Top Country Albums is a chart that ranks the top-performing country music albums in the United States, published by Billboard . In 2020, 16 different albums topped the chart, based on multi-metric consumption, blending traditional album sales, track equivalent albums, and streaming equivalent albums.
In the issue of Billboard dated January 4, Burl Ives topped the chart with Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer , the soundtrack album of the 1964 Rankin/Bass television special of the same name. It was the first number-one country album for Ives, [1] a musician and Academy Award-winning actor who had died in 1995. [2] It was the first of two posthumous chart-toppers in 2020; Kenny Rogers, who died on March 20, [3] entered the chart at number one in the issue dated April 4 with The Best of Kenny Rogers: Through the Years. [4] The compilation album was the first number-one country album for Rogers since 1986. [5] Beginning with the January 11 issue, the number-one position was dominated in 2020 by Luke Combs, who spent 31 weeks in the top spot during the year with his album What You See Is What You Get ; no other act spent more than four weeks at number one. Combs's album also topped the all-genre Billboard 200 albums chart in November following the release of a deluxe edition with additional tracks; in the first week after that release the album set a new streaming record for a country music album. [6]
One act topped the chart for the first time in 2020: Morgan Wallen spent two non-consecutive weeks in the top spot with his debut full-length album If I Know Me . [7] [8] Two acts each reached number one for the first time since 2006: Jimmy Buffett with Life on the Flip Side and the Chicks with Gaslighter . [9] [10] The latter album was the all-female trio's first album of new material for fourteen years and their first since they changed their name from the Dixie Chicks. [11] [12] The year's final chart-topper was the Christmas album My Gift by Carrie Underwood. [13] Having spent a single week at number one in October, it returned to the peak position in the issue of Billboard dated December 12 and stayed there for the remainder of the year. It was one of two holiday albums to top the chart in 2020, along with A Holly Dolly Christmas by veteran country star Dolly Parton.
Home is the sixth studio album by American country music band Dixie Chicks, released on August 27, 2002, through Monument and Columbia Records. It is notable for its acoustic bluegrass sound, which stands in contrast with their previous two country pop albums.
Wide Open Spaces is the fourth studio album and the major label debut of American country music band Dixie Chicks. It was their first record with new lead vocalist Natalie Maines, and became their breakthrough commercial success. It received diamond status by the RIAA on February 20, 2003, in the United States, having shipped 13 million units worldwide, while spending more than six years in the Australian ARIA music charts Country Top 20.
"Islands in the Stream" is a song written by the Bee Gees and recorded by American country music artists Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton. Named after an Ernest Hemingway novel, it was released in August 1983 as the first single from Rogers's album Eyes That See in the Dark. The song was originally written for Diana Ross in an R&B style but later reworked for the duet by Rogers and Parton. The Bee Gees released a live version of the song in 1998 and a studio version in 2001.
This is a list of notable events in country music that took place in the year 2000.
Taking the Long Way is the seventh studio album by American country music group Dixie Chicks. Released on May 23, 2006, through Columbia Nashville, it was also the group's last album released under the “Dixie Chicks” name. The album debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200 and sold over 2.5 million copies in the U.S., being certified 2× platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America on July 11, 2007. It won five Grammy Awards, including Album of the Year, Record of the Year, and Song of the Year in February 2007.
Once Upon a Christmas is a collaborative studio album by Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton. It was released on October 29, 1984, by RCA Nashville. The album was produced by Rogers with David Foster. It was Rogers' second Christmas album, following 1981's Christmas, and Parton's first. The album's release was accompanied by a CBS television special, Kenny & Dolly: A Christmas to Remember. The album was certified 2× Platinum by the RIAA in 1989.
"Landslide" is a song written by Stevie Nicks and performed by British-American rock band Fleetwood Mac. The song was first featured on the band's self-titled album Fleetwood Mac (1975). The original recording also appears on the compilation albums 25 Years – The Chain (1992) and The Very Best of Fleetwood Mac (2002), while a live version was released as a single 23 years later from the live reunion album The Dance (1997). "Landslide" reached No. 51 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart and No. 10 on the Adult Contemporary chart. "Landslide" was certified Gold in October 2009 for sales of over 500,000 copies in the United States. According to Nielsen Soundscan, "Landslide" sold 2,093,186 copies in the United States as of 2017.
The Chicks are an American country music band composed of Natalie Maines, along with Emily Strayer and Martie Maguire, who are sisters. Their discography comprises eight studio albums, two live albums and 28 singles.
The Chicks are an American country music band from Dallas, Texas. Since 1995, the band has consisted of Natalie Maines and sisters Martie Maguire and Emily Strayer. Maguire and Strayer, both née Erwin, founded the band in 1989 in Dallas, Texas, with bassist Laura Lynch and vocalist and guitarist Robin Lynn Macy. They performed bluegrass and country music, busking and touring the bluegrass festival circuits and small venues for six years without attracting a major label. In 1992, Macy left and Lynch became the lead vocalist.
Top Country Albums is a chart published weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States. The 50-position chart lists the most popular country music albums in the country, calculated weekly by Broadcast Data Systems based on physical sales along with digital sales and streaming. The chart was first published in the issue of Billboard dated January 11, 1964, under the title Hot Country Albums, when the number one album was Ring of Fire: The Best of Johnny Cash by Johnny Cash.
The discography of American singer Kenny Rogers (1938–2020), consists of 39 studio albums and 80 singles, 21 of which have reached Number One on the country chart. His longest-lasting Number Ones on that chart are "The Gambler" and "Coward of the County", at three weeks each. Two of his Number One country hits, "Lady" and "Islands in the Stream", a duet with Dolly Parton, also reached Number One on the Billboard Hot 100; "Lady" spent six weeks at the top, making it his longest running Number One single on any Billboard chart. More than just a US phenomenon, he found an audience around the world with two of his biggest songs, "Lucille" and "Coward of the County", both reaching Number One on the general sales chart in the UK. His albums The Gambler and Kenny each topped the country chart for at least 20 weeks, while his Greatest Hits was the only album by a solo country performer to top the Billboard 200 during the 1980s, reaching the summit in late 1980.
Morgan Cole Wallen is an American country music singer and songwriter. He competed in the sixth season of The Voice, originally as a member of Usher's team, but later as a member of Adam Levine's team. After being eliminated in the playoffs of that season, he signed to Panacea Records, releasing his debut EP, Stand Alone, in 2015.
If I Know Me is the debut studio album by American country music singer Morgan Wallen. It was released April 27, 2018, through Big Loud Records. The production on the album was handled by Joey Moi and features a guest appearance by Florida Georgia Line.
Gaslighter is the eighth studio album by American country band The Chicks. It was released on July 17, 2020, by Columbia Records. Produced by Jack Antonoff and the Chicks, it is the group's first album in fourteen years, and first to be released under their new name The album was preceded by the release of three singles: "Gaslighter", "Julianna Calm Down", and "March March". The album received critical acclaim.
This is a list of notable events in country music that took place in 2020.