Billie Eilish’s Happier Than Ever is steady at No. 1 for a second week on Billboard’s Top Album Sales chart (dated Aug. 21). The set sold 36,000 copies in the U.S. in the week ending Aug. 12 (down 76% from its opening-week sales of 153,000).
Happier is ahead of five debuts on the tally at Nos. 2-6 from George Harrison, Barbra Streisand, Nas, BTS and Chris Young.
Thus far, Happier has sold 188,000 copies in the U.S. and ranks as the No. 7 biggest-selling album of 2021. Taylor Swift’s Evermore is the year’s top-seller, with 408,000 copies sold.
Billboard’s Top Album Sales chart ranks the top-selling albums of the week based only on traditional album sales. The chart’s history dates back to May 25, 1991, the first week Billboard began tabulating charts with electronically monitored piece count information from SoundScan, now MRC Data. Pure album sales were the measurement solely utilized by the Billboard 200 albums chart through the list dated Dec. 6, 2014, after which that chart switched to a methodology that blends album sales with track equivalent album units and streaming equivalent album units. For all chart news, follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both Twitter and Instagram.
George Harrison’s All Things Must Pass, first released in 1970, debuts on the 30-year-old Top Album Sales chart at No. 2 with 28,000 copies sold (up 6,426%), following the album’s 50th anniversary rerelease on Aug. 6. The album was newly mixed and reissued across a number of formats, and most were bolstered with an array of outtakes, jams and demos from the album’s recording sessions. All versions of the album are combined for sales tracking and charting purposes. All Things Must Pass is Harrison’s highest-charting album on the 30-year-old Top Album Sales chart.
Barbra Streisand’s from-the-vaults rarities compilation Release Me 2 bows at No. 3 on Top Album Sales with 21,000 copies sold. It’s the sequel to her 2012 archival effort Release Me, which debuted and peaked at No. 3.
On the Billboard 200, Release Me 2 starts at No. 15. With the debut, she becomes the only woman with new top 20, or even top 40, albums on the Billboard 200 in every decade from the 1960s through the 2020s.
Nas lands his 15th top 10 on Top Album Sales as King’s Disease II arrives at No. 4 with 19,000 sold. It also starts atop the equivalent album units-based Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums and Top Rap Albums charts (his 10th and fifth leaders on those tallies, respectively).
BTS’ Japanese-language hits compilation album BTS, The Best bows at No. 5 with 17,000 sold (following its physical CD release on Aug. 6, after only previously being available to purchase as a digital download).It also re-enters the units-based World Albums chart for its first week at No. 1, giving the act its 12th chart-topper. The album spent one previous week on the list (No. 15; June 26 chart) after its initial digital and streaming release on June 16.
Chris Young’s new studio album Famous Friends debuts at No. 6 on Top Album Sales with 14,000 sold. Further, it debuts at No. 3 on the units-ranked Top Country Albums chart, his eighth consecutive top 10 (comprising the entirety of his charting efforts).
Rounding out the new top 10 on Top Album Sales: Prince’s Welcome 2 America falls 2-7 in its second week (9,000; down 83%), Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours jumps 22-8 (just over 7,000; up 85% following its release on gold colored vinyl at Target on Aug. 6), Olivia Rodrigo’s Sour slips 7-9 (7,000; down 14%) and Taylor Swift’s Folklore descends 9-10 (nearly 7,000; down 10%).
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