The most popular album the year you were born

Billboard, using data recorded by Nielsen Soundscan/Luminate, tracks each year's best-selling album.
Since 2015, streaming has been incorporated into music metrics through the use of album-equivalent units.
Many classic albums don't appear on the list, having been outsold by lesser-known records.

Each year, one album taps into the hearts and ears of the public on its way to becoming the year's best-selling album.

Times have changed, though. In recent years, singerslike Adele and Taylor Swift have dominated the charts, while in the 1950s and early 1960s, musical soundtracksand Broadway cast recordings often topped the list.

Billboard has been tracking the best-selling album of the year since 1956, but its methodology has changed several times. Before 1991, the outlet relied on retailer report, but that year it began using Nielsen SoundScan data, which was more accurate, according to Billboard.

And since 2015, Nielsen Soundscan — now called Luminate — has incorporated album-equivalent units into its data to account for streaming. This means that in 2022, Taylor Swift's "Midnights" was the best-selling album based on sales alone, while Bad Bunny's "Un Verano Sin Ti" was the top album overall, including album-equivalent units.

Methodology aside, the list isn't without its surprises. In 1967, The Beatles' critically acclaimed album "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" was outsold by The Monkees' "More of The Monkees."

Using Billboard and Luminate's data, Business Insider compiled all the best-selling albums and their respective notable singles, dating back to 1956, so you can see which album was the soundtrack to your birth year (provided you're 70 or younger).

See the best-selling album every year since 1956.

1956: Harry Belafonte — "Calypso"

Notable singles: "Day-O (The Banana Boat Song)," "Jamaica Farewell"

1957: "My Fair Lady (Original Broadway Cast)"

Notable single: "The Rain in Spain"

1958: "My Fair Lady (Original Broadway Cast)"

Notable single: "With A Little Bit of Luck"

1959: Henry Mancini — "Music from Peter Gunn"

Notable single: "Peter Gunn"

1960: "The Sound of Music (Original Broadway Cast)"

Notable single: "Do-Re-Mi," "The Sound of Music"

1961: "Camelot (Original Broadway Cast)"

Notable single: "If Ever I Would Leave You"

1962: "West Side Story (Soundtrack)"

Notable single: "Maria"

1963: "West Side Story (Soundtrack)"

Actors during a scene in "West Side Story."

Notable single: "I Feel Pretty"

1964: "Hello, Dolly! (Original Broadway Cast)"

Notable single: "Hello, Dolly!"

1965: "Mary Poppins (Original Soundtrack)"

Notable singles: "A Spoonful of Sugar,""Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious"

1966: Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass — "Whipped Cream & Other Delights"

whipped cream & other delights herb albert album cover

Notable single: "A Taste of Honey"

1967: The Monkees — "More of The Monkees"

Notable single: "I'm A Believer"

1968: The Jimmy Hendrix Experience — "Are You Experienced"

Notable singles: "Purple Haze," "Foxy Lady"

1969: Iron Butterfly — "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida"

Notable single: "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida"

1970: Simon and Garfunkel — "Bridge over Troubled Water"

Notable singles: "Bridge over Troubled Water," "The Boxer"

1971: "Jesus Christ Superstar"

Notable single: "Superstar"

1972: Neil Young — "Harvest"

Notable single: "Heart of Gold"

1973: War — "The World Is a Ghetto"

Notable single: "The Cisco Kid"

1974: Elton John — "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road"

Notable single: "Bennie and the Jets"

1975: Elton John — "Elton John's Greatest Hits"

Notable singles: "Your Song," "Daniel"

1976: Peter Frampton — "Frampton Comes Alive!"

peter frampton frampton comes alive album cover

Notable single: "Show Me The Way"

1977: Fleetwood Mac — "Rumours"

Notable singles: "Go Your Own Way," "Don't Stop"

1978: "Saturday Night Fever: The Original Movie Sound Track"

Notable singles: "How Deep Is Your Love," "Stayin' Alive"

1979: Billy Joel — "52nd Street"

Notable single: "My Life"

1980: Pink Floyd — "The Wall"

Notable singles: "Another Brick In The Wall (Part 2)"

1981: REO Speedwagon — "Hi Infidelity"

REO Speedwagon "Hi Infidelity" album cover

Notable singles: "Keep on Loving You," "Take It on the Run"

1982: Asia — "Asia"

Notable single: "Heat of the Moment"

1983: Michael Jackson — "Thriller"

Notable singles: "Thriller," "P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)"

1984: Michael Jackson — "Thriller"

Michael Jackson singing into a microphone.

Notable singles: "Billie Jean," "Beat It"

1985: Bruce Springsteen — "Born in the U.S.A."

Notable singles: "Dancing In The Dark," "Born In The U.S.A."

1986: Whitney Houston — "Whitney Houston"

Notable singles: "How Will I Know," "Greatest Love Of All"

1987: Bon Jovi — "Slippery When Wet"

Notable singles: "You Give Love A Bad Name," "Livin' On A Prayer"

1988: George Michael — "Faith"

Notable singles: "One More Try," "Father Figure"

1989: Bobby Brown — "Don't Be Cruel"

Notable single: "My Prerogative"

1990: Janet Jackson — "Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation 1814"

"Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation 1814" album cover

Notable singles: "Miss You Much," "Rhythm Nation"

1991: Mariah Carey — "Mariah Carey"

Notable singles: "Vision of Love," "Love Takes Time"

1992: Billy Ray Cyrus — "Some Gave All"

Copies sold: 4,832,000

Notable singles: "Achy Breaky Heart"

1993: Whitney Houston/Various Artists — "The Bodyguard: Original Soundtrack Album"

Copies sold: 5,460,000

Notable single: "I Will Always Love You"

1994: Elton John/Hans Zimmer — "The Lion King: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack"

Copies sold: 4,934,000

Notable singles: "Can You Feel The Love Tonight," "Circle of Life"

1995: Hootie and the Blowfish — "Cracked Rear View"

Copies sold: 7,020,000

Notable singles: "Hold My Hand,""Only Wanna Be With You"

1996: Alanis Morissette — "Jagged Little Pill"

Copies sold: 7,380,000

Notable singles: "You Oughta Know," "Hand In My Pocket"

1997: Spice Girls — "Spice"

Copies sold: 5,302,000

Notable singles: "Wannabe," "Say You'll Be There"

1998: James Horner and Celine Dion — "Titanic: Music from the Motion Picture"

titanic: music from the motion picture soundtrack

Copies sold: 9,338,000

Notable single: "My Heart Will Go On"

1999: Backstreet Boys — "Millennium"

Copies sold: 9,446,000

Notable singles: "I Want It That Way," "Larger Than Life"

2000: NSYNC — "No Strings Attached"

Copies sold: 9,936,000

Notable singles: "Bye Bye Bye," "It's Gonna Be Me"

2001: Linkin Park — "Hybrid Theory"

Copies sold: 4,813,000

Notable single: "In The End"

2002: Eminem — "The Eminem Show"

Copies sold: 7,608,000

Notable singles: "Without Me," "Sing For The Moment"

2003: 50 Cent — "Get Rich or Die Tryin'"

Copies sold: 6,536,000

Notable singles: "In da Club," "21 Questions"

2004: Usher — "Confessions"

Copies sold: 7,979,000

Notable singles: "Burn," "Confessions Pt. II," "Yeah!"

2005: Mariah Carey — "The Emancipation of Mimi"

mariah carey The Emancipation of Mimi album cover

Copies sold: 4,969,000

Notable singles: "We Belong Together," "Shake It Off"

2006: "High School Musical" (Soundtrack)

high school musical soundtrack album cover

Copies sold: 3,719,000

Notable single: "Breaking Free"

2007: Josh Groban — "Noël"

Copies sold: 3,699,000

Notable single: "The First Noel (feat. Faith Hill)"

2008: Lil Wayne — "Tha Carter III"

Copies sold: 2,874,000

Notable singles: "Lollipop," "A Milli"

2009: Taylor Swift — "Fearless"

Copies sold: 3,217,000

Notable singles: "Love Story," "You Belong With Me"

2010: Eminem — "Recovery"

Copies sold: 3,415,000

Notable singles: "Not Afraid," "Love The Way You Lie"

2011: Adele — "21"

Copies sold: 5,824,000

Notable singles: "Rolling In The Deep"

2012: Adele — "21"

Copies sold: 4,410,000

Notable singles: "Someone Like You," "Set Fire to the Rain,""Rumour Has It"

2013: Justin Timberlake — "The 20/20 Experience"

Copies sold: 2,430,000

Notable singles: "Suit & Tie," "Mirrors"

2014: Taylor Swift — "1989"

Copies sold:3,661,000

Notable singles: "Shake It Off," "Blank Space," "Bad Blood"

2015: Adele — "25"

Copies sold, including album-equivalent units: 8,008,000

Notablesingles: "Hello," "When We Were Young"

2016: Drake — "Views"

Copies sold, including album-equivalent units: 4,140,000

Notablesingles: "Hotline Bling," "One Dance"

2017: Ed Sheeran — "Divide"

Copies sold, including album-equivalent units:2,764,000

Notable singles: "Shape of You," "Perfect"

2018: Drake — "Scorpion"

Copies sold, including album-equivalent units: 3,905,000

Notable singles: "God's Plan," "Nice for What," "In My Feelings"

2019: Post Malone — "Hollywood's Bleeding"

"Hollywood's Bleeding" Post Malone album cover

Copies sold, including album-equivalent units: 3,001,000

Notable singles: "Wow," "Goodbyes," "Circles"

2020: Lil Baby — "My Turn"

Copies sold, including album-equivalent units: 2,632,000

Notable singles: "Woah," "Sum 2 Prove"

2021: Morgan Wallen — "Dangerous: The Double Album"

"Dangerous: The Double Album" Morgan Wallen album cover.

Copies sold, including album-equivalent units: 3,226,000

Notable singles: "7 Summers," "Wasted on You"

2022: Bad Bunny — "Un Verano Sin Ti"

"Un Verano Sin Ti" album cover Bad Bunny.

Copies sold, including album-equivalent units: 3,400,000

Notable singles: "Moscow Mule," "Tití Me Preguntó"

2023: Morgan Wallen — "One Thing at a Time"

"One Thing at a Time" Morgan Wallen album cover.

Copies sold, including album-equivalent units: 5,362,000

Notable singles: "You Proof," "Thought You Should Know," "Last Night

2024: Taylor Swift — "The Tortured Poets Department"

"The Tourtured Poets Department" album cover Taylor Swift

Copies sold, including album-equivalent units: 6,955,000

Notable singles: "Fortnight," "I Can Do It with a Broken Heart"

2025: Taylor Swift — "The Life of a Showgirl"

"The Life of a Showgirl" Taylor Swift album cover.

Copies sold, including album-equivalent units: 5,607,000

Notable singles: "The Fate of Ophelia," "Elizabeth Taylor"

The post The most popular album the year you were born appeared first on Business Insider

The most popular album the year you were born

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