2012 Billboard Top 100 Albums

[Jessia Adachi]

Needlessto say, the 2010s have come a long and winding way since then. Over the past 10 years, the decade has come to be defined by too-big-to-fail pop blockbusters and surprise indie rock breakthroughs, by sprawling hip-hop masterworks and personal R&B statements, by throwback classic country records and genre-less, shape-shifting hybrid LPs, by endless rollouts for long-anticipated comeback albums, and by surprise game-changing sets that dropped out of the sky on a Thursday night.

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]

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 & Tape" chart.

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.[9] An album did not have to chart on the Billboard 200 to qualify for this chart.

Billboard has adjusted its policies for Christmas[12] and holiday[12] albums several times. The albums were eligible for the main album charts until 1963, when a "Christmas Albums" chart was created. Albums appearing here were not listed on the "Top LPs" chart, and 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 1990, the chart was retitled "Top Holiday Albums"; as of 2009[update], it holds 50 positions and runs 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.

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. 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.)

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. Under the new methodology, 10 track sales or 1,500 song streams from an album are treated as equivalent to one purchase of the album. Billboard continues to publish a pure album sales chart, called "Top Album Sales", that maintains the traditional Billboard 200 methodology but is based exclusively on SoundScan's sales data.[4]

Beginning on January 18, 2020, Billboard incorporated video and audio data from YouTube, along with visual plays from streaming services like Apple Music, Spotify, Tidal and Vevo, into the Billboard 200. The change has also impacted Billboard's genre-specific album charts.[6]

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 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 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.

Note: As a musician, Paul McCartney has the most top-10 albums, with 51. This includes 32 with The Beatles, 11 solo albums, seven albums with the group Wings, and one album credited to him and his first wife, Linda McCartney.[22][23]

Note: Swift is the first living artist to chart five albums in the top 10 simultaneously.[61] She was previously the first living soloist to have four albums simultaneously chart in the top 10 for 5 consecutive weeks.[57]

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.[60]

AILSA CHANG, HOST: Singer Taylor Swift has broken new ground. She is the first female artist to have four albums on the Billboard 200 chart. As NPR's Anastasia Tsioulcas reports, this milestone comes as Swift has been deep in rerecording her early albums to keep artistic and financial control over her work.ANASTASIA TSIOULCAS, BYLINE: Taylor Swift released the album "Speak Now (Taylor's Version)" earlier this month. It quickly soared to No. 1 on the Billboard 200, the chart that tracks the most popular albums in the U.S.(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "LONG LIVE (TAYLOR'S VERSION)")TAYLOR SWIFT: (Singing) Long live the walls we crashed through. How the kingdom lights shined...TSIOULCAS: "Speak Now" joins two other Taylor Swift rerecorded albums - "Midnights" and "Lover" - on that chart, along with her 2020 album "Folklore." Back in 2019, Swift said she would be rerecording and rereleasing all six albums she'd first made for her previous record label, Big Machine. She announced that decision after Big Machine sold her catalog to another company. Swift now financially and artistically controls these rerecorded albums, which are all being released with the subtitle "Taylor's Version." This is the first time in nearly 60 years that any living musical artist has managed this chart feat. Trumpeter Herb Alpert pulled it off in 1966. Prince had five albums in the top 10 in 2016, but that was just after his untimely death. Anastasia Tsioulcas, NPR News, New York.(SOUNDBITE OF TAYLOR SWIFT SONG, "FEARLESS")

His grand total also includes one mixtape ("Care Package"), two collaborative albums ("What A Time To Be Alive" with Future and "Her Loss" with 21 Savage), and one project mysteriously billed as a playlist ("More Life").

Most recently, "The Tortured Poets Department" launched atop the chart with Swift's biggest sales week to date. It marked her 14th No. 1 album, tying Jay-Z for the most among solo artists and extending her record for the most among women.

Her inaugural week global album sales of more than 143,000 has her perched at No. 1 on Billboard's Top Album Sales, Top Current Album Sales and Independent Albums charts. She's also on top of Billboard's Top Rock Albums, Top Rock & Alternative Albums and Top Country Albums charts.

"Wow, this is a big thrill!" Parton said in a statement. "I owe a thank you to the fans who have always been there for me. Their support made this achievement possible. I'd also like to thank my producer Kent Wells, all the wonderful artists, musicians, and engineers who brought their talents to this project."

Impressively, "Rockstar" nearly tripled one-week sales of Parton's 1993 platinum-seller "Slow Dancing With the Moon" and became her 48th Top 10 entry on Billboard's Country Albums and eighth No. 1 on that chart. This total extends her record for most Top 10 albums by a female artist to a 46-year run, including 1977's "Here You Come Again," 2020's "A Holly Dolly Christmas," and more.

The Billboard 200 measures the commercial performance of the top albums during the weekly tracking period from Friday through Thursday. While the charts used to be determined just by record sales, the evolving technological landscape has prompted Billboard to adjust its methodology in the 21st century.

The record for the most number-one albums is held by The Beatles with 19; they also hold the record for the most number-one singles on the Billboard Hot 100 with 20. Beatles alum Paul McCartney actually has 27 top albums when you count his solo albums and those he recorded with the band Wings. Jay-Z ranks second with 14 number-one albums, which makes him the top solo artist on the all-time list. Taylor Swift is next with 13 number-ones. Barbra Streisand is the only artist to claim the top spot in six different decades.

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