Top Country Albums is a chart that ranks the top-performing country music albums in the United States, published by Billboard . In 1999, eight different albums topped the chart, based on electronic point of sale data provided by SoundScan Inc. [1]
In the issue of Billboard dated January 2, Garth Brooks occupied the top spot with the live recording Double Live , the album's fifth week at number one. [2] Having been certified more than 20 times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America, Double Live is the biggest-selling live album of all time in the United States. [3] Later in the year, Brooks returned to the top of the chart when he spent a single week at number one with the seasonal album Garth Brooks & the Magic of Christmas . It was the singer's eighth consecutive number one and his tenth chart-topping album of the 1990s, [4] a decade in which he experienced a level of mainstream popularity and success unprecedented for a country artist. [5] Another country singer who became a global superstar during this era was Canadian vocalist Shania Twain, [6] whose album Come On Over spent 26 weeks at number one during 1999, including a spell of 15 consecutive weeks in the top spot, the longest such run of the year. The album would ultimately spend a total of 50 weeks at number one, making it the longest-running chart-topper in the history of the Top Country Albums listing. [7] [8] In 2000, it was recognized by the Recording Industry Association of America as the highest-selling album of all time by a female artist, as well as the biggest-selling country album. [9] [10]
Garth Brooks was one of two acts with two number ones in 1999, the other being the all-female trio the Dixie Chicks. The group's first album to enter the Top Country Albums listing, [11] Wide Open Spaces , finally reached the top spot in its 51st week on the chart, and remained there for seven weeks. [12] The group returned to the top spot in September with Fly , which spent eight weeks at number one. Both albums won the Grammy Award for Best Country Album, at the 1999 and 2000 ceremonies respectively. [13] As well as the Dixie Chicks, Faith Hill topped the chart for the first time in 1999 with her album Breathe , which reached the peak position in the issue of Billboard dated November 27. [14] It would go on to win the Grammy Award for Best Country Album at the 2001 ceremony. [13] Hill's first appearance atop the listing came six months after her husband, Tim McGraw, achieved his fourth consecutive number one with A Place in the Sun . [15] [16]
