Billboard 200 - WikiHQ

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The Billboard 200 is a record chart ranking the 200 most popular music albums and EPs in the United States. It is published weekly by Billboard magazine to convey the popularity of an artist 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 the Billboard Top LPs (1961–1972), Billboard Top LPs & Tapes (1972–1984), Billboard Top 200 Albums (1984–1985), Billboard Top Pop Albums (1985–1991), and Billboard 200 Top Albums (1991–1992).

The chart is based mostly on sales—both at retail and digital– of albums in the United States. The weekly sales period was Monday to Sunday when Nielsen started tracking sales in 1991. Still, since July 2015, the tracking week begins on Friday (to coincide with the Global Release Day of the music industry) and ends on Thursday. A new chart is published the following Tuesday, post dated to the Saturday of that week, four days later. The chart's streaming schedule is also tracked from Friday to Thursday. Digital downloads of albums are included in Billboard 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 as Walmart and Starbucks) ineligible for charting was reversed on November 7, 2007, and took effect in the issue dated November 17, 2007.

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 and online music sales services in the U.S. Starting on the issue dated January 18, 2020, Billboard updated its method again by incorporating video data from YouTube, along with visual plays from digital platforms like Apple Music, Spotify, Tidal, Vevo and, as of the issue dated March 23, 2021, from Facebook. YouTube removed their streaming data from Billboards methodology in late 2025. YouTube's reasoning was a denied request to count ad-attached streams and YouTube Premium streams as 'equal'.

As of the issue dated June 6, 2026, the number-one album on the chart is Iceman by Drake.

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 in album 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 was Belafonte by Harry 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" for stereo albums (30 positions) and "Best-Selling Monophonic LPs" for mono 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 & 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.

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 & Tapes" 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, 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 the Billboard 200.

"Both Dark Side of the Moon and The Wall should be in the Billboard Top 200," said former Pink Floyd member Roger 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."

Following Michael Jackson's death on June 25, 2009, several of his albums saw a significant surge in sales. Number Ones, The Essential Michael Jackson, and Thriller occupied the top three spots for two consecutive weeks – a first in history. In the third week, six of Jackson's albums were the best-selling albums in the country.

Holiday albums

Billboard has adjusted its policies for Christmas and holiday, released June 11, 1991.

Incorporation of streaming data and track sales

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".

Year-end charts

Billboard "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 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 the Billboard 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.

Since 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 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 often 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-time Billboard 200 achievements (1963–2015)

In 2015, Billboard compiled a ranking of the 100 best-performing albums on the Billboard 200 over its 52 years, along with the best-performing artists. Shown below are the top 10 albums and top 10 artists over the 52 years of the Billboard 200, through October 2015. Also shown are the artists placing the most albums on the overall "all-time" top 100 album list.

Top 10 albums of all time (1963–2015)

{| class="wikitable"

!scope="col"| Rank

!scope="col"| Album

!scope="col"| Year released

!scope="col"| Artist

!scope="col"| Peak and duration

!scope="row"| 1

|21

|style="text-align:center;"| 2011

|Adele

|No. 1 for 24 weeks

!scope="row"| 2

|The Sound of Music

|style="text-align:center;"| 1965

|Soundtrack

|No. 1 for 2 weeks

!scope="row"| 3

|Thriller

|style="text-align:center;"| 1982

|Michael Jackson

|No. 1 for 37 weeks

!scope="row"| 4

|Fearless

|style="text-align:center;"| 2008

|Taylor Swift

|No. 1 for 11 weeks

!scope="row"| 5

|Born in the U.S.A.

|style="text-align:center;"| 1984

|Bruce Springsteen

|No. 1 for 7 weeks

!scope="row"| 6

|Ropin' the Wind

|style="text-align:center;"| 1991

|Garth Brooks

|No. 1 for 18 weeks

!scope="row"| 7

|Jagged Little Pill

|style="text-align:center;"| 1995

|Alanis Morissette

|No. 1 for 12 weeks

!scope="row"| 8

|Doctor Zhivago

|style="text-align:center;"| 1966

|Maurice Jarre

|No. 1 for 1 week

!scope="row"| 9

|All the Right Reasons

|style="text-align:center;"| 2005

|Nickelback

|No. 1 for 1 week

!scope="row"| 10

|Tapestry

|style="text-align:center;"| 1971

|Carole King

|No. 1 for 15 weeks

Source:

Top 10 albums artists of all time (1963–2015)

{| class="wikitable"

!scope="col"| Rank

!scope="col"| Artist

!scope="row"| 1

|The Beatles

!scope="row"| 2

|The Rolling Stones

!scope="row"| 3

|Barbra Streisand

!scope="row"| 4

|Garth Brooks

!scope="row"| 5

|Elton John

!scope="row"| 6

|Mariah Carey

!scope="row"| 7

|Herb Alpert

!scope="row"| 8

|Taylor Swift

!scope="row"| 9

|Chicago

!scope="row"| 10

|Michael Jackson

Source:

Artists with the most albums on Billboards top 200 albums of all time (1963–2015)

{| class="wikitable"

!scope="col"| Number of<br />albums

!scope="col"| Artist

!scope="col"| Albums (ranking)

!scope="row"| 5

|The Beatles

|Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (54), A Hard Day's Night (105), 1 (131), Abbey Road (135), Meet the Beatles! (187)

!scope="row" rowspan="2"| 4

|Taylor Swift

|Fearless (4), Taylor Swift (18), 1989 (64), Red (140)

| Led Zeppelin

|Led Zeppelin II (146), Houses of the Holy (185), Led Zeppelin IV (194), In Through the Out Door (198)

!scope="row" rowspan="7"| 3

|Michael Jackson

|Thriller (3), Bad (138), Off the Wall (149)

| Nickelback

|All the Right Reasons (9), Silver Side Up (162), Dark Horse (182)

| Whitney Houston

|Whitney Houston (11), The Bodyguard (23), Whitney (159)

| Herb Alpert

|Whipped Cream & Other Delights (13), Going Places (44), What Now My Love (170)

| Elton John

|Goodbye Yellow Brick Road (39), Honky Château (145), Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy (175)

| Mariah Carey

|Mariah Carey (50), The Emancipation of Mimi (52), Music Box (87)

| Janet Jackson

|Control (72), Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation 1814 (94), Janet (119)

Source:

! rowspan="2" scope="row"| 15

| Drake

| Taylor Swift||

! scope="row" | 14

| Jay-Z||

|Kanye West

| Future|| |

! scope="row" | 10

| Elvis Presley|| 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 wife Yoko Ono. George Harrison had 19 number-one albums with the Beatles and two as a solo artist.

Barbra Streisand is the only artist to have number-one albums in six different decades. Her first was the 1964 album People, and her most recent was the 2016 album Encore: Movie Partners Sing Broadway, with a few weeks shy of 52 years between the two hitting number one.

Most number-one albums in a calendar year

{| class="wikitable"

!scope="col"| Albums

!scope="col"| Artist

!scope="col"| Year

!scope="col"|

!scope="row"| 4

| The Monkees || 1967 ||

! rowspan="13" scope="row" | 3

| Elvis Presley || 1957 ||

| 2023 ||

|Future

|2024

! scope="row" | 9

| The Beatles ||

!scope="row" rowspan="2" | 8

| Beyoncé||

| The Rolling Stones ||

!scope="row" rowspan="3" |7

||Dave Matthews Band||

| Drake||

Most consecutive studio albums to debut at number one

{| class="wikitable sortable"

!scope="col"| Number

!scope="col"| Act

!scope="col" class="unsortable"|

!scope="row" | 15

|Taylor Swift||

! rowspan="2" scope="row"| 8

||Beyoncé||

| Drake

! scope="row" | 7

| Dave Matthews Band||

| Metallica||

| Lady Gaga||

On May 1, 2016, Beyoncé became the first artist to have their first six studio albums debut at number one on the Billboard 200 chart, following the release of her sixth studio album, Lemonade, surpassing DMX. Following the release of Renaissance and its debut atop the August 7, 2022, chart, she become the first and only female artist to debut her first seven albums atop the chart. Following the release of Cowboy Carter and its debut atop the April 13, 2024, chart, she extended her record to become the first and only female artist to debut her first eight albums atop the chart.
On September 6, 2025, Stray Kids became the first act to debut at number one with their first seven entries on the chart, following the release of their fourth studio album Karma.

Most cumulative weeks at number one

List of acts with the most weeks at number one on the Billboard 200 since August 17, 1963.

{| class="wikitable"

!Weeks at <br /> number one

!Artist

!scope="row" | 132

|The Beatles

| align="center" |

!scope="row" | 98

|Taylor Swift

| align="center" |

{| class="wikitable"

!Years

!Act

!Streak

!scope="row"|8

|Taylor Swift

|2019–2026

!scope="row"|7

|The Beatles

|1964–1970

!scope="row" rowspan="3" |5

|Drake

|2015–2019

|Jay-Z

|2000–2004

|Paul McCartney

|1973–1977

Most top-10 albums

{| class="wikitable"

!scope="col"| Albums

!scope="col"| Artist

! scope="col" |

!scope="row"| 38

| The Rolling Stones

!scope="row"| 34

| Barbra Streisand

!scope="row"| 32

| The Beatles

!scope="row"| 32

| Frank Sinatra

!scope="row"| 27

| Elvis Presley

!scope="row"| 23

| Madonna

!scope="row"| 22

| Elton John

!scope="row"| 22

| Bruce Springsteen

!scope="row"| 21

| Paul McCartney

!scope="row"| 21

| George Strait

Most albums in the top 10 simultaneously

Prince (5) – 2016
Taylor Swift (5) – 2023
The Kingston Trio (4; 5 consecutive times) – 1959
Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass (4) – 1966
Peter, Paul and Mary (3) – 1963
Whitney Houston (3) – 2012
Led Zeppelin (3) – 2014
Kendrick Lamar (3) – 2025
Morgan Wallen (3; four times) — 2025
Drake (3) – 2026

Note: Swift is the first living artist to chart five albums in the top 10 simultaneously.

Bad Bunny (4) – 2026
Taylor Swift (10) – 2023; 2024 (on 14 different weeks)
Drake (10) – 2026
Bad Bunny (7) – 2026
Coldplay (6) – 2016

Note: Had the Billboard 200 allowed catalog albums to chart previous to December 5, 2009, Michael Jackson would have claimed 9 simultaneous top 100 titles for two consecutive weeks.

Most albums in the top 200 simultaneously

Prince (19) – 2016
Drake (12) – 2026
Taylor Swift (11) – 2023 (on 5 different weeks); 2024 (on 20 different weeks); 2025
Whitney Houston (10) – 2012
Led Zeppelin (9) – 1979
Eminem (8) – 2013
Linkin Park (8) – 2017
Ariana Grande (8) - 2025

Most albums spending at least 1 full year (52 weeks) in the top 10

Taylor Swift (4)

Most albums spending at least 100 weeks in the top 10

Morgan Wallen (2)
SZA (1)

Album milestones

Most weeks at number one

{| class="wikitable"

!scope="col"| Weeks

!scope="col"| Album

!scope="col"| Artist

!scope="col"| Year(s)

!scope="col"|

!scope="row"| 54

| West Side Story† || Various artists || 1962–63 ||

!scope="row"| 37

| Thriller || Michael Jackson || 1983–84 ||

!scope="row" rowspan="3"| 31

| Rumours || Fleetwood Mac || 1977–78 ||

Most weeks spent in the top-ten

{| class="wikitable"

!scope="col"| Weeks

!scope="col"| Album

!scope="col"| Artist

!scope="col"| Year(s)

!scope="col"|

!scope="row"| 173

| My Fair Lady|| Original Cast (Various Artists) || 1956–1960 ||

!scope="row"| 165

| Dangerous: The Double Album|| rowspan="2" | Morgan Wallen|| 2021–2025 ||

!136

| One Thing at a Time|| 2023–2026 ||

!115

|SOS

|SZA

|2022–2026

!109

| The Sound of Music Soundtrack|| Soundtrack (Various Artists)|| 1965–1967 ||

!scope="row"| 940*

| Legend || Bob Marley and the Wailers ||

!scope="row"| 910*

| Greatest Hits || Journey ||

!scope="row"| 834*

| Metallica || Metallica ||

!scope="row"| 799*

| Chronicle: The 20 Greatest Hits || Creedence Clearwater Revival ||

!scope="row"| 789*

| Curtain Call: The Hits || Eminem ||

!scope="row"| 781*

| Doo-Wops & Hooligans || Bruno Mars ||

!scope="row"| 775*

| Nevermind || Nirvana ||

!scope="row"| 774*

| Greatest Hits || Guns N' Roses ||

!scope="row"| 719*

| Thriller || Michael Jackson ||

!scope="row"| 708*

| Good Kid, M.A.A.D City || Kendrick Lamar ||

!scope="row"| 700*

| Greatest Hits || Queen ||

!scope="row"| 690*

| Take Care || Drake ||

!scope="row"| 671*

| Greatest Hits || Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers ||

!scope="row"| 644

| Back in Black || AC/DC ||

!scope="row"| 641*

| Born to Die || Lana Del Rey ||

!scope="row"| 626*

| Greatest Hits || 2Pac ||

!scope="row"| 617

| 21 || Adele ||

!scope="row"| 616*

| Greatest Hits || Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band ||

<!--A few albums within striking distance as of May 30, 2026

!scope="row"| 598*

| 2014 Forest Hills Drive || J. Cole ||

!scope="row"| 567*

| 1989 || Taylor Swift ||

!scope="row"| 558*

| Traveller || Chris Stapleton ||

!scope="row"| 556*

| Hamilton: An American Musical || Original Broadway Cast ||

!scope="row"| 555

| 1 || The Beatles ||

!scope="row"| 543*

| The Essential Michael Jackson || Michael Jackson ||

!scope="row"| 531*

| Their Greatest Hits (1971–1975) || Eagles ||

!scope="row"| 525*

| ANTI || Rihanna ||

!scope="row"| 525*

| Nothing Was the Same || Drake ||

!scope="row"| 490†

| Johnny's Greatest Hits || Johnny Mathis ||

!scope="row"| 487*

| Blonde || Frank Ocean ||

!scope="row"| 480†

| My Fair Lady || Original Cast Recording ||

!scope="row"| 475*

| DAMN. || Kendrick Lamar ||

!scope="row"| 471*

| Teenage Dream || Katy Perry ||

!scope="row"| 469*

| The Fame || Lady Gaga ||

!scope="row"| 468*

| This One's for You || Luke Combs ||

!scope="row"| 467*

| Ctrl || SZA ||

!scope="row"| 446*

| Starboy || The Weeknd ||

!scope="row"| 445*

| Diamonds || Elton John ||

!scope="row"| 443

| The Eminem Show || Eminem ||

!scope="row"| 439

| Hot Rocks 1964–1971 || The Rolling Stones ||

!scope="row"| 433*

| Graduation || Kanye West ||

!scope="row"| 431*

| More Life || Drake ||

!scope="row"| 425

| Moana || Soundtrack ||

!scope="row"| 423*

| Hozier || Hozier ||

!scope="row"| 418*

| Goodbye & Good Riddance || Juice WRLD ||

!scope="row"| 415*

| Hybrid Theory || Linkin Park ||

!scope="row"| 414

| Night Visions || Imagine Dragons ||

!scope="row"| 412*

| Scorpion || Drake ||

!scope="row"| 407*

| Greatest Hits So Far... || Zac Brown Band ||

!scope="row"| 402

| Luv Is Rage 2 || Lil Uzi Vert ||

!scope="row"| 398

| Greatest Hits || The Notorious B.I.G. ||

!scope="row"| 396*

| If I Know Me || Morgan Wallen ||

!scope="row"| 386

| Astroworld || Travis Scott ||

!scope="row"| 380

| In the Lonely Hour || Sam Smith ||

!scope="row"| 375

| [[÷ (Ed Sheeran album)|÷] || Ed Sheeran ||

!scope="row"| 368

| Sounds of Summer: The Very Best of The Beach Boys || The Beach Boys ||

!scope="row"| 361

| Stoney || Post Malone ||

!scope="row"| 350

| Blurryface || Twenty One Pilots ||

!scope="row"| 331

| Highlights from the Phantom of the Opera || Original Cast Recording ||

!scope="row"| 322

| Recovery || Eminem ||

!scope="row"| 318

| Tapestry || Carole King ||

-->

===Largest jumps to number one===

(176 to 1) Life After Death – The Notorious B.I.G.
(173 to 1) Vitalogy – Pearl Jam
(157 to 1) Fearless (Taylor's Version) – Taylor Swift
(156 to 1) In Rainbows – Radiohead
(137 to 1) Ghetto D – Master P
(122 to 1) More of The Monkees – The Monkees
(120 to 1) Call Me If You Get Lost – Tyler, the Creator
(112 to 1) MP da Last Don – Master P
(106 to 1) Days Before Rodeo – Travis Scott
(98 to 1) Beatles '65 – The Beatles

===Largest drops from number one===

(1 to 169) This House Is Not for Sale – Bon Jovi
(1 to 139) Call Me If You Get Lost – Tyler, the Creator
(1 to 111) Courage – Celine Dion
(1 to 97) Science Fiction – Brand New
(1 to 88) Iridescence – Brockhampton
(1 to 77) Madame X – Madonna
(1 to 70) Lyfestyle – Yeat
(1 to 62) Boarding House Reach – Jack White
(1 to 59) Wonderful Wonderful – The Killers
(1 to 58) Skeletá – Ghost

Notes:

The album Music to Be Murdered By by Eminem 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.
The mixtape Days Before Rodeo by Travis Scott dropped off the chart entirely after reaching number one the previous week (October 5, 2024), becoming the first project to do so.
The album Hello from Las Vegas by Lionel 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.

Longest climbs to number one in the SoundScan era

Here are the albums to complete the 10 longest rises to number one on the Billboard 200 since the adoption of Nielsen Music data in 1991.

{| class="wikitable"

!scope="col"| Weeks to No. 1

!scope="col"| Artist

!scope="col"| Album

!scope="col"| Date reached No. 1

!scope="row"| 63

| Various Artists || O Brother, Where Art Thou? Soundtrack || March 23, 2002

!scope="row"| 53

| The Kid Laroi || F*ck Love || August 7, 2021

!scope="row"| 52

| Live || Throwing Copper || May 6, 1995

!scope="row"| 49

| No Doubt || Tragic Kingdom || December 21, 1996

!scope="row"| 46

| Norah Jones || Come Away with Me || January 25, 2003

!scope="row"| 44

| Hootie & the Blowfish || Cracked Rear View || May 27, 1995

!scope="row"| 40

| Prince || The Very Best of Prince || May 7, 2016

!scope="row"| 31

| Toni Braxton || Toni Braxton || February 26, 1994

!scope="row"| 28

| Celine Dion || Falling into You || October 5, 1996

!scope="row"| 27

| Eric Clapton || Unplugged || March 13, 1993

Forever Your Girl by Paula Abdul spent 64 consecutive weeks on the Billboard 200 before hitting number one in 1989, making it the longest time spent on the chart before reaching the number one spot.

Albums to top the Billboard 200 by artists who have never appeared on the Hot 100

{| class="wikitable"

!scope="col"| Artist

!scope="col"| Album

!scope="col"| Year

!scope="col"|

!scope="row"| Van Cliburn

| Tchaikovsky: Piano Concerto No. 1 || 1958 ||

! rowspan="2" scope="row" | Bob Newhart

| The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart || 1960 ||

| The Golden Age of Grotesque || 2003 ||

!scope="row"| Vampire Weekend

| Modern Vampires of the City || 2013 ||

!scope="row"| Lecrae

| Anomaly || rowspan=2| 2014 ||

!scope="row"| Slipknot

| .5: The Gray Chapter ||

!scope="row"| Brand New

| Science Fiction || rowspan=2| 2017 ||

!scope="row"| LCD Soundsystem

| American Dream ||

!scope="row"| Vampire Weekend

| Father of the Bride || rowspan=3| 2019 ||

!scope="row"| Slipknot

| We Are Not Your Kind ||

!scope="row"| SuperM

| SuperM – The 1st Mini Album ||

!scope="row"| Tomorrow X Together

| The Name Chapter: Temptation || 2023 ||

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. <!--If there are any removals, please cite the source that removes the artist (unless Billboard decides to publish an updated comprehensive list.

Lecrae, Brand New, and LCD Soundsystem are on this list per their Billboard chart history pages.-->

EPs to reach number one on the Billboard 200

{| class="wikitable"

!Artist(s)

!EP

!Year

! scope="row" | Alice In Chains

| Jar of Flies|| 1994

! scope="row" | Jay-Z and Linkin Park

| Collision Course|| 2004

! rowspan="2" scope="row" | Glee Cast

| Glee: The Music, The Power Of Madonna|| rowspan="2" | 2010

| rowspan="2" |

|Glee: The Music, Journey to Regionals

!Bad Meets Evil

|Hell: The Sequel

|2011

!The Weeknd

|My Dear Melancholy

|2018

!BTS

|Map of the Soul: Persona

| rowspan="2" |2019

!SuperM

|SuperM — The 1st Mini Album

|Maxident

!Tomorrow X Together

|The Name Chapter: Temptation

| rowspan="2" |2023

! Stray Kids

|Rock-Star

!Twice

|With You-th

| rowspan="3" |2024

!Stray Kids

|Ate

!Ateez

|Golden Hour: Part.2

All-Spanish-language albums to reach number one on Billboard 200

{| class="wikitable"

!Artist(s)

!Album

!Peak date

! weeks

! rowspan="2" scope="row" | Bad Bunny

|El Último Tour del Mundo

|December 3, 2020

| align=center|1

|Un Verano Sin Ti

| May 22, 2022

| align=center|13

! scope="row" | Karol G

|Mañana Será Bonito

|March 11, 2023

| align=center|1

! rowspan="4" scope="row" | Bad Bunny

|Nadie Sabe Lo Que Va a Pasar Mañana

| October 28, 2023

| align=center|1

| rowspan="3" | Debí Tirar Más Fotos

|January 25, 2025

| align=center|3

|May 17, 2025

| align=center|1

|February 28, 2026

| align="center" |1

Additional milestones

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.
In the early 1960s, Bob Newhart accomplished the feat of having the number one and number two albums simultaneously on the Billboard albums chart, with The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart and The Button-Down Mind Strikes Back! This was equaled by the Beatles multiple times: twice in 1964 with Meet the Beatles! and Introducing... The Beatles, and then with A Hard Day's Night and Something New, followed in 1969 by the album The Beatles (commonly known as The White Album) and the soundtrack for the film Yellow Submarine. In 1991, Guns N' Roses held the top two with Use Your Illusion I and Use Your Illusion II; in 2004, Nelly's Suit and Sweat; and in 2017, Future's Future and Hndrxx.
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 the Billboard 200.
The first U.K. solo artist to debut at number one with a debut album is Leona Lewis on April 26, 2008, with the album Spirit. The first U.K. group to debut at No. 1 with a debut album is One Direction on March 31, 2012, with the album Up All Night.
Justin Bieber became the first artist in history to have five albums top the Billboard 200 at the age of 18, as Believe Acoustic debuted at number one on February 16, 2013. He also became the youngest solo artist to achieve this feat. Subsequently, Bieber () became the youngest solo artist to achieve seven No. 1 albums on the chart with Changes, breaking a 59-year-old record set by Elvis Presley at the age of 26. He further extended his record, after turning 27, by becoming the youngest soloist to have eight albums top the Billboard 200, following the release of his sixth studio album, Justice, breaking yet another chart record held by Elvis Presley at the age of 29.
Tony Bennett became the oldest male to debut at number one on October 8, 2011 ( old), with the album Duets II. Bennett, who was born on August 3, 1926, later surpassed his own record when his collaborative album with Lady Gaga, Cheek to Cheek, debuted at number one on October 11, 2014 ( old).
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.
In 2012, Adam Lambert became the first openly gay musician to debut at number one with his album Trespassing.
There have been 41 albums released on an independent label to reach number one on the Billboard 200.
Jackie Gleason, at least for a time, held the record for the most albums to top the Billboard 200 without charting any songs in the top 40 of the Hot 100; five of Gleason's mood music albums topped the Billboard 200 in the mid-1950s.
One Direction became the first group to debut at number one with its first three albums when Midnight Memories debuted atop the Billboard 200 chart dated December 14, 2013. It later became the first group to debut at number one with its first four albums when Four debuted atop the chart on November 26, 2014.
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 the Billboard "Top LP's" chart for the week ending May 17, 1969, and returned 45 years and 35 days later at number 7 on the Billboard 200, for the week ending June 21, 2014.
On May 22, 2016, Coloring Book by Chance the Rapper became the first streaming-only album to chart on the Billboard 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.
In 2016, Beyoncé and Solange Knowles became the first pair of female siblings to each have a No. 1 solo album on the Billboard 200, with Beyoncé's Lemonade and Solange's A Seat at the Table both reaching the top of the chart.
On March 18, 2017, Future made history by achieving back-to-back number-one album debuts in successive weeks with Future and Hndrxx for the first time in the chart's history.
On January 19, 2019, A Boogie wit da Hoodie's Hoodie 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. A week later, the album broke its own record when it stayed at number one for a second week, selling 749 copies.
In 2017, Taylor Swift became the first artist to debut at the top of the chart with four albums that sold over one million copies within a week, accomplishing the feat with Speak Now, Red, 1989 and Reputation. She extended the record to five with Midnights in 2022, six with 1989 (Taylor's Version) in 2023, and eight with The Life of a Showgirl. and the first living soloist to place four albums in the top 10.
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 with Fearless, 1989, Lover, and Midnights - the latter two doing so consecutively. Midnights is the first album released in the 2020s to achieve the mark.
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 album Hackney Diamonds debuted at number 3.
The Grateful Dead hold the record for the most Top 40 albums on the Billboard 200, with 60 having charted at number 40 or higher. This is notably due to fan-exclusive unearthed live concert recordings, which are released a handful of times every year. Baton Rouge rapper NBA Youngboy became the runner-up in early 2026, amassing 35 entries with his project Slime Cry. He has more than any other rapper.
Stevie Wonder's Songs in the Key of Life (first 13 weeks at number one), Whitney Houston's Whitney (first 11 weeks), Morgan Wallen's Dangerous: The Double Album (first 10 weeks), Wallen's One Thing at a Time (first 12 weeks), and Taylor Swift's The Tortured Poets Department (first 12 weeks) are the only five albums in Billboard 200 history to spend at least their first ten weeks at number one.

Sources

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

References

External links

Current Billboard 200

History

Catalog albums

Holiday albums

Incorporation of streaming data and track sales

Year-end charts

All-time Billboard 200 achievements (1963–2015)

Top 10 albums of all time (1963–2015)

Top 10 albums artists of all time (1963–2015)

Artists with the most albums on Billboards top 200 albums of all time (1963–2015)

Most number-one albums in a calendar year

Most consecutive studio albums to debut at number one

Most cumulative weeks at number one

Most top-10 albums

Most albums in the top 10 simultaneously

Most albums in the top 200 simultaneously

Most albums spending at least 1 full year (52 weeks) in the top 10

Most albums spending at least 100 weeks in the top 10

Album milestones

Most weeks at number one

Most weeks spent in the top-ten

Longest climbs to number one in the SoundScan era

Albums to top the Billboard 200 by artists who have never appeared on the Hot 100

EPs to reach number one on the Billboard 200

All-Spanish-language albums to reach number one on Billboard 200

Additional milestones

See also

Sources

References

External links