List of Billboard 200 number-one albums of 2012 explained

The highest-selling albums and EPs in the United States are ranked in the Billboard 200, which is published by Billboard magazine. The data are compiled by Nielsen Soundscan based on each album's weekly physical and digital sales. In 2012, a total of 32 albums claimed the top position of the chart. One of which, Canadian singer Michael Bublé's album Christmas started its peak in late 2011.^[1]

Adele's album 21 was the longest-running number-one album of the year for the second time, staying atop the chart for eleven non-consecutive weeks.^[2] Red by Taylor Swift had the second-most weeks at number one with five. Other albums with extended chart runs include Babel by Mumford & Sons, Tuskegee by Lionel Richie, Blown Away by Carrie Underwood, Born and Raised by John Mayer and Uncaged by Zac Brown Band; each spent two weeks on the top position. Throughout 2012, only one act achieved multiple number-one albums on the chart: One Direction with Up All Night and Take Me Home. Swift's album Red sold 1.21 million copies in its first week, making it the album with the highest weekly sales in 2012.^[3] 21 was the biggest-selling album of 2012, with 4,410,000 copies sold.^[4]

Chart history

style="background-color:#FFFF99"

Indicates best performing album of 2012

scope=col	Issue date	scope=col	Album	scope=col	Artist(s)	scope=col	Sales	scope=col class="unsortable"
	Christmas		467,000	^[5] ^[6]
	bgcolor=#FFFF99 style="text-align: center;" rowspan="10"	21	Adele	144,000	^[7] ^[8]
	124,000	^[9] ^[10]
	104,000	^[11] ^[12]
	95,000	^[13] ^[14]
	116,000	^[15] ^[16]
	122,000	^[17] ^[18]
	237,000	^[19] ^[20]
	730,000	^[21] ^[22]
	297,000	^[23] ^[24]
	247,000	^[25] ^[26]
	Wrecking Ball		196,000	^[27] ^[28]
	Up All Night	One Direction	176,000	^[29] ^[30]
		Various artists	175,000	^[31] ^[32]
	MDNA	Madonna	359,000	^[33] ^[34]
			253,000	^[35] ^[36]
	Tuskegee		129,000	^[37] ^[38]
			114,000	^[39] ^[40]
	Blunderbuss		138,000	^[41] ^[42]
	Blown Away		267,000	^[43] ^[44]
			120,000	^[45] ^[46]
	Trespassing		77,000	^[47] ^[48]
	Born and Raised		219,000	^[49] ^[50]
			65,000	^[51] ^[52]
	bgcolor=#FFFF99 style="text-align: center;"	21	Adele	75,000	^[53] ^[54]
	Looking 4 Myself	Usher	128,000	^[55] ^[56]
	Believe		374,000	^[57] ^[58]
	Living Things	Linkin Park	223,000	^[59] ^[60]
	Fortune		134,000	^[61] ^[62]
	Uncaged		234,000	^[63] ^[64]
	Life Is Good	Nas	149,000	^[65] ^[66]
	Uncaged	Zac Brown Band	48,000	^[67] ^[68]
	God Forgives, I Don't		218,000	^[69] ^[70]
	Now 43	Various artists	111,000	^[71] ^[72]
	Based on a T.R.U. Story	2 Chainz	75,000	^[73] ^[74]
	Chapter V		135,000	^[75] ^[76]
	Eye on It	TobyMac	69,000	^[77] ^[78]
	North	Matchbox Twenty	95,000	^[79] ^[80]
	Away from the World		266,000	^[81] ^[82]
	The Truth About Love	Pink<	-- Please do not change to "P!nk" That is a stylization; see the article's talk page -->	280,000	^[83] ^[84]
	Babel	Mumford & Sons	600,000	^[85] ^[86]
			169,000	^[87] ^[88]
			96,000	^[89] ^[90]
	Night Train		409,000	^[91] ^[92]
	Red		1,208,000	^[93] ^[94]
			344,000	^[95] ^[96]
			196,000	^[97] ^[98]
	Take Me Home	One Direction	540,000	^[99] ^[100]
	Unapologetic	Rihanna	238,000	^[101] ^[102]
	Girl on Fire		159,000	^[103] ^[104]
	Red	Taylor Swift	167,000	^[105] ^[106]
			208,000	^[107] ^[108]

See also

• 2012 in music
• List of Hot 100 number-one singles of 2012 (U.S.)

Notes and References

1. Keith. Caulfield. Michael Buble Bests Nickelback, Rihanna on Billboard 200. Billboard. 2011-11-23. 2011-11-23.
2. Web site: Adele's '21' Goes Diamond - Yahoo! TV. Paul. Grein. Yahoo! Music. 2012-11-07. 2012-11-09.
3. Taylor Swift's 'Red' Sells 1.21 Million; Biggest Sales Week for an Album Since 2002. Keith. Caulfield. Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. 2012-10-30. 2013-12-26.
4. Adele's '21' 2012's Best-Selling Album; Gotye Has Top Song. Keith. Caulfield. 2013-01-03. Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. 2013-01-07.
5. Web site: January 7, 2012. .
6. Keith. Caulfield. Michael Buble's 'Christmas' Spends Fifth Week at No. 1, Adele's '21' Has Best Sales Week Yet. Billboard. 2011-12-28. 2011-12-28.
7. Web site: January 14, 2012. .
8. Keith. Caulfield. Adele's '21' Claims 14th Week Atop Billboard 200. Billboard. 2012-01-04. 2012-01-04.
9. Web site: January 21, 2012. .
10. Keith. Caulfield. Adele's '21' Hits 15th Week at No. 1. Billboard. 2012-01-11. 2012-01-11.
11. Web site: January 28, 2012. .
12. Keith. Caulfield. Adele Matches 'Titanic's' No. 1 Run Atop Billboard 200. Billboard. 2012-01-18. 2012-01-18.
13. Web site: February 4, 2012. .
14. Keith. Caulfield. Adele's '21' - Biggest No. 1 Album Since 'Bodyguard'. Billboard. 2012-01-25. 2012-01-25.
15. Web site: February 11, 2012. .
16. Keith. Caulfield. Tim McGraw Scores Top Billboard 200 Debut, Adele Still No. 1. Billboard. 2012-02-01. 2012-02-01.
17. Web site: February 18, 2012. .
18. Keith. Caulfield. Lana Del Rey Debuts at No. 2 on Billboard 200 Albums Chart. Billboard. 2012-02-08. 2012-02-08.
19. Web site: February 25, 2012. .
20. Keith. Caulfield. Adele's '21' Hits 20th Week at No. 1, Van Halen Debuts at No. 2. Billboard. 2012-02-15. 2012-02-15.
21. Web site: March 3, 2012. .
22. Keith. Caulfield. Adele's '21' Hits 21st Week at No. 1; Sells 730,000 Post-Grammys. Billboard. 2012-02-21. 2012-02-21.
23. Web site: March 10, 2012. .
24. Keith. Caulfield. Adele's '21': Longest-Running No. 1 Album Since 'Purple Rain'. Billboard. 2012-02-29. 2012-02-29.
25. Web site: March 17, 2012. .
26. Keith. Caulfield. Kid Cudi's WZRD Scores Top Billboard 200 Debut, Adele Still No. 1. Billboard. 2012-03-07. 2012-03-07.
27. Web site: March 24, 2012. .
28. Keith. Caulfield. Bruce Springsteen Squeaks By Adele, Earns Tenth No. 1 Album. Billboard. 2012-03-14. 2012-03-14.
29. Web site: March 31, 2012. .
30. Keith. Caulfield. One Direction Makes History With No. 1 Debut on Billboard 200. Billboard. 2012-03-21. 2012-03-21.
31. Web site: April 7, 2012. .
32. Keith. Caulfield. 'Hunger Games' Soundtrack Debuts at No. 1 on Billboard 200. Billboard. 2012-03-28. 2012-03-28.
33. Web site: April 14, 2012. .
34. Keith. Caulfield. Madonna Debuts at No. 1 on Billboard 200, Lionel Richie at No. 2. Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. 2012-03-28. 2012-03-28.
35. Web site: April 21, 2012. .
36. Keith. Caulfield. Nicki Minaj's 'Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded' Debuts At No. 1 On Billboard 200. Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. 2012-04-11. 2012-04-11.
37. Web site: April 28, 2012. .
38. Keith. Caulfield. Lionel Richie's 'Tuskegee' Hits No. 1 on Billboard 200. Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. 2012-04-18. 2012-04-18.
39. Web site: May 5, 2012. .
40. Keith. Caulfield. Billboard 200: Lionel Richie Holds Off Jason Mraz, Stays At No. 1. Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. 2012-04-25. 2012-04-25.
41. Web site: May 12, 2012. .
42. Keith. Caulfield. Jack White Debuts At No. 1 on Billboard 200. Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. 2012-05-02. 2012-05-02.
43. Web site: May 19, 2012. .
44. Keith. Caulfield. Carrie Underwood's 'Blown Away' Debuts At No. 1 With Best Country Sales In Months. Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. 2012-05-09. 2012-05-09.
45. Web site: May 26, 2012. .
46. Keith. Caulfield. Carrie Underwood's 'Blown Away' Nabs Second Week at No. 1. Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. 2012-05-16. 2012-05-16.
47. Web site: June 2, 2012. .
48. Keith. Caulfield. Adam Lambert Snags First No. 1 Album on Billboard 200 Chart. Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. 2012-05-23. 2012-05-23.
49. Web site: June 9, 2012. .
50. Keith. Caulfield. John Mayer Earns Third No. 1 Album on Billboard 200. Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. 2012-05-30. 2012-05-30.
51. Web site: June 16, 2012. .
52. Keith. Caulfield. John Mayer's No. 1 for Second Week on Billboard 200. Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. 2012-06-06. 2012-06-06.
53. Web site: June 23, 2012. .
54. Keith. Caulfield. Alan Jackson Scores Top Debut on Billboard 200, Adele's Back at No. 1. Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. 2012-06-13. 2012-06-13.
55. Web site: June 30, 2012. .
56. Keith. Caulfield. Usher Scores Fourth No. 1 Album on Billboard 200 With 'Looking 4 Myself'. Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. 2012-06-20. 2012-06-20.
57. Web site: July 7, 2012. .
58. Keith. Caulfield. Official: Justin Bieber's 'Believe' Is Year's Biggest Debut, Bows at No. 1. Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. 2012-06-27. 2012-06-27.
59. Web site: July 14, 2012. .
60. Keith. Caulfield. Linkin Park Squeaks By Maroon 5, Hits No. 1 on Billboard 200. Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. 2012-07-04. 2012-07-04.
61. Web site: July 21, 2012. .
62. Keith. Caulfield. Chris Brown's 'Fortune' Album Debuts at No. 1 on Billboard 200 By Chris Brown, Hits No. 1 on Billboard 200. Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. 2012-07-11. 2012-07-11.
63. Web site: July 28, 2012. .
64. Keith. Caulfield. Zac Brown Band, Frank Ocean Debut at Nos. 1 & 2 on Billboard 200. Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. 2012-07-18. 2012-07-18.
65. Web site: August 4, 2012. .
66. Keith. Caulfield. Nas Bows at No. 1 with 'Life is Good'. Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. 2012-07-25. 2012-07-25.
67. Web site: August 11, 2012. .
68. Keith. Caulfield. Zac Brown Band Reclaims Top Spot on Billboard 200. Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. 2012-08-01. 2012-08-01.
69. Web site: August 18, 2012. .
70. Keith. Caulfield. Rick Ross Scores Fourth No. 1 Album with 'God Forgives, I Don't'. Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. 2012-08-08. 2012-08-08.
71. Web site: August 25, 2012. .
72. Keith. Caulfield. 'Now 43' Scores Franchise's 16th No. 1 on Billboard 200 Chart. Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. 2012-08-15. 2012-08-15.
73. Web site: September 1, 2012. .
74. Keith. Caulfield. 2 Chainz Debuts at No. 1 on Billboard 200. Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. 2012-08-22. 2012-08-22.
75. Web site: September 8, 2012. .
76. Keith. Caulfield. Trey Songz Gets First No. 1 Album on Billboard 200. Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. 2012-08-29. 2012-08-29.
77. Web site: September 15, 2012. .
78. Keith. Caulfield. TobyMac Earns First No. 1 Christian Album on Billboard 200 Since 1997. Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. 2012-09-05. 2012-09-05.
79. Web site: September 22, 2012. .
80. Keith. Caulfield. Matchbox Twenty Scores First No. 1 Album On Billboard 200. Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. 2012-09-12. 2012-09-12.
81. Web site: September 29, 2012. .
82. Keith. Caulfield. Dave Matthews Band Debuts at No. 1 on Billboard 200. Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. 2012-09-19. 2012-09-19.
83. Web site: October 6, 2012. .
84. Keith. Caulfield. Pink Earns First No. 1 Album on Billboard 200 Chart. Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. 2012-09-26. 2012-09-26.
85. Web site: October 13, 2012. .
86. Keith. Caulfield. Mumford & Sons' 'Babel' Scores Biggest Debut of Year, Bows at No. 1 on Billboard 200 Chart. Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. 2012-10-03. 2012-10-03.
87. Web site: October 20, 2012. .
88. Keith. Caulfield. Muse's 'The 2nd Law' Leads Seven Top 10 Debuts on Billboard 200. Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. 2012-10-10. 2012-10-10.
89. Web site: October 27, 2012. .
90. Keith. Caulfield. Macklemore & Ryan Lewis Score Top Billboard 200 Debut, Mumford Still No. 1. Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. 2012-10-17. 2012-10-17.
91. Web site: November 3, 2012. .
92. Keith. Caulfield. Jason Aldean's 'Night Train' Rolls to No. 1 On Billboard 200. Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. 2012-10-24. 2012-10-24.
93. Web site: November 10, 2012. .
94. Keith. Caulfield. Taylor Swift's 'Red' Sells 1.21 Million; Biggest Sales Week for an Album Since 2002. Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. 2012-10-31. 2012-10-31.
95. Web site: November 17, 2012. .
96. Keith. Caulfield. Taylor Swift Still Rules Billboard 200, Meek Mill Starts at No. 2. Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. 2012-11-07. 2012-11-07.
97. Web site: November 24, 2012. .
98. Keith. Caulfield. Taylor Swift's 'Red' Still No. 1, 'Now 44' Scores Top Debut. Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. 2012-11-14. 2012-11-14.
99. Web site: December 1, 2012. .
100. Keith. Caulfield. One Direction's 'Take Me Home' Debuts at No. 1 With Year's Third-Biggest Opening. Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. 2012-11-20. 2012-11-20.
101. Web site: December 8, 2012. .
102. Keith. Caulfield. Rihanna Earns First No. 1 Album on Billboard 200 Chart. Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. 2012-11-27. 2012-11-27.
103. Web site: December 15, 2012. .
104. Keith. Caulfield. Alica Keys Earns Fifth No. 1 Album on Billboard 200 Chart. Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. 2012-12-04. 2012-12-04.
105. Web site: December 22, 2012. .
106. Keith. Caulfield. Taylor Swift's 'Red' Back at No. 1, Wiz Khalifa and Ke$ha Debut Top 10. Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. 2012-12-12. 2012-12-12.
107. Web site: December 29, 2012. .
108. Keith. Caulfield. Bruno Mars Debuts at No. 2 as Taylor Swift's 'Red' Still Rules. Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. 2012-12-19. 2012-12-19.