This is a list of the albums ranked number one in the United States during 2018. The top-performing albums and EPs in the United States are ranked in the Billboard 200 chart, which is published by Billboard magazine. The data are compiled by Nielsen Soundscan based on each album's weekly physical and digital sales, as well as on-demand streaming and digital sales of its individual tracks.
In 2018, a total of 41 albums claimed the top position of the chart. The year began with Revival , the ninth studio album by an American rapper Eminem, on the first issue dated January 3, 2018, [1] and witnessed the return of Taylor Swift's sixth studio album, Reputation , to the number one spot for a fourth chart-topping week after staying atop the chart for three consecutive weeks in 2017. [2]
Scorpion by Canadian rapper Drake earned 732,000 units in its first week, marking the largest opening week sales of 2018, followed by rapper Travis Scott's third studio album, Astroworld , which moved 537,000 units in its first week. [3] The soundtrack of The Greatest Showman (2017) was the best selling album of 2018, with 1.491 million copies sold. It was the third most consumed album of 2018, with 2.499 million units. Scorpion was the most consumed album of 2018 with 3.905 million units, of which only 330,000 were sales. It was followed by Beerbongs & Bentleys by American singer and rapper Post Malone, which was the second most-consumed album with 3.251 million units. [4] Nevertheless, Reputation was the best performing album of 2018, topping the Billboard 200 year-end chart. [5]
† | Indicates best-performing album of 2018 [5] |
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 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 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).
Astroworld is the third studio album by American rapper Travis Scott. It was released on August 3, 2018, through Cactus Jack Records and Grand Hustle Records, and distributed by Epic Records. The album features guest vocals from Frank Ocean, Drake, Swae Lee, Kid Cudi, James Blake, Philip Bailey, Juice Wrld, Sheck Wes, the Weeknd, 21 Savage, Gunna, Nav, Don Toliver, Quavo, and Takeoff, among others. Production was handled by multiple producers, including Scott himself, Mike Dean, Allen Ritter, Hit-Boy, WondaGurl, Tay Keith, Tame Impala, Frank Dukes, Sonny Digital, Murda Beatz, and Thundercat, among others. The album follows Scott's second studio album, Birds in the Trap Sing McKnight (2016), and his collaborative album with Quavo, Huncho Jack, Jack Huncho (2017).
Cactus Jack Records is a record label founded by American rapper and singer Travis Scott in 2017. As of 2024, current acts include Scott himself, Sheck Wes, Don Toliver, SoFaygo, and Chase B, while former acts include Smokepurpp.
Jackboys is a collaborative compilation album by American record label Cactus Jack Records, under the name Jackboys, led by American rapper and singer Travis Scott. It was released through Cactus Jack Records alongside Epic Records on December 27, 2019. The album features guest appearances from Rosalía, Lil Baby, Sheck Wes, Don Toliver, Quavo, Offset, Young Thug, and Pop Smoke. Jackboys is a hip hop collective of rappers signed to Scott's Cactus Jack imprint, including Scott himself, Sheck Wes, Don Toliver, SoFaygo, and Scott's DJ Chase B. Upon debut, Jackboys opened atop the US Billboard 200 on January 11, 2020, becoming the first number one album of the 2020s. It was Scott's third album to debut atop the chart after his third studio album, Astroworld (2018).
Top Album Sales is a music chart published by Billboard magazine starting in May 1991, and has existed in its current form since December 2014. It is a weekly chart documenting the best-selling albums on a weekly basis in the United States. Up until December 2014, this had been documented by the Billboard 200 chart, but that chart was altered to factor in music streaming by accounting for album-equivalent units in its tallies to document the effect of the rise of music streaming outlet such as Apple Music and Spotify. Starting in the Top Album Sales chart's debut week of May 25, 1991, Billboard began tabulating charts with electronically monitored piece count information from Soundscan, now known as Luminate. During the week of December 6, 2014, the chart switched to a methodology that blends album sales with track equivalent album units and streaming equivalent album units. The Top Album Sales chart was created to preserve the older methodology of counting pure album sales.