The highest-selling albums and EPs in the United States are ranked in the Billboard 200, published by Billboard magazine. The data are compiled by Nielsen Soundscan based on each album's weekly physical sales. [1]
In 2004, a total of 29 albums reached the #1 spot on the Billboard 200. R&B singer Usher's Confessions is the best-selling album of 2004, accumulating under eight million copies by the end of the year. [2] The album debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 with sales of 1.096 million copies in the United States, breaking the record for the best opening sales week by an R&B act. Confessions gave Usher his first chart topper since he began releasing albums in the 1990s. [3] Singer Norah Jones' Feels Like Home sold 3.8 million units, ranking as the second best-selling album of 2004. [2] Feels Like Home is noted for its debut sales figure of 1.02 million, the second highest in a week by a female artist, behind singer Britney Spears' Oops!... I Did It Again which debuted with 1.32 million in 2000. [4]
† | Indicates best performing album of 2004 |
Issue date | Album | Artist(s) | Sales | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
January 3 | The Diary of Alicia Keys | Alicia Keys | 370,000 | [5] [6] |
January 10 | Speakerboxxx/The Love Below | OutKast | 374,000 | [7] [8] |
January 17 | 86,000 | [9] [10] | ||
January 24 | Closer | Josh Groban | 100,000 | [11] [12] |
January 31 | Speakerboxxx/The Love Below | OutKast | 97,000 | [13] [14] |
February 7 | 86,000 | [15] [16] | ||
February 14 | Kamikaze | Twista | 312,000 | [17] [18] |
February 21 | When the Sun Goes Down | Kenny Chesney | 550,000 | [19] [20] |
February 28 | Feels Like Home | Norah Jones | 1,020,000 | [21] [4] |
March 6 | 395,000 | [22] [23] | ||
March 13 | 280,000 | [24] [25] | ||
March 20 | 204,000 | [26] [27] | ||
March 27 | 183,000 | [28] [29] | ||
April 3 | 147,000 | [30] [31] | ||
April 10 | Confessions † | Usher | 1,096,000 | [32] [3] |
April 17 | 486,000 | [33] [34] | ||
April 24 | 463,000 | [35] [36] | ||
May 1 | 302,000 | [37] [38] | ||
May 8 | 253,000 | [39] [40] | ||
May 15 | D12 World | D12 | 545,000 | [41] [42] |
May 22 | Confessions† | Usher | 267,000 | [43] [44] |
May 29 | 227,000 | [45] [46] | ||
June 5 | 214,000 | [47] [48] | ||
June 12 | Under My Skin | Avril Lavigne | 381,000 | [49] [50] |
June 19 | Confessions† | Usher | 194,000 | [51] [52] |
June 26 | Contraband | Velvet Revolver | 256,000 | [53] [54] |
July 3 | To the 5 Boroughs | Beastie Boys | 360,000 | [55] [56] |
July 10 | Kiss of Death | Jadakiss | 246,000 | [57] [58] |
July 17 | The Hunger For More | Lloyd Banks | 434,000 | [59] [60] |
July 24 | 164,000 | [61] [62] | ||
July 31 | License to Chill | Jimmy Buffett | 239,000 | [63] [64] |
August 7 | Autobiography | Ashlee Simpson | 398,000 | [65] [66] |
August 14 | Now 16 | Various Artists | 504,000 | [67] [68] |
August 21 | Autobiography | Ashlee Simpson | 286,000 | [69] [70] |
August 28 | 263,000 | [71] [72] | ||
September 4 | Now 16 | Various Artists | 207,000 | [73] [74] |
September 11 | Live Like You Were Dying | Tim McGraw | 766,000 | [75] [76] |
September 18 | 227,000 | [77] [78] | ||
September 25 | What I Do | Alan Jackson | 178,000 | [79] [80] |
October 2 | Suit | Nelly | 396,000 | [81] [82] |
October 9 | American Idiot | Green Day | 267,000 | [83] [84] |
October 16 | Feels Like Today | Rascal Flatts | 201,000 | [85] [86] |
October 23 | 50 Number Ones | George Strait | 343,000 | [87] [88] |
October 30 | 190,000 | [89] [90] | ||
November 6 | Stardust: The Great American Songbook, Volume III | Rod Stewart | 240,000 | [91] [92] |
November 13 | Unfinished Business | R. Kelly & Jay-Z | 215,000 | [93] [94] |
November 20 | Now 17 | Various Artists | 407,000 | [95] [96] |
November 27 | Encore | Eminem | 711,000 | [97] [98] |
December 4 | 871,000 | [99] [100] | ||
December 11 | How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb | U2 | 840,000 | [101] [102] |
December 18 | Collision Course | Jay-Z / Linkin Park | 368,000 | [103] [104] |
December 25 | The Red Light District | Ludacris | 322,000 | [105] [106] |
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