Changes in the Billboard Chart

New best-selling albums are ranked on Billboard’s 200 best albums chart, “Billboard 200,” and albums that have been out for more than 18 months are placed in the old albums chart, “Album Catalog.” But this year was the first year in the history of the Billboard charts where sales of one album in the catalog chart were higher than the number one album on the Billboard 200: Michael Jackson’s Number Ones. Before his death, Michael topped the Billboard 200 five times, and after his death, his album released in 2003 became number one on the catalog chart—and its sales have now even surpassed the sales of the Billboard 200’s number one album. Because of the age of the albums, the catalog chart has so far been of less importance than the Billboard 200 chart, but Number Ones becoming the best-selling album of the year has caused chart officials to consider changing the way albums are ranked. That’s why starting in 2010, all albums—regardless of how long they’ve been released—will be ranked together in a single chart. Source: eMJey / Billboard Biz