 5%), according to Luminate.
Bad Bunny once again has the top album in the country:
Bad Bunny’s Un Verano Sin Ti rebounds to No. 1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart (dated June 18) for a second week on top (rising from No. 2), following its debut at No. 1 on the May 21 chart. After its chart-topping opening, the album sat in the No. 2 slot for the next three weeks. The set earned 137,000 equivalent album units (down 3%) in the U.S. in the week ending June 9, according to Luminate.
Harry Styles has the number one album in the country:
Harry Styles’ Harry’s House debuts atop the Billboard 200 albums chart (dated June 4) with a massive 521,500 equivalent album units earned in the U.S. in the week ending May 26, according to Luminate. It’s the largest week of 2022 for any album and only the fourth album in the last 18 months to earn at least 500,000 units in a single week.
Kendrick Lamar has the number one album in the country:
Kendrick Lamar lands his fourth No. 1 album on the Billboard 200 chart as his latest release, Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers, launches atop the list (dated May 28). He’s debuted at No. 1 with each of his last four albums.
Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers charges in with 295,500 equivalent album units earned in the U.S. in the week ending May 19, according to Luminate — the largest week of the year for any album.
Pusha T has the number one album in the country:
Pusha T scores his first No. 1 album on the Billboard 200 chart as It’s Almost Drydebuts atop the list dated May 7. It earned 55,000 equivalent album units in the U.S. in the week ending April 28, according to Luminate. Streaming activity comprised 83% of the hip-hop album’s first-week unit total.
The Red Hot Chili Peppers have the number one album in the country:
Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Unlimited Love leaps onto the Billboard 200 albums chart (dated April 16) at No. 1, marking the band’s second leader and first chart-topping effort since 2006’s Stadium Arcadium. The new set was released on April 1 and bows with 97,500 equivalent album units earned in the U.S. in the week ending April 7, according to Luminate, formerly MRC Data. In total, the group has tallied eight top 10 albums on the Billboard 200.
Machine Gun Kelly has the number one album in the country:
Machine Gun Kelly’s Mainstream Sellout tops the Billboard 200 albums chart, as the set enters atop the list dated April 9 with 93,000 equivalent album units earned in the U.S. in the week ending March 31, according to Luminate, formerly MRC Data. It’s the artist’s second leader, following his last release, 2020’s Tickets to My Downfall. All told, Mainstream Sellout is his sixth top 10 on the tally.
Lil Durk has the number one album in the country:
Lil Durk scores his second No. 1 album on the Billboard 200 chart (dated March 26) as 7220 debuts in the top slot. The rapper previously topped the list with The Voice of the Heroes, a collaborative set with Lil Baby, for one week in 2021.
7220 launches with 120,500 equivalent album units in the U.S. in the week ending March 17, according to Luminate, formerly MRC Data – Lil Durk’s best week for a non-collaborative project. 7220 was released on March 11 via Alamo Records.
The Encanto soundtrack is still the number one album in the country:
The Encanto soundtrack stays firm at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart for a sixth nonconsecutive week on top. It is now tied with Adele’s 30 for the third-most weeks at No. 1 in the last five years. Only Morgan Wallen’s Dangerous: The Double Album (with 10) and Taylor Swift’s Folklore (eight) have tallied more weeks at No. 1 since January 2017.
The Weeknd has the number one album in the country this week:
The Weeknd’s Dawn FM hits No. 1 for the first time on Billboard’s Top Album Sales chart, as the album re-enters atop the list (dated Feb. 12), following its CD release on Jan. 28. The set sold 37,000 copies in the U.S. in the week ending Feb. 3 (up 2,547%), according to MRC Data – nearly all from CD sales. The album had previously only been available via streamers and as a digital download.
The Encanto soundtrack is the number one album in the country:
The Encanto soundtrack returns to No. 1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart for a second nonconsecutive week on top, as the set steps 3-1 on the list dated Jan. 29. The companion set to the Disney animated film earned 104,000 equivalent album units in the U.S. in the week ending Jan. 20 (up 9%), according to MRC Data. Encanto was released on Nov. 19, 2021, via Walt Disney Records and first topped the chart dated Jan. 15, 2022.
The Encanto soundtrack was the best selling album last week:
The soundtrack to the Walt Disney animated musical film Encanto surges to No. 1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart (dated Jan. 15), as the set jumps 7-1 in its sixth week on the list. It’s the first soundtrack to hit No. 1 in more than two years – since Disney’s own Frozen II chilled atop the list for one week, on the chart dated Dec. 14, 2019.
For the first time in 17 years, CD sales are… actually up.
According to an annual report from MRC Data, sales of CDs went up from 40.16 million units in 2020 to 40.49 million in 2021. And we have big-name tentpole acts like BTS, Adele, and Taylor Swift to praise for it.
Vinyl album sales volume increased a massive 50.4% in 2021, as well. That includes the single biggest volume sales week for vinyl album since 1991.
On Thursday (January 6), Billboard reported that Adele is a significant reason for the upward trend in 2021 CD sales (and music sales in general!). Her latest LP, 30, was last year’s top-selling record across all physical and digital platforms. It was also the top-selling CD in 2021, moving 898,000 units.
Thanks, Adele.
Adele still has the number one album in the country:
Adele’s 30 racks up a third straight and total week at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart. The set earned 193,000 equivalent album units in the U.S. in the week ending Dec. 9, according to MRC Data (down 33% compared to the previous week).