Billboard Year-End Top Artist (also known as Billboard Artist of the Year) is the annual top-charting music artist in the United States. The accolade has been published by Billboard magazine since 1981, based on a combined statistical performance on the weekly charts of the Billboard 200 and the Billboard Hot 100. Between 1963 and 1980, the top artists were separated for albums and singles. In 1963, Peter, Paul and Mary became the first annual Top Albums Artist and The Beach Boys became the first annual Top Singles Artist. In 1981, REO Speedwagon became the first annual Top Artist of the Year.
During the 1970s and the 1980s, before the advent of the Billboard Music Awards, the Year-End Top Artists were honored with trophies as part of the Billboard Number One Awards/Trendsetter Awards. The Top Artist category of the Billboard Music Awards has been created since 1993, although it did not always correspond with the Year-End Top Artist, due to the difference of cut-off period. The 2011 Year-End Top Artist was Adele, but Eminem received the Top Artist trophy at the 2011 Billboard Music Awards. Other Year-End Top Artists who have not won the trophy include Bruno Mars (2013), One Direction (2014), and Bad Bunny (2022).
Taylor Swift has been named the Year-End Top Artist four times, more than any other act. She achieved the title in three separate decades—the 2000s, the 2010s, and the 2020s. In 1990, New Kids on the Block became the first act to top the Year-End Top Artists chart twice, and in 2016, Adele became the first act to top the chart three times. Prior to the existence of the combined artists charts, the Beatles became the first act to be simultaneously listed as the Top Albums Artist and Top Singles Artist of the Year in 1964. In 1983, Michael Jackson became the first act to achieve all the Top Artist, Top Albums Artist, and Top Singles Artists titles in the same year.
List of top artists of the year
Year Top Artists of the Year(Combined) Top Albums Artists Top Singles Artists 1963 Peter, Paul and Mary The Beach Boys 1964 The Beatles The Beatles 1965 The Beatles Herman's Hermits 1966 Herb Alpert The Beatles 1967 Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass The Monkees 1968 Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass Aretha Franklin 1969 The Beatles Creedence Clearwater Revival 1970 Creedence Clearwater Revival The Jackson 5 1971 Chicago Three Dog Night Billboard 1971 World Radio History 1972 Roberta Flack Al Green (tie)Michael Jackson (tie) Billboard 1972 World Radio History 1973 Deep Purple Gladys Knight & the Pips Billboard 1973 World Radio History 1974 Jim Croce Gladys Knight & the Pips Billboard 1974 World Radio History 1975 Elton John Billboard 1975 World Radio History 1976 Aerosmith Diana Ross Billboard 1976 World Radio History 1977 Fleetwood Mac Rod Stewart Billboard 1977 World Radio History 1978 Bee Gees Bee Gees Billboard 1978 World Radio History 1979 Billy Joel Donna Summer Billboard 1979 World Radio History 1980 Pink Floyd Michael Jackson 1981 REO Speedwagon REO Speedwagon Kenny Rogers 1982 The Go-Go's The Go-Go's Olivia Newton-John 1983 Michael Jackson Michael Jackson Michael Jackson 1984 Lionel Richie Lionel Richie Lionel Richie 1985 Madonna Prince and the Revolution Madonna 1986 Whitney Houston Whitney Houston Janet Jackson 1987 Bon Jovi Bon Jovi Madonna 1988 George Michael George Michael George Michael 1989 New Kids on the Block Guns N' Roses Bobby Brown 1990 New Kids on the Block New Kids on the Block Janet Jackson The chart is on page 70 of the PDF. 1991 Mariah Carey Garth Brooks Mariah Carey The chart is on page 68 of the PDF. 1992 Garth Brooks Garth Brooks Boyz II Men 1993 Garth Brooks Garth Brooks Whitney Houston The chart is on page 80 of the PDF. 1994 Ace of Base Ace of Base Ace of Base 1995 TLC Hootie & the Blowfish TLC 1996 Alanis Morissette Alanis Morissette Mariah Carey 1997 LeAnn Rimes LeAnn Rimes Elton John 1998 Usher Celine Dion Usher 1999 Backstreet Boys Backstreet Boys TLC 2000 Destiny's Child Britney Spears Destiny's Child 2001 Destiny's Child The Beatles Destiny's Child 2002 Nelly Eminem Ashanti 2002 Year End Chart for Billboard 2003 50 Cent 50 Cent 50 Cent 2004 Usher Usher Usher 2005 50 Cent 50 Cent 50 Cent 2006 Chris Brown Rascal Flatts Sean Paul 2007 Akon Daughtry Akon https://web.archive.org/web/20240411201826/https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/00s/2007/BB-2007-12-22.pdf#page=80 2008 Chris Brown Josh Groban Chris Brown https://web.archive.org/web/20240413042414/https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/00s/2008/BB-2008-12-20.pdf#page=92 2009 Taylor Swift Taylor Swift Lady Gaga https://web.archive.org/web/20240519162629/https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/00s/2009/BB-2009-12-19.pdf#page=80 2010 Lady Gaga Taylor Swift Kesha https://web.archive.org/web/20240413233121/https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/00s/2010/BB-2010-12-18.pdf#page=99 2011 Adele Adele Katy Perry https://web.archive.org/web/20240411210635/https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/00s/2011/BB-2011-12-17.pdf#page=60 2012 Adele Adele Rihanna https://web.archive.org/web/20240519171554/https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/00s/2012/BB-2012-12-22.pdf#page=62 2013 Bruno Mars Justin Timberlake Bruno Mars https://web.archive.org/web/20240412150118/https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/00s/2013/Billboard-2013-12-21.pdf#page=96 2014 One Direction Taylor Swift Katy Perry https://web.archive.org/web/20240413115059/https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/00s/2014/BB-2014-49-12-20--Double-Issue.pdf#page=102 2015 Taylor Swift Taylor Swift The Weeknd https://web.archive.org/web/20240411130244/https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/00s/2015/BB-2015-43-12-19-Double-Issue-38.pdf#page=88 2016 Adele Adele Drake https://web.archive.org/web/20240413220447/https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/00s/2016/Billboard-2016-12-17-(Double-Issue).pdf#page=123 2017 Ed Sheeran Drake Ed Sheeran https://web.archive.org/web/20240411125608/https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/00s/2017/Billboard-2017-12-30.pdf#page=90 2018 Drake Drake Drake https://web.archive.org/web/20240412052739/https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/00s/2018/Billboard-2018-12-15.pdf#page=114 2019 Post Malone Post Malone Post Malone https://web.archive.org/web/20240519144828/https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Billboard/00s/2019/Billboard-2019-12-21.pdf#page=127 2020 Post Malone Post Malone The Weeknd Billboard 2020 year-end charts: 2021 Drake Taylor Swift Olivia Rodrigo Billboard 2021 year-end charts: 2022 Bad Bunny Taylor Swift Bad Bunny Billboard 2022 year-end charts: 2023 Taylor Swift Taylor Swift Morgan Wallen Billboard 2023 year-end charts: 2024 Taylor Swift Taylor Swift Taylor Swift Billboard 2024 year-end charts: 2025 Morgan Wallen Taylor Swift Morgan Wallen
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