Independent Albums

Billboard record chart

This article is about the Billboard record chart. For information on albums which have been released independently, see independent music.

For the United Kingdom chart, see UK Independent Singles and Albums Charts.

This article relies excessively on references to primary sources. Please improve this article by adding secondary or tertiary sources.
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The Independent Albums chart (previously titled Top Independent Albums) ranks the highest-selling independent music albums and extended plays (EPs) in the United States, as compiled by Nielsen SoundScan and published weekly by Billboard magazine.[1] It is used to list artists who are not signed to major labels. Rankings are compiled by point-of-purchase sales obtained by Nielsen, and from legal music downloads from a variety of online music stores. The chart began in the week of February 5, 2000.[2][3]

The top 25 positions are published through the Billboard website, with further chart positions available through a paid subscription to Billboard.biz.[1] As with all Billboard charts, albums appearing on the Independent chart may also concurrently appear on the Billboard 200, the main chart published based solely on sales, as well as any of the other Billboard charts. In addition, exclusive album titles which are only sold through individual retail sites may also be included in the chart, following a revised chart policy announced on November 7, 2007.[4]

The chart's first number one was Who Let the Dogs Out by Baha Men,[3] which went on to top the year-end chart for 2001.[5]

## Best-selling top independent albums by year

[edit]

Since 2002, Billboard.biz has annually published an end-of-year list of the top 50 best selling independent albums. Billboard also independently announced the highest selling album for 2001. Jason Aldean has topped this chart five times since its inception, twice with his 2009 album Wide Open.

* 2001 (see 2001 in music): Baha Men \- Who Let the Dogs Out[5]
* 2002 (see 2002 in music): Mannheim Steamroller \- Christmas Extraordinaire[6]
* 2003 (see 2003 in music): Lil Jon & the East Side Boyz \- Kings of Crunk[7]
* 2004 (see 2004 in music): Lil Jon & the East Side Boyz - Kings of Crunk[8]
* 2005 (see 2005 in music): Lil Jon & the East Side Boyz - Crunk Juice[9]
* 2006 (see 2006 in music): Little Big Town \- The Road to Here[10]
* 2007 (see 2007 in music): Various Artists - Hairspray[11]
* 2008 (see 2008 in music): The Eagles \- Long Road out of Eden[12]
* 2009 (see 2009 in music): Jason Aldean \- Wide Open[13]
* 2010 (see 2010 in music): Jason Aldean - Wide Open[14]
* 2011 (see 2011 in music): Jason Aldean - My Kinda Party[15]
* 2012 (see 2012 in music): Mumford & Sons \- Babel[16]
* 2013 (see 2013 in music): Mumford & Sons - Babel[17]
* 2014 (see 2014 in music): Garth Brooks \- Blame It All on My Roots: Five Decades of Influences[18]
* 2015 (see 2015 in music): Jason Aldean - Old Boots, New Dirt[19]
* 2016 (see 2016 in music): Radiohead \- A Moon Shaped Pool[20]
* 2017 (see 2017 in music): Metallica \- Hardwired... to Self-Destruct[21]
* 2018 (see 2018 in music): Jason Aldean - Rearview Town[22]
* 2019 (see 2019 in music): BTS \- Map of the Soul: Persona[23]
* 2020 (see 2020 in music): Bad Bunny – YHLQMDLG[24]
* 2021 (see 2021 in music): Bad Bunny – El Último Tour Del Mundo[25]
* 2022 (see 2022 in music): Bad Bunny – Un Verano Sin Ti[26]
* 2023 (see 2023 in music): Bad Bunny – Un Verano Sin Ti[27]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b "Independent Albums". Billboard. Retrieved 2010-02-11.
2. ^ Billboard. Feb 5, 2000
3. ^ a b "Week of December 02, 2000 - Independent Albums". Billboard. 2000-12-02. Retrieved 2010-02-11.
4. ^ "Revised Chart Policy Lands Eagles At No. 1". Billboard. 2007-11-07. Retrieved 2010-02-11.
5. ^ a b "Baha Men 'Move' To Follow 'Dogs'". Billboard. Retrieved 2010-01-26.
6. ^ "2002 Year End Charts - Independent Albums". Billboard. 2002-12-28. Retrieved 2010-01-16.
7. ^ "2003 Year End Charts - Independent Albums". Billboard. 2002-12-27. Retrieved 2010-01-16.
8. ^ "2004 Year End Charts - Independent Albums". Billboard. 2002-12-25. Retrieved 2010-01-16.
9. ^ "2005 Year End Charts - Independent Albums". Billboard. 2002-11-26. Retrieved 2010-01-16.
10. ^ "2006 Year End Charts - Independent Albums". Billboard. 2006. Retrieved 2017-02-28.
11. ^ "2007 Year End Charts - Independent Albums". Billboard. 2007. Retrieved 2017-02-28.
12. ^ "2008 Year End Charts - Independent Albums". Billboard. 2008. Retrieved 2017-02-28.
13. ^ "2009 Year End Charts - Independent Albums". Billboard. 2009. Retrieved 2017-02-28.
14. ^ "2010 Year End Charts - Independent Albums". Billboard. 2010. Retrieved 2017-02-28.
15. ^ "2011 Year End Charts - Independent Albums". Billboard. 2011. Retrieved 2017-02-28.
16. ^ "Independent Albums - Year-End 2012". Billboard. 2012. Retrieved 2017-02-28.
17. ^ "Independent Albums - Year-End 2013". Billboard. 2013. Retrieved 2017-02-28.
18. ^ "Independent Albums - Year-End 2014". Billboard. 2014. Retrieved 2017-02-28.
19. ^ "Independent Albums - Year-End 2015". Billboard. 2015. Retrieved 2017-02-28.
20. ^ "Independent Albums - Year-End 2016". Billboard. 2016. Retrieved 2017-02-28.
21. ^ "Independent Albums - Year-End 2017". Billboard. 2017. Retrieved 2018-01-11.
22. ^ "Independent Albums - Year-End 2018". Billboard. 2018. Retrieved 2020-02-16.
23. ^ "Independent Albums - Year-End 2019". Billboard. 2019. Retrieved 2020-02-16.
24. ^ "Independent Albums – Year-End 2020". Billboard.
25. ^ "Independent Albums – Year-End 2021". Billboard.
26. ^ "Independent Albums – Year-End 2022". Billboard.
27. ^ "Independent Albums – Year-End 2023". Billboard.

## External links

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* Billboard Independent Albums
* Billboard

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Billboard charts

United States|

| All-genre charts|

| Songs|

* Billboard Hot 100
* Radio Songs
* Digital Song Sales
* Streaming Songs
* Bubbling Under Hot 100

|

Albums|

* Billboard 200
* Top Album Sales
* Top Streaming Albums
* Catalog Albums
* Independent Albums

Artists|

* Artist 100
* Emerging Artists

Pop|

* Pop Airplay
* Adult Contemporary
* Adult Pop Airplay

Country|

* Top Country Albums
* Hot Country Songs
* Country Airplay

Rock & Alternative|

* Hot Rock & Alternative Songs
* Mainstream Rock
* Alternative Airplay
* Adult Alternative Airplay

R&B/Hip-Hop|

* Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums
* Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs
* R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay
* Hot Rap Songs
* Hot R&B Songs
* Adult R&B Songs
* Rhythmic

Latin|

* Top Latin Albums
* Hot Latin Songs
* Latin Airplay
* Latin Pop Albums
* Latin Pop Airplay
* Latin Rhythm Albums
* Latin Rhythm Airplay
* Regional Mexican Albums
* Regional Mexican Airplay
* Tropical Albums
* Tropical Airplay

Dance|

* Top Dance Albums
* Hot Dance/Electronic Songs
* Hot Dance/Pop Songs
* Dance/Mix Show Airplay

Christian/Gospel|

* Top Christian Albums
* Hot Christian Songs
* Christian Airplay
* Top Gospel Albums
* Hot Gospel Songs

Other charts|

* Afrobeats Songs
* Americana/Folk Albums
* Christmas/Holiday charts
* Comedy Albums
* Kid Albums
* Smooth Jazz Airplay
* Twitter Real-Time
* World Digital Song Sales

Multinational|

* Billboard Global 200
* Global Excl. US

Other countries
(Hits of the World)|

* Argentina Hot 100
* Brasil Hot 100
* Brasil Artistas 25
* Canadian Albums
* Canadian Hot 100
* Radio China Top 10
* Croatia Songs
* Hong Kong Songs
* India Songs
* Japan Hot 100
* Japanese Hot Albums
* Malaysia Songs
* Mexico Songs
* Philippines Hot 100
* Romania Songs
* South Korea Songs
* Vietnam Hot 100

Defunct charts|

| United States|

* Comprehensive Albums
* Dance Club Songs
* Dance Singles Sales
* Heatseekers charts
* Hot Crossover 30
* Hot Singles Sales
* Pop 100
* TikTok Billboard Top 50
* Top 40 Tracks
* Twitter Real-Time

|

Multinational|

* European Top 100 Albums
* European Hot 100
* European Dance Radio Chart
* Social 50

Other countries|

* Brazil Songs
* China Top 100
* China Airplay/FL
* Greek Aiprlay
* Indonesia Top 100
* K-pop Hot 100
* Mexico Airplay
* Español
* Inglés
* Philippines Songs
* Türkiye Top 20

Related articles|

* Year-End
* Top Artist
* number-one singles and albums
* Decade-End
* Billboard Hot 100 chart achievements and milestones
* K-pop on the Billboard charts
* Albums
* Songs
* Japan Hot 100
* World Digital Song Sales
* Year-end

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