The Billboard 200 measures the most commercially successful albums every week during the tracking period from Friday through the following Thursday. But while the charts used to be determined simply by record sales, the changing technological landscape has led Billboard to update its methodology since the 21st century.
One of the biggest changes came in 2014 when Billboard transitioned from pure sales to a combination of factors that add online streams and individual track sales to traditional album sales. Every album sale counts as it always has. Meanwhile, the sale of 10 individual tracks counts as one album unit. And you need 3,750 ad-supported streams or 1,250 paid subscription streams to equal a single album unit. In 2020 Billboard expanded its criteria yet again to include music video streams on platforms like YouTube.
Unsurprisingly, the record for the most number-one albums is held by The Beatles with 19 chart-toppers; they also have the most number-one singles on the Billboard Hot 100 with 20. Beatles member Paul McCartney actually has 27 when you count his solo albums and his albums 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. Barbra Streisand and Bruce Springsteen are next with 11 number-ones apiece, making Streisand the highest ranked woman (though Taylor Swift is right on her heels with 10 as of this writing). Streisand is also the only artist to occupy the top spot in six different decades.
Who’s making history this year? See the full list below, updating throughout 2022.
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SZA, ‘SOS’
Image Credit: Christopher Polk for Variety 2 week at number-one
December 24 — 318,000 album units
December 31 — 180,000 album units -
Metro Boomin, ‘Heroes and Villains’
Image Credit: Chelsea Lauren/Variety 1 week at number-one
December 17 — 185,000 album units
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Taylor Swift, ‘Midnights’
Image Credit: Bryan Bedder for Variety 5 weeks at number-one
November 5 — 1.578 million album units
November 12 — 342,000 album units
November 26 — 204,000 album units
December 3 — 177,000 album units
December 10 — 151,000 album units -
Drake and 21 Savage, ‘Her Loss’
Image Credit: Roger Kisby/WWD 1 week at number-one
November 19 — 404,000 album units
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Lil Baby, ‘It’s Only Me’
Image Credit: Courtesy of Kenneth Cappello 1 week at number-one
October 29 — 216,000 album units
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Stray Kids, ‘Maxident’
Image Credit: Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images 1 week at number-one
October 22 — 117,000 album units
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Bad Bunny, ‘Un Verano Sin Ti’
Image Credit: Courtesy of STILLZ 13 weeks at number-one
May 21 — 274,000 album units
June 18 — 137,000 album units
July 9 — 115,000 album units
July 16 — 111,000 album units
July 23 — 105,000 album units
July 30 — 103,000 album units
August 6 — 98,000 album units
August 20 — 108,800 album units
September 3 — 105,000 album units
September 17 — 99,500 album units
September 24 — 97,000 album units
October 8 — 87,000 album units
October 15 — 84,000 album units -
Blackpink, ‘Born Pink’
Image Credit: Christopher Polk for Variety 1 Week at number-one
October 1 — 102,000 album units
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DJ Khaled, ‘God Did’
Image Credit: Courtesy DJ Khaled 1 week at number-one
September 10 — 107,500 album units
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Rod Wave, ‘Beautiful Mind’
Image Credit: Tyler Benz 1 week at number-one
August 27 — 115,000 album units
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Beyonce, ‘Renaissance’
Image Credit: Courtesy of Andrew White/Parkwood Entertainment 1 week at number-one
August 13 — 332,000 album units
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Drake, ‘Honestly, Nevermind’
Image Credit: Courtesy DJ Khaled 1 week at number-one
July 2 — 204,000 album units
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BTS, ‘Proof’
Image Credit: Courtesy of Big Hit Music 1 week at number-one
June 25 — 314,000 album units
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Harry Styles, ‘Harry’s House’
Image Credit: Courtesy of Sony 2 weeks at number-one
June 4 — 521,500 album units
June 11 — 160,500 album units -
Kendrick Lamar, ‘Mr. Morale and the Big Steppers’
Image Credit: Joe Papeo/Variety 1 week at number-one
May 28 — 295,500 album units
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Future, ‘I Never Liked You’
Image Credit: Pooneh Ghana for RollingStone.com 1 week at number-one
May 14 — 222,000 album units
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Pusha T, ‘It’s Almost Dry’
Image Credit: John Salangsang/Variety 1 week at number-one
May 7 — 55,000 album units
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Tyler the Creator, ‘Call Me If You Get Lost’
Image Credit: Michael Buckner/Variety 1 week at number-one in 2022 (2 weeks total)
April 30 — 59,000 album units
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Red Hot Chili Peppers, ‘Unlimited Love’
Image Credit: Michael Buckner for Variety 1 week at number-one
April 16 — 97,500 album units
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Machine Gun Kelly, ‘Mainstream Sellout’
Image Credit: Christopher Polk for Variety 1 week at number-one
April 9 — 93,000 album units
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Stray Kids, ‘Oddinary’
Image Credit: Yonhap News/YNA/Newscom/The Mega Agency 1 week at number-one
April 2 — 110,000 album units
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Lil Durk, ‘7220’
Image Credit: Courtesy of Madno Esteves 2 weeks at number-one
March 26 — 120,500 album units
April 23 — 47,000 album units -
Gunna, ‘DS4Ever’
Image Credit: Koury Angelo for Rolling Stone 1 week at number-one
January 22 — 150,300 album units
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‘Encanto’ Soundtrack
Image Credit: Disney 9 weeks at number-one
January 15 — 72,000 album units
January 29 — 104,000 album units
February 5 — 115,000 album units
February 12 — 113,000 album units
February 19 — 110,000 album units
February 26 — 98,000 album units
March 5 — 90,000 album units
March 12 — 80,000 album units
March 19 — 72,500 album units -
Adele, ’30’
Image Credit: Courtesy of Simon Emmett 2 weeks at number-one in 2022 (6 weeks total)
January 1 — 212,000 album units
January 8 — 99,000 album units
