Billboard Comprehensive Albums

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Billboard Comprehensive Albums was established in 2003

Billboard magazine that ranked the biggest selling albums in the United States
regardless of the product's age or method of sales.

Billboard Comprehensive Albums included any album, old or new, sold anywhere, for which sales data was available. Generally, the Billboard Comprehensive Albums was nearly identical to the Billboard 200, with the exception of approximately 20 to 30 "catalog" albums that still sell well enough to be one of the top 200-selling albums in any given week.

Albums which are over 18 months old (from the date of release) and have dropped below position 100 on

The Billboard 200 were removed from that chart and placed on the Top Pop Catalog Albums
chart.

Until November 2007, albums sold as an "exclusive" to a particular retail outlet (such as

The Eagles' album Long Road Out of Eden, sold exclusively at Wal-Mart and on the Eagles' website; the rule change took effect with the issue dated November 17, 2007.[2]

The Billboard Comprehensive Albums chart was not published in the print edition of Billboard magazine. Instead, it could be viewed via paid subscription to Billboard's online service, Billboard.biz.

The issue dated July 11, 2009 was the first time any catalog album outsold the number-one album on the Billboard 200. Three of Michael Jackson's albums (Number Ones, The Essential Michael Jackson and Thriller) claimed positions 1-3 respectively on Top Pop Catalog Albums and Top Comprehensive Albums in the week following Jackson's death.[3][4]

After the continued success of such catalog albums, Billboard Comprehensive Albums chart was discontinued in November 2009, and the Billboard 200 began to incorporate the catalog albums. Billboard then started the

Top Current Albums
chart with the old rules of the Billboard 200.

References

  1. ^ New Charts To Track Exclusives
  2. ^ Peters, Mitchell (2007-11-06). "Revised Chart Policy Lands Eagles At No. 1". Billboard magazine. Retrieved 2007-11-06.
  3. ^ Caulfield, Keith (2009-07-01). "Michael Jackson Breaks Billboard Charts Records". Billboard. Retrieved 2009-07-01.
  4. ^ "Michael Jackson's music tops charts". CNN. 2009-07-01. Retrieved 2009-07-01.