The Billboard 200, published in the Billboard magazine, is a weekly chart that ranks the highest-selling albums in the United States. The data is compiled by Nielsen SoundScan based on each album's weekly physical and digital sales. In 2001, 27 albums reached the top of the chart.
The first number-one album of the year was 1 by English rock band the Beatles, which reached the top in December 2000 and continued its run until early February 2001 for a total of eight weeks. Shaggy achieved his first number-one album with Hot Shot. It topped the chart for a total of six weeks and sold more than 5.5 million copies within the year. Staind's Break the Cycle topped the charts for three consecutive weeks in June and sold more than 4.2 million copies in 2001. NSYNC achieved the best-selling album within the first week, selling more than 1.8 million copies with Celebrity, 620,000 more than above earlier in the year. Furthermore, it was the tenth album to sell more than a million units in its first week sakes, since Nielsen SoundScan started collecting data in 1991. Furthermore, it was the third best-selling album of the year and was certified 5-times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Following her death, Aaliyah's reached the top for one week in September with her eponymous studio album.
Jay-Z earned his fourth number-one album in the US with The Blueprint. In its third week atop the chart, the record sold about 173,000 copies, the lowest for any number-one in the year. Ja Rule eventually achieved his second and most recent chart-topping album with Pain Is Love., dethroning Jay-Z in mid-October and topping the chart for two consecutive weeks. The last album to top the chart in 2001 was Weathered by American rock band Creed. It peaked at number one for four consecutive weeks in 2001 and continued for four weeks in January 2002. The album, released in November, was the eighth best-selling record of the year, selling about 3.5 million copies; it is certified 6-times platinum by the RIAA. Unusually, the year's best-selling record, Hybrid Theory by Linkin Park, was not able to top the Billboard 200. Instead the Beatles' 1 was crowned the most successful album of the year.
Number-ones
+Key Indicates the best performing album of 2001 Issue date Album Artist(s) Label Sales 1 The BeatlesApple1,258,667 451,253 268,551 260,179 215,534 J. LoEpic272,262 Hot ShotShaggyMCA245,678 245,778 293,979 271,652 EverydayDave Matthews BandRCA732,720 280,081 Hot ShotShaggyMCA209,767 188,838 Until the End of Time2PacAmaru426,870 Now That's What I Call Music! 6Various ArtistsEpic525,005 546,778 248,811 All for YouVirgin605,128 SurvivorDestiny's ChildColumbia663,280 358,959 LateralusToolTool Dissectional/Volcano555,222 Break the CycleStaindFlip716,003 326,299 244,698 Take Off Your Pants and JacketBlink-182MCA349,846 Devil's NightD12Shady371,881 Songs in A MinorJ235,816 Devil's NightD12Shady173,956 Songs in A MinorAlicia KeysJ221,813 221,749 CelebrityNSYNCJive1,879,955 Now That's What I Call Music! 7Various ArtistsVirgin621,419 394,483 278,538 NowMaxwellColumbia296,388 AaliyahAaliyahBlackground305,911 September 22ToxicitySystem of a DownAmerican222,038 The BlueprintJay-ZRoc-A-Fella426,550 270,814 173,663 Pain Is LoveJa RuleMurder, Inc.360,712 220,793 God Bless America: For the Benefit of the Twin Towers FundVarious ArtistsColumbia180,894 The Great DepressionDMXRuff Ryders439,957 InvincibleEpic366,272 BritneyJive745,744 ScarecrowCapitol465,523 WeatheredCreedWind-Up887,229 417,462 458,033 555,092
See also 2001 in music List of number-one albums (United States)
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