This timeline details the United States best-selling albums by year from 1956 to present day
Data Source – Billboard USA
See Also: United States Best Selling Singles by Year
UK Best Selling Albums by Year
Australia Best Selling Albums by Year
Canada Best Selling Albums by Year
1956
Calypso – Harry Belafonte
1957
My Fair Lady – Original Broadway Cast
1958
My Fair Lady – Original Broadway Cast
1959
Music from Peter Gunn – Henry Mancini
1960
The Sound of Music – Original Broadway Cast
1961
Camelot – Original Broadway Cast
1962
West Side Story – Original Soundtrack
1963
West Side Story – Original Soundtrack
1964
Hello Dolly! – Original Broadway Cast
1965
Mary Poppins – Original Soundtrack
1966
Whipped Cream and Other Delights – Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass
1967
More of the Monkees – The Monkees
1968
Are You Experienced? – The Jimi Hendrix Experience
1969
IN-A-Gadda-Da-Vida – Iron Butterfly
1970
Bridge Over Troubled Water – Simon and Garfunkel
1971
Jesus Christ Superstar – Various Artists
1972
Harvest – Neil Young
1973
The World Is a Ghetto – War
1974
Goodbye Yellow Brick Road – Elton John
1975
Elton John’s Greatest Hits – Elton John
1976
Frampton Comes Alive – Peter Frampton
1977
Rumours – Fleetwood Mac
1978
Saturday Night Fever – Original Soundtrack
1979
52nd Street – Billy Joel
1980
The Wall – Pink Floyd
1981
Hi Infidelity – REO Speedwagon
1982
Asia – Asia
1983
Thriller – Michael Jackson
1984
Thriller – Michael Jackson
1985
Born in the U.S.A. – Bruce Springsteen
1986
Whitney Houston – Whitney Houston
1987
Slippery When Wet – Bon Jovi
1988
Faith – George Michael
1989
Don’t Be Cruel – Bobby Brown
1990
Janet Jackson’s Rhythm Nation 1814 – Janet Jackson
1991
Mariah Carey – Mariah Carey
1992
Some Gave All – Billy Ray Cyrus
1993
The Bodyguard – Whitney Houston (soundtrack)
1994
The Lion King – Elton John (soundtrack)
1995
Cracked Rear View – Hootie and the Blowfish
1996
Jagged Little Pill – Alanis Morissette
1997
Spice – Spice Girls
1998
Titanic – James Horner (soundtrack)
1999
Millennium – Backstreet Boys
2000
No Strings Attached – NSYNC
2001
Hybrid Theory – Linkin Park
2002
The Eminem Show – Eminem
2003
Get Rich or Die Tryin’ – 50 Cent
2004
Confessions – Usher
2005
The Emancipation of Mimi – Mariah Carey
2006
High School Musical – Soundtrack
2007
Noel – Josh Groban
2008
Tha Carter III – Lil Wayne
2009
Fearless – Taylor Swift
2010
Recovery – Eminem
2011
21 – Adele
2012
21 – Adele
2013
The 20/20 Experience – Justin Timberlake
2014
1989 – Taylor Swift
2015
25 – Adele
2016
Views – Drake
2017
÷ – Ed Sheeran
2018
Scorpion – Drake
2019
Hollywood’s Bleeding – Post Malone
2020
Folklore – Taylor Swift
2021
Dangerous: The Double Album – Morgan Wallen
Published June 3, 2020 @ 12:44 pm – Updated – [last-modified]
Harvard Reference for this page:
Heather Y Wheeler. (2020 – 2021). United States Best Selling Albums by Year 1956 – Present. https://www.thetimelinegeek.com/united-states-best-selling-albums-by-year-1956-present. Last accessed [date]