Artists With the Most Weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard 200: Full List
Taylor Swift’s The Tortured Poets Department tops the Billboard 200 for the fourth week this week (chart dated May 25), which ups Swift’s profession total of weeks at No. 1 to 73. This extends her lead as the solo artist with the most weeks on best in the chart’s history.
Swift’s powerful displaying is impressive when you take into consideration that the Billboard 200 dates back to March 1956, far more than 33 years prior to she was born.
Swift surpassed Elvis Presley for the most weeks at No. 1 by a solo artist when 1989 (Taylor’s Version) logged its fifth week at No. 1 in the concern dated Jan. 6, 2024. That gave her 68 weeks at No. 1, 1 far more week than Presley, who logged 67 weeks on best involving 1956 and 2002. 1989 (Taylor’s Version) remained on best the following week, bringing her total to 69. Tortured Poets has brought it to 73.
The Beatles continue to lead all artists, with 132 weeks on best involving 1964 and 2001.
A handful of swift notes: While Presley’s feats on the Billboard Hot 100 are shortchanged by the truth that his breakthrough in 1956 pre-dated the launch of Billboard’s flagship songs chart by far more than two years, the Billboard 200 captures Presley’s whole profession. His debut album, Elvis Presley, entered the chart at No. 11 in the concern dated March 31, 1956 – which was the chart’s second week.
If you count the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack (which logged 24 weeks at No. 1 in 1978) as a Bee Gees album, the trio had 31 weeks on best. Bee Gees had six tracks on the album — 5 of which have been No. 1 hits on the Hot 100. But Billboard counts it as a multi-artist soundtrack album.
Morgan Wallen might be the subsequent artist to best the Billboard 200 for 30 total weeks. He has logged 29 weeks at No. 1 so far, thanks to the combined strength of Dangerous: The Double Album (10 weeks on best) and One Thing at a Time (19 weeks). On this week’s Billboard 200, One Thing at a Time holds at No. 3, so it is in striking distance of returning to the best spot.
Here’s a appear at all acts with 30 or far more weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 due to the fact March 24, 1956, when the chart started publishing on a constant weekly basis. Ties are shown in alphabetical order.
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Mariah Carey (30 weeks)
Image Credit: Michael Brennan/GI First week at No. 1: March 2, 1991
Most current week at No. 1: May 10, 2008
Longest-operating No. 1: Mariah Carey (11 weeks in 1991)
Notes: All of Carey’s No. 1 albums have been typical studio releases. The Queen of Christmas’ 1994 vacation album, Merry Christmas, peaked at No. 3.
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Eagles (30 weeks)
First week at No. 1: July 26, 1975
Most current week at No. 1: Nov. 17, 2007
Longest-operating No. 1: The Long Run (nine weeks in 1979).
Notes: The lengthy run at No. 1 for The Long Run is 1 week far more than the band’s most well-known album, Hotel California (eight weeks in 1977). The RIAA has certified Eagles/Their Greatest Hits 1971-1975, which logged 5 weeks at No. 1 in 1976, at 38 instances platinum, greater than any other album in history. The group’s tally of No. 1 albums also incorporates a reside album, 1994’s Hell Freezes Over.
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Eminem (34 weeks)
First week at No. 1: June 10, 2000
Most current week at No. 1: Jan. 23, 2020
Longest-operating No. 1: The Marshall Mathers LP (eight weeks in 2000)
Notes: Eminem’s tally of No. 1 albums incorporates a 2005 greatest hits set, Curtain Call: The Hits. Eminem was the crucial artist on 8 Mile: Music From and Inspired by the Motion Picture, which logged 4 weeks at No. 1 in 2002-03, but that does not count toward his total. Neither do a pair of No. 1 albums he recorded as a member of the group D12, which logged a combined 3 weeks at No. 1.
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Prince (35 weeks)
Image Credit: Richard E. Aaron/Redferns First week at No. 1: Aug. 4, 1984
Most current week at No. 1: May 7, 2016
Longest-operating No. 1: Purple Rain soundtrack (24 weeks in 1984-85)
Notes: Prince’s No. 1 albums involve two soundtracks, Purple Rain and Batman. Purple Rain had the longest run at No. 1 of any soundtrack in the 1980s. It was 1 of two No. 1 albums on which Prince shared billing with his band, The Revolution. The other was Around the World in a Day. Prince’s tally also incorporates a 2001 hits compilation, The Very Best of Prince, which reached No. 1 following his death in 2016.
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Drake (36 weeks)
First week at No. 1: July 3, 2010
Most current week at No. 1: Dec. 2, 2023
Longest-operating No. 1: Views (13 weeks in 2016)
Notes: Drake is the hip-hop artist with the most weeks at No. 1. Also, he has logged far more weeks at No. 1 than any other Canadian artist. His tally incorporates a pair of collabs, with Future (What a Time to Be Alive) and 21 Savage (Her Loss).
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Harry Belafonte (37 weeks)
First week at No. 1: March 24, 1956
Most current week at No. 1: May 20, 1957
Longest-operating No. 1: Calypso (31 weeks in 1956-57)
Notes: The legendary singer’s Belafonte album was No. 1 on the quite initial weekly Billboard 200 chart. Calypso is tied with the South Pacific soundtrack as the longest-operating No. 1 album of the 1956-59 period. Belafonte had the second shortest span of weeks at No. 1 of any act on this list, with only The Monkees getting a slightly shorter span. He is 1 of just two artists on this list who has had just two No. 1 albums.
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The Monkees (37 weeks)
First week at No. 1: Nov. 12, 1966
Most current week at No. 1: Dec. 30, 1967
Longest-operating No. 1: More of the Monkees (18 weeks in 1967)
Notes: The group had a briefer span of No. 1 albums – just a small far more than a year – than any other act on this list. But that also underscores how hot they have been at the time. They held the No. 1 spot for 31 consecutive weeks, longer than any other act in the whole 1956-2024 period.
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Fleetwood Mac (38 weeks)
Image Credit: CBS by means of GI First week at No. 1: Sept. 4, 1976
Most current week at No. 1: Sept. 6, 1997
Longest-operating No. 1: Rumours (31 weeks in 1977)
Notes: Rumours had the longest run at No. 1 of any album in the 1970s. It also had the longest run at No. 1 of any album by a group or duo in the whole 1956-2024 period. Fleetwood Mac has had far more weeks at No. 1 than any other mixed-gender (and mixed-nationalities) group. Their most current No. 1 album, The Dance, was recorded reside on a soundstage.
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The Rolling Stones (38 weeks)
First week at No. 1: Aug. 21, 1965
Most current week at No. 1: Nov. 14, 1981
Longest-operating No. 1: Tattoo You (nine weeks in 1981)
Notes: The Stones are the third-highest ranking group on this list, behind The Beatles and The Kingston Trio.
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Elton John (39 weeks)
First week at No. 1: July 15, 1972
Most current week at No. 1: Nov. 22, 1975
Longest-operating No. 1: Greatest Hits (10 weeks in 1974-75).
Notes: Elton’s span of No. 1 albums – not pretty 3-1/2 years – does not reflect his status as a dominant figure in pop music for far more than half a century. Elton had the initial two albums to enter the Billboard 200 at No. 1 – Captain Fantastic and the Brown Dirt Cowboy and Rock of the Westies (each 1975). Greatest Hits spent far more weeks on best than any other greatest hits album in the 1970s. Elton was the crucial artist on The Lion King soundtrack, which logged 10 weeks at No. 1 in 1994-95, but that does not count toward his total.
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Adele (40 weeks)
First week at No. 1: March 12, 2011
Most current week at No. 1: Jan. 8, 2022
Longest-operating No. 1: 21 (24 weeks in 2011-12)
Notes: Adele has spent far more weeks at No. 1 than any other solo artist who wasn’t born in the U.S. (Runner-up is Elton John, with 39 weeks on best.) Adele and Harry Belafonte are the only artists on this list who have had just two No. 1 albums. (Adele will certainly have far more to come.) 21 spent far more weeks at No. 1 than any other album of the 2010s. It also spent far more weeks at No. 1 than any other album by a female artist in the whole 1956-2024 period.
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Whitney Houston (46 weeks)
Image Credit: Getty Images First week at No. 1: March 8, 1986
Most current week at No. 1: Sept. 19, 2009
Longest-operating No. 1: The Bodyguard soundtrack (20 weeks in 1992-93)
Notes: Houston is the second-highest-ranking female solo artist. Houston’s tally incorporates The Bodyguard soundtrack, which had the most weeks at No. 1 of any soundtrack in the 1990s. Houston recorded just six of the 12 songs on The Bodyguard, but they have been the ones that sold the album. Houston’s tally does not involve the Waiting to Exhale soundtrack, which logged 5 weeks at No. 1 in 1996, as she sang just 3 of the songs on that album. Houston quite practically notched a posthumous No. 1 – as Prince, Michael Jackson and Elvis Presley, of the artists on this list, did – but her The Greatest Hits album wasn’t in a position to unseat Adele’s blockbuster 21. The compilation logged 3 weeks at No. 2 in March 2012.
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The Kingston Trio (46 weeks)
First week at No. 1: Nov. 24, 1958
Most current week at No. 1: Dec. 26, 1960
Longest-operating No. 1: The Kingston Trio at Large (15 weeks in 1959)
Notes: The folk trio spent far more weeks at No. 1 than any other American group or duo. Among groups and duos exactly where all the members have been born in the U.S., runners-up are the Eagles, with 30 weeks at No. 1. The Kingston Trio is the second-highest-ranking group on this list, and the highest-ranking artist whose No. 1 albums are all studio releases consisting of songs the act hadn’t previously recorded.
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Michael Jackson (51 weeks)
First week at No. 1: Feb. 26, 1983
Most current week at No. 1: Nov. 14, 2009
Longest-operating No. 1: Thriller (37 weeks in 1983-84)
Notes: Thriller had the longest run at No. 1 of any album in the 1980s. It had a longer run at No. 1 than any other non-soundtrack album in the whole 1956-2024 period. MJ spent far more weeks at No. 1 than any other Black artist. (Houston is runner-up at 46 weeks.) Jackson’s total incorporates a soundtrack (Michael Jackson’s This Is It) and a one of a kind double-disk album (HIStory: Past, Present and Future Book I), which was half greatest hits, half new studio recordings.
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Garth Brooks (52 weeks)
Image Credit: James Schnepf/GI First week at No. 1: Sept. 28, 1991
Most current week at No. 1: Dec. 21, 2013
Longest-operating No. 1: Ropin’ the Wind (18 weeks in 1991-92).
Notes: Brooks has spent far more weeks at No. 1 than any other (pure) nation artist. (Runner-up, with 29 weeks on best so far, is Morgan Wallen). Brooks is also the second-highest-ranking male solo artist. Ropin’ the Wind spent far more weeks at No. 1 than any other nation album in the whole 1956-2024 period. Brooks’ tally also incorporates The Hits, which spent eight weeks at No. 1, longer than any other greatest hits album of the 1990s a double-disk reside album, Double Live and a six-CD box set, The Limited Series.
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Elvis Presley (67 weeks)
First week at No. 1: May 5, 1956
Most current week at No. 1: Oct. 26, 2002
Longest-operating No. 1: Blue Hawaii soundtrack (20 weeks in 1961-62)
Notes: Presley spent far more weeks at No. 1 than any other male solo artist. His tally of No. 1 albums incorporates a Christmas album (Elvis’ Christmas Album), a reside album (Aloha From Hawaii Via Satellite), a greatest hits set (Elv1s: 30 #1 Hits) and 4 film soundtracks — Loving You, G.I. Blues, Blue Hawaii and Roustabout.
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Taylor Swift (73 weeks)
First week at No. 1: Nov. 29, 2008
Most current week at No. 1: May 25, 2024
Longest-operating No. 1s: Fearless (11 weeks in 2008-09) and 1989 (11 weeks in 2014-15)
Notes: In addition to becoming the best solo artist on this list, Swift, 34, is the youngest artist and the best American artist. Her tally incorporates each the original and re-recorded Taylor’s Version editions of Fearless, Speak Now, Red and 1989. The original Fearless had the longest run at No. 1 of any album in the 2000-09 decade.
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The Beatles (132 weeks)
First week at No. 1: Feb. 15, 1964
Most current week at No. 1: Feb. 3, 2001
Longest-operating No. 1: Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (15 weeks in 1967).
Notes: The Fab Four have spent practically twice as lengthy at No. 1 as any other act. 1 topped the chart for eight weeks, longer than any other greatest hits set so far in this century. The group’s tally of No. 1 albums also incorporates a double-disk greatest hits set, The Beatles/1967-1970 3 editions of the Anthology series and 4 No. 1 soundtracks — A Hard Day’s Night, Help!, Magical Mystery Tour and Let It Be.
