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, singers like Adele and Taylor Swift have dominated the charts, while in the 1950s and early 1960s, musical soundtracks and 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”
RCA Victor Records
1957: “My Fair Lady (Original Broadway Cast)”
Columbia Records
1958: “My Fair Lady (Original Broadway Cast)”
Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
1959: Henry Mancini — “Music from Peter Gunn”
RCA Victor Records
1960: “The Sound of Music (Original Broadway Cast)”
Columbia Records
1961: “Camelot (Original Broadway Cast)”
Columbia Records
1962: “West Side Story (Soundtrack)”
United Artists Records
1963: “West Side Story (Soundtrack)”
Silver Screen Collection/Getty Images
1964: “Hello, Dolly! (Original Broadway Cast)”
RCA Victor Records
1965: “Mary Poppins (Original Soundtrack)”
Walt Disney Records
1966: Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass — “Whipped Cream & Other Delights”
A&M Records
1967: The Monkees — “More of The Monkees”
Colgems Records
1968: The Jimmy Hendrix Experience — “Are You Experienced”
Track Records
1969: Iron Butterfly — “In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida”
Atco
1970: Simon and Garfunkel — “Bridge over Troubled Water”
Columbia
1971: “Jesus Christ Superstar”
MCA Records
1972: Neil Young — “Harvest”
Reprise Records
1973: War — “The World Is a Ghetto”
United Artists
1974: Elton John — “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road”
MCA Records
1975: Elton John — “Elton John’s Greatest Hits”
Island
1976: Peter Frampton — “Frampton Comes Alive!”
A&M Records
1977: Fleetwood Mac — “Rumours”
Warner Bros.
1978: “Saturday Night Fever: The Original Movie Sound Track”
RSO Records
1979: Billy Joel — “52nd Street”
Columbia
1980: Pink Floyd — “The Wall”
Columbia
1981: REO Speedwagon — “Hi Infidelity”
Epic
1982: Asia — “Asia”
Geffen Records
1983: Michael Jackson — “Thriller”
Epic
1984: Michael Jackson — “Thriller”
George De Sota/Redferns via Getty Images
1985: Bruce Springsteen — “Born in the U.S.A.”
Columbia
1986: Whitney Houston — “Whitney Houston”
Arista
1987: Bon Jovi — “Slippery When Wet”
Mercury
1988: George Michael — “Faith”
Columbia
1989: Bobby Brown — “Don’t Be Cruel”
MCA Records
1990: Janet Jackson — “Janet Jackson’s Rhythm Nation 1814”
A&M Records
1991: Mariah Carey — “Mariah Carey”
Columbia Records
1992: Billy Ray Cyrus — “Some Gave All”
Mercury Records
1993: Whitney Houston/Various Artists — “The Bodyguard: Original Soundtrack Album”
Arista
1994: Elton John/Hans Zimmer — “The Lion King: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack”
Walt Disney Records
1995: Hootie and the Blowfish — “Cracked Rear View”
Atlantic Records
1996: Alanis Morissette — “Jagged Little Pill”
Maverick
1997: Spice Girls — “Spice”
Virgin Records
1998: James Horner and Celine Dion — “Titanic: Music from the Motion Picture”
Sony Classical
1999: Backstreet Boys — “Millennium”
Jive
2000: NSYNC — “No Strings Attached”
Jive Records
2001: Linkin Park — “Hybrid Theory”
Warner Bros. Records
2002: Eminem — “The Eminem Show”
Aftermath Entertainment
2003: 50 Cent — “Get Rich or Die Tryin'”
Shady Records/Aftermath Entertainment
2004: Usher — “Confessions”
Arista Records
2005: Mariah Carey — “The Emancipation of Mimi”
Island Def Jam
2006: “High School Musical” (Soundtrack)
Walt Disney Records
2007: Josh Groban — “Noël”
Reprise Records
2008: Lil Wayne — “Tha Carter III”
Cash Money/Universal Motown
2009: Taylor Swift — “Fearless”
Big Machine Records
2010: Eminem — “Recovery”
Aftermath Entertainment
2011: Adele — “21”
Columbia
2012: Adele — “21”
JM Enternational/Redferns via Getty Images
2013: Justin Timberlake — “The 20/20 Experience”
RCA Records
2014: Taylor Swift — “1989”
Big Machine Records
2015: Adele — “25”
Columbia
2016: Drake — “Views”
Young Money
2017: Ed Sheeran — “Divide”
Atlantic
2018: Drake — “Scorpion”
Young Money Entertainment
2019: Post Malone — “Hollywood’s Bleeding”
Republic
2020: Lil Baby — “My Turn”
Capitol
2021: Morgan Wallen — “Dangerous: The Double Album”
Big Loud
2022: Bad Bunny — “Un Verano Sin Ti”
Rimas
2023: Morgan Wallen — “One Thing at a Time”
Big Loud
2024: Taylor Swift — “The Tortured Poets Department”
Republic
2025: Taylor Swift — “The Life of a Showgirl”
Republic
