Independent Albums
Encyclopedia
The Billboard Independent Albums (also titled Billboard Top Independent Albums) is a chart of the highest-selling independent music album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...

s and extended play
Extended play
An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...

s (EPs) in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, compiled by 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...

 and published weekly by Billboard
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. 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 download
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...

s from a variety of online music store
Online music store
An online music store is an online business which sells audio files, usually music, on a per-song and/or subscription basis. It may be differentiated from music streaming services in that the music store offers the actual music file, while streaming services offer partial or full listening without...

s. The chart began in the week of December 2, 2000.

The top 25 positions are currently published through the Billboard website, with further chart positions available through a paid subscription
Subscription business model
The subscription business model is a business model where a customer must pay a subscription price to have access to the product/service. The model was pioneered by magazines and newspapers, but is now used by many businesses and websites....

 to Billboard.biz. As with all Billboard charts, albums appearing on the Independent chart may also concurrently appear on 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...

, the main chart published based solely on sales, as well as any of the other Billboard chart. 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.

The chart's first number one was Who Let the Dogs Out
Who Let the Dogs Out (album)
Who Let the Dogs Out is the title of the fifth studio album by Bahamas-based musical group Baha Men. It was released by Artemis Records, S-Curve Records and Edel Music in 2000...

by Baha Men
Baha Men
The Baha Men are Bahamian singers in a Bahamian band. They play a modernised style of Bahamian music called Junkanoo.-Early career as High Voltage :...

, which went on to top the year-end chart for 2001.

Best-selling top independent albums by year

Since 2002, Billboard.biz has annually published an end-of-year list of the top fifty best selling independent albums. Billboard also independently announced the highest selling album for 2001. Lil Jon & the East Side Boyz
Lil Jon
Jonathan Mortimer Smith , better known by his stage name Lil Jon, is an American rapper, music producer, entrepreneur, and occasional disc jockey who was a member of the group Lil Jon & The East Side Boyz. Lil Jon formed the group in 1997, and the group released several albums between then and 2004...

 have topped this chart three times since its inception, twice with their 2002 album Kings of Crunk
Kings of Crunk
Kings of Crunk is the fourth studio album by Lil Jon & the East Side Boyz.Based on the success of the album's second single "Get Low", Kings of Crunk made the top twenty of the US album chart in September 2003...

.
  • 2001 (see 2001 in music
    2001 in music
    See also:* 2001 in music Record labels established in 2001-Events:*January 1**Comeback of Guns N' Roses in House of Blues**Hum disbands.*January 17 – Bass player Jason Newsted leaves Metallica after 14 years with the band....

    ): Baha Men
    Baha Men
    The Baha Men are Bahamian singers in a Bahamian band. They play a modernised style of Bahamian music called Junkanoo.-Early career as High Voltage :...

     - Who Let the Dogs Out
    Who Let the Dogs Out (album)
    Who Let the Dogs Out is the title of the fifth studio album by Bahamas-based musical group Baha Men. It was released by Artemis Records, S-Curve Records and Edel Music in 2000...

  • 2002 (see 2002 in music
    2002 in music
    This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 2002.-Events:*February 3 – U2 perform during the halftime show for Super Bowl XXXVI...

    ): Mannheim Steamroller
    Mannheim Steamroller
    Mannheim Steamroller is an American music group founded by Chip Davis and Jackson Berkey, known primarily for its modern recordings of Christmas music. The group has sold 28 million albums in the U.S. alone.-Beginnings:...

     - Christmas Extraordinaire
    Christmas Extraordinaire
    Christmas Extraordinaire was the sixth Christmas album released by New Age musical group Mannheim Steamroller. The album was originally released in 2001...

  • 2003 (see 2003 in music
    2003 in music
    -January:* January – following an investigation by The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry and London detectives, police raids in England and the Netherlands recover nearly 500 original Beatles studio tapes, recorded during the Let It Be sessions. Five people are arrested...

    ): Lil Jon & the East Side Boyz
    Lil Jon
    Jonathan Mortimer Smith , better known by his stage name Lil Jon, is an American rapper, music producer, entrepreneur, and occasional disc jockey who was a member of the group Lil Jon & The East Side Boyz. Lil Jon formed the group in 1997, and the group released several albums between then and 2004...

     - Kings of Crunk
    Kings of Crunk
    Kings of Crunk is the fourth studio album by Lil Jon & the East Side Boyz.Based on the success of the album's second single "Get Low", Kings of Crunk made the top twenty of the US album chart in September 2003...

  • 2004 (see 2004 in music
    2004 in music
    See also:* 2004 in music Record labels established in 2004-January:*January 1**The Vienna New Year's Concert is conducted by Riccardo Muti.**Kurt Nilsen wins World Idol....

    ): Lil Jon & the East Side Boyz - Kings of Crunk
  • 2005 (see 2005 in music
    2005 in music
    -Events:*During the year 2005, 12 rock music albums scored number 1 in the USA. This was the first time even ten albums have scored number 1 since 1996.-January:...

    ): Lil Jon & the East Side Boyz - Crunk Juice
    Crunk Juice
    Crunk Juice is the fifth studio album by American recording artists Lil Jon & the East Side Boyz, released in November 16, 2004, on TVT/BME...

  • 2006 (see 2006 in music
    2006 in music
    This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 2006.-January:*January 10 – Eric Burdon releases his album Soul of a Man and begins touring with a new band....

    ): Little Big Town
    Little Big Town
    Little Big Town is an American country music vocal group. Founded in 1998, the group has comprised the same four members since its inception: Karen Fairchild, Kimberly Schlapman, Jimi Westbrook, and Phillip Sweet. The quartet's musical style relies heavily on four-part vocal harmonies, with all...

     - The Road to Here
    The Road to Here
    -Little Big Town:*Karen Fairchild – vocals*Kimberly Roads – vocals*Philip Sweet – vocals*Jimi Westbrook – vocals-Additional musicians:*Ron Block – banjo, acoustic guitar*Mark Childers – bass guitar on "Boondocks" and "Live with Lonesome"...

  • 2007 (see 2007 in music
    2007 in music
    This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 2007.-January:*January 1 - George Shearing is knighted for services to music in the Queen's New Year Honours List. Evelyn Glennie becomes a Dame...

    ): Various Artists - Hairspray
    Hairspray (2007 soundtrack)
    -2-disc Collector's edition:A limited edition two-disc version of the Hairspray soundtrack was released on November 20, 2007, the same day as the film's DVD/Blu-Ray release...

  • 2008 (see 2008 in music
    2008 in music
    2008 was a huge year in music history with the emergence of pop superstars Lady Gaga and Katy Perry into the mainstream. Also, this is the year that is widely agreed upon by critics as the start of the fall of hip hop from the mainstream and the rise of Synthpop into the mainstream due to acts such...

    ): The Eagles - Long Road out of Eden
    Long Road Out of Eden
    Long Road Out of Eden is the seventh studio album by American rock band Eagles, released in 2007 on Lost Highway Records. Nearly six years in production, Long Road Out of Eden is the first studio album from the Eagles since 1979's The Long Run, and along with the four original tracks on 1994 Hell...

  • 2009 (see 2009 in music
    2009 in music
    The following is a list of notable events and releases in 2009 in music. Susan Boyle's album I Dreamed a Dream became the biggest selling album in the world for 2009, selling 8.3 million copies in five weeks; more than any other artist's in the whole year...

    ): Jason Aldean
    Jason Aldean
    Jason Aldine Williams is an American country music singer, known professionally as Jason Aldean. Since 2005, Aldean has recorded for Broken Bow Records, an independent record label for which he has released four albums and twelve singles...

     - Wide Open
    Wide Open (Jason Aldean album)
    -Album:-Certifications:-End of year charts:-Singles:...

  • 2010 (see 2010 in American music
    2010 in American music
    The following is a list of notable events and releases that have occurred in 2010 in music in the United States.-January:* January 1 – Frontman Chris Cornell announces the reunion of Soundgarden....

    ): Jason Aldean - Wide Open

External links

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