Billboard charts
Encyclopedia
The Billboard charts tabulate the relative weekly popularity of songs or albums in the United States. The results are published in Billboard
magazine. The two primary charts – the Hot 100
(top 100 singles) and the Billboard 200
(top 200 albums) – factor in airplay, as well as music sales in all relevant formats.
On January 4, 1936, Billboard magazine published its first music hit parade
. The first Music Popularity Chart was calculated in July 1940. A variety of song charts followed, which were eventually consolidated into the Hot 100 by mid-1958. The Hot 100 currently combines single
sales, radio airplay
and digital downloads.
All of Billboard's charts use this basic formula. What separates the charts is which stations and stores are used – each musical genre having a core audience or retail group. Each genre's department at Billboard is headed up by a chart manager, who makes these determinations.
For many years, a song had to be commercially available as a single to be considered for any of Billboard's charts. At the time, instead of using SoundScan or BDS, Billboard obtained its data from manual reports filled out by radio stations and stores. According to the 50th Anniversary issue of Billboard, prior to the official implementation of Nielsen SoundScan
tracking in November 1991, many radio stations and retail stores removed songs from their manual reports after the associated record labels stopped promoting a particular single. Thus songs fell quickly after peaking and had shorter chart lives. In 1990, the country
singles chart was the first chart to use SoundScan and BDS. They were followed by the Hot 100 and the R&B chart in 1991. Today, all of Billboard's charts use this technology.
Before September 1995, singles were allowed to chart in the week they first went on sale based on airplay points alone. The policy was changed in September 1995 to only allow a single to debut after a full week of sales on combined sales and airplay points. This allowed several tracks to debut at number one.
In December 1998, the policy was further modified to allow tracks to chart on the basis of airplay alone without a commercial release. This change was made to reflect the changing realities of the music business. Previous to this, several substantial radio and MTV hits had not appeared on the Billboard chart at all, because many major labels
chose not to release them as standalone singles, hoping their unavailability would spur greater album sales. Not offering a popular song to the public as a single was unheard of before the 1970s. The genres that suffered most at the time were those that increasingly impacted pop culture, including new genres such as trip hop
and grunge
. Among the many pre-1999 songs that had ended up in this Hot 100 limbo were The Cardigans
' "Lovefool
", Natalie Imbruglia
's "Torn", Goo Goo Dolls
' "Iris", OMC
's "How Bizarre", Sugar Ray
's "Fly
" and No Doubt
's "Don't Speak
".
Starting in 2005, Billboard changed its methodology to allow paid digital downloads
from digital music stores such as iTunes to chart with or without the help of radio airplay.
Currently, Billboard publishes many different charts, with the Hot 100 and Billboard 200 being the most famous. Billboard also has charts for the following music styles: rock
, country
, dance
, bluegrass
, jazz
, classical
, R&B
, rap
, electronic
, pop, Latin
, Christian music
, comedy albums, and even for ringtones for mobile (cell) phones. In 2009 Billboard partnered with MetroLyrics
to offer top 10 lyrics for each of the charts.
and American Country Countdown
radio broadcasts, in addition to being announced in the press. Between 1991 and 2006, the top single/album/artist(s) in each of those charts was/were awarded in the form of the annual Billboard Music Awards, which were annually held in December until the awards went dormant in 2007 (plans for a new version of the awards in 2008 fell through, and no awards have been held since 2007). The year-end charts cover a period from the first week of December of the previous year to the last week of November of the respective year.http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/yearend/2005/charts/how.jsp
, YouTube
, Facebook
, Twitter
and iLike
.
In January 2011, Billboard introduced another chart called Uncharted
, which lists new and developing artists, who are yet to appear on any major Billboard chart, "...regardless of their country of origin." The ranking is based on the views and fans on social networking websites like Myspace and Facebook. To appear on Uncharted, the artists must be registered Myspace Music artists, and should not have appeared on any major Billboard charts before.
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
magazine. The two primary charts – the Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
(top 100 singles) and the Billboard 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
(top 200 albums) – factor in airplay, as well as music sales in all relevant formats.
On January 4, 1936, Billboard magazine published its first music hit parade
Hit parade
A hit parade is a ranked list of the most popular recordings at a given point in time, usually determined by sales and/or airplay. The term originated in the 1930s; Billboard magazine published its first music hit parade on January 4, 1936...
. The first Music Popularity Chart was calculated in July 1940. A variety of song charts followed, which were eventually consolidated into the Hot 100 by mid-1958. The Hot 100 currently combines single
Single (music)
In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...
sales, radio airplay
Airplay (song)
Airplay is a term used in the radio broadcasting industry to state how frequently a song is being played on over-the-air radio stations. For example, a song which is being played several times every day would be classed as receiving a large amount of airplay...
and digital downloads.
All of Billboard's charts use this basic formula. What separates the charts is which stations and stores are used – each musical genre having a core audience or retail group. Each genre's department at Billboard is headed up by a chart manager, who makes these determinations.
For many years, a song had to be commercially available as a single to be considered for any of Billboard's charts. At the time, instead of using SoundScan or BDS, Billboard obtained its data from manual reports filled out by radio stations and stores. According to the 50th Anniversary issue of Billboard, prior to the official implementation of Nielsen SoundScan
Nielsen SoundScan
Nielsen SoundScan is an information and sales tracking system created by Mike Fine and Mike Shalett. Soundscan is the official method of tracking sales of music and music video products throughout the United States and Canada...
tracking in November 1991, many radio stations and retail stores removed songs from their manual reports after the associated record labels stopped promoting a particular single. Thus songs fell quickly after peaking and had shorter chart lives. In 1990, the country
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
singles chart was the first chart to use SoundScan and BDS. They were followed by the Hot 100 and the R&B chart in 1991. Today, all of Billboard's charts use this technology.
Before September 1995, singles were allowed to chart in the week they first went on sale based on airplay points alone. The policy was changed in September 1995 to only allow a single to debut after a full week of sales on combined sales and airplay points. This allowed several tracks to debut at number one.
In December 1998, the policy was further modified to allow tracks to chart on the basis of airplay alone without a commercial release. This change was made to reflect the changing realities of the music business. Previous to this, several substantial radio and MTV hits had not appeared on the Billboard chart at all, because many major labels
Record label
In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...
chose not to release them as standalone singles, hoping their unavailability would spur greater album sales. Not offering a popular song to the public as a single was unheard of before the 1970s. The genres that suffered most at the time were those that increasingly impacted pop culture, including new genres such as trip hop
Trip hop
Trip hop is a music genre consisting of downtempo electronic music which originated in the early 1990s in England, especially Bristol. Deriving from "post"-acid house, the term was first used by the British music media and press as a way to describe the more experimental variant of breakbeat which...
and grunge
Grunge
Grunge is a subgenre of alternative rock that emerged during the mid-1980s in the American state of Washington, particularly in the Seattle area. Inspired by hardcore punk, heavy metal, and indie rock, grunge is generally characterized by heavily distorted electric guitars, contrasting song...
. Among the many pre-1999 songs that had ended up in this Hot 100 limbo were The Cardigans
The Cardigans
The Cardigans are a Swedish rock band formed in the town of Jönköping in October 1992.Their debut album Emmerdale gave them a solid base in their home country and enjoyed some success abroad, especially in Japan. It was not until their second album Life that an international reputation was secured...
' "Lovefool
Lovefool
"Lovefool" is a pop rock song written by Peter Svensson and Nina Persson for The Cardigans' third studio album First Band on the Moon, released as a single on 14 September 1996, in the United Kingdom and internationally on 5 October 1996...
", Natalie Imbruglia
Natalie Imbruglia
Natalie Jane Imbruglia is an Australian singer-songwriter, model and actress. In the early 1990s, Imbruglia was known to audiences as Beth Brennan in the popular Australian soap Neighbours. Three years after leaving the programme, Imbruglia launched a singing career with the international hit,...
's "Torn", Goo Goo Dolls
Goo Goo Dolls
The Goo Goo Dolls are a Grammy-nominated American rock band formed in 1986 in Buffalo, New York, by vocalist and guitarist John Rzeznik and vocalist and bass guitarist Robby Takac. Since the end of 1994, Mike Malinin has been the band's drummer, a position previously held by George Tutuska...
' "Iris", OMC
OMC (band)
OMC, or Otara Millionaires Club, was a music group from Auckland, New Zealand best known for their 1996 hit "How Bizarre", named one of the greatest New Zealand songs of all time by the Australasian Performing Right Association...
's "How Bizarre", Sugar Ray
Sugar Ray
Sugar Ray is a band from Orange County, California. The band, starting off more as an alternative metal band, first gained fame in 1997 with their release of the song "Fly". This song's success, coupled with its pop rock sound that was quite different from the rest of their material at the time,...
's "Fly
Fly (Sugar Ray song)
"Fly" is a song by rock band Sugar Ray. It appears on their 1997 album Floored twice: one version with reggae artist Super Cat and the other without ....
" and No Doubt
No Doubt
No Doubt is an American rock band from Anaheim, California that formed in 1986. The ska-pop sound of their first album No Doubt , failed to make an impact...
's "Don't Speak
Don't Speak
"Don't Speak" is a song by the American rock band No Doubt. It was released in 1996 as the third single from the band's third studio album, Tragic Kingdom...
".
Starting in 2005, Billboard changed its methodology to allow paid digital downloads
Music download
A music download is the transferral of music from an Internet-facing computer or website to a user's local computer. This term encompasses both legal downloads and downloads of copyright material without permission or payment...
from digital music stores such as iTunes to chart with or without the help of radio airplay.
A variety of charts
Originally, Billboard had separate charts for different measures of popularity, including disk jockey playings, juke box song selection, and best selling records in retail stores. A composite standing chart that combined these gradually grew to become a top 100, the ancestor of the current Hot 100 chart. The juke box chart ceased publication after the June 17, 1957 issue, the disk jockey chart, after the July 28, 1958 issue, and the best seller chart, after the October 13, 1958 issue. The July 28, 1958 issue was also the last issue that called the composite chart the Top 100; the following week began the Hot 100.Currently, Billboard publishes many different charts, with the Hot 100 and Billboard 200 being the most famous. Billboard also has charts for the following music styles: rock
Rock and roll
Rock and roll is a genre of popular music that originated and evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s, primarily from a combination of African American blues, country, jazz, and gospel music...
, country
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
, dance
Dance music
Dance music is music composed specifically to facilitate or accompany dancing. It can be either a whole musical piece or part of a larger musical arrangement...
, bluegrass
Bluegrass music
Bluegrass music is a form of American roots music, and a sub-genre of country music. It has mixed roots in Scottish, English, Welsh and Irish traditional music...
, jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
, classical
20th century classical music
20th century classical music was without a dominant style and highly diverse.-Introduction:At the turn of the century, music was characteristically late Romantic in style. Composers such as Gustav Mahler and Jean Sibelius were pushing the bounds of Post-Romantic Symphonic writing...
, R&B
Rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues, often abbreviated to R&B, is a genre of popular African American music that originated in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly to urban African Americans, at a time when "urbane, rocking, jazz based music with a...
, rap
Hip hop music
Hip hop music, also called hip-hop, rap music or hip-hop music, is a musical genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted...
, electronic
Electronic music
Electronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production. In general a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means and that produced using electronic technology. Examples of electromechanical sound...
, pop, Latin
Latin American music
Latin American music, found within Central and South America, is a series of musical styles and genres that mixes influences from Spanish, African and indigenous sources, that has recently become very famous in the US.-Argentina:...
, Christian music
Christian music
Christian music is music that has been written to express either personal or a communal belief regarding Christian life and faith. Common themes of Christian music include praise, worship, penitence, and lament, and its forms vary widely across the world....
, comedy albums, and even for ringtones for mobile (cell) phones. In 2009 Billboard partnered with MetroLyrics
MetroLyrics
MetroLyrics is a lyrics-dedicated website, founded in 2002. It is the highest trafficked lyrics website in the world, with 48 million+ unique users per month and 125+ million page views per month, and is the 3rd largest music site in the US and Globally...
to offer top 10 lyrics for each of the charts.
At year's end
At the end of each year, Billboard tallies the results of all of its charts, and the results are published in a year-end issue and heard on year-end editions of its American Top 40American Top 40
American Top 40 is an internationally syndicated, independent radio program created by Casey Kasem, Don Bustany, Tom Rounds and Ron Jacobs. Originally a production of Watermark Inc...
and American Country Countdown
American Country Countdown
American Country Countdown, also known as ACC or American Country Countdown with Kix Brooks, is an internationally syndicated radio program which counts down the top 30 country songs of the previous week, from No. 30 to No. 1, according to the Mediabase country chart...
radio broadcasts, in addition to being announced in the press. Between 1991 and 2006, the top single/album/artist(s) in each of those charts was/were awarded in the form of the annual Billboard Music Awards, which were annually held in December until the awards went dormant in 2007 (plans for a new version of the awards in 2008 fell through, and no awards have been held since 2007). The year-end charts cover a period from the first week of December of the previous year to the last week of November of the respective year.http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/yearend/2005/charts/how.jsp
All-genre
| Chart Title | Chart type | Number of positions |
Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Billboard Hot 100 Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday... |
sales + airplay | 100 |
|
| Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles The Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles is a chart published weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States. It lists the top 25 singles below number 100 that have not yet charted on the Billboard Hot 100. Sometimes, however, singles halt their progress on this chart, and never appear on the Hot 100... |
25 |
|
|
| Heatseekers Songs Top Heatseekers Top Heatseekers refers to either of two separate "Breaking and Entering" music charts issued weekly by Billboard Magazine: the Heatseekers Albums chart or the Heatseekers Songs chart. They were introduced by Billboard in 1993 with the purpose of highlighting the sales by new and developing musical... |
25 |
Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday... . |
|
| Hot 100 Airplay | airplay (audience) | 75 |
|
| Hot Singles Sales | physical sales | 50 |
|
| Hot Digital Songs Hot Digital Songs The Hot Digital Songs chart ranks the best-selling digital singles in the United States, according to Billboard.Beginning in February 2005, digital sales have been incorporated into many of Billboards music single charts. It was decided to do so mainly because of the dramatic rise in popularity of... |
digital sales | 75 |
|
| Hot Digital Tracks Hot Digital Tracks The Hot Digital Tracks chart is a song popularity chart that ranks the best selling digital tracks in the United States according to Billboard magazine... |
75 |
|
R&B/Hip-Hop
| Chart Title | Description |
|---|---|
| Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, is a chart released weekly by Billboard in the United States.The chart, initiated in 1942, is used to track the success of popular music songs in urban, or primarily African American, venues. Dominated over the years at various times by jazz, rhythm and blues, doo-wop, soul,... |
The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs lists the most popuby combining airplay from Urban AC and R&B Contemporary R&B Contemporary R&B is a music genre that combines elements of hip hop, soul, R&B and funk.Although the abbreviation “R&B” originates from traditional rhythm and blues music, today the term R&B is most often used to describe a style of African American music originating after the demise of disco in... /Hip-Hop stations and record sales from Urban markets. |
| Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay chart is the airplay component chart of the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks chart. It is not the R&B subset of The Hot 100 Airplay, but rather a separate panel of R&B stations in urban markets used for the R&B/Hip-Hop chart... |
The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay measures airplay based on audience impressions from various R&B Contemporary R&B Contemporary R&B is a music genre that combines elements of hip hop, soul, R&B and funk.Although the abbreviation “R&B” originates from traditional rhythm and blues music, today the term R&B is most often used to describe a style of African American music originating after the demise of disco in... /Hip-Hop Stations, and is the airplay component of Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, is a chart released weekly by Billboard in the United States.The chart, initiated in 1942, is used to track the success of popular music songs in urban, or primarily African American, venues. Dominated over the years at various times by jazz, rhythm and blues, doo-wop, soul,... . |
| Mainstream R&B/Hip-Hop | The Mainstream R&B/Hip-Hop ranks songs by combining airplay base on radio plays (spins) from 76 R&B Contemporary R&B Contemporary R&B is a music genre that combines elements of hip hop, soul, R&B and funk.Although the abbreviation “R&B” originates from traditional rhythm and blues music, today the term R&B is most often used to describe a style of African American music originating after the demise of disco in... /Hip-Hop Stations. |
| Hot Adult R&B Airplay | The Hot Adult R&B Airplay measures airplay from 65 Urban AC radio stations. |
| Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles Sales Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles Sales The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles Sales chart is the sales component chart of Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs. It is not the R&B subset of The Hot 100 Singles Sales, but rather a separate panel of sales of commercial singles in the urban market... |
The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles Sales is the sales component of Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, is a chart released weekly by Billboard in the United States.The chart, initiated in 1942, is used to track the success of popular music songs in urban, or primarily African American, venues. Dominated over the years at various times by jazz, rhythm and blues, doo-wop, soul,... . It is a separate panel of sales of commercial 12" Maxi singles in the urban market. |
| Bubbling Under R&B/Hip-Hop Singles | The Bubbling Under R&B/Hip-Hop Singles ranks the top 25 singles gaining poins to debut inside the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, is a chart released weekly by Billboard in the United States.The chart, initiated in 1942, is used to track the success of popular music songs in urban, or primarily African American, venues. Dominated over the years at various times by jazz, rhythm and blues, doo-wop, soul,... . The top 25 positions are the twenty-five space below the one-hundred point on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, is a chart released weekly by Billboard in the United States.The chart, initiated in 1942, is used to track the success of popular music songs in urban, or primarily African American, venues. Dominated over the years at various times by jazz, rhythm and blues, doo-wop, soul,... . |
| Rhythmic Top 40 Rhythmic Airplay Chart The Rhythmic Airplay Chart is an airplay chart that is featured weekly in Billboard Magazine. The chart tracks and measures the airplay of songs played on Rhythmic stations, whose playlist includes mostly hit-driven R&B/Hip-Hop, Rhythmic pop, and some Dance tracks... |
Measures airplay spins on 72 rhythmic stations. Rhythmic is a music radio format that includes of a mix of dance, upbeat rhythmic pop, hip hop and R&B hits. These stations also contribute to Dance/Mix Show Airplay panel |
| Hot Rap Songs | The Hot Rap Songs ranks the top 25 Hip-Hop/Rap songs by combining airplay on rhythmic and mainstream R&B/Hip-Hop radio stations. |
| Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Recurrents | The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs ranks songs that have fallen below #50 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, is a chart released weekly by Billboard in the United States.The chart, initiated in 1942, is used to track the success of popular music songs in urban, or primarily African American, venues. Dominated over the years at various times by jazz, rhythm and blues, doo-wop, soul,... and have been on that chart for over 20 weeks. |
| Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Recurrent Airplay | The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Recurrent Airplay ranks the songs that have fallen below #25 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Airplay chart is the airplay component chart of the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks chart. It is not the R&B subset of The Hot 100 Airplay, but rather a separate panel of R&B stations in urban markets used for the R&B/Hip-Hop chart... and have been on that chart for over 20 weeks. |
Adult/Pop
| Chart Title | Chart type | Number of positions |
Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Top 40 Mainstream | airplay (spins) | 40 |
|
| Adult Top 40 Hot Adult Top 40 Tracks Adult Top 40 is a variation on the United States Billboard charts... |
40 |
|
|
| Adult Contemporary | 30 |
|
Country
| Chart Title | Chart type | Number of positions |
Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hot Country Songs Hot Country Songs Hot Country Songs is a chart published weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States.This 60-position chart lists the most popular country music songs, calculated weekly mostly by airplay and occasionally commercial sales... |
airplay (audience) | 60 |
|
Rock
| Chart Title | Chart type | Number of positions |
Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rock Songs Rock Songs Rock Songs is a chart published weekly by Billboard magazine which ranks the airplay of songs on alternative, mainstream rock and triple A radio stations. The first chart was published in the issue dated June 20, 2009. "Know Your Enemy" by Green Day was the first number-one song. The Rock Songs... |
airplay (audience) | 50 |
|
| Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks | airplay (spins) | 40 |
Mainstream rock Mainstream rock is a radio format used by many commercial radio stations in the United States and Canada.-Format background:... radio stations, a category that includes stations that play primarily rock music but are not modern rock (i.e., alternative). |
| Alternative Songs | 40 |
Alternative rock Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s... or "modern rock Modern rock Modern rock is a rock format commonly found on commercial radio; the format consists primarily of the alternative rock genre... " stations |
|
| Active Rock | 40 |
Active rock Active rock is a radio format used by many commercial radio stations across the United States and Canada. Active rock plays contemporary rock artists with a mix of songs common in the classic rock radio format.-Format background:... radio stations, which plays current rock artists with a mix of classic rock songs |
|
| Heritage Rock | 30 |
|
|
| Triple A | 30 |
Adult album alternative Adult album alternative is a radio format. A spinoff from the album-oriented rock format, its roots trace to the 1960s and 1970s from the earlier freeform and progressive formats.... (also known as "Triple A") radio, most of which are alternative rock Alternative rock Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s... songs that skew towards an older audience |
|
Dance
| Chart Title | Chart type | Number of positions |
Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hot Dance Club Songs | reports from DJs | 50 |
|
| Dance/Mix Show Airplay | Continuous airplay (Spins from exclusive reporters) Mix show airplay (Spins from Mainstream and Rhythmic stations) |
25 |
|
| Hot Dance Singles Sales Hot Dance Singles Sales Hot Dance Singles Sales is a chart released weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States, established in 1985. It measures the sale of commercially released singles that deal with dance music and remixes... |
10 |
|
|
| Hot Dance/Electronic Digital Songs Hot Dance/Electronic Digital Songs Hot Dance/Electronic Digital Songs is a weekly chart that ranks the best-selling digital dance and electronic singles in the United States, according to Billboard... |
50 |
|
Latin
| Billboard Chart Title | Description |
|---|---|
| Hot Latin Songs Hot Latin Songs Hot Latin Songs is a record chart published by Billboard magazine. It is often recognized as the most important music chart for Spanish language Latin music in the American music market. It was established by the magazine on September 6, 1986 with La Guirnalda by Rocío Dúrcal being the first song... |
The Hot Latin Songs (a.k.a., Hot Latin Tracks) is a weekly music chart for Spanish language singles in the American music market. It was established by the magazine in 1986, when music labels and Billboard realized that Spanish-language songs had a great potential to the American audiences. The chart is based on airplay on 123 Latin music stations. Songs on the chart are not necessarily in Spanish language. |
| Latin Pop Airplay Latin Pop Airplay Latin Pop Airplay is a record chart published on Billboard magazine. It features Latin music information from pop music usually in Spanish. It was established by the magazine on October 8, 1994 with Mañana by Cristian Castro being the first song to reach number-one... |
The Latin Pop Airplay is a weekly monitored Latin pop Latin pop Latin pop generally refers to pop music that has what may be perceived a Latin American influence... music radio chart that ranks the most played Latin pop songs on Latin music stations. It was established by the magazine in 1994. |
| Latin Regional Mexican Airplay Latin Regional Mexican Airplay Regional Mexican Songs is a record chart published on Billboard magazine. It was established by the magazine on October 8, 1994 with La Niña Fresa by Banda Z being the first song to reach number-one. It features Latin music information from different genres like Mariachi, Norteño, Banda and... |
The Latin Regional Mexican Airplay is a weekly chart that ranks Regional Mexican Regional Mexican Regional Mexican is a radio format for music radio, typically defined to include Banda, Ranchera, Mariachi and Norteña. It is the most popular radio format targeting Hispanic Americans in the United States.... music information from different genres like Mariachi Mariachi Mariachi is a genre of music that originated in the State of Jalisco, in Mexico. It is an integration of stringed instruments highly influenced by the cultural impacts of the historical development of Western Mexico. Throughout the history of mariachi, musicians have experimented with brass, wind,... , Norteño Norteño (music) Norteño , also norteña or conjunto, is a genre of Mexican music. The accordion and the bajo sexto are norteño's most characteristic instruments. The norteño genre is popular in both Mexico and the United States, especially among the Mexican community... , Banda Banda music Banda is a brass-based form of traditional music. Bandas play a wide variety of songs, including rancheras, corridos, cumbias, baladas, and boleros. Bandas are most widely known for their rancheras, but they also play modern Mexican pop, rock, and cumbias... and Duranguense Duranguense Duranguense is a genre of Mexican music. It is popular among the Mexican-American community in the United States. Duranguense is closely related to the Mexican styles of banda and norteño. The main instruments, which are held over from banda, are the saxophone, trombone, and bass drum... . This chart is based on airplay from 65 regional Mexican stations; the radio charts are compiled using information tracked by from Nielsen Broadcast Data Systems Nielsen Broadcast Data Systems Nielsen Broadcast Data Systems, better known as BDS, is a service that tracks monitored radio, television and internet airplay of songs based on the number of spins and detections... . It was established by the magazine in 1994. |
| Latin Tropical Airplay Latin Tropical Airplay The Tropical Songs is a record chart published on Billboard magazine established in 1994 with the first number-one song to be published was "En Las Nubes" by Edgar Joel. It features Latin music information from tropical music such as salsa, merengue, bachata, cumbia, and vallenato... |
The Latin Tropical Airplay (a.k.a., Latin Tropical/Salsa Airplay) is a weekly monitored chart that ranks Tropical music Tropical music Musica tropical or tropical music is a broad term for vocal and instrumental music with "tropical" flavor usually associated with the Afro-Caribbean music. It is part of an even broader category of Latin music. Usually it is an upbeat dance music, but also includes ballads. It features complex,... information from different genres like Merengue Merengue music Merengue is a type of music and dance from the Dominican Republic. It is popular in the Dominican Republic and all over Latin America. Its name is Spanish, taken from the name of the meringue, a dessert made from whipped egg whites and sugar... , Salsa Salsa music Salsa music is a genre of music, generally defined as a modern style of playing Cuban Son, Son Montuno, and Guaracha with touches from other genres of music... , Bachata, Guaracha Guaracha The guaracha is a genre of Cuban popular music, of rapid tempo and with lyrics. The word had been used in this sense at least since the late 18th and early 19th century. Guarachas were played and sung in musical theatres and in low-class dance salons. They became an integral part of Bufo comic... and others on 18 Latin music stations. It was established by the magazine in 1994. |
| Latin Rhythm Airplay | The Latin Rhythm Airplay chart comprises singles and tracks from artists who represent the Hispanic rhythmic Hispanic rhythmic Hispanic rhythmic, also known as Hispanic urban or "Hurban", is an American radio and format genre that features a Spanish-language musical mix of Latin hip-hop, Mexican hip-hop, reggaeton, dancehall, Latin pop, dance, tropical and salsa hits, all geared towards a bilingual audience, most of them... /Hurban Hurban Hurban is a relatively new radio programming format from radio chain giant Clear Channel Communications and Senior VP Alfredo Alonso. Hurban radio stations target young Hispanics in the United States, primarily consisting of reggaeton, hip-hop, and dance music... genre including Reggaeton Reggaeton Reggaeton is a form of Puerto Rican and Latin American urban and Caribbean music. After its mainstream exposure in 2004, it spread to North American, European and Asian audiences. Reggaeton originated in Puerto Rico but is also has roots from Reggae en Español from Panama and Puerto Rico and... , Hispanic R&B/Hip-Hop, Rhythmic Pop/Dance and crossovers from English-language and/or bilingual acts, monitoring 8 Latin rhythm radio stations. This chart came about as a result of radio stations tapping into the growing second and third generation Hispanic audience who wanted a Spanish-speaking or bilingual alternative to the formats they felt represented them. The magazine established it in 2005. |
Christian
| Chart Title | Chart type | Number of positions |
Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Christian Songs | airplay (audience) | 50 |
|
| Hot Christian AC Songs | airplay (spins) | 30 | |
| Hot Gospel Songs | 30 |
|
Jazz
| Chart Title | Chart type | Number of positions |
Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Smooth Jazz Songs | airplay (spins) | 30 |
|
Ringtones
| Chart Title | Chart type | Number of positions |
Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hot Ringtones | ringtone sale | 40 |
|
| Hot RingMasters Hot RingMasters Hot RingMasters is a chart published weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States. First published in the December 9, 2006 issue , it is compiled by Nielsen Mobile's RingScan service, which collects the amount of ringtones sold each week... |
40 |
|
|
| Hot Videoclips | 25 |
Total Request Live Total Request Live is a television series on MTV that featured popular music videos. TRL was MTV's prime outlet for music videos as the network continues to concentrate on reality-based programming. In addition to music videos, TRL featured daily guests... and 106 & Park 106 & Park 106 & Park is a Top Ten Hip-Hop and R&B music video show, set up in a countdown format, that airs weekdays at 6:00 PM on BET . Since its inception, it was the network's #1 rated show... |
Canadian charts
| Chart Title | Chart type | Number of positions |
Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Canadian Hot 100 Canadian Hot 100 The Canadian Hot 100 is a music singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine which ranks songs in Canada. The chart debuted in the Billboard issue dated June 16, 2007 and was made available for the first time via their online services on June 7, 2007... |
airplay + sales | 100 |
|
| Emerging Canadian Artist | 30 |
|
|
| Hot Digital Song | digital sales | 75 |
|
| Hot 100 Airplay | airplay (audience) | 75 |
|
| All-format Airplay | airplay (spins) | 50 |
Jam! Jam! is a Canadian website, which covers entertainment news. It is part of the CANOE online portal, owned and operated by Quebecor through its Sun Media division.... Canoe Canadian Online Explorer Canadian Online Explorer is a bilingual online news and information site from Canada.A subsidiary of Quebecor Media, Canoe.ca is a leading local and national interactive media provider of news, entertainment and services, helping to inform and connect Canadians... website. |
| CHR/Top 40 Airplay | 50 |
|
|
| AC Airplay | 50 |
|
|
| Hot AC Airplay | 50 |
|
|
| Country Airplay | 50 |
|
|
| Rock Airplay | 50 |
|
International charts
| Billboard Chart Title | Description |
|---|---|
| Brasil Hot 100 Airplay Brasil Hot 100 Airplay Brasil Hot 100 Airplay is the official music singles charts in Brazil. It has been compiled by Crowley Broadcast Analysis and published monthly by Billboard Brasil since the release of the magazine, in October 2009.... |
The Brazil Hot 100 Airplay ranks the most listening singles and tracks in Brazil. |
| Brasil Hot Pop Songs | Brazilian Hot 40 songs ranks the most listening pop singles and tracks in Brazil. |
| Brasil Hot Popular Songs | Brazilian Hot 40 songs ranks the most listening national music styles singles and tracks in Brazil. |
| Eurochart Hot 100 Singles Eurochart Hot 100 Singles The European Hot 100 Singles has been compiled by Billboard and Music & Media magazine since March, 1984. The chart is based on national singles sales charts in 15 European countries: Austria, Belgium , Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden,... |
The Eurochart Hot 100 Singles ranks the best selling singles in Europe by combining sales from various countries in Europe. |
| Greek Top 10 Chart | The Greek Top 10 Chart ranks the best selling digital singles and tracks in Greece. |
| Japan Hot 100 Japan Hot 100 The Japan Hot 100 is a music singles chart in Japan. It is compiled by Billboard and Hanshin Contents Link ever since February 2008. The chart is updated every Wednesday at billboard-japan.com and every Thursday at billboard.com .... |
The Japan Hot 100 ranks the best selling singles and tracks in Japan. |
| Korea K-Pop Hot 100 Korea K-Pop Hot 100 The Korea K-Pop Hot 100 is a music singles chart in the United States and South Korea. It is launched in conjunction with Billboard and Billboard Korea on August 25, 2011 and is based on digital sales via leading websites as well as downloads from mobile service sites using an industry-standard... |
The Korea K-Pop Hot 100 ranks the best selling singles and tracks in South Korea. |
| Turkey Top 20 Chart | Turkey Top 20 Chart ranks the best selling and the most listening foreign singles and tracks in Turkey Turkey Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe... . |
| Turkish Top 20 Chart Turkish Top 20 Chart Turkish airplay chart is the official airplay singles chart in Turkey issued by Nielsen Music Control. The charts are announced from the Nielsen's web site weekly... |
Turkish Top 20 Chart ranks the best selling and the most listening Turkish singles and tracks in Turkey Turkey Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe... . |
| Turkish Rock Top 20 Chart | Turkey Top 20 Chart ranks the best selling and the most listening Turkish rock singles and tracks in Turkey Turkey Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe... . |
| Global Dance Tracks | Global Dance Tracks is a weekly international survey of the songs that are most popular in dance clubs globally. It is compiled by Billboard exclusively from playlists submitted by nightclub disc jockeys who must apply and meet certain criteria to become Billboard-reporting DJs. |
Discontinued charts
| Chart Title | Discontinued date | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Country Single Sales | 2005 |
|
| Pop 100 Pop 100 The Pop 100 was a songs chart that debuted in February 2005 and was released weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States until its discontinuation in 2009... |
June 13, 2009 |
|
| Pop 100 Airplay Pop 100 Airplay The Pop 100 Airplay was a chart created in 2005 and released weekly by Billboard in the United States. It measured mainstream radio airplay, and was one of the three component charts, along with the Hot 100 Singles Sales and Hot Digital Songs charts, that determined the chart positions of singles... |
|
Albums
| Chart Title | Number of positions |
Description |
|---|---|---|
| The Billboard 200 Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists... |
200 |
|
| Top Current Albums | 200 |
|
| Top Pop Catalog Albums Top Pop Catalog Albums Top Pop Catalog Albums is a fifty-position weekly albums chart produced by Billboard magazine which ranks the best selling catalog titles, regardless of genre. Billboard defines a catalog title as one that is more than eighteen months old and that has fallen below position 100 on the Billboard 200... |
50 |
|
| Top Internet Albums | 40 | |
| Tastemakers |
|
|
| Top Digital Albums | 50 | |
| Heatseekers Albums Top Heatseekers Top Heatseekers refers to either of two separate "Breaking and Entering" music charts issued weekly by Billboard Magazine: the Heatseekers Albums chart or the Heatseekers Songs chart. They were introduced by Billboard in 1993 with the purpose of highlighting the sales by new and developing musical... |
50 |
|
| Heatseekers Albums (East North Central) | ||
| Heatseekers Albums (Middle Atlantic) | ||
| Heatseekers Albums (Mountain) | ||
| Heatseekers Albums (Northeast) | ||
| Heatseekers Albums (Pacific) | ||
| Heatseekers Albums (South Atlantic) | ||
| Heatseekers Albums (South Central) | ||
| Heatseekers Albums (West North Central) | ||
| Top Independent Albums | 50 |
Independent record label An independent record label is a record label operating without the funding of or outside the organizations of the major record labels. A great number of bands and musical acts begin on independent labels.-Overview:... s. |
| Top Rock Albums | 25 | |
| Top Alternative Albums | ||
| Top Hard Rock Albums | 20 | |
| Top Folk Albums | 15 | |
| Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums is a chart published by Billboard magazine that ranks R&B and hip hop albums based on sales compiled by Nielsen SoundScan. The name of the chart was changed from Top R&B Albums in 1999... |
100 | |
| Top R&B/Hip-Hop Catalog Albums | 100 | |
| Top Rap Albums Top Rap Albums Top Rap Albums is a record chart published by Billboard magazine that ranks Rap and hip-hop albums based on sales compiled by Nielsen SoundScan. The chart began publication for the week of November 13, 2004.... |
30 | |
| Top Country Albums | 75 | |
| Top Country Catalog Albums | 75 | |
| Top Bluegrass Albums | 15 | |
| Top Latin Albums | 30 | |
| Regional Mexican Albums Regional Mexican Albums Regional Mexican Albums is a record chart published by Billboard magazine. Established in June 1985, the chart compiles information about the top-selling albums in genres like mariachi, norteño, banda and Duranguense, which are frequently considered regional Mexican. The chart features only... |
||
| Latin Pop Albums Latin Pop Albums Latin Pop Albums is a record chart published on Billboard magazine. It features Latin music information of the Pop music genre. Established in June 1985, this chart features only full length albums and like all album charts on Billboard, is based on sales. The information is compiled by Nielsen... |
30 | |
| Tropical Albums Tropical Albums Tropical Albums is a record chart published by Billboard magazine. Established in June 1985, the chart compiles information about the top-selling albums in genres like salsa, merengue, bachata, cumbia, and vallenato, which are frequently considered tropical music... |
||
| Latin Rhythm Albums | ||
| Top Classical Albums |
|
|
| Top Classical Crossover Albums | ||
| Classical Albums |
|
|
| Top Classical Budget Albums | ||
| Top Classical Midline Albums | ||
| Top Christian Albums | 50 | |
| Top Gospel Albums | 40 | |
| Top Christian & Gospel Albums | ||
| Top Jazz Albums |
|
|
| Top Contemporary Jazz | ||
| Jazz Albums | 35 |
|
| Top Dance/Electronic Albums | 25 | |
| Top Blues Albums | ||
| Top Cast Albums |
Cast recording A cast recording is a recording of a musical that is intended to document the songs as they were performed in the show and experienced by the audience. An original cast recording, as the name implies, features the voices of the show's original cast... s |
|
| Top Comedy Albums | ||
| Top Compilation Albums | 20 | |
| Top Holiday Albums | 50 |
Best-selling Christmas/Holiday albums in the United States This page shows the best-selling Christmas albums in the United States. It includes artists from all over the world, but it only includes sales in the United States of America.... |
| Top Kid Audio | 15 | |
| Top New Age Albums | ||
| Top Reggae Albums | ||
| Top Soundtracks | 30 | |
| Top World Albums |
World music World music is a term with widely varying definitions, often encompassing music which is primarily identified as another genre. This is evidenced by world music definitions such as "all of the music in the world" or "somebody else's local music"... albums, including catalog titles |
Other charts
In December 2010, Billboard announced a new chart titled Social 50, which ranks the most active artists on the world's leading social networking sites. The Social 50 chart tallies artists' popularity using their weekly additions of friends/fans/followers, along with weekly artist page views and weekly song plays on MyspaceMyspace
Myspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....
, YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
Facebook
Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
Twitter
Twitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...
and iLike
ILike
iLike is an online service that allows users to download and share music. The website makes use of a sidebar that is used with Apple's iTunes or Microsoft's Windows Media Player. The program and sidebar are not required in order to use the site but allow for ease in discovering new artists....
.
In January 2011, Billboard introduced another chart called Uncharted
Uncharted (chart)
Uncharted is a music chart published by Billboard. The chart was first published for the issue dated January 29, 2011, with Traphik in the number-one position....
, which lists new and developing artists, who are yet to appear on any major Billboard chart, "...regardless of their country of origin." The ranking is based on the views and fans on social networking websites like Myspace and Facebook. To appear on Uncharted, the artists must be registered Myspace Music artists, and should not have appeared on any major Billboard charts before.
Further reading
- Durkee, Rob. "American Top 40: The Countdown of the Century." Schriner Books, New York City, 1999.
- Battistini, Pete, "American Top 40 with Casey KasemCasey KasemKemal Amin "Casey" Kasem is an American radio personality and voice actor who is best known for being the host of the nationally syndicated Top 40 countdown show American Top 40, and for voicing Shaggy in the popular Saturday morning cartoon franchise Scooby-Doo.Kasem, along with Don Bustany and...
The 1970s." Authorhouse.com, January 31, 2005. ISBN 1-4184-1070-5