Billboard 200
Overview
The Billboard 200 is a record chart ranking the 200 most popular music albums and EPs in the United States. It is published weekly by Billboard magazine, an American entertainment media brand known for its music charts, including the Hot 100 and the Billboard 200. The chart is based on sales (both at retail and digital), radio play, and online streaming in the United States.
History
The Billboard 200 began on March 24, 1956, as a weekly albums chart, before becoming a regularly published weekly top 200 in May 1967. The Billboard 200 incorporated standard and budget albums from all genres. The chart expanded to 200 positions on the week ending May 13, 1967, and remained a top 200 chart until the introduction of the Top Pop Catalog Albums chart in 1991, which ranked older or mid-tier titles.
Compilation
The Billboard 200 is compiled by Nielsen SoundScan, an information system that tracks sales of music and music video products throughout the United States and Canada. Sales data from point-of-sale cash registers is collected weekly from over 14,000 retail, mass merchant, and non-traditional outlets such as online stores and concert sales. The Billboard 200 chart is updated every Tuesday and is based on a combination of album sales, track equivalent albums (TEA), and streaming equivalent albums (SEA).
Significance
The Billboard 200 can be seen as a reliable gauge of the commercial success of current music releases, and thus, many artists aim to have albums that rank high on this chart. A high ranking on the Billboard 200 signifies that the album has a significant impact on the music scene.