This page lists the winners and nominees for the Billboard Music Award for Top R&B Album. This category was one of the first created and has been given out since the award's conception in 1990. Only five artists have won this award twice: Beyoncé, Mary J. Blige, Whitney Houston, Usher and The Weeknd.
Winners and nominees Winners are listed first and highlighted in bold.
1990s Year Album Artist 1990 Rhythm Nation 1814 Janet Jackson 1991 I'm Your Baby Tonight Whitney Houston 1992 Forever My Lady Jodeci 1993 The Bodyguard Whitney Houston 1994 colspan="2" 1995 My Life Mary J. Blige II Boyz II Men CrazySexyCool TLC Me Against the World 2Pac 1996 colspan="2" 1997 Life After Death The Notorious B.I.G. 1998 The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill Lauryn Hill Anytime Brian McKnight It's Dark and Hell Is Hot DMX Vol. 2... Hard Knock Life Jay Z 1999 400 Degreez Juvenile Flesh of My Flesh, Blood of My Blood DMX The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill Lauryn Hill R. R. Kelly
2000s Year Album Artist 2000 colspan="3" 2001 TP-2.com R. Kelly Aijuswanaseing Musiq Hot Shot Shaggy Songs in A Minor Alicia Keys 2002 The Eminem Show Eminem Ashanti Ashanti Nellyville Nelly Word of Mouf Ludacris 2003 colspan="3" 2004 Confessions Usher The Black Album Jay Z The College Dropout Kanye West The Diary of Alicia Keys Alicia Keys 2005 colspan="3" 2006 The Breakthrough Mary J. Blige In My Own Words Ne-Yo King T.I. Unpredictable Jamie Foxx 2007 – 09 colspan="3"
2010s Year Album Artist 2010 colspan="3" 2011 Raymond V Raymond Usher Loud Rihanna Passion, Pain & Pleasure Trey Songz Soldier of Love Sade Still Standing Monica 2012 4 Beyoncé F.A.M.E. Chris Brown I Remember Me Jennifer Hudson My Life II... The Journey Continues (Act 1) Mary J. Blige Talk That Talk Rihanna 2013 Unapologetic Rihanna Channel Orange Frank Ocean Fortune Chris Brown Girl on Fire Alicia Keys Looking 4 Myself Usher 2014 The 20/20 Experience Justin Timberlake The 20/20 Experience – 2 of 2 Justin Timberlake Beyoncé Beyoncé Black Panties R. Kelly Blurred Lines Robin Thicke 2015 Girl Pharrell Williams Beyoncé Beyoncé Love in the Future John Legend X Chris Brown Xscape Michael Jackson 2016 Beauty Behind the Madness The Weeknd Anti Rihanna Black Rose Tyrese Royalty Chris Brown T R A P S O U L Bryson Tiller 2017 Lemonade Beyoncé 24K Magic Bruno Mars Anti Rihanna Blonde Frank Ocean Starboy The Weeknd 2018 24K Magic Bruno Mars 17 XXXTentacion American Teen Khalid Ctrl SZA Starboy The Weeknd 2019 17 XXXTentacion Ella Mai Ella Mai My Dear Melancholy The Weeknd H.E.R. H.E.R. American Teen Khalid
2020s Year Album Artist 2020 Free Spirit Khalid Homecoming: The Live Album Beyoncé Changes Justin Bieber Indigo Chris Brown Over It Summer Walker 2021 After Hours The Weeknd Chilombo Jhené Aiko Slime & B Chris Brown & Young Thug Hot Pink Doja Cat It Was Good Until It Wasn't Kehlani 2022 Planet Her Doja Cat When It's All Said and Done... Take Time Giveon An Evening with Silk Sonic Silk Sonic Still Over It Summer Walker Dawn FM The Weeknd 2023 SOS SZA Renaissance Beyoncé Honestly, Nevermind Drake Wasteland Brent Faiyaz Gemini Rights Steve Lacy 2024 11:11 Chris Brown Lager than Life Brent Faiyaz PartyNextDoor 4 PartyNextDoor Bryson Tiller Bryson Tiller Tyla Tyla
Multiple wins and nominations Wins Rank Artist Awards won Years won 1 Beyoncé 2 2012 and 2017 Mary J. Blige 1995 and 2006 Whitney Houston 1991 and 1993 Usher 2004 and 2011 The Weeknd 2016 and 2021
Nominations Winning years are highlighted in bold.
Rank Artist Nominations Years 1 Chris Brown 7 2012, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2020, 2021 and 2024 2 Beyoncé 6 2012, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2020 and 2021 The Weeknd 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021 and 2022 3 Rihanna 5 2011, 2012, 2013, 2016 and 2017 5 Mary J. Blige 3 1995, 2006 and 2012 Alicia Keys 2001, 2004 and 2013 R. Kelly 1999, 2001 and 2014 Khalid 2018, 2019 and 2020 Usher 2004, 2011 and 2013 5 DMX 2 1998 and 1999 Doja Cat 2021 and 2022 Lauryn Hill 1998 and 1999 Whitney Houston 1991 and 1993 Jay Z 1998 and 2004 Bruno Mars 2017 and 2018 Frank Ocean 2013 and 2017 SZA 2018 and 2023 Justin Timberlake 2014 and 2014 XXXTentacion 2018 and 2019 Brent Faiyaz 2023 and 2024 Bryson Tiller 2016 and 2024
References