Adele, Prince... and Vanilla Ice? The 20 Albums to Lead the Billboard 200 for 16 Weeks or More

54, "West Side Story" soundtrack, 1962
37, "Thriller," Michael Jackson, 1983
31, "Rumours," Fleetwood Mac, 1977
31, "South Pacific" soundtrack, 1958
31, "Calypso," Harry Belafonte, 1956
24, "Purple Rain," Prince and the Revolution/soundtrack, 1984 (and this one still holds the record for MOST consecutive weeks at number-one)
24, "Saturday Night Fever" soundtrack, 1978
21, "Please Hammer Don't Hurt 'Em," M.C. Hammer, 1990
20, "The Bodyguard," Whitney Houston/soundtrack, 1992
20, "Blue Hawaii," Elvis Presley/soundtrack, 1961
18, "Ropin' the Wind," Garth Brooks, 1991
18, "Dirty Dancing," soundtrack, 1987
18, "More of the Monkees," the Monkees, 1967
17, "Some Gave All," Billy Ray Cyrus, 1992
17, "Synchronicity," the Police, 1983
16, "21," Adele, 2011
16, "Titanic" soundtrack, 1998
16, "To the Extreme," Vanilla Ice, 1990
16, "Days of Wine and Roses," Andy Williams, 1963
16, "The Sound of Music," original cast, 1960

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Looks like Adele's about to have a 17th week from HITS Daily Double calculations tying her with the Police and... Billy Ray.

EDIT: OOPS! Forgot the link - http://www.billboard.biz/...4152.story

[Edited 1/19/12 21:34pm]

Oddly enough Elvis, the Beatles, Madonna nor the Rolling Stones have had any album topping the charts that long I guess... kinda shocking.

For a couple of years in the late 1960's, The Monkees outsold The Beatles & Rolling Stones (in the US).

Timmy84 said:

Oddly enough Elvis, the Beatles, Madonna nor the Rolling Stones have had any album topping the charts that long I guess... kinda shocking.

i know, but also a lot of huge selling albums didn't.

Led Zeppelin IV, The Eagles Greatest Hits, Appettite For Destruction, The Sign, Born In The U.S.A

All those are some of the best selling and only where number 1 a few weeks strangely enough. And i'm shocked that Vanilla ice had a number 1 album 16 weeks based off 1 huge single & Billy Ray to

The rest on the list had a few big hits off there albums, but those 2 are known for there 1 & only hit wtf made people want to make a Vanilla Ice album diamond

Gunsnhalen said:

Timmy84 said:

Oddly enough Elvis, the Beatles, Madonna nor the Rolling Stones have had any album topping the charts that long I guess... kinda shocking.

i know, but also a lot of huge selling albums didn't.

Led Zeppelin IV, The Eagles Greatest Hits, Appettite For Destruction, The Sign, Born In The U.S.A

All those are some of the best selling and only where number 1 a few weeks strangely enough. And i'm shocked that Vanilla ice had a number 1 album 16 weeks based off 1 huge single & Billy Ray to

The rest on the list had a few big hits off there albums, but those 2 are known for there 1 & only hit wtf made people want to make a Vanilla Ice album diamond

I'm still trying to figure that out.

But yeah I know it was different times when selling 100,000 was normal for the top ten albums.

I read up on how much Foreigner sold in the '70s and it's quite shocking. It didn't even go number-one and it was like seven million in the US alone without huge hits I don't think. Now that's impressive.

I was around then, and Vanilla Ice was very, very popular. He had some minor hits from that album like Stop That Train. He had an action figure and a movie too.

I know all of that. So did Hammer.

I'm only guessing Ice got hot because his label revamped him under Hammer's cloth.

Timmy84 said:

I read up on how much Foreigner sold in the '70s and it's quite shocking. It didn't even go number-one and it was like seven million in the US alone without huge hits I don't think. Now that's impressive.

That's because albums stayed on the charts a long time and didn't just fall off after a couple of weeks like now. Records didn't debut high either, most gradually went up the chart. Before soundscan, only 6 albums debuted at number one in the whole history of the record business. Back then groups like Rush, Pink Floyd, 38 Special, Emerson Lake & Palmer, and AC/DC sold lots of albums without Top 40 radio hits.

Timmy84 said:

24, "Purple Rain," Prince and the Revolution/soundtrack, 1984 (and this one still holds the record for MOST consecutive weeks at number-one)

Ties with SNF - 24 consecutive weeks at #1 each

Rodgers & Hammerstein, made the list twice, impressive.

=========================

[Edited 1/20/12 9:38am]

Prince, MJ, and the Police all had massive chart runs inside of 2 years. Impressive. Especially considering other monster albums that came out in short order, such as Like A Virgin and Born In The USA.

And if IIRC, 1999 stayed in the top 200 albums from 82-84 as well, and may have even gotten a bump from Purple Rain.

I was also under the impression that earlier albums Prince, Dirty Mind and Controversy all earned platinum status after Purple Rain dropped.

I think Blue Hawaii was also Elvis' most successful movie.

Timmy84 said:

Gunsnhalen said:

The rest on the list had a few big hits off there albums, but those 2 are known for there 1 & only hit wtf made people want to make a Vanilla Ice album diamond

I'm still trying to figure that out.

But yeah I know it was different times when selling 100,000 was normal for the top ten albums.

I read up on how much Foreigner sold in the '70s and it's quite shocking. It didn't even go number-one and it was like seven million in the US alone without huge hits I don't think. Now that's impressive.

Tween and teen girls from families with disposable income can be the difference between platinum and diamond.

Timmy84 said:

Oddly enough Elvis, the Beatles, Madonna nor the Rolling Stones have had any album topping the charts that long I guess... kinda shocking.

I'd say Elvis was more of a singles artist, and that the Beatles & Stones had too many albums for any one to take off like crazy.

They were all successful but it wasn't like one album that the whole world took notice of like, say, Thriller, Purple Rain, 21...

Madonna, well, maybe she's just not that good

NDRU said:

Timmy84 said:

Oddly enough Elvis, the Beatles, Madonna nor the Rolling Stones have had any album topping the charts that long I guess... kinda shocking.

I'd say Elvis was more of a singles artist, and that the Beatles & Stones had too many albums for any one to take off like crazy.

They were all successful but it wasn't like one album that the whole world took notice of like, say, Thriller, Purple Rain, 21...

Madonna, well, maybe she's just not that good

The marketplace for the Beatles and Stones was hugely competitive. There's no shame in getting knocked off the top spot by each other or any other legends of the game, like say the Beach Boys, or The Who, or Motown, or any of the other big acts of the 60's and 70's.

Quite a few of these cds were soundtracks Adele will get several more weeks at #1. Not many big releases coming and she has her Grammy wins coming up.

^^Before the 1970's, acts released albums more often. Many averaged two or three albums a year. In the USA, The Beatles had more albums than were released in a lot of other countries. Many people today assume that the British albums were used everywhere, and forgot about the Capitol & Vee Jay records. There was Swan too, but I think they only released a few singles, no albums.

Eight out of the Twenty albums who stayed atop of the charts for 16 weeks or more are movie soundtracks. Maybe in this instance we have to keep thing in perspective, your demographic audience. As far as the Monkey's go, it sure didn't hurt to have a weekly TV show. Hell' they had their own MTV befo' MTV.

========================

[Edited 1/20/12 15:58pm]

Timmy84 said:

Adele, Prince... and Vanilla Ice? The 20 Albums to Lead the Billboard 200 for 16 Weeks or More

54, "West Side Story" soundtrack, 1962
37, "Thriller," Michael Jackson, 1983
31, "Rumours," Fleetwood Mac, 1977
31, "South Pacific" soundtrack, 1958
31, "Calypso," Harry Belafonte, 1956
24, "Purple Rain," Prince and the Revolution/soundtrack, 1984 (and this one still holds the record for MOST consecutive weeks at number-one)
24, "Saturday Night Fever" soundtrack, 1978
21, "Please Hammer Don't Hurt 'Em," M.C. Hammer, 1990
20, "The Bodyguard," Whitney Houston/soundtrack, 1992
20, "Blue Hawaii," Elvis Presley/soundtrack, 1961
18, "Ropin' the Wind," Garth Brooks, 1991
18, "Dirty Dancing," soundtrack, 1987
18, "More of the Monkees," the Monkees, 1967
17, "Some Gave All," Billy Ray Cyrus, 1992
17, "Synchronicity," the Police, 1983
16, "21," Adele, 2011
16, "Titanic" soundtrack, 1998
16, "To the Extreme," Vanilla Ice, 1990
16, "Days of Wine and Roses," Andy Williams, 1963
16, "The Sound of Music," original cast, 1960

----

Looks like Adele's about to have a 17th week from HITS Daily Double calculations tying her with the Police and... Billy Ray.

EDIT: OOPS! Forgot the link - http://www.billboard.biz/...4152.story

[Edited 1/19/12 21:34pm]

The albums in bold are studio albums.

[Edited 1/20/12 15:58pm]

Timmy84 said:

Timmy84 said:

Adele, Prince... and Vanilla Ice? The 20 Albums to Lead the Billboard 200 for 16 Weeks or More

54, "West Side Story" soundtrack, 1962
37, "Thriller," Michael Jackson, 1983
31, "Rumours," Fleetwood Mac, 1977
31, "South Pacific" soundtrack, 1958
31, "Calypso," Harry Belafonte, 1956
24, "Purple Rain," Prince and the Revolution/soundtrack, 1984 (and this one still holds the record for MOST consecutive weeks at number-one)
24, "Saturday Night Fever" soundtrack, 1978
21, "Please Hammer Don't Hurt 'Em," M.C. Hammer, 1990
20, "The Bodyguard," Whitney Houston/soundtrack, 1992
20, "Blue Hawaii," Elvis Presley/soundtrack, 1961
18, "Ropin' the Wind," Garth Brooks, 1991
18, "Dirty Dancing," soundtrack, 1987
18, "More of the Monkees," the Monkees, 1967
17, "Some Gave All," Billy Ray Cyrus, 1992
17, "Synchronicity," the Police, 1983
16, "21," Adele, 2011
16, "Titanic" soundtrack, 1998
16, "To the Extreme," Vanilla Ice, 1990
16, "Days of Wine and Roses," Andy Williams, 1963
16, "The Sound of Music," original cast, 1960

----

Looks like Adele's about to have a 17th week from HITS Daily Double calculations tying her with the Police and... Billy Ray.

EDIT: OOPS! Forgot the link - http://www.billboard.biz/...4152.story

[Edited 1/19/12 21:34pm]

The albums in bold are studio albums.

[Edited 1/20/12 15:58pm]

Come on Timmy you can tell me... you have a copy of "Some Gave All". Nothing to be ashamed of brother.

TD3 said:

Eight out of the Twenty albums who stayed atop of the charts for 16 weeks or more are movie soundtracks. Maybe in this instance we have to keep thing in perspective, your demographic audience. As far as the Monkey's go, it sure didn't hurt to have a weekly TV show. Hell' they had their own MTV befo' MTV.

Michael Nesmith came up with the idea for MTV.

TD3 said:

Timmy84 said:

The albums in bold are studio albums.

[Edited 1/20/12 15:58pm]

Come on Timmy you can tell me... you have a copy of "Some Gave All". Nothing to be ashamed of brother.

Please.

MickyDolenz said:

TD3 said:

Eight out of the Twenty albums who stayed atop of the charts for 16 weeks or more are movie soundtracks. Maybe in this instance we have to keep thing in perspective, your demographic audience. As far as the Monkey's go, it sure didn't hurt to have a weekly TV show. Hell' they had their own MTV befo' MTV.

Michael Nesmith came up with the idea for MTV.

I know, I should've said, no pun intended.

Adele must be getting close to have the most separate runs at number 1 (9 different runs)

Timmy84 - Saturday Night Fever also did it's 24 weeks consecutive same as Purple Rain.

I never thought an album would get close to Purple Rain because no album has spent longer at number 1 since it came out, and Adele still needs to do another 9 to pass it, but with few challengers and the inevitable Grammy bump she could get close.

Timmy84 said:

TD3 said:

Come on Timmy you can tell me... you have a copy of "Some Gave All". Nothing to be ashamed of brother.

Please.

Timmy84 said:

Oddly enough Elvis, the Beatles, Madonna nor the Rolling Stones have had any album topping the charts that long I guess... kinda shocking.

Not really though, since the Beatles Madonna and others were in more competitive times, different techniques of sales reading, and also in the case of the beatles, stones elton john etc..they were doing 2 albums a year sometimes 3 in eltons case.

Cyrus looks so out of place in this list. My God. Oh well, at least it's not his dumbass daughter.

mynameisnotsusan said:

Adele must be getting close to have the most separate runs at number 1 (9 different runs)

Timmy84 - Saturday Night Fever also did it's 24 weeks consecutive same as Purple Rain.

I never thought an album would get close to Purple Rain because no album has spent longer at number 1 since it came out, and Adele still needs to do another 9 to pass it, but with few challengers and the inevitable Grammy bump she could get close.

It's already confirmed it'll have a 17th week at the top. I think since no album is in danger of taking it down, it may come sooner than one would expect.

Billy Ray Cyrus had other songs than Achy Breaky Fart?!

Interesting list indeed...