Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a record chart ranking the 200 most popular music albums and EPs in the United States.
The weekly sales period was Monday to Sunday when Nielsen started tracking sales in 1991, but since July 2015, the tracking week begins on Friday (to coincide with the Global Release Day of the music industry) and ends on Thursday.
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.
[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 and online 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 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.
[6][7] As of the issue dated February 15, 2025, the number-one album on the chart is Hurry Up Tomorrow by the Weeknd.
In 1960, Billboard began concurrently publishing album charts that ranked sales of older or mid-priced titles.
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.
[9] "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.
"[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.
Since May 25, 1991, the Billboard 200's positions have been derived from Nielsen SoundScan sales data; as of 2008[update], it is contributed to by approximately 14,000 music sellers.
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, the Billboard 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, including Spotify, Apple Music, Google Play and Groove Music.
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.
List of acts who reached number one on the Billboard 200 with a new album in consecutive calendar years since August 17, 1963.
[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.
Notes: 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.
