List of Billboard Best-Selling Popular Record Albums number ones of 1946

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The compilation album Glenn Miller by Glenn Miller's Orchestra (pictured in 1941) was the bestselling album of 1946. Glenn Miller Band.jpg
The compilation album Glenn Miller by Glenn Miller's Orchestra (pictured in 1941) was the bestselling album of 1946.
Bing Crosby (pictured in 1951) was the only artist with two albums atop the chart: Merry Christmas and Selections from The Bells of St. Mary's for a total of ten weeks. Furthermore, Merry Christmas was the longest-reigning album with eight weeks. Bing Crosby 1951.jpg
Bing Crosby (pictured in 1951) was the only artist with two albums atop the chart: Merry Christmas and Selections from The Bells of St. Mary's for a total of ten weeks. Furthermore, Merry Christmas was the longest-reigning album with eight weeks.
Frank Sinatra's (pictured in 1960) The Voice of Frank Sinatra was the second-longest reigning album atop the chart with seven weeks. Frank Sinatra laughing.jpg
Frank Sinatra's (pictured in 1960) The Voice of Frank Sinatra was the second-longest reigning album atop the chart with seven weeks.

The Billboard magazine publishes a weekly chart that ranks the bestselling albums in the United States. In 1946, twelve albums by eleven artists topped the chart. At the time, the chart was titled Best-Selling Popular Record Albums, and it collected sales data from United States-based record dealers, numbering at least 200 in January [1] and increasing to over 4,000 by the end of the year. [2] In 1946, all photograph records were 78 rpm records that held one recording per side. An album consisted of multiple records, each in a separate sleeve, the sleeves bound together along one edge within two stiff pasteboard covers, much like a traditional photograph album.

Contents

The first album atop the chart in 1946 was Merry Christmas , a Christmas compilation album by Bing Crosby, released by Decca. It reached the top in December 1945, [3] and it peaked for two more weeks in January 1946, for a total of six consecutive weeks at number one. It again reached the top in late November for an additional six weeks, making it the longest reigning album of the year. The album was certified gold 25 years after its release by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for shipments of 500,000 or more units. [4] Crosby placed a second album atop the listing with the soundtrack to the movie The Bells of St. Mary's in March, bringing his total weeks spent at number one to ten.

Following numerous single releases in the early 1940s, Frank Sinatra released his debut studio album The Voice of Frank Sinatra in March 1946. The album topped the chart for seven consecutive weeks in April and May—the second-longest reigning album in 1946. [5] [6] The second longest-reigning album of the previous year, Glenn Miller , [7] recorded by Glenn Miller & His Orchestra, again reached the top for an additional five weeks. The album was later crowned as the bestselling album of the year and certified gold by the RIAA in 1968. [8] [9] The Ink Spots' eponymous album reached the top in late September and topped the chart without interruption until mid-November, making it the second-longest reigning album of the year, alongside Sinatra's.

Chart history

Key
†Indicates best selling album of 1946 [8]
Issue dateAlbumArtist(s)Ref.
January 5 Merry Christmas Bing Crosby [1]
January 12 [10]
January 19On the Moon-Beam Vaughn Monroe [11]
January 26 [12]
February 2 [13]
February 9 [14]
February 16 [15]
February 23 State Fair Dick Haymes [16]
March 2 [17]
March 9 [18]
March 16 [19]
March 23 Selections from The Bells of St. Mary's Bing Crosby [20]
March 30 [21]
April 6 The Voice of Frank Sinatra Frank Sinatra [22]
April 13 [23]
April 20 [24]
April 27 [25]
May 4 [26]
May 11 [27]
May 18 [28]
May 25Benny Goodman Sextet Benny Goodman Sextet [29]
June 1 [30]
June 8 Glenn Miller † Glenn Miller & His Orchestra [31]
June 15Benny Goodman SextetBenny Goodman Sextet [32]
June 22Glenn Miller†Glenn Miller & His Orchestra [33]
June 29 [34]
July 6 [35]
July 13 [36]
July 20Dancing in the Dark Carmen Cavallaro [37]
July 27 [38]
August 3 [39]
August 10 [40]
August 17 King Cole Trio, Volume 2 King Cole Trio [41]
August 24 [42]
August 31Cole Porter Review David Rose & His Orchestra [43]
September 7 [44]
September 14King Cole Trio, Volume 2King Cole Trio [45]
September 21 [46]
September 28The Ink Spots The Ink Spots [47]
October 5 [48]
October 12 [49]
October 19 [50]
October 26 [51]
November 2 [52]
November 9 [53]
November 16Merry Christmas Music Perry Como [54]
November 23Merry ChristmasBing Crosby [55]
November 30 [56]
December 7 [57]
December 14 [58]
December 21 [59]
December 28 [2]

See also

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References

  1. 1 2 "Best-Selling Popular Record Albums" (PDF). Billboard. January 5, 1946. p. 24. Archived (PDF) from the original on January 29, 2022. Retrieved January 9, 2022– via WorldRadioHistory.
  2. 1 2 "Best-Selling Popular Record Albums" (PDF). Billboard. December 28, 1946. p. 22. Archived (PDF) from the original on February 8, 2022. Retrieved January 9, 2022– via WorldRadioHistory.
  3. ↑ In 1945, Merry Christmas topped the chart on:
  4. ↑ "Gold & Platinum: Bing Crosby". Recording Industry Association of America. November 13, 1970. Archived from the original on November 29, 2021. Retrieved March 18, 2019.
  5. ↑ Ruhlmann, William. "Frank Sinatra | Artist Biography". AllMusic. Archived from the original on August 28, 2019. Retrieved August 30, 2019.
  6. ↑ Ruhlmann, William. "Frank Sinatra – The Voice of Frank Sinatra". AllMusic. Archived from the original on April 16, 2019. Retrieved August 30, 2019.
  7. ↑ In 1945, Glenn Miller topped the chart for seven weeks, specifically: The album's eight-week run was beaten only by The King Cole Trio , which topped the chart for twelve weeks, specifically:
  8. 1 2 "Best-Selling Popular Record Albums" (PDF). Billboard. January 4, 1947. p. 19. Retrieved October 13, 2019– via AmericanRadioHistory.
  9. ↑ "Gold & Platinum: Glenn Miller & His Orchestra". Recording Industry Association of America. July 2, 1968. Archived from the original on April 15, 2023. Retrieved March 18, 2019.
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