The Billboard magazine publishes a weekly chart that ranks the best-selling albums in the United States. The chart nowadays known as the Billboard 200 was titled Best-Selling Popular Record Albums in 1948 and was based on a "weekly survey among 4,970 dealers In all sections of the country. [1] During the year, eleven albums by fifteen artists topped the chart.
Like in the previous years, Merry Christmas by Bing Crosby was the first album to top the chart in the year. It started its run in the issue dated November 15, 1947 and stayed atop for the first week in January. In the issue dated November 15, 1948, the album again ascended to number one for an additional six weeks, for a total of seven weeks at number one in 1948 and a total of 27 weeks since December 1945. [note 1]
Indicates best selling album of 1948 [5] |
Issue date | Album | Artist(s) | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|
January 3 | Merry Christmas | Bing Crosby | [1] |
January 10 | Al Jolson Souvenir Album | Al Jolson | [6] |
January 17 | Glenn Miller Masterpieces, Volume II | Glenn Miller & His Orchestra | [7] |
January 24 | Dorothy Shay Goes To Town | Dorothy Shay | [8] |
January 31 | Glenn Miller Masterpieces, Volume II | Glenn Miller & His Orchestra | [9] |
February 7 | [10] | ||
February 14 | [11] | ||
February 21 | [12] | ||
February 28 | A Sentimental Date with Perry | Perry Como | [13] |
March 6 | [14] | ||
March 13 | [15] | ||
March 20 | St. Patrick's Day | Bing Crosby | [16] |
March 27 | [17] | ||
April 3 | Down Memory Lane | Vaughn Monroe | [18] |
April 10 | [19] | ||
April 17 | [20] | ||
April 24 | [21] | ||
May 1 | [22] | ||
May 8 | [23] | ||
May 15 | Busy Fingers | The Three Suns | [24] |
May 22 | Songs of Our Times – 1932 | Carmen Cavallaro | [25] |
May 29 | A Presentation of Progressive Jazz | Stan Kenton | [26] |
June 5 | [27] | ||
June 12 | [28] | ||
June 19 | [29] | ||
June 26 | [30] | ||
July 3 | [31] | ||
July 10 | [32] | ||
July 17 | [33] | ||
July 24 | Al Jolson Volume III | Al Jolson | [34] |
July 31 | [35] | ||
August 7 | [36] | ||
August 14 | [37] | ||
August 21 | [38] | ||
August 28 | [39] | ||
September 4 | [40] | ||
September 11 | [41] | ||
September 18 | [42] | ||
September 25 | [43] | ||
October 2 | [44] | ||
October 9 | [45] | ||
October 16 | Theme Songs | Tommy Dorsey, Sammy Kaye, Larry Green, Vaughn Monroe, Freddy Martin, Wayne King & The Three Suns | [46] |
October 23 | Al Jolson Volume III | Al Jolson | [47] |
October 30 | [48] | ||
November 6 | Theme Songs | Tommy Dorsey, Sammy Kaye, Larry Green, Vaughn Monroe, Freddy Martin, Wayne King & The Three Suns | [49] |
November 13 | [50] | ||
November 20 | Merry Christmas | Bing Crosby | [51] |
November 27 | [52] | ||
December 4 | [53] | ||
December 11 | [54] | ||
December 18 | [55] | ||
December 25 | [56] |
True Colors is the second studio album by American singer Cyndi Lauper, released on September 16, 1986, by Portrait Records. The album spawned several commercially successful singles as "True Colors", "Change of Heart", and "What's Going On" reached the top 20 of the Billboard Hot 100, with the first two charting within the top five. The album was produced by Lauper herself together with Lennie Petze.
No Angel is the debut studio album by English singer-songwriter Dido. Originally released on 1 June 1999 in the United States, the album found a mass audience when it was released worldwide in February 2001. By 2003, the album had sold more than 15 million copies worldwide, and was the second best-selling album of the 2000s in the United Kingdom, behind James Blunt's Back to Bedlam.
Supernatural is the eighteenth studio album by American rock band Santana, released on June 15, 1999, on Arista Records. After Santana found themselves without a label in the mid-1990s, founding member and guitarist Carlos Santana began talks with Arista president Clive Davis, who had originally signed the group to Columbia Records in 1969. Santana and Davis worked with A&R man Pete Ganbarg, as Santana wanted to focus on pop and radio-friendly material. The album features collaborations with several contemporary guest artists, including Rob Thomas, Eric Clapton, Eagle-Eye Cherry, Lauryn Hill, Dave Matthews, Maná, and CeeLo Green.
The Billboard charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs and albums in the United States and elsewhere. The results are published in Billboard magazine. Billboard biz, the online extension of the Billboard charts, provides additional weekly charts, as well as year-end charts. The two most important charts are the Billboard Hot 100 for songs and Billboard 200 for albums, and other charts may be dedicated to a specific genre such as R&B, country, or rock, or they may cover all genres. The charts can be ranked according to sales, streams, or airplay, and for main song charts such as the Hot 100 song chart, all three data are used to compile the charts. For the Billboard 200 album chart, streams and track sales are included in addition to album sales.
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.
"White Christmas" is an Irving Berlin song reminiscing about an old-fashioned Christmas setting. The song was written by Berlin for the 1942 musical film Holiday Inn. The composition won the Academy Award for Best Original Song at the 15th Academy Awards.
American vocalist Frank Sinatra recorded 59 studio albums and 297 singles in his solo career, spanning 54 years. Sinatra signed with Columbia Records in 1943; his debut album The Voice of Frank Sinatra was released in 1946. Sinatra would achieve greater success with Capitol and Reprise Records, the former of which he released his final two albums on—Duets and Duets II. Eight compilation albums under Sinatra's name were released in his lifetime, with more albums released following his death in 1998.
Simply the Best is the first greatest hits compilation by Tina Turner, released on October 22, 1991, by Capitol Records.
The Sign is a 1993 album by Swedish pop group Ace of Base, released as the band's debut album in North America and some Latin American countries by Arista Records. The Sign contains songs from Ace of Base's debut album, Happy Nation (1992) and the new songs "Don't Turn Around", "The Sign", and "Living in Danger" as well as revised versions of "Voulez-Vous Danser" and "Waiting for Magic".