The highest-selling albums and EPs in the United States are ranked in the Billboard 200, which is published by Billboard magazine. The data are compiled by Nielsen Soundscan based on each album's weekly physical and digital sales. [1] In 1989, 15 albums advanced to the peak position of the chart.
Bobby Brown's Don't Be Cruel was the best performing and best-selling album of 1989, spending 6 non-consecutive weeks at number one.
The Raw & the Cooked , the second album by rock and soul band Fine Young Cannibals, had the longest run among the releases that reached peak position in 1989, spending 7 consecutive weeks in the top position.
The 1989 debut album Girl You Know It's True , by the pop group Milli Vanilli, spent 7 non-consecutive weeks in the top position, with 6 of those weeks in 1989.
† | Indicates best performing album of 1989 |
Issue date | Album | Artist(s) | Label(s) | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
January 7 | Giving You the Best That I Got | Anita Baker | Elektra | [2] |
January 14 | [3] | |||
January 21 | Don't Be Cruel † | Bobby Brown | MCA | [4] |
January 28 | [5] | |||
February 4 | [6] | |||
February 11 | Appetite for Destruction | Guns N' Roses | Geffen | [7] |
February 18 | Don't Be Cruel† | Bobby Brown | MCA | [8] |
February 25 | [9] | |||
March 4 | [10] | |||
March 11 | Electric Youth | Debbie Gibson | Atlantic | [11] |
March 18 | [12] | |||
March 25 | [13] | |||
April 1 | [14] | |||
April 8 | [15] | |||
April 15 | Lōc-ed After Dark | Tone Lōc | Delicious Vinyl | [16] |
April 22 | Like a Prayer | Madonna | Sire/Warner Bros. | [17] |
April 29 | [18] | |||
May 6 | [19] | |||
May 13 | [20] | |||
May 20 | [21] | |||
May 27 | [22] | |||
June 3 | The Raw & the Cooked | Fine Young Cannibals | I.R.S. | [23] |
June 10 | [24] | |||
June 17 | [25] | |||
June 24 | [26] | |||
July 1 | [27] | |||
July 8 | [28] | |||
July 15 | [29] | |||
July 22 | Batman | Prince / Soundtrack | Warner Bros. | [30] |
July 29 | [31] | |||
August 5 | [32] | |||
August 12 | [33] | |||
August 19 | [34] | |||
August 26 | [35] | |||
September 2 | Repeat Offender | Richard Marx | Capitol | [36] |
September 9 | Hangin' Tough | New Kids on the Block | Columbia | [37] |
September 16 | [38] | |||
September 23 | Girl You Know It's True | Milli Vanilli | Arista | [39] |
September 30 | [40] | |||
October 7 | Forever Your Girl | Paula Abdul | Virgin | [41] |
October 14 | Dr. Feelgood | Mötley Crüe | Elektra | [42] |
October 21 | [43] | |||
October 28 | Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation 1814 | Janet Jackson | A&M | [44] |
November 4 | [45] | |||
November 11 | [46] | |||
November 18 | [47] | |||
November 25 | Girl You Know It's True | Milli Vanilli | Arista | [48] |
December 2 | [49] | |||
December 9 | [50] | |||
December 16 | Storm Front | Billy Joel | Columbia | [51] |
December 23 | Girl You Know It's True | Milli Vanilli | Arista | [52] |
December 30 | ...But Seriously | Phil Collins | Virgin/Atlantic | [53] |
The Billboard 200 is a record chart ranking the 200 most popular music albums and EPs in the United States. It is published weekly by Billboard magazine and is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists. Often, a recording act will be remembered by its "number ones", those of their albums that outperformed all others 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, and acquired its current name in March 1992. Its previous names include the Billboard Top LPs (1961–1972), Billboard Top LPs & Tape (1972–1984), Billboard Top 200 Albums (1984–1985) and Billboard Top Pop Albums (1985–1992).
Whitney is the second studio album by American singer Whitney Houston, released on June 2, 1987, by Arista Records as the follow-up to her debut album. The album features five top 10 hits on the US Billboard Hot 100, which also became international hits. The album's first four singles—"I Wanna Dance with Somebody ", "Didn't We Almost Have It All", "So Emotional" and "Where Do Broken Hearts Go"—all peaked at number one on the US Hot 100, making her the first female act to achieve four number-one hits from one album.
The Bodyguard: Original Soundtrack Album is a soundtrack album from the film of the same name, released on November 17, 1992, by Arista Records. The album's first side features songs recorded by American singer Whitney Houston, who starred in the film, while side two features the work of various artists. Houston and Clive Davis were co-executive producers of the record.
Whitney Houston, the American singer, released seven studio albums, eight compilations, three soundtrack albums, five box sets, six extended plays, and 57 singles. She has sold over 200 million records worldwide, becoming one of the best-selling music artists in history. According to the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), Houston is the best-selling female R&B artist of the 20th century, and has sold 100 million certified records in the United States. She is also the fourth best-selling female album artist in the US with 61 million certified album sales. In addition, until the launch of the RIAA's digital certification program in 2004, she had sold 16.5 million physical singles—more than any other female solo artist in history. According to the Official Charts Company in October 2012, Houston is the fourth-biggest-selling female singles artists of all-time list with a sales total of 8.5 million singles in that country.
American rapper and record producer Ye, better known as Kanye West, has released 10 studio albums, two collaborative studio albums, one compilation album, one demo album, two live albums, one video album and six mixtapes. All ten of his studio albums have been certified at least gold in the United States. As of June 2021, West has certified 25 million equivalent solo albums units in the United States, placing him among the highest-certified music artists in the United States.
American rapper Eminem has released 11 studio albums, two compilation albums, and one extended play. His music has been released on record labels Interscope Records and Aftermath Entertainment, along with subsidiaries Web Entertainment and his own Shady Records. Eminem is the best-selling rapper of all time and the best-selling artist of the 2000s with US album sales at over 32.25 million during the decade. With sales of over 220 million records worldwide, he is among of the best-selling music artists of all time. According to the RIAA, Eminem has sold 227.5 million certified albums and singles in the United States. In his home country, he has earned 50 platinum albums and 10 number one albums.
American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift has released 10 original studio albums, 3 re-recorded studio albums, 5 extended plays, and 4 live albums. She has sold an estimated 114 million album units worldwide and, in terms of pure sales, tallied 37.3 million in the United States and 3.34 million in the United Kingdom. According to the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), her albums have garnered 51 million certified units in the United States. As of June 2023, she is the woman with the most weeks (61) at number one on the US Billboard 200.
Frozen: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack is the soundtrack album to Disney's 2013 film of the same name with 8 songs written by Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez, and 22 score pieces composed by Christophe Beck. The soundtrack includes the critically acclaimed song "Let It Go"—film version performed by Idina Menzel: single version performed by Demi Lovato—which won the Academy Award for Best Original Song, the Grammy Award for Best Song Written for Visual Media, and the Critics' Choice Award for Best Song, and was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song.
The albums discography of American singer-songwriter Janet Jackson consists of eleven studio albums, four compilation albums, and two remix albums. When she was sixteen, her father arranged a contract for her with A&M Records. Her debut album, Janet Jackson (1982), peaked at number 64 on the US Billboard 200 chart and sold 250,000 copies in the US. Her next album, Dream Street (1984), peaked at number 147 on the Billboard 200, a weaker effort than her previous album. Her third album, Control (1986), which became known as her breakthrough album, topped the Billboard 200 and sold over 10 million copies worldwide. Her fourth album, Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation 1814 (1989), topped the Billboard 200 for four consecutive weeks and sold three million copies within the first four months of its release. The album went on to produce seven consecutive top 5 hits, four of them reaching the top spot on the Billboard Hot 100 in three separate calendar years, a record yet to be broken. The album was certified 6× Platinum by RIAA, and sold over 12 million copies worldwide.