Top Latin Albums (formerly Latin 50) is a record chart published by Billboard magazine and is labeled as the most important music chart for Spanish language, full-length albums in the American music market. Like all Billboard album charts, the chart is based on sales. Nielsen SoundScan compiles the sales data from merchants representing more than 90 percent of the U.S. music retail market. The sample includes sales at music stores, the music departments of electronics and department stores, direct-to-consumer transactions, and Internet sales of physical albums or digital downloads. A limited array of verifiable sales from concert venues is also tabulated.[1] To rank on this chart, an album must have 51% or more of its content recorded in Spanish.[2] Listings of Top Latin Albums are also shown on Telemundo's music page through a partnership between the two companies. As of January 26, 2017, a multi-metric methodology to compile the Top Latin Albums chart was adopted by Billboard, which also incorporates track equivalent album units and streaming equivalent album units.[3]
The first album to appear at number-one on this chart was Mi Tierra by Gloria Estefan on July 10, 1993.[4] This album spent 58 non-consecutive weeks at the top of this chart. Mexican singers Marco Antonio Solís holds the record for the most number-one albums by an artist overall with 12. Fellow Mexican performers Los Temerarios is the group with the most chart-toppers, eight. Jenni Rivera and Selena are the female artists with the most number-one albums with 7 each.[5] [6] Selena's album Dreaming of You was, until 2022, the only album to peak at number one during three different calendar years (1995–97). YHLQMDLG, by Puerto Rican rapper Bad Bunny, also achieved the feat by charting at #1 during four consecutive calendar years (2020–2023).The current number-one album on the chart is Éxodo by Peso Pluma.[7]
On July 10, 1993, Billboard premiered the revamped Latin 50 chart, which lists the best-selling Latin albums in the overall American music market.[8]
Before this, the first chart regarding Latin music albums in the magazine (Billboard Hot Latin LPs in Los Angeles) was published on the issue dated December 9, 1972. Y Volveré, by Chilean band Los Ángeles Negros, was the first album to appear at number-one.[9] Then, all Latin music information was featured on the first incarnation of the Top Latin Albums chart, which began on June 29, 1985, and divided Latin records on three different genre subcharts: Pop, Regional Mexican and Tropical, all of them now published in addition to the overall chart.[8] The Latin Pop Albums chart features music only from the pop genre, while the Regional Mexican Albums chart includes information from different genres like duranguense, norteño, banda and mariachi, and the Tropical Albums includes different genres particularly salsa, merengue, bachata, and cumbia. In May 2005, another chart, Latin Rhythm Albums, was introduced in response to growing sales of reggaeton records.[10]
On the week ending January 26, 2017, Billboard updated the methodology to compile the Top Latin Albums chart into a multi-metric methodology to include track equivalent album units and streaming equivalent albums units.[11]
The following are the top 20 longest-leading albums on the Top Latin Albums chart.[12]
| Weeks | Artist | Album | Year | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 70 | Bad Bunny | YHLQMDLG | 2020–22 | |
| 60 | Bad Bunny | Un Verano Sin Ti | 2022–24 | |
| 58 | Gloria Estefan | Mi Tierra | 1993–94 | |
| 46 | Bad Bunny | X 100pre | 2019–20 | |
| 46 | Ozuna | Odisea | 2017–18 | |
| 44 | Selena | Dreaming of You | 1995–97 | |
| 29 | Luis Miguel | Segundo Romance | 1994–95 | |
| 27 | Bad Bunny | El Último Tour Del Mundo | 2020–21 | |
| 26 | Ricky Martin | Vuelve | 1998–99 | |
| 24 | Daddy Yankee | Barrio Fino | 2004–05 | |
| 23 | Aventura | The Last | 2009–10 | |
| 20 | Selena | Amor Prohibido | 1994–95 | |
| 20 | Juan Gabriel | Los Dúo, Vol. 2 | 2016–17 | |
| 19 | Christina Aguilera | Mi Reflejo | 2000–01 | |
| 17 | Shakira | Fijación Oral Vol. 1 | 2005 | |
| 17 | Romeo Santos | Formula, Vol. 1 | 2011–12 | |
| 17 | Ozuna | Aura | 2018 | |
| 16 | Enrique Iglesias | Sex and Love | 2014 | |
| 15 | Enrique Iglesias | Vivir | 1997 | |
| 15 | Peso Pluma | Génesis | 2023–24 |
In 2018, Billboard magazine compiled a ranking of the 20 best albums on the chart since its inception in 1993. The chart is based on the most number of weeks the albums spent on top of the chart. For albums with the same number of weeks at number one, they are ranked by the most total weeks on the chart.[13]
| Rank | Album | Artist(s) | Peak year | Peak and duration | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Mi Tierra | Gloria Estefan | 1993 |
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| 2. | Odisea | Ozuna | 2017 |
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| 3. | Dreaming of You | Selena | 1995 |
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| 4. | Segundo Romance | Luis Miguel | 1994 |
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| 5. | Vuelve | Ricky Martin | 1998 |
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| 6. | Barrio Fino | Daddy Yankee | 2004 |
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| 7. | The Last | Aventura | 2009 |
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| 8. | Amor Prohibido | Selena | 1994 |
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| 9. | Los Dúo, Vol. 2 | Juan Gabriel | 2016 |
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| 10. | Mi Reflejo | Christina Aguilera | 2000 |
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See main article: List of number-one debuts on Billboard Top Latin Albums.
According to the RIAA certification, regular gold certification is awarded for shipping of 500,000 copies, platinum for one million units, and multi-platinum for two million unites, and following in increments of one million thereafter.[14] In addition, albums containing more than 50% Spanish language content may be awarded with Latin certification award, gold, (Disco de Oro) for shipments of 30,000 units, platinum (Disco de Platino) for 60,000 and multi-platinum (Multi-Platino) for 120,000 and following in increments of 60,000 thereafter (previously, Spanish-language albums were certified gold and platinum for 50,000 and 100,000 units shipped respectively before December 2013).[15] In the following table, the certification shown is either the standard or Latin certification depending on whichever one results in a higher value.
| Year | Artist | Album | Label | RIAA certification | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1994[16] | Gloria Estefan | Mi Tierra | Epic | 16× Platinum (Latin)[17] | |
| 1995[18] | Selena | Dreaming of You | EMI Latin | 59× Platinum (Latin)[19] | |
| 1996 | |||||
| 1997[20] | Julio Iglesias | Tango | Columbia | 6× Platinum (Latin)[21] | |
| 1998[22] | Alejandro Fernández | Me Estoy Enamorando | Sony Discos | Platinum[23] | |
| 1999[24] | Ricky Martin | Vuelve | Sony Discos | Platinum[25] | |
| 2000[26] | Marc Anthony | RMM/Sony Discos | Gold[27] | ||
| 2001 | Paulina Rubio | Paulina | Universal Music Latino | 8× Platinum (Latin)[28] | |
| 2002 | Marc Anthony | Libre | Sony Discos | Gold [29] | |
| 2003 | Juanes | Un Día Normal | Surco/Universal Latino | 6× Platinum (Latin)[30] | |
| 2004 | Marco Antonio Solís | La Historia Continúa... | Fonovisa | 5× Platinum (Latin)[31] | |
| 2005 | Daddy Yankee | Barrio Fino | El Cartel/V.I. | Platinum | Platinum[32] |
| 2006[33] | Daddy Yankee | Barrio Fino en Directo | El Cartel/Interscope | Gold[34] | |
| 2007[35] | RBD | Celestial | EMI Televisa/Virgin | ||
| 2008[36] | Wisin & Yandel | Los Extraterrestres | Machete | 3× Platinum (Latin)[37] | |
| 2009[38] | Aventura | The Last | Strichcode/Premium Latin | 4× Platinum (Latin)[39] | |
| 2010[40] | |||||
| 2011[41] | Prince Royce | Prince Royce | Top Stop Music | 3× Platinum (Latin)[42] | |
| 2012[43] | Romeo Santos | Formula, Vol. 1 | Sony Music Latin | 3× Platinum (Latin)[44] | |
| 2013[45] | Jenni Rivera | La Misma Gran Señora | Fonovisa Records | 2× Platinum (Latin)[46] | |
| 2014[47] | Romeo Santos | Formula, Vol. 2 | Sony Music Latin | 11× Platinum (Latin)[48] | |
| 2015[49] | Juan Gabriel | Los Dúo | Universal Music Latino | Platinum (Latin)[50] | |
| 2016[51] | Los Dúo, Vol. 2 | ||||
| 2017[52] | Nicky Jam | Fénix | Sony Music Latin | 11× Platinum (Latin)[53] | |
| 2018[54] | Ozuna | Odisea | Dimelo Vi | 16× Platinum (Latin)[55] | |
| 2019[56] | Bad Bunny | X100pre | Rimas Entertainment | 10× Platinum (Latin)[57] | |
| 2020[58] | YHLQMDLG | 24× Platinum (Latin) | |||
| 2021[59] | El Último Tour del Mundo | 6× Platinum (Latin) | |||
| 2022[60] | Un Verano Sin Ti | ||||
| 2023 |