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 and digital sales. [1] In 2007, there were 37 albums that reached peak position, in 52 issues of the magazine.
Noël , a Christmas album by American singer-songwriter Josh Groban, was the longest-running album of 2007, topping the chart for four consecutive weeks in December. Its four-week consecutive run gained Noël the credit as the first Christmas album to have achieved the feat in the chart's 51-year history. [2] Following Groban's appearance at The Oprah Winfrey Show , sales of the album logged at 405,000, fueling the album to peak at number one and becoming Groban's best sales week ever. Noël is the only Christmas-themed record to have topped the Billboard 200 since American saxophonist Kenny G's 1994 Miracles: The Holiday Album . [3] Noël had accumulated sales of nearly 2.8 million copies by the end of the year, becoming the best-selling album of 2007. [2]
Canadian singer Avril Lavigne scored her second number-one album The Best Damn Thing. High School Musical 2 , the soundtrack to the Disney Channel film of the same name, spent four straight weeks at the top spot. The soundtrack's first-week sale of 615,000 copies made it one of the albums with biggest debut figures of 2007. [4] The soundtrack sold over 2.7 million units in 2008, becoming the second-best-selling album. [2] High School Musical 2 is one of the two soundtrack albums to have reached number one on the chart, the other being Dreamgirls: Music from the Motion Picture . Linkin Park's Minutes To Midnight becomes the band's third number-one album. The album sells over 620,000 copies in its first week, becoming the third highest first week album sales for 2007. The album eventually sells over 2 million copies during the year, becoming the seventh best-selling album of the year. American singer Alicia Keys' As I Am also topped the chart for four weeks, although they were non-consecutive. It debuted on the Billboard 200 for selling 742,000 copies, the highest figure achieved for a solo female artist since Norah Jones' Feels Like Home moved one million copies in 2004. [5]
Rapper Kanye West's Graduation took the distinction as the album with the highest sales in a week, netting over 957,000 units. It is the best sales week by any album since rapper 50 Cent's The Massacre opened with over 1.1 million copies in March 2005. [6] Rock band The Eagles landed atop the chart with Long Road out of Eden , which sold 711,000 copies, the band's first studio album in 30 years. Sold through retailers Wal-Mart, Sam's Club and the band's web site, it marked the first time Billboard magazine allowed exclusive albums to appear on the Billboard 200. [7] Rapper Jay-Z produced his 10th number-one album, American Gangster , placing him second, tying with Elvis Presley, in the acts with the most number-one albums in the history of Billboard 200, only behind band The Beatles who had 19. [8]
† | Indicates best performing album of 2007 |
In My Mind is the debut studio album by American singer-songwriter Pharrell Williams. The album was released on July 25, 2006, by Star Trak Entertainment, Virgin Records and Interscope Records. It debuted at number 3 on the US Billboard 200, selling 142,000 copies in its first week of release. The album is also certified Silver in the United Kingdom for sales of over 60,000 copies. In My Mind would go on to receive a nomination for Best Rap Album at the 49th Annual Grammy Awards.
Eminem Presents: The Re-Up or simply, The Re-Up, is a compilation album performed by various artists of American record label, Shady Records. The album features performances by Shady Records artists Eminem, D12, 50 Cent, Obie Trice, Stat Quo, Bobby Creekwater and Cashis, while affiliated artists such as Lloyd Banks, Akon and Nate Dogg, made guest appearances. The album debuted at number two on the US Billboard 200 chart and has since sold over one million copies in the US alone, being certified platinum by the RIAA.
Dreamgirls: Music from the Motion Picture is a soundtrack album for the 2006 film Dreamgirls. The album was released by Music World Entertainment and Columbia Records on December 5, 2006 in two versions: a single-disc standard release, and a two-disc deluxe edition. The one-disc version includes highlights from the film's songs, including "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going", "One Night Only", and "Listen", while the two disc version includes all songs present in the film alongside several bonus tracks.
Noël is a Christmas album and the fourth studio album by Josh Groban that was released on October 9, 2007. In the United States, the album is available as a single CD release in most retail stores. However, Target stores released a limited edition version of the album with a bonus DVD that features a "making of" documentary entitled The Making of Noël.
Lady Antebellum is the debut studio album by American country music trio Lady Antebellum. It was released on April 15, 2008, through Capitol Nashville. The production on the album was handled by Victoria Shaw and Paul Worley. The album was supported by three singles: "Love Don't Live Here", "Lookin' for a Good Time" and "I Run to You", which became the group's first number one on the US Hot Country Songs chart.