Billboard charts

The Billboard charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs and albums in the United States and elsewhere. The results are published in Billboard magazine. Billboard biz, the online extension of the Billboard charts, provides additional weekly charts,[1] as well as year-end charts.[2] The two most important charts are the Billboard Hot 100 for songs and Billboard 200 for albums, and other charts may be dedicated to a specific genre such as R&B, country, or rock, or they may cover all genres. The charts can be ranked according to sales, streams, or airplay, and for main song charts such as the Hot 100 song chart, all three data are used to compile the charts.[3] For the Billboard 200 album chart, streams and track sales are included in addition to album sales.[4]

Billboard logo

The weekly sales and streams charts are monitored on a Friday-to-Thursday cycle since July 2015; previously it was on a Monday-to-Sunday cycle. Radio airplay song charts, however, follow the Monday-to-Sunday cycle (previously Wednesday-to-Tuesday).[5] The charts are released each Tuesday with an issue date the following Saturday.

History

The first chart published by Billboard was "Last Week's Ten Best Sellers Among the Popular Songs", a list of best-selling sheet music, in July 1913. Other early charts listed popular song performances in theatres and recitals. In 1928, "Popular Numbers Featured by Famous Singers and Leaders" appeared, which added radio performances to in-person performances.[6] On January 4, 1936, Billboard magazine published its first pop chart based on record sales.[7] Titled "Ten Best Records for Week Ending", it listed the 10 top-selling records of three leading record companies as reported by the companies themselves. In March 1937, the "Songs with the Most Radio Plugs" chart debuted with data from a separate company. In October 1938, a review list "The Week's Best Records" was retitled "The Billboard Record Buying Guide" by incorporating airplay and sheet music sales, which would eventually become the first trade survey of record popularity.[6]

On July 20, 1940, the first "Billboard Music Popularity Chart" was published,[8] with separate listings covering retail sales, sheet music sales, jukebox song selection and radio play. Among the lists were 10 songs of the "Best Selling Singles", which is the fore-runner of today's pop chart, with "I'll Never Smile Again" by Tommy Dorsey its first number one.[6] The final accolade of a successful song was a position on the "Honor Roll of Hits", introduced in March 24, 1945 as a 30-song list, which ranked the most popular songs by combining record and sheet sales, disk jockey, and jukebox performances as determined by Billboard's weekly nationwide survey.[9] This chart amalgamated different records of the same song by different performers as one, and the first No. 1 song on that chart was "Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate the Positive". In 1955, a composite standing chart that combined retail sales, jukebox and disk jockeys play charts but counted individual record separately was created as "The Top 100" chart.[6] This is the predecessor to the current Hot 100 chart. The jukebox chart ceased publication after the June 17, 1957, issue, the disk jockey chart after July 28, 1958, the best-seller chart after October 13, 1958, and the Honor Roll of Hits after November 16, 1963.[10] The July 28, 1958, issue was the last to call the composite chart the "Top 100"; the following week began the "Hot 100."[11] The Hot 100 currently combines singles sales, radio airplay, digital downloads, and streaming activity (including data from YouTube and other video sites). All of the Billboard charts use this basic formula.[12]

Various music genre charts also began to be published: "Harlem Hit Parade" was created in 1943 which became "Best-Selling Race Records" in 1948 and "Best-selling Rhythm & Blues Records" in 1949, and then "Soul Singles" in 1969 (currently Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs); "Best-selling Folk Records" in 1948, which morphed into "Best-Selling Country & Western Records" in 1949, "Best-Selling C&W Records" in 1956 and "Hot Country Singles" in 1963 (now Hot Country Songs); and MOR charts in 1961, variously called "Easy Listening", "Middle-Road Singles" and "Pop-Standard Singles" and now Adult Contemporary.[6] Billboard charts now cover these music genres: rock, country, dance, bluegrass, jazz, classical, R&B, rap, electronic, pop, Latin, Christian, world and holiday music, and even ringtones for mobile (cell) phones.

An album chart, the "Best Selling Popular Record Albums", was first published on March 24, 1945, with The King Cole Trio its first No. 1.[13] The first chart had 10 albums, before reducing to 5 in the following weeks, then increasing to 10 in 1948. The album chart was split into 33-8 and 45 rpm lists in 1950 before they recombined in 1954, then divided into mono and stereo classifications in 1959 before they merged into a 150-item pop album chart in 1963. It was eventually expanded into a 200 album list on May 13, 1967.[6] Various genre album charts were also published: Country LP chart in January 1964, R&B chart in 1965, jazz in 1969, Latin in 1973, Gospel 1974,[6] and Rock in 1981. Other charts include Classical albums, Comedy Albums, Holiday Albums, Soundtracks, Independent Albums, Catalog Album and many others besides.

Chart compilation methodology

For many years, a song had to be commercially available as a single to be considered for any of the Billboard charts. At the time, instead of using Nielsen SoundScan or Nielsen Broadcast Data Systems (BDS), Billboard obtained its data from manual reports filled out by radio stations and stores. For different musical genres, which stations and stores are used separates the charts; each musical genre has a core audience or retail group. Each genre's department at Billboard is headed up by a chart manager, who makes these determinations. According to the 50th-anniversary issue of Billboard, prior to the official implementation of SoundScan tracking in November 1991, many radio stations and retail stores removed songs from their manual reports after the associated record labels stopped promoting a particular single. Thus, songs fell quickly after peaking and had shorter chart lives. In 1990, the country singles chart was the first chart to use SoundScan and BDS.[14] They were followed by the Hot 100 and the R&B chart in 1991.[15] Today, all of the Billboard charts use this technology.

At the end of each year, Billboard tallies the results of all of its charts, and the results are published in a year-end issue and heard on year-end editions of its American Top 40 and American Country Countdown radio broadcasts.[16] Between 1991 and 2006, the top single/album/artist(s) in each of those charts was/were awarded in the form of the annual Billboard Music Awards, which were held in December until the awards went dormant in 2007. The awards returned in May 2011.[17]

Before September 1995, singles were allowed to chart in the week they first went on sale based on airplay points alone. The policy was changed in September 1995, to only allow a single to debut after a full week of sales on combined sales and airplay points. This allowed several tracks to debut at number one.

In December 1998, the policy was further modified to allow tracks to chart on the basis of airplay alone without a commercial release. This change was made to reflect the changing realities of the music business. Previous to this, several substantial radio and MTV hits had not appeared on the Billboard chart at all, because many major labels chose not to release them as standalone singles, hoping their unavailability would spur greater album sales. Not offering a popular song to the public as a single was unheard of before the 1970s. The genres that suffered most at the time were those that increasingly impacted pop culture, including new genres such as trip hop and grunge. Among the many pre-1999 songs that had ended up in this Hot 100 limbo were The Cardigans' "Lovefool", Natalie Imbruglia's "Torn" (which peaked at 42), Goo Goo Dolls' "Iris" (which hit number 9), OMC's "How Bizarre", Sugar Ray's "Fly", and No Doubt's "Don't Speak".

On June 25, 2015, Billboard made changes in its chart requirements. The official street date for all new album releases was moved from Tuesday to Friday in the United States. For all sales-based charts (ranking both albums and tracks), Billboard and Nielsen changed the chart reporting period to cover the first seven days of an album's release. As a result of the changes, The Billboard 200, top albums sales, genre-based albums, digital songs, genre-based downloads, streaming songs, and genre-focused streaming surveys ran on a Friday-to-Thursday cycle. Radio Songs, which informs the Hot 100, synced to the Monday-to-Sunday period after formerly covering Wednesday to Tuesday. All other radio charts and genre tallies followed the Monday-to-Sunday cycle. The move was made to coincide with the IFPI's move to have all singles and albums released globally on Fridays.[5]

Incorporation of digital platforms

Starting on February 12, 2005, Billboard changed its methodology to include paid digital downloads from digital music retailers such as Rhapsody, AmazonMP3, and iTunes. This change also allowed songs to chart with or without the help of radio airplay. This meant that a song did not need radio airplay to be eligible to chart on the Billboard Hot 100. With this policy change, a song could chart based on digital downloads alone.[18]

On July 31, 2007, Billboard changed its methodology for the Hot 100 chart to include digital streams. The digital information at the time was obtained from Yahoo and AOL's streaming platforms. This change was made exclusively to the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The effect of this chart change was minuscule at the time because it was estimated to account for 5% of the chart's total points.[19]

In October 2012, Billboard significantly changed the methodology for their country, rock, Latin, and rap charts, when it incorporated sales of digital downloads and streaming plays into what had been airplay-only charts. Another change was that rather than measuring airplay only from radio stations of the particular genre, the new methodology measures airplay from all radio formats.[20] This methodology was extended to their Christian and gospel charts in late 2013.[21] These methodology changes resulted in higher positions on the genre charts for songs with crossover appeal to other genres and radio formats (especially pop) at the expense of songs that appeal almost exclusively to core fans of the given genre, which was controversial with those devotees.[22]

On February 20, 2013, Billboard announced another change in the methodology for its charts that incorporated YouTube video streaming data into the determination of ranking positions on streaming charts. The incorporation of YouTube streaming data enhanced a formula that includes on-demand audio streaming and online radio streaming. The YouTube video streams that used in this methodology are official video streams, Vevo on YouTube streams, and user-generated clips that use authorized audio. Billboard said this change was made to further reflect the divergent platforms of music consumption in today's world.[23]

Songs

All-genre
Chart title Chart type Number of
positions		 Description
Billboard Hot 100 sales +
airplay +
streaming		 100
  • The US music industry standard song popularity chart
Bubbling Under Hot 100 25
  • Ranks the top 25 songs below #100 that have not previously appeared on the Hot 100.
  • Positions do not directly correspond to positions 101-125 of an extended Hot 100, but many sources use this notation
Radio Songs airplay
(audience)		 50
  • Measures radio airplay audience impressions on 1,233 radio stations encompassing all formats.
  • One of the component charts of the Hot 100
  • Formerly called Top 40 Radio Monitor (1986–1991) and Hot 100 Airplay (1991–2014)
Digital Song Sales digital sales 50
  • Ranks top-selling digital song sales
  • Combines different versions of songs for a summarized figure
  • One of the component charts of the Hot 100
Streaming Songs streaming 50
  • Ranks top-streaming songs
  • Combines different versions of songs for a summarized figure
  • One of the component charts of the Hot 100

Adult/Pop
Chart title Chart type Number of
positions		 Description
Mainstream Top 40 (also Pop Songs) airplay (spins) 40 Measures airplay detections (spins) on 157 contemporary hit radio stations. These stations also contribute to the Dance/Mix Show Airplay panel
Adult Top 40 (also Adult Pop Songs) 40 Measures airplay spins on 90 hot adult contemporary stations
Adult Contemporary 30 Measures airplay spins on 85 adult contemporary stations

Christian
Chart title Chart type Number of
positions		 Description
Hot Christian Songs Sales, streaming, all format airplay 50 Combines sales, airplay from all radio formats, and streaming data
Christian Digital Songs Digital downloads 50 Top-downloaded Christian songs, ranked by sales data as compiled by Nielsen SoundScan
Christian Airplay Airplay (audience) 50 Audience impressions from Christian AC, Hot AC/CHR, Soft AC, and Christian Rock stations
Christian AC Airplay Airplay (spins) 30 Measures airplay spins on Christian adult contemporary stations
Hot Gospel Songs Sales, streaming, allformat airplay 30
Gospel Airplay Radio (airplay)
Gospel Digital Song Sales Digital sales Top-downloaded Gospel songs, ranked by sales data as compiled by Nielsen SoundScan.
Gospel Streaming Songs Streaming Top-streamed Gospel songs, ranked by sales data as compiled by Nielsen SoundScan.

Country
Chart title Chart type Number of
positions		 Description
Hot Country Songs sales + all format airplay + streaming 50 Combines sales, airplay from all radio formats and streaming data
Country Airplay airplay (audience) 60 Measures airplay audience impression on 128 country music stations
Country Digital Songs digital sales 50 Top-downloaded country songs, ranked by sales data as compiled by Nielsen SoundScan.
Country Streaming Songs streaming 50 Most streamed country songs.

Dance/Electronic
Chart title Chart type Number of
positions		 Description
Dance Club Songs reports from DJs 50
  • Compiled exclusively from playlists submitted by nightclub disc jockeys, who must apply and meet certain criteria to become Billboard-reporting DJs.
Hot Dance/Electronic Songs Continuous airplay, single sales, digital downloads, online streaming 50
  • A chart which uses the same methodology as the Hot 100, which tracks the top dance/electronic songs based on monitored airplay, single sales, digital downloads and monitored online streaming.
  • The songs will be used to determine eligibility for entry into the Hot 100.
  • Criteria will be based on the song's tempo.
  • Remixed versions of pop, rock, R&B, hip-hop and/or songs of other genres are ineligible for this chart.
Dance/Mix Show Airplay Continuous airplay (Spins from exclusive reporters)
Mix show airplay (Spins from Mainstream and Rhythmic stations)		 40
  • Originally called Hot Dance Airplay when it was launched in 2003. A monitored dance music radio chart of 6 dance stations that came about as a result of the small but influential impact of dance music on the radio and the stations that program it.
  • Renamed Dance/Mix Show Airplay chart on November 19, 2011. The chart now includes the 157 Mainstream Top 40 and 67 Rhythmic Top 40 reporters that features mix shows in their programming.
  • Expanded to 40 positions, effective with the December 6, 2014 issue.
Dance/Electronic Digital Song Sales digital sales 50
  • A chart that tracks the digital download sales of dance/electronic music singles, including tracks that are exclusively available online only. This chart also includes previously released dance and disco songs that became available for downloading.
Dance/Electronic Streaming Songs streaming 25
  • A chart that tracks the week's top Dance/Electronic streamed radio songs and on-demand songs and videos on leading online music services.

Holiday
Chart title Chart type Number of
positions		 Description
Holiday 100 Sales, streaming and airplay 100 Combines sales, airplay and streaming data. Only in November to December.
Holiday Digital Song Sales Digital downloads 50 Top-downloaded Holiday songs, ranked by sales data as compiled by Nielsen SoundScan.
Holiday Streaming Songs Streaming 50 Most streamed Holiday songs. Only in November to December.
Holiday Airplay Airplay (audience) 50 Audience impressions from all radio stations. Only in November to December.

Internet charts
Chart title Number of
positions		 Description
Social 50 50 A ranking of the most active artists on the world's leading social networking sites. Artists' popularity is determined by a formula blending their weekly additions of friends/fans/followers along with artist page views and weekly song plays, as measured by Next Big Sound.
Real Time - Hot Trending Songs 50 Most-discussed songs on Twitter updated live.
Weekly - Hot Trending Songs 50 Most-discussed songs on Twitter updated weekly.
Top Triller Global 20 Most popular songs worldwide on the app Triller.
Top Triller U.S. 20 Most popular songs in the United States on the app Triller.
LyricFind Global 25 Most-searched songs on LyricFind.
LyricFind U.S. 25 Most-searched songs on LyricFind.

Jazz
Chart title Chart type Number of
positions		 Description
Smooth Jazz Airplay airplay (spins) 30 Measures airplay spins on 14 smooth jazz stations

Latin
Chart title Chart type Number of
positions		 Description
Hot Latin Songs Sales + airplay + streaming 50 Ranks the top fifty Spanish-language singles in the American music market. It was established as an airplay-only chart by Billboard in 1986. As of October 11, 2012, the chart is based on airplay across all formats, digital downloads, and streaming of Latin songs. Only predominately Spanish-language songs are eligible to rank on the chart.
Latin Airplay Airplay (spins) 50 Ranks the most played songs on Latin radio stations in the United States and Puerto Rico regardless of genre or language.
Latin Digital Song Sales Digital sales 50 Ranks the best-selling Spanish-language from digital music retailers as compiled by Nielsen SoundScan.
Latin Pop Airplay Airplay (audience) 25 Ranks the most-listened to Spanish-language pop songs on Latin music radio stations. It was established in 1994, initially measuring airplay of songs being played on Latin pop radio stations.
Regional Mexican Airplay Airplay (spins) 40 Ranks the most performed song on Regional Mexican radio stations in the United States. It includes musical styles originating from Mexico as well as the Mexican-American community in the US such as Tejano. This chart is based on airplay from 65 regional Mexican radio stations compiled using information tracked by from BDS. It was established in 1994.
Tropical Airplay Airplay (audience) 25 Ranks the most-listened to Spanish-language tropical music songs on 140 Latin music radio stations. It was established by the magazine in 1994, initially measuring airplay of songs played by a small panel of tropical music radio stations.
Latin Rhythm Airplay Airplay (audience) 25 Ranks the most-listened to Spanish-language Latin rhythm songs. Latin rhythm is a music radio format that includes Spanish-language urban genres such as Latin hip hop and reggaeton. Established in 2005, it initially measured airplay of songs being played on 15 Latin rhythm radio stations.
Latin Streaming Songs Streaming Ranks play of Spanish-language streamed radio songs and on-demand songs and music videos on leading online music services.

R&B/Hip-Hop
Chart title Chart type Number of
positions		 Description
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs airplay + sales + streaming 50[upper-alpha 1] Ranks the most popular by combining airplay from all formats of radio stations, digital download sales, streaming data and YouTube views of R&B and hip-hop songs.
R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay airplay (audience) 50 Measures airplay based on audience impressions from various R&B/hip-hop stations. Component of Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.
R&B/Hip-Hop Digital Song Sales digital sales Top-downloaded R&B and hip-hop songs, ranked by sales data as compiled by Nielsen SoundScan. Component of Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.
R&B/Hip-Hop Streaming Songs streaming Top-streamed R&B and hip-hop songs, ranked by sales data as compiled by Nielsen SoundScan. Component of Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.
Mainstream R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay airplay (spins) 40 Ranks songs by combining airplay base on radio plays (spins) from 76 R&B/hip-hop stations. Component of R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay chart.
Adult R&B Airplay airplay (spins) 30 Measures airplay from 65 Urban AC radio stations. Component of R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay chart.
Rhythmic Airplay airplay (spins) 40 Measures airplay spins on 72 rhythmic stations. Rhythmic is a music radio format that includes of a mix of dance, upbeat rhythmic pop, hip hop and R&B hits. These stations also contribute to Dance/Mix Show Airplay panel
Hot Rap Songs airplay + sales + streaming 25 Ranks the top 25 hip-hop/rap songs by combining airplay from all formats of radio stations, digital download sales, streaming data and YouTube views of rap songs.
Rap Airplay airplay (spins) 25 Ranks the top 25 hip-hop/rap songs by airplay spins from R&B/hip-hop and rhythmic radio stations. Component of Hot Rap Songs chart.
Rap Digital Song Sales digital sales Top-downloaded rap songs, ranked by sales data as compiled by Nielsen SoundScan. Component of Hot Rap Songs chart.
Rap Streaming Songs streaming Top-streamed rap songs, ranked by sales data as compiled by Nielsen SoundScan. Component of Hot Rap Songs chart.
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Recurrents airplay (spins) 20 Ranks songs that have fallen below No. 50 on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and have been on that chart for over 20 weeks.
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Recurrent Airplay airplay (spins) 20 Ranks the songs that have fallen below No. 25 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay chart and have been on that chart for over 20 weeks.
Hot R&B Songs airplay + sales + streaming 25 Ranks the top 25 R&B songs by combining airplay from all formats of radio stations, digital download sales, streaming data and YouTube views of R&B songs.
R&B Digital Song Sales digital sales Top-downloaded R&B songs, ranked by sales data as compiled by Nielsen SoundScan. Component of Hot R&B Songs chart.
R&B Streaming Songs streaming Top-streamed R&B songs, ranked by sales data as compiled by Nielsen SoundScan. Component of Hot R&B Songs chart.

Rock/Alternative
Chart title Chart type Number of
positions		 Description
Hot Rock & Alternative Songs Sales, airplay,
and streaming		 50 Ranks the top rock and alternative songs across all formats, based on radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity
Rock & Alternative Airplay Airplay (audience) 50 Airplay audience impressions on mainstream rock, alternative, and Triple A radio stations
Rock Digital Song Sales Digital sales 50 Top-downloaded rock songs, ranked by sales data as compiled by Nielsen SoundScan
Rock Streaming Songs streaming 25 Top-streamed rock songs, ranked by sales data as compiled by Nielsen SoundScan.
Hot Alternative Songs Sales, airplay,
and streaming		 25 Ranks the top alternative songs based on radio airplay across all formats, sales data, and streaming activity
Alternative Airplay Airplay (spins) 40 Measures airplay spins on 50 alternative/modern rock stations
Alternative Digital Song Sales Digital sales 25 Top-downloaded songs classified as alternative (or a combination of alternative and another genre), ranked by sales data as compiled by Nielsen SoundScan.
Alternative Streaming Songs streaming 25 Top-streamed songs classified as alternative, ranked by sales data as compiled by Nielsen SoundScan.
Mainstream Rock Airplay Airplay (spins) 40 Measures airplay spins on 77 mainstream rock radio stations encompassing active rock and heritage rock
Adult Alternative Airplay (Triple A Airplay) 40 Measures airplay spins on 24 adult album alternative radio stations
Hot Hard Rock Songs Sales, airplay,
and streaming		 25 Ranks the top hard rock songs based on radio airplay across all formats, sales data, and streaming activity
Hard Rock Digital Song Sales Digital sales 25 Top-downloaded songs classified as hard rock, ranked by sales data as compiled by Nielsen SoundScan.
Hard Rock Streaming Songs streaming 25 Top-streamed songs classified as hard rock, ranked by sales data as compiled by Nielsen SoundScan.

World music
Chart title Chart type Number of
positions		 Description
U.S. Afrobeats Songs streaming Top US-streamed Afrobeats songs, ranked by sales data as compiled by Nielsen SoundScan.
World Digital Song Sales digital sales Ranks the best-selling world music / foreign-language digital singles in the United States.

Canadian charts
Chart title Chart type Number of
positions		 Description
Canadian Hot 100 airplay + sales + streaming[24] 100
  • Canadian music industry standard singles popularity chart
Emerging Canadian Artist airplay + sales + streaming 30
  • Ranks most popular songs by emerging Canadian artists
  • Artists are considered emerging until 12 months after the date their first Canadian Hot 100 charting entry reaches the top 40.
  • No recurrent chart
Digital Song Sales digital sales 75
  • Ranks top-selling digital song sales
  • Combines different versions of songs for summarized figure
  • one of the component charts of Canadian Hot 100
  • No recurrent chart
Hot 100 Airplay airplay (audience) 75
  • Measures radio airplay audience impressions on 137 radio stations from five different formats
  • One of the component charts of Canadian Hot 100
All-format Airplay airplay (spins) 50
  • Measures radio airplay spins on 137 radio stations from five formats.
  • A 100-position chart was previously available at Jam! Canoe website.
CHR/Top 40 Airplay 50
  • Measures radio airplay spins on 25 CHR radio stations
AC Airplay 50
  • Measures radio airplay spins on 28 AC radio stations
Hot AC Airplay 50
  • Measures radio airplay spins on 24 Hot AC radio stations
Country Airplay 50
  • Measures radio airplay spins on 31 country radio stations
Rock Airplay 50
  • Measures radio airplay spins on 29 rock radio stations

Other international charts
Chart title Description
Argentina Hot 100 Ranks the top 100 singles in Argentina based on airplay, digital downloads, and streaming.
Billboard Global 200[25] Ranks the top songs based on sales and streaming data from more than 200 territories worldwide.
Billboard Global Excl. U.S.[25] Ranks the top songs based on sales and streaming data from territories outside the United States.
Hits of the World Ranks the top 25 songs in more than 40 countries.
Japan Hot 100 Ranks the best-selling singles and tracks in Japan.
Mexican Airplay Ranks the most listened singles in Mexico.
Mexico Espanol Airplay Ranks the most listened singles in Spanish-language in Mexico.
Mexico Ingles Airplay Ranks the most listened singles in English-language in Mexico.
Portugal Songs[26] Ranks the top 25 songs from sales activity and streaming in Portugal.
Vietnam Hot 100 Ranks the top 100 singles in Vietnam based on digital downloads and streaming.
Vietnam Top Vietnamese Songs Ranks the top 100 singles in Vietnam by Vietnamese artists based on digital downloads and streaming.

Albums
Chart title Description
Billboard 200 200
  • Industry standard, includes albums from any genre.
  • Includes both new and catalog albums.
  • Includes data from on-demand streaming services[4]
Top Album Sales 100
  • A pure album sales chart.
Top Current Album Sales 100
  • The same chart as Top Album Sales, with catalog titles removed
Catalog Albums 50
  • An album becomes a catalog title when it is more than 18 months old and has fallen below position 100 on the Billboard 200.
Tastemakers
  • Ranked albums based on "an influential panel of indie stores and small regional chains."[27]
Heatseekers Albums 25
  • Ranks albums from new artists/bands that have never attained the top 100 of the Billboard 200.
  • If an album reaches the top 100, it and any of the artist's/band's subsequent albums are ineligible for the chart.
Independent Albums 50
  • Ranks top 50 albums released through independent record labels.
Top Rock Albums 50
  • Ranks the most popular rock albums of the week, as compiled by Nielsen Music.
  • Based on multi-metric consumption (blending traditional album sales, track equivalent albums, and streaming equivalent albums)
Top Rock & Alternative Albums 50
  • Ranks the most popular rock and alternative albums of the week, as compiled by Nielsen Music.
  • Based on multi-metric consumption (blending traditional album sales, track equivalent albums, and streaming equivalent albums)
Top Alternative Albums 25
  • Ranks the most popular alternative albums of the week, as compiled by Nielsen Music.
  • Based on multi-metric consumption (blending traditional album sales, track equivalent albums, and streaming equivalent albums)
Top Hard Rock Albums 25
  • Ranks the most popular hard rock albums of the week, as compiled by Nielsen Music.
  • Based on multi-metric consumption (blending traditional album sales, track equivalent albums, and streaming equivalent albums)
Americana/Folk Albums 25
Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums 50
Rap Albums 25
R&B Albums 25
  • Ranks top R&B albums by sales as compiled by Nielsen Music. Albums must be less than 18 months old, or if older than 18 months then they must reside on the Billboard 200's top 100.[28]
Top Country Albums 50
Bluegrass Albums 15
Top Latin Albums 50
  • Ranks the best-selling Latin albums weekly. An album must have at least 51% of its content recorded in Spanish to rank on this chart.
Regional Mexican Albums 20
Latin Pop Albums 20
Tropical Albums 20
Latin Rhythm Albums 15
Top Classical Albums
Traditional Classical Albums
Classical Crossover Albums
Christian Albums 50
Gospel Albums 40
Jazz Albums 35
Traditional Jazz Albums 15
Contemporary Jazz Albums 15
  • Debuted on February 28, 1987 with 25 positions.[29]
Dance/Electronic Albums 25
Blues Albums 15
Cast Albums
  • Measuring sales of cast recordings
Comedy Albums 10
Compilation Albums 20
Holiday Albums 50
  • see Best-selling Christmas/holiday albums in the United States
Kid Albums 15
New Age Albums 10
Reggae Albums 10
Soundtracks 30
Vinyl Albums 25
World Albums 15
  • Debuted on May 19, 1990.[30]
  • Ranks biggest-selling world music albums, including catalog titles.
Canadian Albums 100

Video
Chart title Number of
positions		 Description
Music Video Sales 100
  • Industry standard, includes video albums from any genre.[31]

Discontinued charts
Chart title Discontinuation
date		 Description
Bubbling Under R&B/Hip-Hop Singles
  • Ranks the top 15 songs below #50 that have not previously appeared on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.
Comprehensive Music Video 2012 (?)
  • Ranked the best-selling music DVDs, including those not in full retail distribution
Country Singles Sales 2005
  • Ranked the best-selling commercial country singles
Best Seller in Stores October 13, 1958
  • Ranked records in order of national selling importance at the retail level.[32]
  • Three charts: Popular Records, Rhythm & Blues Records, Country & Western Records
Brasil Hot 100 Airplay 2019
  • Ranked the most listened singles and tracks in Brazil.
  • Discontinued in January 2019, after weeks without publishing on the site. Subsequently, it announced the end of Billboard Brazil (which had previously stopped publishing the magazine in print).[33] The chart continued to be published by Crowley Broadcast Analysis, which already launched Crowley Charts in 2018 and released the chart with the name Top 100 Brazil.[34]
China Top 100 2019
  • Ranked the best-selling local singles in China.
Euro Digital Song Sales February 12, 2022
  • Ranked the best-selling digital singles and tracks in Europe.
Euro Digital Tracks November 29, 2014
  • Ranked the best-selling digital tracks in Europe
European Hot 100 Singles December 11, 2010
  • Ranked the best-selling singles in Europe by combining sales from various countries in Europe.
Global Dance Tracks June 29, 2013
  • A weekly international survey of the songs that were popular in dance clubs globally.
Heatseekers Songs December 6, 2014
  • Ranked songs from new artists/bands that have never attained the top 50 of the Hot 100.
  • If a song reached the top 50, it and any of the artist's/band's subsequent singles were ineligible for the chart.
Hot Crossover 30 December 8, 1990
  • Ranked the best-performing songs on rhythmic contemporary radio stations.[35]
Hot Digital Tracks
  • Ranked digital song sales with different versions of songs listed
  • No recurrent chart
Hot Singles Sales November 21, 2017
  • Measures sales of commercial physical singles
  • One of the component charts of the Hot 100
  • No recurrent chart
Honor Roll of Hits[9] November 16, 1963[10]
  • Comprised the nation's top tunes according to record sales and disk jockey performances as determined by Billboard's weekly nationwide survey.[36]
Hot Dance Singles Sales 2013
  • A chart that measured the sale of commercially released singles in the dance music market, including remixes. It was formerly known as Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales, when the chart was restricted to sales of the 12-inch maxi single and CD maxi single format. In recent years, singles only released in the CD single format have apparently been counted too.
Indonesia Top 100 2020
  • Ranked the top 100 singles in Indonesia based on digital downloads, airplay, streaming, and karaoke play.
Luxembourg Digital Song Sales 2020
  • Ranked the most downloaded songs digitally in the country of Luxembourg for the week
Most Played by Jockeys July 28, 1958
  • Ranked records in order of the greatest number of plays on disk jockey radio shows throughout the country.[32]
  • Three charts: Popular Records, Rhythm & Blues Records, Country & Western Records
Most Played in Juke Boxes June 17, 1957
  • Ranked records in order of the greatest number of plays nationally in juke boxes.[32]
  • Three charts: Popular Records, Rhythm & Blues Records, Country & Western Records
Philippine Hot 100 January 15, 2018
  • Ranked the best-performing songs in the Philippines.
Philippine Top 20
  • Ranked the best-performing local songs in the Philippines.
Pop 100 June 13, 2009
  • Ranked songs by combining airplay focused on pop radio and sales
  • The chart's importance is replaced by the Mainstream Top 40 chart
Pop 100 Airplay
  • Measured airplay on pop music radio
  • One of three component charts of the Pop 100
Hot Ringtones
Hot RingMasters
  • Ranks weekly sales of master ringtones for mobile phones.
Hot Videoclips
  • Ranks top 25 most popular music videos according to digital sales and TV play on shows such as TRL and 106 & Park
Spotify Velocity
Viral 50 Ranked top-streaming independent songs on Spotify[39]
Spotify Rewind
Top 40 Tracks March 2005
  • Debuted in December 1998 ranking songs by audience impressions on Mainstream, Adult, and Rhythmic Top 40 radio stations
  • Discontinued with the introduction of the Pop 100 and Pop 100 Airplay charts
Pop Digital Song Sales January 2020 Top-downloaded pop songs, ranked by sales data as compiled by Nielsen SoundScan.
Jazz Digital Song Sales January 2020 Top-downloaded jazz songs, ranked by sales data as compiled by Nielsen SoundScan.
Classical Digital Song Sales January 2020 Top-downloaded classical songs, ranked by sales data as compiled by Nielsen SoundScan.
New Age Digital Song Sales January 2020 Top-downloaded new age songs, ranked by sales data as compiled by Nielsen SoundScan.
Blues Digital Song Sales January 2020 Top-downloaded blues songs, ranked by sales data as compiled by Nielsen SoundScan.
Reggae Digital Song Sales January 2020 Top-downloaded reggae songs, ranked by sales data as compiled by Nielsen SoundScan.
Kid Digital Song Sales January 2020 Top-downloaded children's songs, ranked by sales data as compiled by Nielsen SoundScan.
Comedy Digital Track Sales January 2020 Top-downloaded comedy songs, ranked by sales data as compiled by Nielsen SoundScan.
Digital Albums 2019
Top Internet Albums
  • Ranks physical albums ordered through Internet merchants.
Heatseekers Albums (East North Central)
Heatseekers Albums (Middle Atlantic)
Heatseekers Albums (Mountain)
Heatseekers Albums (Northeast)
Heatseekers Albums (Pacific)
Heatseekers Albums (South Atlantic)
Heatseekers Albums (South Central)
Heatseekers Albums (West North Central)
Country Catalog Albums
Classical Budget/Midline Albums
Dance/Electronic Album Sales
  • Similar to Dance/Electronic Albums, but more focused on core Dance/Electronic artists
R&B/Hip-Hop Catalog Albums
Christian Streaming Songs
  • Most streamed Christian songs
Christian Hot AC/CHR
  • Measures airplay spins on Christian CHR stations
Christian Soft AC Measured airplay spins on Christian Soft AC stations
Christian Rock
  • Measures airplay spins on Christian rock stations
Christian AC Indicator
Switzerland Digital Song Sales February 2022
  • Ranked the best-selling digital singles and tracks in Switzerland.
  • Replaced by Hits of the World chart collection component Switzerland Songs.
K-Pop 100 April 2022
  • Ranked the best-selling singles in South Korea.
  • Replaced by Hits of the World chart collection component South Korea Songs.

Notes

  1. 100 positions prior to October 2012.

Other charts

In December 2010, Billboard announced a new chart titled Social 50, which ranks the most active artists on the world's leading social networking sites. The Social 50 chart tallies artists' popularity using their weekly additions of friends/fans/followers, along with weekly artist page views and weekly song plays on Myspace, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and iLike.[40]

In January 2011, Billboard introduced another chart called Uncharted, which lists new and developing artists, who are yet to appear on any major Billboard chart, "...regardless of their country of origin."[41] The ranking is based on the views and fans on social networking websites like Myspace and Facebook. It has since been discontinued.

In May 2014, after the Korea K-Pop Hot 100 chart was discontinued in the U.S., the Billboard K-Town column continued to provide chart information for K-pop artists on all Billboard charts.[42][43]

The Artist 100 debuted in July 2014.

In June 2019, Billboard launched the Top Songwriters Chart and the Top Producers Chart, based on weekly activity on the Hot 100 and other "Hot" genre charts.[44]

In October 2021, Billboard launched the Hot Trending Songs charts, utilising real-time music-related trends and conversations on Twitter.[45]

See also

Further reading
  • Durkee, Rob. "American Top 40: The Countdown of the Century." Schriner Books, New York City, 1999.
  • Battistini, Pete. "American Top 40 with Casey Kasem The 1970s." Authorhouse.com, January 31, 2005. ISBN 1-4184-1070-5
  • Parker, Martin (1991). "Making Sense with the Hit Parade". Popular Music. 10 (2): 205–17. doi:10.1017/s0261143000004517. S2CID 143769793.
  • Hakanen, Ernest (1998). "Counting Down to the Number One:Evolution of the Meaning of Popular Music Charts". Popular Music. 17 (1): 98–111. doi:10.1017/s0261143000000507. S2CID 194061996.
  • "About Us". Nielsen Business Media Inc. 2009.
  • "Billboard.com FAQ". Nielsen Business Media Inc. 2009.

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