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55-742: Cosmic Thing was the ninth best-selling album of 1990 in the US, peaking at No. 4 on the Billboard 200 , and was an international success as well, charting in the Top 10 in the UK, and reaching No. 1 in Australia and New Zealand. The album eventually achieved 4× Platinum status in the US and Platinum status in the UK. Its success served as a comeback for the band, following the death of guitarist, songwriter and founding member Ricky Wilson in 1985. The band also embarked on

110-544: A backbeat", citing "Roam" and "Dry County" as examples. Kristine McKenna of Los Angeles Times felt the album sounded "remarkably fresh", despite adhering to a classic formula, and observed that "the slower pace of life associated with the South colors the entire album", noting that Wilson and Pierson "give soul to this irresistible LP, which may shape up to be the record you hear at every party this summer." In retrospective reviews, Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic found

165-736: A band. Rather than clothes and wigs and stuff, I'd rather talk about politics, and I know the others do too, because it's more important, what's going on in the world." Recording of the album was focused in two locations: Skyline Studios in New York City, and Dreamland Recording Studios in West Hurley, New York . The initial sessions in New York City were produced by Nile Rodgers , while the West Hurley sessions were helmed by Don Was . The band had previously worked with Rodgers when he recorded their song " (Shake That) Cosmic Thing " for

220-578: A more accurate picture of any given year's best-selling albums, as a title that hypothetically spent nine weeks at No. 1 in March could possibly have sold fewer copies than one spending six weeks at No. 3 in January. Albums at the peak of their popularity at the time of the November/December chart-year cutoff many times end up ranked lower than one would expect on a year-end tally, yet are ranked on

275-412: A musician, Paul McCartney has the most top-10 albums, with 51. This includes 32 with The Beatles , 11 solo albums, seven albums with the group Wings , and one album credited to him and his first wife, Linda McCartney . Note: Swift is the first living artist to chart five albums in the top 10 simultaneously.  She was previously the first living soloist to have four albums simultaneously chart in

330-408: A new algorithm with data from all major on-demand audio subscription and online music sales services in the U.S. Starting on the issue dated January 18, 2020, Billboard updated its method again by incorporating video data from YouTube , along with visual plays from digital platforms like Apple Music , Spotify , Tidal , Vevo and, as of the issue dated March 23, 2021, from Facebook . As of

385-400: A new algorithm, utilizing data from all of the major on-demand audio subscription services, including Spotify , Apple Music , Google Play and Groove Music . Under the new methodology, 10 track sales or 1,500 song streams from an album are treated as equivalent to one purchase of the album. Billboard continues to publish a pure album sales chart, called " Top Album Sales ", that maintains

440-445: A week spent at No. 200, two points for a week spent at No. 199, etc., up to 200 points for each week spent at No. 1). Other factors, including an album's total weeks spent on the chart and its peak position, are calculated into an album's year-end total. Since Billboard began obtaining sales information from Nielsen SoundScan, the year-end charts are now calculated by a very straightforward cumulative total of yearlong sales. This gives

495-425: A week. At this time, the band also left their longtime manager, Gary Kurfirst , and left longtime label Warner Bros. for Reprise . In the wake of Wilson's death, Strickland took over both guitar duties and the bulk of the music composition responsibilities. For the new songs, Strickland recorded instrumental demos and singers Pierson, Cindy Wilson and Fred Schneider would then improvise melodies and lyrics over

550-601: Is a record chart ranking the 200 most popular music albums and EPs in the United States. It is published weekly by Billboard magazine to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists. Sometimes, a recording act is remembered for its " number ones " that outperformed all other albums during at least one week. The chart grew from a weekly top 10 list in 1956 to become a top 200 list in May 1967, acquiring its existing name in March 1992. Its previous names include

605-456: Is a song by American band the B-52's from their fifth studio album, Cosmic Thing (1989). The song was the first single from Cosmic Thing but its success was limited. Multiple renditions of the song were released, including the album version and a 7-inch single edit and remix, as well as a "rock mix" and a "rock dub" which were on a five-track CD single in the United States. In 1990, after

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660-497: The Billboard Top LPs (1961–1972), Billboard Top LPs & Tape (1972–1984), Billboard Top 200 Albums (1984–1985), Billboard Top Pop Albums (1985–1991), and Billboard 200 Top Albums (1991–1992). The chart is based mostly on sales – both at retail and digital – of albums in the United States. The weekly sales period was Monday to Sunday when Nielsen started tracking sales in 1991, but since July 2015,

715-409: The 1990 MTV Video Music Awards . Aided by the further success of singles such as the transatlantic top 20 hit " Roam " and the US top 30 hit "Deadbeat Club", the album continued to sell strongly, particularly in the US, where it spent 22 weeks inside the Billboard 200 top 10 in 1990, becoming the country's 9th best-selling album of the year. By 2000, Cosmic Thing had achieved platinum status in

770-473: The Billboard 200). A new chart that keeps the previous criteria for the Billboard 200 – dubbed the " Top Current Albums " chart – was also introduced in the same issue. Billboard has adjusted its policies for Christmas and holiday albums several times. The albums were eligible for the main album charts until 1963, when a " Christmas Albums " chart was created. Albums appearing here were not listed on

825-560: The Billboard 200. "Both Dark Side of the Moon and The Wall should be in the Billboard Top 200," said former Pink Floyd member Roger Waters in 1992. " The Wall still does anything up to four million each year... They've created a catalog chart in which to place all these old albums, leaving the main chart free for all the artists the record companies will want to book advertising space for. It just offers further evidence of

880-650: The Recording Industry Association of America when Gold, Platinum and Diamond album awards are announced. (RIAA awards reflect wholesale shipments , not retail sales .) Beginning with the December 13, 2014, issue, Billboard updated the methodology of its album chart again, changing from a "pure sales-based ranking" to one measuring "multi-metric consumption". With this overhaul, the Billboard 200 includes on-demand streaming and digital track sales (as measured by Nielsen SoundScan) by way of

935-403: The "Top Holiday Albums" list and the Billboard 200. Since May 25, 1991, the Billboard 200's positions have been derived from Nielsen SoundScan sales data; as of 2008 , it is contributed to by approximately 14,000 music sellers. Because these numbers are supplied by a subset of sellers rather than record labels , it is common for these numbers to be substantially lower than those reported by

990-501: The "Top LPs" chart, and in 1974, this rule was reverted and holiday albums again appeared within the main list. In 1983, the " Christmas Albums " chart was resurrected, but a title's appearance here did not disqualify it from appearing on the "Top Pop Albums" chart. In 1990, the chart was retitled " Top Holiday Albums "; as of 2009 , it holds 50 positions and runs for several weeks during the end-of-calendar-year holiday season. Its current policy allows holiday albums to concurrently chart on

1045-454: The 10 longest rises to number one on the Billboard 200 since the adoption of Nielsen Music data in 1991. Note: Newhart, Meader and Fontaine's albums were all number one on the mono chart but not on the stereo chart. Garland is listed on a technicality; she has 17 pop hits, but all were from 1939 to 1955 – all before the 1958 establishment of the Hot 100. Channel Z (song) " Channel Z "

1100-407: The UK singles chart. Following the release of promotional single "Cosmic Thing", June 1989 saw the release of the band's largest global hit, "Love Shack". Pierson recalled that radio programmers initially "weren't really enthusiastic" about the song and that Schneider was instrumental in promoting it to indie radio stations, which eventually led to its embrace by college radio. The track helped propel

1155-419: The UK, and 4× platinum status in the US, denoting sales of over four million copies there. As of 2019, the album had sold over five million copies worldwide. Robert Christgau of The Village Voice opined that the album was "an almost touchingly brave attempt to dance away from the edge of ecocatastrophe" and found the band "trying to be seriously silly", but concluded that, "between Ricky Wilson's guitar and

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1210-464: The United States (yet purchased in the U.S. as imports) are not eligible to chart. A long-standing policy rendering titles that are sold exclusively by specific retail outlets (such as Walmart and Starbucks ) ineligible for charting, was reversed on November 7, 2007, and took effect in the issue dated November 17, 2007. On December 13, 2014, Billboard began to include on-demand streaming and digital track sales (as measured by Nielsen SoundScan) using

1265-640: The album in general had developed a "rural, kind of southern, dusty feeling to it". Wilson added, "It was all about nostalgia. It was looking back at the good times we used to have in Athens, so it was a wonderful, healing record." Our 'agenda' wasn't at first necessarily related to 'queerness,' but more universal—putting lyrics in that referenced political ideas. But later, after Ricky’s death, we became much more activist, becoming involved with PETA, environmental causes, LGBTQA rights, and especially AIDS activism. During this time, many other friends were dying of AIDS; it

1320-577: The album to be "a first-class return to form" that "updated their sound with shiny new surfaces and deep, funky grooves", containing "their best set of songs since at least Wild Planet , possibly since their debut." J.D. Considine in The New Rolling Stone Album Guide observed that the songs "reprise the band's early sound without any edge or ambiguity", and saw the band "tumble into self-caricature." Rich Wilhelm of PopMatters noted that while Cosmic Thing "fully brought

1375-477: The band began to group together and write new songs. Singer Kate Pierson described this as a healing process for herself and the band after Wilson's death three years prior. Much of the album was written in Woodstock and surrounding areas in upstate New York , a place to which Strickland and Pierson had both relocated during the group's hiatus, and all four members felt a proximity to nature in these places that

1430-404: The band's sound to the mainstream", it also "proved to have depth" and was "a fun, beautiful, and life-affirming record that was also a big hit." In addition to the album's successful singles, the band embarked upon the extensive "Cosmic Tour" to promote the album worldwide, their first tour since Ricky Wilson's death. Drummer Strickland switched to guitar for the tour with Zack Alford serving as

1485-696: The classic B-52's sound", adding that "it made for a good single and still stands as one of their better songs of the era." In the United States, "Channel Z" topped the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart in August 1989. In Belgium, it reached the top 50, peaking at number 43 on the Ultratop chart. The song peaked at number 61 on the UK Singles Chart following the 12-inch release in 1990. The song's music video features

1540-462: The consolidated "Top LPs" chart debuted in 1963. In 1982, Billboard began publishing a "Midline Albums" chart (alternatively titled "Midline LPs"), which ranked older or mid-priced titles. The chart held 50 positions and was published on a biweekly (and later triweekly) basis. On May 25, 1991, Billboard premiered the " Top Pop Catalog Albums " chart, the criteria for which were albums that were more than 18 months old and had fallen below no. 100 on

1595-428: The dishonesty that's rife in this business." Starting with the issue dated December 5, 2009, however, the catalog limitations – which removed albums over 18 months old that had dropped below No. 100 and had no currently running singles – for the Billboard 200 were lifted, turning the chart into an all-inclusive list of the 200 highest-selling albums in the country (essentially changing " Top Comprehensive Albums " into

1650-462: The first week of December to the final week in November. This altered calendar allows for Billboard to calculate year-end charts and release them in time for its final print issue in the last week of December. Prior to Nielsen SoundScan, year-end charts were calculated by an inverse-point system based solely on an album's performance on the Billboard 200 (e.g., an album would be given one point for

1705-418: The following year's chart as well, as their cumulative points are split between the two chart-years. In 2015, Billboard compiled a ranking of the 100 best-performing albums on the Billboard 200 over its 52 years, along with the best-performing artists. Shown below are the top 10 albums and top 10 artists over the 52-year period of the Billboard 200, through October 2015. Also shown are the artists placing

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1760-399: The increase in album sales as the early 1950s format wars stabilized into market dominance by 45 RPM singles and long-playing 12-inch albums – and with 78 RPM record and long-playing 10-inch album sales decreasing dramatically – Billboard premiered a weekly "Best-Selling Popular Albums" chart on March 24, 1956. The position count varied anywhere from 10 to 30 albums. The first no. 1 album on

1815-402: The issue dated November 30, 2024, the number-one album on the chart is Golden Hour: Part.2 by Ateez . Billboard began an album chart in 1945. Initially only five positions long, the album chart was not published on a weekly basis, with weeks sometimes passing before it was updated. A biweekly (though with a few gaps), 15-position "Best-Selling Popular Albums" chart appeared in 1955. With

1870-652: The main stereo and mono album charts. Mono albums were moved to the "Essential Inventory – Mono" chart (25 positions) after spending 40 weeks on the "Mono Action Chart", and stereo albums were moved to the "Essential Inventory – Stereo" chart (20 positions) after 20 weeks on the "Stereo Action Chart". In January 1961, the "Action Charts" became "Action Albums – Stereophonic" (15 positions) and "Action Albums – Monophonic" (24 positions). Albums appeared on either chart for up to nine weeks, and were then moved to an "Essential Inventory" list of approximately 200 titles and with no numerical ranking. This list continued to be published until

1925-407: The most albums on the overall "all-time" top 100 album list. Source: Source: Source: List of acts with the most weeks at number one on the Billboard 200 since August 17, 1963. List of acts who reached number one on the Billboard 200 with a new album in consecutive calendar years since August 17, 1963. The following artists are the only ones with 30 or more top-10 albums: Note: As

1980-753: The new weekly list was Belafonte by Harry Belafonte . The chart was renamed "Best-Selling Pop Albums" later in 1956, and then "Best-Selling Pop LPs" in 1957. Beginning on May 25, 1959, Billboard split the ranking into two charts: "Best-Selling Stereophonic LPs" for stereo albums (30 positions) and "Best-Selling Monophonic LPs" for mono albums (50 positions). These were renamed "Stereo Action Charts" (30 positions) and "Mono Action Charts" (40 positions), respectively, in 1960. In January 1961, they became "Action Albums – Stereophonic" (15 positions) and "Action Albums – Monophonic" (25 positions), and three months later, they became "Top LPs – Stereo" (50 positions) and "Top LPs – Monaural" (150 positions). On August 17, 1963,

2035-547: The other in a nice way. It tells a story from beginning to end." "Channel Z" was selected as the album's first single and was released in March 1989. While the single was not commercially successful in the mainstream at first, it generated substantial amounts of airplay on American college radio, helping re-establish the group's youth popularity. The single eventually peaked at number one on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart, and reached number 61 on

2090-484: The permanent defeat his loss doesn't merely signify, they can't quite bring it off." Jim Farber of Rolling Stone thought the album found the B-52's "on summer vacation, hanging out in the heat, fashioning insouciant odes to sloth", and that the band still mixed seriousness with "an impassioned commitment to goofiness." He continued that the best songs "proudly declare silliness as a central part of identity" and that their most exciting material had always been "ballads with

2145-584: The recordings, with all four band members devising the final song arrangements together. The first piece of music Strickland composed for the album would eventually become " Deadbeat Club ", whose autobiographical lyrics about the band's early life in Athens, Georgia would serve as a blueprint for the album. "Junebug" was the first song to be fully completed during the band's compositional jam sessions, which gave them confidence to persevere. Pierson described these songs as being "cinematic" and "nostalgic", and felt that

2200-452: The song was brought in to refine and embellish upon. Music journalist Michael Azerrad noted that Strickland devised the album's final track sequence as if it were a film, moving from rural themes to more abstract concepts, culminating with an instrumental coda akin to a closing credits sequence. Strickland later elaborated: "We sequenced it in a way that we felt told a story. I don't know if anybody's ever noticed it, but one song leads into

2255-455: The soundtrack to the 1988 film Earth Girls Are Easy . The album's biggest hit, " Love Shack ", was the last song recorded for the album and was developed from a 15-minute unfinished piece the band had created. Strickland had initially felt the song was not ready to be released, but Pierson and Schneider felt it would be successful. After the band finished their sessions with Was a day ahead of schedule, he asked if they had any more material and

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2310-460: The stereo album chart; it was number one for 12 weeks on the mono album chart. ‡ The South Pacific soundtrack ran for 28 weeks at number one on the stereo album chart; it was number one for three weeks on the mono album chart. § This is the Blue Hawaii album's run on the mono album chart; it was number one for four weeks on the stereo album chart. Notes: Here are the albums to complete

2365-428: The stereo and mono charts were combined into a 150-position chart called "Top LPs". On April 1, 1967, the chart was expanded to 175 positions, and then finally to 200 positions on May 13, 1967. In February 1972, the album chart's title was changed to "Top LPs & Tape"; in 1984, it was retitled "Top 200 Albums"; in 1985, it was retitled again to "Top Pop Albums"; in 1991, it became the " Billboard 200 Top Albums"; and it

2420-498: The success of the album globally, while reaching number 3 on the US Billboard Hot 100 , and number one on Billboard ' s Modern Rock Tracks chart. The song also reached number 2 in the UK, and spent 8 weeks at number one in Australia in 1990. Following this, the album reached the top 10 in the US and UK album charts, and number one in Australia and New Zealand. The song's music video won the award for Best Group Video at

2475-447: The success of the follow-ups " Love Shack " and " Roam " the single was reissued with a new 12-inch mix. Fred Schneider told an interviewer in 2008 that the song was "probably our most straightforward political song up until then   ... It was about the state of the country [at the time]. And who knew nearly 20 years later it'd be worse?" Music critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine described it as "a fine song that effortlessly updated

2530-401: The top 10 for 5 consecutive weeks. Note: Had the  Billboard 200 allowed catalog albums to chart previous to December 5, 2009, Michael Jackson  would have claimed six simultaneous top 10 titles for two consecutive weeks and  The Beatles  would have claimed five simultaneous top 10 titles that year. † The West Side Story soundtrack ran for 53 weeks at number one on

2585-499: The touring drummer. Sara Lee played bass guitar and Pat Irwin was keyboardist and extra guitarist. This was also the first tour in which the group hired a backing band , meaning the group's members, especially Pierson, had more opportunity to move around on stage and gave their songs more accuracy to the studio versions in concert. Due to the band's growth in popularity at this time, the tour venues grew from theaters to large arenas and stadiums. The band's first comeback performance

2640-550: The tracking week begins on Friday (to coincide with the Global Release Day of the music industry ) and ends on Thursday. A new chart is published the following Tuesday, post dated to the Saturday of that week, four days later. The chart's streaming schedule is also tracked from Friday to Thursday. Digital downloads of albums are included in Billboard 200 tabulation. Albums that are not licensed for retail sale in

2695-438: The traditional Billboard 200 methodology but is based exclusively on SoundScan's sales data. Beginning on January 18, 2020, Billboard incorporated video and audio data from YouTube , along with visual plays from streaming services like Apple Music , Spotify, Tidal and Vevo , into the Billboard 200. The change has also impacted Billboard 's genre-specific album charts. Billboard 's "chart year" runs from

2750-471: The worldwide Cosmic Tour to promote the album. I wanted to keep some connection with what Ricky had done... He was a very key ingredient in our sound, and I just didn't want that to disappear. I knew that once we started playing live, there'd be older material to play, and if we got somebody else, I'd have to be there giving them a lot of hints, like the tunings and everything. So I figured I'd just do it myself. I knew enough that I thought I could do it. Well, I

2805-405: Was at a benefit for PETA and they arranged for various organizations, including PETA, Greenpeace and Amnesty International , to advertise at each concert's venue. All tracks are written by the B-52's , except "Roam", lyrics by Robert Waldrop Credits adapted from CD liner notes. The B-52's Additional musicians Technical Billboard 200 The Billboard 200

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2860-624: Was given its current title of the " Billboard 200" on March 14, 1992. From the end of 1970 to 1985, Billboard also printed a " Bubbling Under the Top LPs " albums chart paired with the " Bubbling Under the Hot 100 " singles chart, which listed albums that had not yet charted on what was then the "Top LPs & Tape" chart. In 1960, Billboard began concurrently publishing album charts that ranked sales of older or mid-priced titles. These "Essential Inventory" charts were divided by stereo and mono albums, and featured titles that had already appeared on

2915-600: Was hoping I could do it. —Keith Strickland; Rolling Stone magazine, 1990 Following guitarist Ricky Wilson 's death and the band's short promotional campaign for their 1986 album Bouncing Off the Satellites , the band was uncertain about their future together. The album had been the band's most expensive to produce, and their foregoing of a tour to promote it resulted in the band seeing little revenue, which led to them experiencing great financial difficulties. In 1988, prompted by drummer/guitarist Keith Strickland ,

2970-486: Was not found in their previous home of New York City . The band spent approximately a year writing the songs. Strickland stated, "We spent a lot of time just talking, and we needed that. We were our own support group after Ricky's passing, which was a very traumatic thing for all of us and, in particular, for Cindy." The band rented a rehearsal space in the Wall Street area of Manhattan, in which they worked four days

3025-447: Was terrifying and sad, and we joined in to do what we could and speak out. —Kate Pierson; grammy.com, 2019 Pierson stated that some songs on Cosmic Thing were more "pointed" about their concerns—such as environmentalism —than on previous albums, adding, "we definitely still have a light tone, but I think we've all evolved and grown and matured". Discussing " Channel Z ", Schneider later recalled, "We were really pretty political as

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