album sales
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Ed Sheeran scores his fifth No. 1 on Billboard’s Top Album Sales chart (dated May 20) as – (pronounced Subtract) debuts in the top slot. Further, it does so with his largest sales week since 2017 – thus bigger than any week posted by Sheeran’s last two albums (2021’s Equals and 2019’s No. 6 Collaborations Project).
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Subtract starts with 81,000 copies sold in the United States in the week ending May 11, according to Luminate. It’s the 10th-largest sales week of 2023 for any album, and the fifth-largest for a non-K-pop title.
Subtract’s sales were aided by its availability in both a standard 14-track and 18-track edition (digital download, CD and vinyl). The set was also available in nine vinyl variants (including exclusives for Amazon, Barnes & Noble, independent record stores, Target, Urban Outfitters and Walmart) and multiple CD iterations in collectible packages (including a signed CD, a version with a lenticular cover, a “textured sand” cover and a “Zine” CD package).
Also in the top 10 of the new Top Album Sales chart, LE SSERAFIM’s Unforgiven debuts at No. 2, the Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 3: Awesome Mix Vol. 3 soundtrack bows at, appropriately, No. 3, and The Smashing Pumpkins’ ATUM: A Rock Opera in Three Acts enters at No. 8.
Billboard’s Top Album Sales chart ranks the top-selling albums of the week based only on traditional album sales. The chart’s history dates back to May 25, 1991, the first week Billboard began tabulating charts with electronically monitored piece count information from SoundScan, now Luminate. Pure album sales were the sole measurement utilized by the Billboard 200 albums chart through the list dated Dec. 6, 2014, after which that chart switched to a methodology that blends album sales with track equivalent album units and streaming equivalent album units. The new May 20, 2023-dated chart will be posted in full on Billboard‘s website on May 16. For all chart news, follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both Twitter and Instagram.
Of Subtract’s 81,000 sold, physical sales comprise 59,000 (45,000 on CD, 14,000 on vinyl – Sheeran’s largest sales week on vinyl – and a couple hundred on cassette) and digital download sales comprise 22,000. Subtract also enters at No. 1 on the Vinyl Albums chart, his third leader on that list, as well as No. 1 on Tastemaker Albums and Top Current Album Sales. Vinyl Albums tallies the top-selling vinyl albums of the week. Tastemaker Albums lists the week’s top-selling albums at independent record stores. Top Current Album Sales lists the week’s best-selling current (not catalog, or older albums) albums by traditional album sales.
Korean pop girl group LE SSERAFIM debuts at No. 2 on Top Album Sales with Unforgiven, selling 38,500 copies in the week ending May 11. It’s the second top 10, highest charting effort, and best sales week for the act. The album was released to digital retail on May 1 and sold less than 500 copies in the week ending May 4. Its debut on Top Album Sales was prompted by its CD release on May 5.
Like many K-pop releases, the CD edition of Unforgiven was issued in collectible CD packages (11 total, including exclusives for Target, Walmart and the Weverse webstore), each containing a standard set of bonus items and randomized photocards. Effectively all of Unforgiven’s album sales in the week ending May 11 were CDs, with a negligible sum generated by digital download album sales. The set was not available in any other retail format (such as vinyl or cassette).
The Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 3: Awesome Mix Vol. 3 soundtrack bows at No. 3 on Top Album Sales, with 29,000 copies sold. Of that sum, vinyl sales comprise 11,000 (enabling its debut at No. 2 on the Vinyl Albums chart).
The multi-artist Guardians soundtrack (comprised entirely of previously released pop and rock songs) also debuts at No. 1 on Billboard’s Soundtracks chart and Top Rock Albums tally. All three of the Guardians theatrical film soundtracks have reached No. 1 on both the Soundtracks chart and the Top Rock Albums chart.
Soundtracks and Top Rock Albums ranks the week’s most popular soundtracks and rock releases, respectively, by equivalent album units.
A quartet of former No. 1s is next on Top Album Sales, as SEVENTEEN’s SEVENTEEN: 10th Mini Album: FML falls 1-4 in its second week (27,000; down 80%), Agust D’s D-Day dips 2-5 (14,000; down 46%), Taylor Swift’s Midnights is a non-mover at No. 6 (12,000; up 7%) and Metallica’s 72 Seasons descends 5-7 (10,000; down 20%).
The Smashing Pumpkins’ ATUM: A Rock Opera in Three Acts debuts at No. 8 on Top Album Sales, selling 9,000 copies. Of that sum, vinyl sales comprise 4,000 – and the set bows at No. 8 on the Vinyl Albums chart. On Top Album Sales, ATUM marks the eighth top 10-charting effort for the rock act, and first since 2012’s Oceania debuted and peaked at No. 4.
Rounding out the top 10 of the new Top Album Sales chart is Swift’s chart-topping Lover (13-9 with 7,000; up 17%) and Lana Del Rey’s Did You Know That There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd (12-10 with nearly 7,000; up 2%).
In the week ending May 11, there were 2.021 million albums sold in the U.S. (up 10.6% compared to the previous week). Of that sum, physical albums (CDs, vinyl LPs, cassettes, etc.) comprised 1.661 million (up 12%) and digital albums comprised 360,000 (up 4.5%).
There were 737,000 CD albums sold in the week ending May 11 (up 3.5% week-over-week) and 914,000 vinyl albums sold (up 19.8%). Year-to-date CD album sales stand at 12.673 million (up 5.7% compared to the same time frame a year ago) and year-to-date vinyl album sales total 17.972 million (up 27.9%).
Overall year-to-date album sales total 37.554 million (up 10.7% compared to the same year-to-date time frame a year ago). Year-to-date physical album sales stand at 30.842 million (up 17.6%) and digital album sales total 6.713 million (down 12.7%).
SEVENTEEN keeps up its perfect track record on Billboard’s Top Album Sales chart (dated May 13) as the act’s SEVENTEEN 10th Mini Album: FML debuts atop the list – the 13-member Korean pop ensemble’s fifth consecutive No. 1, of five total entries. All have also bowed at No. 1. The title sold 132,000 copies in the United States in the week ending May 4, according to Luminate – the fourth-largest sales week for an album in 2023 and SEVENTEEN’s best sales week yet.
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Like many K-pop releases, the CD edition of FML was issued in collectible CD packages (14 total, including exclusives for Barnes & Noble, Target and the Weverse webstore), each containing a standard set of items and randomized elements (postcards, mini posters, bookmarks and stickers).
FML was also available as a standard digital download album, as well as via 17 digital download variants that were sold exclusively through the act’s official webstore, each with alternate cover art. Four of them have two bonus tracks – one instrumental track and a voice memo from certain group members – that are different on each album. The remaining 13 alternate digital albums all have the album’s standard tracklist, just with a different cover (one for each of the group members). Of FML’s first-week album sales, 98% were CDs, while the remaining 2% were digital album downloads. The set was not available in any other retail format (such as vinyl or cassette).
Also in the top 10 of the new Top Album Sales chart, The National, Grateful Dead and ILLENIUM arrive with their latest releases.
Billboard’s Top Album Sales chart ranks the top-selling albums of the week based only on traditional album sales. The chart’s history dates back to May 25, 1991, the first week Billboard began tabulating charts with electronically monitored piece count information from SoundScan, now Luminate. Pure album sales were the sole measurement utilized by the Billboard 200 albums chart through the list dated Dec. 6, 2014, after which that chart switched to a methodology that blends album sales with track equivalent album units and streaming equivalent album units. For all chart news, follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both Twitter and Instagram.
Agust D’s D-Day falls to No. 2 (25,000; down 79%) after debuting at No. 1 a week ago.
The National’s First Two Pages of Frankenstein starts at No. 3 with a little over 24,000 copies sold (with a little more than 15,000 of that sum powered by vinyl sales). It’s the fifth top 10-charting effort for the act.
Grateful Dead’s Dave’s Picks, Volume 46: Hollywood Palladium, Los Angeles, CA – 9/9/72 bows at No. 4 with 21,000 sold. It’s the latest in the group’s long-running archival concert series.
A trio of former No. 1s is next on Top Album Sales, as Metallica’s 72 Seasons falls 3-5 (13,000; down 49%), Taylor Swift’s Midnights dips 5-6 (11,000; down 30%) and Melanie Martinez’s Portals shifts 6-7 (just over 7,000; down 47%).
ILLENIUM’s self-titled album debuts at No. 8 with 7,000 sold, largely from vinyl sales (nearly 6,000). It’s the second top 10 for the dance/electronic act.
Rounding out the top 10 on the new Top Album Sales chart is TWICE’s former leader Ready to Be: 12th Mini Album (rising 22-9 with nearly 7,000; down 10%) and Swift’s Folklore (14-10 with 6,500; down 26%).
In the week ending May 4, there were 1.827 million albums sold in the U.S. (down 37.5% compared to the previous week). Of that sum, physical albums (CDs, vinyl LPs, cassettes, etc.) comprised 1.482 million (down 42.6%) and digital albums comprised 344,000 (down 1.6%).
There were 712,000 CD albums sold in the week ending May 4 (down 6.3% week-over-week) and 762,000 vinyl albums sold (down 57.9%). Year-to-date CD album sales stand at 11.936 million (up 5% compared to the same time frame a year ago) and year-to-date vinyl album sales total 17.058 million (up 27.3%).
Overall year-to-date album sales total 35.534 million (up 10.3% compared to the same year-to-date time frame a year ago). Year-to-date physical album sales stand at 29.181 million (up 17%) and digital album sales total 6.353 million (down 12.7%).
Walt Disney Records’ new Disney 100 album launches at No. 1 on both Billboard’s Compilation Albums and Kid Albums charts (dated May 13). The 29-track multi-artist set, boasting familiar Disney favorites from decades of film, TV and theme park attractions, is part of the ongoing celebration of 100 years of the Walt Disney Company.
Disney 100 was released on April 28 and exclusively available as a vinyl release (a two-LP set priced at $34.98). In the tracking week ending May 4, it sold a little over 2,000 copies in the United States, according to Luminate.
Disney 100 includes previously released songs from Disney’s films, TV programs and theme parks. Among the selections: “Whistle While You Work” (from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs), “When You Wish Upon a Star” (from Pinocchio), “Tiki, Tiki, Tiki Room” (from the Disney Parks attraction Walt Disney’s Enchanted Tiki Room), “It’s a Small World” (from the attraction of the same name), “Mickey Mouse March” (from The Mickey Mouse Club), “We’re All In This Together” (from High School Musical), “Under the Sea” (from The Little Mermaid), “Let It Go” (from Frozen) and the No. 1 Billboard Hot 100 hit “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” (from Encanto).
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The Disney 100 celebration continues at No. 2 on both Kid Albums and Compilations, as a 23-song Walmart-exclusive alternative edition of the Disney 100 debuts (2,000 sold). The Walmart variant, also only on vinyl LP, has the same title but a different tracklist than the general market edition at No. 1, and thus it charts separately.
The wide-release Disney 100 and the Walmart-exclusive iteration also debut at Nos. 60 and 62 on the Top Album Sales chart, respectively, and at Nos. 31 and 33 on the Top Current Album Sales chart.
The Disney 100 albums are one part of Disney’s company-wide celebrations, which includes festivities in Disney Parks and Disney100: The Exhibition at the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia, among other activations.
Billboard’s Kid Albums and Compilation Albums charts ranks the week’s top-selling children’s albums and all-genre compilations, respectively. Top Album Sales rank the week’s overall top-selling albums, and Top Current Album Sales lists the week’s top-selling current albums (excluding any older, catalog titles – generally those that are at least 18 months old).
Agust D (an alias of BTS’ Suga) sees his solo debut studio effort D-Day bow at No. 1 on Billboard’s Top Album Sales chart (dated May 6), selling 122,000 copies in the United States in the week ending April 27, according to Luminate. That marks the fourth-largest sales week for an album in 2023.
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D-Day is the first leader for Agust D, and he’s the second member of BTS to achieve a No. 1 on Top Album Sales. He follows Jimin, who bowed at No. 1 earlier this year with FACE (April 8-dated chart). BTS itself has notched six No. 1s on Top Albums Sales, most recently with the retrospective collection Proof in 2022.
Like many K-pop releases, the CD edition of D-Day was issued in collectible CD packages (seven total, including exclusives for Target, Walmart and the Weverse webstore) each containing a standard set of items and randomized elements (in this case, photo cards). It was also available as a standard digital download album, as well as three alternative cover digital download variants that were sold exclusively through the artist’s official webstore. Of D-Day’s first-week sales, 90% were CDs, while the remaining 10% were digital album downloads. The set was not available in any other retail format (such as vinyl or cassette).
Billboard’s Top Album Sales chart ranks the top-selling albums of the week based only on traditional album sales. The chart’s history dates back to May 25, 1991, the first week Billboard began tabulating charts with electronically monitored piece count information from SoundScan, now Luminate. Pure album sales were the sole measurement utilized by the Billboard 200 albums chart through the list dated Dec. 6, 2014, after which that chart switched to a methodology that blends album sales with track equivalent album units and streaming equivalent album units. For all chart news, follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both Twitter and Instagram.
Taylor Swift’s Record Store Day-exclusive vinyl release Folklore: The Long Pond Studio Sessions launches at No. 3 on Top Album Sales with 75,000 sold – all from sales of its vinyl LP. It’s the single-largest sales week for an album on vinyl in 2023. It’s the 15th top 10 for Swift on Top Album Sales.
The live acoustic album, which was previously available only as bonus tracks on a deluxe digital and streaming edition of her Folklore studio album (released in 2020), was issued on vinyl LP (its first physical release of any kind) for Record Store Day (RSD) (April 22) at participating independent record stores. It was previously announced that Long Pond’s production run for Record Store Day would be 75,000 copies in the United States, and the set sold out instantly. It’s typical for many albums and singles to garner unique and limited edition runs exclusively for the annual independent record store day celebration.
Typically, high-profile Record Store Day-exclusive titles might have a production run of 10,000-to-20,000 in the United States. For Record Store Day 2022, there were 10 titles that had pressings ranging from 10,000 to 18,000, but nothing larger. For Record Store Day 2023, Swift’s Long Pond title had by far the largest production run of any RSD title. Pearl Jam’s live concert album Give Way had the second-biggest production run, with 15,500 vinyl LPs pressed.
Metallica’s former leader 72 Seasons falls 1-3 in its second week on Top Album Sales with 25,000 sold (down 81%).
Pearl Jam’s Give Way starts at No. 4 with 22,000 copies sold – representing vinyl, CD and digital download sales combined. The set made its retail debut on both vinyl LP (one set available at indie retailers and one sold through the band’s fan club) and CD (exclusive to indie stores), as well as a digital download. The album was recorded in 1998 during the group’s Yield Tour. Give Way is the 17th top 10 effort on Top Album Sales for Pearl Jam.
Swift has a second title in the top 10, as her chart-topping Midnights dips 4-5 with a little over 15,000 sold (up 20%). Melanie Martinez’s former No. 1 Portals falls 3-6 with 14,000 (up 5%), Lana Del Rey’s Did You Know That There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd. is a non-mover at No. 7 with 11,000 sold (up 25%) and Boygenius’ The Record climbs 13-8 with 10,000 (up 47%).
Coming in at No. 9 is a re-entry from The Cure with its live album Show, and Stevie Nicks debuts at No. 10 with Bella Donna: Live 1981.
Show’s sales (just over 10,000) are driven almost entirely from a new picture disc vinyl release of the album for Record Store Day. The set was originally released widely in 1993 and initially peaked at No. 42. Show was recorded during The Cure’s 1992 Wish album tour.
For Nicks, Bella Donna: Live 1981 made its debut as stand-alone album for Record Store Day, and only on vinyl. It sold 10,000 copies. Its tracks were originally commercially released on an album as part of a deluxe edition of Nicks’ 1981 studio album Bella Donna, released in 2016. The Bella Donna: Live 1981 album was recorded during Nicks’ White Winged Dove Tour on Dec. 13, 1981.
In the week ending April 27, there were 2.927 million albums sold in the U.S. (up 44.4% compared to the previous week). Of that sum, physical albums (CDs, vinyl LPs, cassettes, etc.) comprised 2.583 million (up 54.3%) and digital albums comprised 339,000 (down 2.8%).
There were 760,000 CD albums sold in the week ending April 27 (up 9.6% week-over-week) and 1.809 vinyl albums sold (up 87.5%). Year-to-date CD album sales stand at 11.224 million (up 4.9% compared to the same time frame a year ago) and year-to-date vinyl album sales total 16.296 million (up 28.7%).
Overall year-to-date album sales total 33.707 million (up 10.9% compared to the same year-to-date time frame a year ago). Year-to-date physical album sales stand at 27.699 million (up 17.8%) and digital album sales total 6.009 million (down 12.5%).
Metallica’s 72 Seasons opens at No. 1 on Billboard’s Top Album Sales chart (dated April 29) with the largest sales week in over three-and-a-half years for any rock or hard rock album. The set bows with 134,000 copies sold in the United States in the week ending April 20, according to Luminate. It’s the eighth No. 1 on Top Album Sales for the band.
72 Seasons marks the group’s first original album in nearly seven years, since 2016’s chart-topping Hardwired… To Self-Destruct.
Also on Top Album Sales, Waterparks notches its highest charting set and best sales week ever – as Intellectual Property bows at No. 2. Plus, Yung Bleu and Prof both log their first top 10s with the arrivals of Love Scars II and Horse, respectively.
Billboard’s Top Album Sales chart ranks the top-selling albums of the week based only on traditional album sales. The chart’s history dates back to May 25, 1991, the first week Billboard began tabulating charts with electronically monitored piece count information from SoundScan, now Luminate. Pure album sales were the sole measurement utilized by the Billboard 200 albums chart through the list dated Dec. 6, 2014, after which that chart switched to a methodology that blends album sales with track equivalent album units and streaming equivalent album units. For all chart news, follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both Twitter and Instagram.
72 Seasons bows with the biggest sales week for any rock or hard rock album since Fear Inoculum’s debut with 248,000 sold (No. 1, chart dated Sept. 14, 2019).
Of 72 Seasons’ 134,000 sold, physical sales comprise 106,500 (59,000 on CD, 42,500 on vinyl and 5,000 on cassette) and digital download sales comprise nearly 27,500. The vinyl sales sum marks Metallica’s largest sales week for an album on the format since Luminate began tracking sales in 1991.
Waterparks collects its highest-charting set and best sales week yet as Intellectual Property debuts at No. 2 with 16,000 copies sold. It’s the third top 10 for the rock act. Melanie Martinez’s former No. 1 Portals falls 2-3 with 13,000 sold (down 33%), Taylor Swift’s chart-topping Midnights climbs 5-4 with nearly 13,000 (down 6%) and Morgan Wallen’s former leader One Thing at a Time vaults 15-5 with 12,000 (up 102%) after a new vinyl edition of the album was released.
Yung Bleu bows at No. 6 with Love Scars II, scoring his first top 10 and best sales week yet, as the album starts with 10,000 sold. Lana Del Rey’s Did You Know That There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd. falls 4-7 with 9,000 sold (down 35%). Rapper Prof achieves his first top 10 and best sales week with the No. 8 start of Horse (9,000 sold). TWICE’s former No. 1 Ready to Be dips 8-9 with nearly 9,000 (down 18%) and TOMORROW X TOGETHER’s chart-topping The Name Chapter: Temptation slips 9-10 with nearly 8,000 (down 14%).
In the week ending April 20, there were 2.023 million albums sold in the U.S. (up 0.4% compared to the previous week). Of that sum, physical albums (CDs, vinyl LPs, cassettes, etc.) comprised 1.675 million (up 0.4%) and digital albums comprised 348,000 (up 0.4%).
There were 693,000 CD albums sold in the week ending April 20 (up 0.3% week-over-week) and 965,000 vinyl albums sold (up 0.4%). Year-to-date CD album sales stand at 10.464 million (up 3.8% compared to the same time frame a year ago) and year-to-date vinyl album sales total 14.487 million (up 27.7%).
Overall year-to-date album sales total 30.786 million (up 9.7% compared to the same year-to-date time frame a year ago). Year-to-date physical album sales stand at 25.116 million (up 16.4%) and digital album sales total 5.670 million (down 12.6%).
Linkin Park’s Meteora motors back to the top of multiple Billboard album charts following its 20th anniversary deluxe reissue. The set, released in 2003, was reintroduced in an expanded edition on April 7 with bonus tracks and available in multiple formats.
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The band’s second studio effort re-enters the Top Album Sales chart (dated April 22) at No. 3, jumping 23-1 on Top Hard Rock Albums, and re-entering straight in at No. 1 on Top Rock Albums, Catalog Albums and Vinyl Albums. On the latter four charts, it’s the first week at No. 1 for the album. On the Billboard 200, Meteora – which marked the group’s first of six No. 1s – re-enters at No. 8.
Meanwhile, also on Top Album Sales, NF collects his third No. 1, as his new studio effort Hope arrives atop the list, while Daniel Caesar notches his first top 10 with the No. 10 arrival of Never Enough.
Billboard’s Top Album Sales chart ranks the top-selling albums of the week based only on traditional album sales. The chart’s history dates back to May 25, 1991, the first week Billboard began tabulating charts with electronically monitored piece count information from SoundScan, now Luminate. Pure album sales were the sole measurement utilized by the Billboard 200 albums chart through the list dated Dec. 6, 2014, after which that chart switched to a methodology that blends album sales with track equivalent album units and streaming equivalent album units. For all chart news, follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both Twitter and Instagram.
Top Rock Albums, Top Hard Rock Albums and Catalog Albums rank the week’s most popular rock, hard rock and catalog releases, respectively, by equivalent album units. (Catalog albums are older albums, generally those at least 18-months old.) Vinyl Albums tallies the top-selling vinyl albums of the week. (The Top Rock Albums and Top Hard Rock Albums charts were started in 2006 and 2007, respectively, years after Meteora’s initial release and success on the Billboard 200.)
Meteora sold 19,500 copies in the United States in the week ending April 13. In the previous week, it sold less than 500 copies. Of its 19,500 sold, physical sales comprise 18,000 (13,000 on vinyl and 5,000 on CD) and digital download sales comprise 1,500.
Meteora marked Linkin Park’s first of six No. 1s on the Billboard 200, when it debuted atop the chart dated April 12, 2003. The group’s second studio album spent two weeks atop the list. Previous to Meteora, the band logged a pair of No. 2-peaking efforts with its debut studio set Hybrid Theory and the remix project Reanimation (both in 2002).
Following Meteora’s initial release, the set spun off five No. 1s on Billboard’s Alternative Airplay chart: “Somewhere I Belong,” “Faint,” “Numb,” “Lying From You” and “Breaking the Habit.”
The 20th anniversary reissue was led by its first single, the new from-the-vaults track “Lost” that was recorded for Meteora but didn’t make the original album’s final tracklist. The cut – one of the new tracks added to the reissue – features the vocals of the band’s late lead singer Chester Bennington, who died in 2017. “Lost” debuted at No. 38 on the Billboard Hot 100 (Feb. 25, 2023 chart) and marked the group’s first new top 40 hit in over a decade. It also topped the Alternative Airplay chart. Other new bonus tracks on the Meteora reissue include demo recordings, live cuts and other rarities.
Meteora was reissued in multiple expansive formats, including an 89-track digital download and streaming edition, a three-CD set, a four vinyl LP box and a super deluxe boxed set priced at $199.98 (containing five vinyl LPs, four CDs, three DVDs, a book and collectibles). All versions of the album, new and old, are combined for tracking and charting purposes.
Also in the top 10 of the Top Album Sales chart, NF lands his third No. 1 as Hope bows atop the tally with 80,500 copies sold – his second-largest sales week ever. Its sales were bolstered by the album’s availability in an autographed CD edition in his webstore, a Target-exclusive CD with a poster packaged inside, four deluxe CD/merch boxed sets and a both a white vinyl and a standard black vinyl edition.
Melanie Martinez’s Portals falls to No. 2 in its second week with 20,000 sold (down 80%) after debuting at No. 1 a week ago. Lana Del Rey’s Did You Know That There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd. dips 3-4 (14,000; down 45%), Taylor Swift’s chart-topping Midnights is steady at No. 5 (nearly 14,000; down 3%), Jimin’s former leader FACE falls 4-6 (12,000; down 38%). Boygenius’ The Record drops 2-7 in its second week (11,000; down 79%), TWICE’s chart-topping Ready to Be: 12th Mini Album descends 6-8 (10,000; down 23%) and TOMORROW X TOGETHER’s The Name Chapter: Temptation is a non-mover at No. 9 with 9,000 (down 13%).
Daniel Caesar’s new Never Enough rounds out the top 10, as it bows at No. 10 with nearly 9,000 sold.
In the week ending April 13, there were 2.014 million albums sold in the U.S. (down 4.5% compared to the previous week). Of that sum, physical albums (CDs, vinyl LPs, cassettes, etc.) comprised 1.667 million (down 6%) and digital albums comprised 347,000 (down 3.2%).
There were 696,000 CD albums sold in the week ending April 13 (down 4.9% week-over-week) and 961,000 vinyl albums sold (down 6.8%). Year-to-date CD album sales stand at 9.770 million (up 3.1% compared to the same time frame a year ago) and year-to-date vinyl album sales total 13.522 million (up 27.6%).
Overall year-to-date album sales total 28.763 million (up 9.2% compared to the same year-to-date time frame a year ago). Year-to-date physical album sales stand at 23.441 million (up 16%) and digital album sales total 5.321 million (down 13%).
The Contenders is a midweek column that looks at artists aiming for the top of the Billboard charts, and the strategies behind their efforts. This week (for the upcoming charts dated April 22), NF remains the biggest rapper you don’t hear on radio or RapCaviar, while an ‘00s nu-metal band plans a second Meteora strike on the Billboard 200.
NF, Hope (NF Real Music/Caroline): He hasn’t had a major crossover hit since 2017’s smash “Let You Down” peaked at No. 12 on the Billboard Hot 100, but NF remains one of the world’s biggest rappers with a cult following that remains just outside of mainstream view. His last album, 2019’s The Search, snuck past Chance the Rapper’s more hyped The Big Day for the Billboard 200’s top spot (with a six-figure first week), and the title track and advance single from follow-up album Hope debuted at No. 49 on the Hot 100 in March.
Aiding Hope’s hopes to follow its predecessor to No. 1: big sales numbers, boosted by a variety of physical variants. There’s a signed CD in his online store (just $5!), a standard Target-exclusive CD with a poster packaged inside, four deluxe CD/merch box sets (with a T-shirt, hat, long sleeve T or a hoodie and a CD housed in a box, respectively) and both a white vinyl LP and a standard black version. If he cracks six figures again, NF might be in the same ballpark as Morgan Wallen’s declining One Thing at a Time — but the 167,000 units that album moved in its fifth week at No. 1 is still a higher single-week number than any NF album has posted yet.
Linkin Park, Meteora (Warner/Machine Shop): Meteora was one of the biggest albums of 2003, debuting at No. 1 with over 800,000 in first-week sales, spawning massive hit singles like “Numb” and “Faint” and finishing as the No. 6 album of the Year-End Billboard 200. Next week, the album’s 20th anniversary reissue may drive it to its highest position on the chart since its release year.
The set has already garnered considerable attention for the advance release of “Lost,” a bonus track that the group recorded for Meteora with late Linkin Park lead singer Chester Bennington, whose No. 38 debut on the Hot 100 made it the group’s biggest chart hit in a decade. It’s one of several previously unreleased tracks found on the reissue, which is available in a deluxe three-CD edition, a four-LP vinyl box set, or a five-LP / four-CD super deluxe box set, and should help Meteora make a more explosive chart impact than most new albums.
Daniel Caesar, Never Enough (Republic): Acclaimed R&B singer-songwriter Daniel Caesar has yet to hit the Billboard 200’s top 10, but he’s getting closer: No. 25 with 2017 debut Freudian, then No. 17 with 2019’s Case Study 01. This year’s long-anticipated third album Never Enough has a chance to get him in that range, though it’s lacking any chart hits near the level of his breakout late-’10s hits “Get You” or “Best Part,” and certainly none in the same stratosphere as his appearance on Justin Bieber’s 2021 Hot 100-topper “Peaches.” Caesar does have a climbing Adult R&B Airplay hit in “Let Me Go” (No. 20 this week), as well as three different box sets exclusive to his web store, three different-colored vinyl variants and both standard and signed CDs available for purchase.
In the Mix
Ellie Goulding, Higher Than Heaven (Polydor): One of the U.K.’s most reliable hitmakers of the early ‘10s is back, with what she calls, in a very un-2023 way, her “least-personal” to date. “We didn’t want to write serious songs,” Goulding has said, “we wanted to write about silly things and dancing.” The album’s approach has been well-received critically, but has yet to generate the kind hits either side of the Atlantic that she enjoyed a decade ago.
Rae Sremmurd, Sremm 4 Life (Ear Drummer/Interscope): Speaking of Goulding: Her most recent top 40 Hot 100 hit was scored alongside Swae Lee, who was also a chart fixture of the late ‘10s — both solo and with brother Slim Jxmmi, as hip-hop duo Rae Sremmurd. The Brothers Rae have since fallen somewhat out of commercial favor, but they’re hoping a return to their Sremm album series (responsible for three straight top 10 albums on the Billboard 200 from 2015-18) will bring them back to the limelight. They get additional assistance on Sremm 4 from featured stars Future and Young Thug, as well as production from longtime gold-spinner Mike Will Made-It.
Pink Floyd’s archival album The Dark Side of the Moon: Live at Wembley, London, 1974 debuts at No. 8 on Billboard’s Top Album Sales chart (dated April 8). The set also bows in the top 10 of Top Rock Albums (No. 9), Vinyl Albums (No. 5), Tastemaker Albums (No. 3) and Top Current Album Sales (No. 8). It additionally launches at No. 49 on the Billboard 200 chart.
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The Dark Side of the Moon: Live was released on March 23, and was recorded in November of 1974 during the band’s winter tour at Wembley Empire Pool (the original name for Wembley Arena). This marks the first time the recording has been available as a stand-alone album, though performances from the shows were previously included on earlier deluxe reissues of some of the band’s studio albums. In addition, the Live album is also included as a bonus disc within the just-released 50th anniversary boxed set of The Dark Side of the Moon studio album.
Also on Top Album Sales, new albums from Jimin, Lana Del Rey, Fall Out Boy, Luke Combs and Depeche Mode all debut in the top 10.
Billboard’s Top Album Sales chart ranks the top-selling albums of the week based only on traditional album sales. The chart’s history dates back to May 25, 1991, the first week Billboard began tabulating charts with electronically monitored piece count information from SoundScan, now Luminate. Pure album sales were the sole measurement utilized by the Billboard 200 albums chart through the list dated Dec. 6, 2014, after which that chart switched to a methodology that blends album sales with track equivalent album units and streaming equivalent album units. For all chart news, follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both Twitter and Instagram.
Top Rock Albums ranks the week’s most popular rock albums by equivalent album units. Vinyl Albums tallies the top-selling vinyl albums of the week. Top Current Album Sales lists the week’s best-selling current (not catalog, or older albums) albums by traditional album sales. Tastemaker Albums lists the week’s top-selling albums at independent record stores.
The Dark Side of the Moon: Live sold 15,000 copies in the United States in the week ending March 30, according to Luminate. Of that sum, vinyl sales comprise 8,500, yielding at No. 5 debut on the Vinyl Albums chart.
Meanwhile, the original The Dark Side of the Moon album was reissued in as both a multi-disc remastered deluxe boxed set and 10-track digital album on March 23rd for its 50th anniversary. The boxed set contains two CDs, two vinyl LPs, two blu-ray audio discs, a DVD audio disc, two hardcover books and two 7-inch singles. The former No. 1 set continues to hold the record for the most charted weeks on the Billboard 200 (977 weeks and counting).
The new deluxe boxed set’s sales are combined with the original studio album (and any later released iterations) for tracking and charting purposes. Combined, all of the versions sold just over 10,000 copies in the week ending March 30 (up 178%) and sends the album 28-11 on Top Album Sales.
On the latest Billboard 200, Dark Side vaults from 172-48 – marking its highest charting week in over eight years. It last placed higher when it zoomed 183-13 on the Dec. 20, 2014-dated chart, following ultra-cheap sale pricing by a digital retailer.
Back on Top Album Sales, the top 10 is flush with debuts, led by BTS’ Jimin, who sees his solo debut FACE open at No. 1. The set sold 124,000 copies in its first week – the third-largest sales week of 2023.
Like many K-pop releases, the CD edition of FACE was issued in collectible CD packages (five total, including exclusives for Target and the Weverse webstore) each containing a standard set of items and randomized elements (photo cards and postcards). It was also available as a standard digital download album, plus two alternative cover digital download variants that were sold exclusively through his official webstore. 79% of FACE’s first-week sales were CDs, while the remaining 21% were digital album downloads. It was not released in any other format (vinyl, cassette, etc.).
Lana Del Rey’s Did You Know That There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd debuts at No. 2 on Top Album Sales with 87,000 copies sold. Of that sum, physical sales comprise 81,000 (58,500 vinyl LPs, 20,500 CDs and 2,000 cassettes) and digital download album sales comprise 6,000.
The album’s robust vinyl sales mark the largest week for a vinyl album in 2023 and Del Rey’s best sales week on vinyl ever. It debuts at No. 1 on the Vinyl Albums chart.
Did You Know was issued in six vinyl variants: a standard black vinyl, a picture disc and four color vinyl editions (pink, green, red and white) all with different covers, exclusive to Amazon, independent retailers, Target and her webstore, respectively. Did You Know was also issued in nine CD iterations (a standard edition, four with alternative covers, and four deluxe boxed sets exclusive to her webstore containing either a T-shirt and a CD or a hoodie and a CD). Del Rey even dropped the album on cassette tape — in five different color variants (black, white, pink, green and red).
Fall Out Boy’s So Much (for) Stardust starts at No. 3 on Top Album Sales with 49,000 sold. Physical sales comprise 42,000 (21,000 vinyl LPs, 20,000 CDs and 1,000 cassette tapes) and digital download album sales comprise 7,000.
Stardust was supported by a hefty number of physical formats – one standard CD, two cassettes, nine stand-alone vinyl LPs in assorted colors, eight deluxe vinyl boxed sets (each containing a different color vinyl LP and branded merchandise) and 11 deluxe CD boxed sets (seven containing a CD edition of the album and branded merch — and four consisting of an autographed CD along with merch).
Luke Combs’ Gettin’ Old bows at No. 4 on Top Album Sales with a little over 32,000 sold. It was available in eight physical editions – two CDs (a standard version and a signed edition exclusive to his webstore), five vinyl LPs (standard black, a deluxe black edition containing a slipmat [either signed or unsigned, exclusive to his webstore], an opaque white-colored edition exclusive to Amazon and a blue-colored edition exclusive to Walmart), and a red-colored cassette tape.
Depeche Mode’s new Memento Mori rounds out the all-debuts top five on Top Album Sales, as the veteran band’s latest studio set enters at No. 5 with 29,000 copies sold. Physical sales comprise 21,000 of that sum (11,500 CDs, 9,000 vinyl LPs and about 500 cassette tapes) and digital download album sales comprise 8,000. The album was available in three vinyl variants (a standard black edition as well as a clear version and red-colored pressing), two CD editions (a version with enhanced packaging, as well as a standard edition) and one cassette tape.
Morgan Wallen’s chart-topping One Thing at a Time is pushed down 4-6 on Top Album Sales, though with a gain, as it sold 17,000 (up 36%) – following the release of its vinyl LP. It sold 8,000 copies on vinyl during the tracking week. TWICE’s former No. 1 Ready to Be: 12th Mini Album falls 2-7 with 16,000 sold (down 46%).
Two former chart-toppers close out the top 10, as Taylor Swift’s Midnights drops 3-9 with 12,000 (down 1%) and TOMORROW X TOGETHER’s The Name Chapter: Temptation dips 6-10 with 11,000 (up 1%).
In the week ending March 30, there were 2.197 million albums sold in the U.S. (up 19.9% compared to the previous week). Of that sum, physical albums (CDs, vinyl LPs, cassettes, etc.) comprised 1.803 million (up 20.8%) and digital albums comprised 394,000 (up 15.7%).
There were 791,000 CD albums sold in the week ending March 30 (up 26.1% week-over-week) and 997,000 vinyl albums sold (up 16.7%). Year-to-date CD album sales stand at 8.343 million (up 2.5% compared to the same time frame a year ago) and year-to-date vinyl album sales total 11.529 million (up 26.4%).
Overall year-to-date album sales total 24.638 million (up 8.7% compared to the same year-to-date time frame a year ago). Year-to-date physical album sales stand at 20 million (up 15.1%) and digital album sales total 4.639 million (down 12.2%).
TWICE claim their third No. 1 on Billboard’s Top Album Sales chart (dated March 25) as Ready to Be: 12th Mini Album debuts atop the list with the act’s best sales week ever. The nine-member South Korean pop act previously led the list with Between 1&2: 11th Mini Album (2022) and Taste of Love: The 10th Mini Album (2021).
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Ready to Be launches with 145,500 copies sold in the United States in the week ending March 16, according to Luminate. That sum also marks the second-largest sales week of 2023 for any act, following the debut week of TOMORROW X TOGETHER’s The Name Chapter: Temptation (153,000; chart dated Feb. 11).
Ready to Be also logs a big week in vinyl album sales (nearly 18,000) – the largest for any all-female group since Luminate began electronically tracking sales in 1991.
Also in the top 10 on the new Top Album Sales chart, Miley Cyrus achieves her biggest sales week in nearly a decade – and 14th top 10 – as Endless Summer Vacation enters at No. 2 with 55,000 copies sold. Endless also collects Cyrus’ biggest ever sales week on vinyl. Plus, rock band Periphery nets its third top 10 – all consecutive – as Periphery V: Djent Is Not a Genre debuts at No. 10.
Billboard’s Top Album Sales chart ranks the top-selling albums of the week based only on traditional album sales. The chart’s history dates back to May 25, 1991, the first week Billboard began tabulating charts with electronically monitored piece count information from SoundScan, now Luminate. Pure album sales were the sole measurement utilized by the Billboard 200 albums chart through the list dated Dec. 6, 2014, after which that chart switched to a methodology that blends album sales with track equivalent album units and streaming equivalent album units. For all chart news, follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both Twitter and Instagram.
Of Ready to Be’s 145,500 copies sold, physical sales comprise 143,000 (125,000 on CD and nearly 18,000 on vinyl) and digital downloads comprise 2,500.
Like many K-pop releases, Ready to Be was issued in collectible physical format packages (11 different CDs [including exclusives for Barnes & Noble, Target and the group’s official webstore] and two vinyl LPs [one exclusive to Target and one exclusive to the act’s webstore). CD variants of Ready contain a standard set of items and randomized elements (such as a postcards, photo cards, etc.).
Unusually, Ready to Be had a vinyl version of the album available on the same wide release date as the CD edition of the album, as most major K-pop titles in the past were initially available only as a physical album on CD and on no other physical formats (like vinyl or cassette). The vinyl editions of the album did not include randomized items, but were packaged with a lenticular postcard, poster and slipmat. Target’s exclusive LP is marbled orchid-colored, while the act’s webstore exclusive is an ultra-clear vinyl edition.
Ready to Be’s nearly 18,000 vinyl sales marks the largest week for a vinyl album by a female group since Luminate began electronically tracking sales in 1991. It’s also the second-largest sales week on vinyl for any K-pop album, following the debut week of BTS’ Love Yourself: Her earlier in 2023 (18,000; chart dated Jan. 21). Unlike Ready to Be, the Love Yourself: Her vinyl LP arrived to market more than five years after the album’s original release on CD and digital download in 2017.
Beyond the physical editions of the album, TWICE’s U.S. webstore also issued four alternative digital album downloads of Ready to Be – each with a different cover, digital replicas of individual group members’ signatures, and a bonus track (a voice memo from different group members).
Miley Cyrus’ Endless Summer Vacation debuts at No. 2 on Top Album Sales with her biggest sales week in nearly a decade, as it bows with 55,000 copies sold. Cyrus last had a larger sales week when Bangerz sold a little more than 63,000 during Christmas week of 2013 (reflected on the Top Album Sales chart dated Jan. 11, 2014). Bangerz earlier debuted at No. 1 on Top Album Sales with 270,500 copies sold (Oct. 26, 2013 chart).
Of Endless Summer Vacation’s 55,000 copies sold, physical sales comprise 37,500 (12,500 on CD and 25,000 on vinyl) and digital downloads comprise 17,500. Endless logs Cyrus’ largest sales week for a vinyl album since Luminate began electronically tracking music sales in 1991. On the Vinyl Albums chart, Endless debuts at No. 1 – her second leader on the list following Plastic Hearts in 2021.
Endless was released in four vinyl variants: standard black vinyl, a white-colored edition exclusive to Target and two color editions exclusive to Cyrus’ webstore (red and silver). All vinyl LPs came packaged with a poster.
CD sales were also aided by two deluxe boxed sets (one with a puzzle and a CD, the other with a beach towel and a CD) sold exclusively through her webstore.
Endless is Cyrus’ 14th top 10-charting effort on Top Album Sales, including those albums credited to her Disney Channel character Hannah Montana.
A trio of former No. 1s is next on Top Album Sales: Morgan Wallen’s One Thing at a Time (1-3 in its second week with 21,000; down 81%), TOMORROW X TOGETHER’s The Name Chapter: Temptation (6-4 with 11,000; up 5%) and Taylor Swift’s Midnights (7-5 with 10,000; up 3%).
NCT 127’s Ay-Yo: The 4th Album Repackage falls 2-6 on Top Album Sales (9,500; down 67%), P!nk’s former leader Trustfall rises 9-7 (8,500; down 5%), Gorillaz’s chart-topping Cracker Island is a non-mover at No. 8 (6,000; down 37%) and Stray Kids’ former No. 1 MAXIDENT climbs 13-9 (6,000; up 17%).
Closing out the top 10 is rock band Periphery, which scores its third top 10 – all consecutive – as Periphery V: Djent Is Not a Genre debuts at No. 10 with nearly 6,000 sold. 55% of the sales came from the vinyl edition of the set.
In the week ending March 16, there were 1.961 million albums sold in the U.S. (down 0.9% compared to the previous week). Of that sum, physical albums (CDs, vinyl LPs, cassettes, etc.) comprised 1.605 million (up 5.3%) and digital albums comprised 355,000 (down 21.9%).
There were 733,000 CD albums sold in the week ending March 16 (up 10% week-over-week) and 862,000 vinyl albums sold (up 1.8%). Year-to-date CD album sales stand at 6.925 million (up 2.5% compared to the same time frame a year ago) and year-to-date vinyl album sales total 9.678 million (up 25.4%).
Overall year-to-date album sales total 20.609 million (up 8.1% compared to the same year-to-date time frame a year ago). Year-to-date physical album sales stand at 16.705 million (up 14.7%) and digital album sales total 3.904 million (down 13%).
NCT 127 notch their fifth top 10-charting set on Billboard’s Top Album Sales chart (dated March 18) as Ay-Yo: The 4th Album Repackage debuts at No. 2. It’s the fifth total, and consecutive, top 10-charting effort for the pop ensemble. All five have peaked within the top two positions of the chart.
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NCT 127 last debuted on Top Album Sales with their fourth album, 2 Baddies, last year. That set was later repackaged, had three new bonus tracks added, and retitled as Ay-Yo. It initially reached streamers and digital retailers in January, but its CD release didn’t happen until March 3.
Ay-Yo sold 29,000 copies in the U.S. in the week ending March 9, according to Luminate. CDs comprise effectively all of Ay-Yo’s sales for the week. Like many K-pop releases, the CD configuration of Ay-Yo was issued in collectible deluxe packages, each with a standard set of items and randomized elements (covers, photocards, posters, stickers). The album was not available in any other physical format.
Also in the top 10 of the new Top Album Sales chart, Morgan Wallen, Kali Uchis, De La Soul, Macklemore and Daisy Jones & The Six all debut albums in the region.
Billboard’s Top Album Sales chart ranks the top-selling albums of the week based only on traditional album sales. The chart’s history dates back to May 25, 1991, the first week Billboard began tabulating charts with electronically monitored piece count information from SoundScan, now Luminate. Pure album sales were the sole measurement utilized by the Billboard 200 albums chart through the list dated Dec. 6, 2014, after which that chart switched to a methodology that blends album sales with track equivalent album units and streaming equivalent album units. For all chart news, follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both Twitter and Instagram.
At No. 1 on Top Album Sales, Morgan Wallen lands his second leader, and best sales week yet, as One Thing at a Time bows with 111,500 copies sold. That sum easily outpaces his previous highest sales frame when his last album, the chart-topping Dangerous: The Double Album, launched with 74,000 copies sold in January of 2021.
Kali Uchis logs her first top 10 and biggest sales week as her new studio set Red Moon in Venus enters at No. 3 with 28,000 sold. Of that sum, nearly 14,000 comprise vinyl sales – enabling the set to debut at No. 1 on the Vinyl Albums chart.
De La Soul’s debut album 3 Feet High and Rising, released in 1989, enters Top Album Sales at No. 4 after the long-out-of-print set was reissued on physical formats and made its digital retail debut on March 3. The album sold 21,000 copies in the week ending March 9, with almost 14,000 of that sum from vinyl LP sales (it bows at No. 2 on the Vinyl Albums chart). On the Billboard 200, 3 Feet High and Rising originally peaked at No. 24 in 1989 but hits a new high on the March 18-dated chart, where the set re-enters at No. 15, its first week in the top 20.
Macklemore’s new album Ben bows at No. 5 on Top Album Sales, selling 14,000 copies in its first week. It’s his second solo top 10-charting set, following Gemini in 2017, which peaked at No. 2. As one-half of Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, the duo visited the top 10 twice, with This Unruly Mess I’ve Made (No. 3 in 2016) and The Heist (No. 2 in 2012).
Four former No. 1s are next on Top Album Sales, as TOMORROW X TOGETHER’s The Name Chapter: Temptation falls 4-6 (11,000; down 23%), Taylor Swift’s Midnights dips 5-7 (10,000; down 8%), Gorillaz’s Cracker Island drops 1-8 in its second week (nearly 10,000; down 80%), and P!nk’s Trustfall slips 3-9 (9,000; down 47%).
Rounding out the top 10 is Daisy Jones & The Six’s Aurora, debuting at No. 10 with 8,000 sold. The album doubles as the soundtrack to the Amazon Prime Video series Daisy Jones & the Six, about the fictional rock band of the same name. The series stars Riley Keough (as the character Daisy Jones) and Sam Claflin (The Six member Billy Dunne), who sing lead vocals on the Aurora album.
In the week ending March 9, there were 1.979 million albums sold in the U.S. (up 6.9% compared to the previous week). Of that sum, physical albums (CDs, vinyl LPs, cassettes, etc.) comprised 1.524 million (up 3.4%) and digital albums comprised 455,000 (up 20.4%).
There were 667,000 CD albums sold in the week ending March 9 (up 9.9% week-over-week) and 847,000 vinyl albums sold (down 1%). Year-to-date CD album sales stand at 6.192 million (up 1.3% compared to the same time frame a year ago) and year-to-date vinyl album sales total 8.815 million (up 25.6%).
Overall year-to-date album sales total 18.65 million (up 7.8% compared to the same year-to-date time frame a year ago). Year-to-date physical album sales stand at 15.1 million (up 14.3%) and digital album sales total 3.549 million (down 13.1%).