This is a list of the albums ranked number one in the United States during 2021. The top-performing albums and EPs in the U.S. are ranked on the Billboard 200 chart, which is published by Billboard magazine. The data is compiled by Nielsen SoundScan based on multi-metric consumption as measured in album-equivalent units, which comprise album sales, track sales, and streams on digital music platforms. Each unit equals one album sold, or 10 individual digital tracks sold from an album, or 3,750 ad-supported or 1,250 paid/subscription on-demand official audio and video streams generated by songs from an album.
30, the fourth studio album by English singer-songwriter Adele, was the best-selling album of 2021, with 1.464 million copies sold. It garnered the biggest opening week of 2021 with 839,000 album-equivalent units, and topped the chart for the final four weeks of the year. Dangerous: The Double Album by American country singer Morgan Wallen was the best-performing album of 2021 and the longest running number-one album of the year, having topped the Billboard 200 for 10 consecutive weeks. It became the first country album since The Chase (1992) by American singer Garth Brooks to reign the Billboard 200 for six or more weeks, and the first album since Whitney (1987) by American singer Whitney Houston, to spend its first 10 weeks at the top spot.
American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift charted three number one albums this year—the most for any artist: her 2020 studio album Evermore and 2021 re-recordings Fearless (Taylor's Version) and Red (Taylor's Version); they collectively spent six weeks atop the Billboard 200. Fearless (Taylor's Version) became the first re-recorded album in history to top the chart. American singer-songwriter Olivia Rodrigo's debut studio album, Sour, is the year's second longest reigning number-one album of the Billboard 200 and the longest-reigning by a female artist, with five non-consecutive weeks spent atop the chart.
Chart history
+KeyIndicates best-performing album of 2021 Issue date Album Artist(s) Album-equivalent units Evermore 169,000 Whole Lotta Red Playboi Carti 100,000 Evermore Taylor Swift 56,000 Dangerous: The Double Album 265,000 159,000 130,000 149,000 150,000 93,000 89,000 82,000 78,000 69,000 Justice 154,000 SoulFly 130,000 Justice Justin Bieber 75,000 Fearless (Taylor's Version) Taylor Swift 291,000 Slime Language 2 Young Thug and various artists 113,000 A Gangsta's Pain Moneybagg Yo 110,000 Khaled Khaled DJ Khaled 94,000 A Gangsta's Pain Moneybagg Yo 61,000 The Off-Season 282,000 Sour 295,000 EvermoreTaylor Swift 202,000 The Voice of the Heroes Lil Baby and Lil Durk 150,000 Hall of Fame Polo G 143,000 Sour Olivia Rodrigo 105,000 Call Me If You Get Lost Tyler, the Creator 169,000 Sour Olivia Rodrigo 88,000 83,000 Faith Pop Smoke 88,000 F*ck Love The Kid Laroi 85,000 Happier Than Ever 238,000 85,000 60,000 Sour Olivia Rodrigo 133,000 Donda 309,000 Certified Lover Boy Drake 613,000 236,000 171,000 Sincerely, Kentrell YoungBoy Never Broke Again 137,000 Fearless (Taylor's Version) Taylor Swift 152,000 Certified Lover Boy Drake 94,000 Punk Young Thug 90,000 Certified Lover Boy Drake 74,000 = 118,000 Still Over It 166,000 Red (Taylor's Version) Taylor Swift 605,000 30Adele 839,000 288,000 193,000 183,000
Number-one artists + List of number-one artists by total weeks at number one Position Country Artist Weeks at No. 1 1 Morgan Wallen 10 2 Taylor Swift 6 3 Drake 5 Olivia Rodrigo 5 Adele 4 6 Billie Eilish 3 7 Justin Bieber 2 Moneybagg Yo Young Thug 10 Playboi Carti 1 Rod Wave DJ Khaled J. Cole Lil Baby Lil Durk Polo G Tyler, the Creator Pop Smoke The Kid Laroi Kanye West YoungBoy Never Broke Again Ed Sheeran Summer Walker
See also List of Billboard Hot 100 number ones of 2021 List of Billboard Global 200 number ones of 2021 List of Billboard 200 number-one albums of the 2020s 2021 in American music
References