But in the long run it evens out. How likely is that Becky Hill could debut in top 5 in 10 years time? Not very. How likely is that Ben Howard can? Very possible.

 

When 'The Pandemic' started, and we had the 1st UK 'Lockdown', I wanted to cheer myself up.

So, I started to buy loads of 'Greatest Hits' CD's, by my favourite 'Heritage' Artists. It was like

'Comfort Eating' - by using Music instead!

 

I bought a great many CD's, that I already had - by Elvis Presley, Buddy Holly, The Drifters, The Beatles,

Beach Boys, Rolling Stones, Diana Ross & The Supremes, Fleetwood Mac, Michael Jackson, Elton John,

The Carpenters, ELO, Queen, ABBA, Madonna, REM, and so on. Obviously, a great many other UK People,

also re-bought 'Heritage Music'. It was a Psychological reaction to 'The Pandemic'. Which is why lots of 'Hits'

Albums etc. started 'flooding' the Top 100 again. (I never 'Stream' Music. I like Physical CD's).

 

I also 're-bought' Compilations of: 1950's, 1960's, 1970's and 1980's Hits. Plus - Girl Group Hits, Motown Hits,

and Phil Spector Hits etc.

 

I try to like a lot of 'Modern' Artists, but I only like a few of them, such as Ed Sheeran, or Adele. I like Eminem

too. I realise that he's not 'Modern'. Oasis and Kylie Minogue too.

 

I have noticed, that a lot of 'Modern' Artists, are unable to stay in the Top 10, of the Album Chart, for.

very long. Even if they enter at No.1, or any other Positions, in the Top 5. It's as if they cannot sustain

Album Sales, for very long. None of which will change, if 'Greatest Hits' Albums, are 'banished' to their

own Chart. That would not make a lot of 'Modern' Acts, suddenly start selling more Albums. It would

also completely stop, a lot of Chart Fans, from paying much attention, to the Album Chart, as it would

mainly be full of Acts, that have Zero interest to us. Just as the Singles Chart already bores us, for the

same reason.

 

Hopefully, The OCC will carry on, allowing 'Hits' Albums into the Album Chart - if they want to keep 'Older'

Music Fans, in the least interested.

 

Edited April 2, 20214 yr by zeus555

I think having a separate chart for Greatest Hits albums could help? It would clear out like half the chart and allow lots of more recent artists more visibility in the album chart. They have a separate chart for compilation albums and a Greatest Hits album is essentially a compilation of an artist' hits.

 

I'm hoping the album chart will see a nice boost once non-essential retail re-opens. It's been so passive-streaming dominated in part due to the pandemic.

 

 

When 'The Pandemic' started, and we had the 1st UK 'Lockdown', I wanted to cheer myself up.

So, I started to buy loads of 'Greatest Hits' CD's, by my favourite 'Heritage' Artists. It was like

'Comfort Eating' - by using Music instead!

 

I bought a great many CD's, that I already had. Obviously, a great many other UK People,

also re-bought 'Heritage Music'. It was a Psychological reaction to 'The Pandemic'. Which is why lots of 'Hits'

Albums etc. started 'flooding' the Top 100 again. (I never 'Stream' Music. I like Physical CD's).

 

I have noticed, that a lot of 'Modern' Artists, are unable to stay in the Top 10, of the Album Chart, for.

very long. Even if they enter at No.1, or any other Positions, in the Top 5. It's as if they cannot sustain

Album Sales, for very long. None of which will change, if 'Greatest Hits' Albums, are 'banished' to their

own Chart. That would not make a lot of 'Modern' Acts, suddenly start selling more Albums. It would

also completely stop, a lot of Chart Fans, from paying much attention, to the Album Chart, as it would

mainly be full of Acts, that have Zero interest to us. Just as the Singles Chart already bores us, for the

same reason.

 

Hopefully, The OCC will carry on, allowing 'Hits' Albums into the Album Chart - if they want to keep 'Older'

Music Fans, in the least interested.

 

This post of mine - http://www.buzzjack.com/forums/index.php?s...t&p=6836439 - clearly demonstrates that most of the Greatest Hits albums are hanging around almost totally because of streaming. What you say above (many people buying [and re-buying?!] CDs) isn't really the case! Or at least it's a bit of a niche market - most of the GH albums are only selling a few thousand physicals in a year, which pales in comparison to the hundreds of thousands of streaming sales they're generating.

 

The albums you refer to that aren't able to sustain high positions in the chart is almost always because they're unable to achieve high/consistent streaming numbers. Physical albums have become quite a front-loaded thing, so artists reliant on physical sales inevitably get drowned out by the heavily streamed albums that occupy a significant percentage of the overall chart.

This post of mine - http://www.buzzjack.com/forums/index.php?s...t&p=6836439 - clearly demonstrates that most of the Greatest Hits albums are hanging around almost totally because of streaming. What you say above (many people buying [and re-buying?!] CDs) isn't really the case! Or at least it's a bit of a niche market - most of the GH albums are only selling a few thousand physicals in a year, which pales in comparison to the hundreds of thousands of streaming sales they're generating.

 

Could you do a similar analysis for Abba Gold and Beatles 1? Thanks.

And it continues...

 

It's those Greatest Hits albums again.

 

8 Fleetwood Mac - 50 Years: Don't Stop

13 Elton John - Diamonds

21 Abba - Gold: Greatest Hits

24 Michael Jackson - Number Ones

26 Bob Marley & The Wailers - Legend

31 The Beatles - 1 ^

34 Whitney Houston - The Ultimate Collection ^

36 Maroon 5 - Singles ^

37 George Michael - Twenty Five ^

39 Bee Gees - Timeless: The All-Time Greatest Hits ^

 

And there are many more in the Top 100 albums update chart. A result of streaming no doubt.

Could you do a similar analysis for Abba Gold and Beatles 1? Thanks.

Here you go! From the 26th March chart:

 

#30 - ABBA - 'Gold Greatest Hits'

2,380 - overall

2,139 - streaming (89.87%)

241 - pure [171 CDs, 53 downloads, 17 vinyl]

 

#40 - The Beatles - '1'

1,984 - overall

1,796 - streaming (90.52%)

188 - pure [101 vinyl, 47 downloads, 40 CDs]

 

Also...

 

#155 - The Beatles - '1967-1970'

966 - overall

902 - streaming (93.37%)

64 - pure [32 CDs, 25 downloads, 7 vinyl]

Thanks very much. That's brilliant (and a Beatles bonus). Very high streaming figures.

I didn't realise pure sales count for so little these days.

 

So Abba 'Gold' With 53 downloads was no. 92 on the OCC Download Album chart and Beatles '1' was just outside the Top 100 Download chart with 47 downloads. So some of the albums between 92 and 100 must have had the same number of downloads. How did they separate these positions?

 

Only 6 or 7 downloads per day for these 2 albums! So iTunes counts for little these days compared with 15 years ago.

 

Further, being in the top 100 on the iTunes Download chart counts for very few downloads (and there are other download sites), never mind being in the Top 1,500 iTunes downloads as reported by KWORB. There are 391 NEW entries in the Top 1500 just now - probably many albums with a single download each. How are they separated?

 

I don't think having a separate Greatest Hits chart would work.

I think a better balance between sales and streams needs to be found.

I didn't realise pure sales count for so little these days.

 

So Abba 'Gold' With 53 downloads was no. 92 on the OCC Download Album chart and Beatles '1' was just outside the Top 100 Download chart with 47 downloads. So some of the albums between 92 and 100 must have had the same number of downloads. How did they separate these positions?

 

Only 6 or 7 downloads per day for these 2 albums! So iTunes counts for little these days compared with 15 years ago.

 

Further, being in the top 100 on the iTunes Download chart counts for very few downloads (and there are other download sites), never mind being in the Top 1,500 iTunes downloads as reported by KWORB. There are 391 NEW entries in the Top 1500 just now - probably many albums with a single download each. How are they separated?

Typically iTunes separates ties based on lifetime sales, so whatever's sold the most in the past stays ahead (meaning that a lot of new releases that appear on the chart are disadvantaged and are selling slightly *better* than they appear to. It also means that you can spot the point where the chart runs out of sales depending on the country you're looking at, because stuff with 0 sales in the last *mystery time frame* will appear, and it's often peak download era stuff be it Adele, LMFAO or Gangnam Style.

With every week that passes, the album chart increasingly bores me. It's barely worth looking below the Top 5, because it's painfully predictable... the same old albums that'll be there without fail every single week, probably for years to come.

 

I miss when albums had a shelf life. They served their purpose for a certain amount of time, maybe a couple of years if they were particularly huge, but then interest would naturally dwindle. If you look at any weekly albums chart pre-mid 2010s, it would be a good representation of that current year and the previous couple of years. Of course there would be Greatest Hits in the mix as well, but outside of exceptions to the rule like ABBA Gold, they certainly weren't dominating to the extent that they do now.

 

I'm yearning for a catalogue chart that these incredibly old albums can be placed into instead.

 

I know moaning about it becomes repetitive, but I hate it and it just doesn't make sense to me. There was such an urgency for OCC to remedy the singles chart to try and make it as current as possible, to the point that they literally manipulate it. Why is it not the case for the album chart? Surely it's just as important, if not more important, to create space for modern albums and artists.

 

People's listening habits won't change, clearly most of the public will incessantly listen to 'Divide' for as long as they live, but does the albums chart need to reflect that? Even if that album sold 0 pure copies, it would still have been Top 20 this week. Without fail it generates around 3,500 streaming sales a week. 222 weeks into its existence and it was the fourth most streamed studio album last week.

 

 

Some of you may be interested to see just how stale the Top 200 is...

 

1315 weeks - #27 ABBA - GOLD - GREATEST HITS

1224 weeks - #25 BOB MARLEY & THE WAILERS - LEGEND

985 weeks - #13 QUEEN - GREATEST HITS

970 weeks - #163 PINK FLOYD - THE DARK SIDE OF THE MOON

850 weeks - #148 NIRVANA - NEVERMIND

841 weeks - #31 OASIS - WHAT'S THE STORY MORNING GLORY

801 weeks - #86 GUNS N' ROSES - GREATEST HITS

714 weeks - #35 MICHAEL JACKSON - NUMBER ONES

695 weeks - #67 OASIS - DEFINITELY MAYBE

690 weeks - #45 BEATLES - 1

682 weeks - #22 FLEETWOOD MAC - RUMOURS

669 weeks - #26 EMINEM - CURTAIN CALL - THE HITS

660 weeks - #91 MADONNA - THE IMMACULATE COLLECTION

631 weeks - #93 AMY WINEHOUSE - BACK TO BLACK

617 weeks - #51 ARCTIC MONKEYS - WHATEVER PEOPLE SAY I AM THAT'S WHAT I'M

597 weeks - #66 FOO FIGHTERS - GREATEST HITS

590 weeks - #110 BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN - GREATEST HITS

576 weeks - #130 DIRE STRAITS & MARK KNOPFLER - PRIVATE INVESTIGATIONS - THE BEST OF

551 weeks - #169 ELO - ALL OVER THE WORLD - THE VERY BEST OF

539 weeks - #147 ADELE - 21

530 weeks - #23 OASIS - TIME FLIES - 1994-2009

519 weeks - #118 BON JOVI - GREATEST HITS

515 weeks - #53 RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS - GREATEST HITS

511 weeks - #97 STONE ROSES - THE VERY BEST OF

507 weeks - #56 STEVIE WONDER - THE DEFINITIVE COLLECTION

495 weeks - #161 ED SHEERAN - +

485 weeks - #48 WHITNEY HOUSTON - THE ULTIMATE COLLECTION

480 weeks - #100 STONE ROSES - THE STONE ROSES

477 weeks - #141 QUEEN - THE PLATINUM COLLECTION

440 weeks - #155 SIMON & GARFUNKEL - GREATEST HITS

435 weeks - #128 STEREOPHONICS - BEST OF - DECADE IN THE SUN

431 weeks - #70 KATY PERRY - TEENAGE DREAM

425 weeks - #46 PINK - GREATEST HITS - SO FAR

423 weeks - #50 BRUNO MARS - DOO-WOPS & HOOLIGANS

414 weeks - #185 LINKIN PARK - HYBRID THEORY

407 weeks - #134 RIHANNA - GOOD GIRL GONE BAD

404 weeks - #43 ARCTIC MONKEYS - AM

397 weeks - #176 GREEN DAY - AMERICAN IDIOT

388 weeks - #87 BILLY JOEL - PIANO MAN - THE VERY BEST OF

383 weeks - #114 EAGLES - THE COMPLETE GREATEST HITS

369 weeks - #195 DR DRE - 2001

363 weeks - #79 ED SHEERAN - X

357 weeks - #94 SAM SMITH - IN THE LONELY HOUR

350 weeks - #149 MICHAEL JACKSON - THE ESSENTIAL

339 weeks - #156 LANA DEL REY - BORN TO DIE

327 weeks - #71 KILLERS - DIRECT HITS

326 weeks - #129 NIRVANA - NIRVANA

324 weeks - #81 TAYLOR SWIFT - 1989

320 weeks - #109 LADY GAGA - THE FAME

317 weeks - #186 MICHAEL JACKSON - THRILLER

308 weeks - #153 CURE - GREATEST HITS

307 weeks - #184 ARIANA GRANDE - MY EVERYTHING

306 weeks - #167 BEATLES - 1967-1970

302 weeks - #72 JESS GLYNNE - I CRY WHEN I LAUGH

296 weeks - #122 CALVIN HARRIS - 18 MONTHS

291 weeks - #119 ARCTIC MONKEYS - FAVOURITE WORST NIGHTMARE

287 weeks - #140 CELINE DION - MY LOVE - THE ESSENTIAL COLLECTION

282 weeks - #40 MAROON 5 - SINGLES

280 weeks - #113 ADELE - 25

278 weeks - #42 GEORGE MICHAEL - TWENTY FIVE

274 weeks - #151 ROLLING STONES - HOT ROCKS - 1964-1971

273 weeks - #124 LIONEL RICHIE & THE COMMODORES - THE DEFINITIVE COLLECTION

268 weeks - #194 BEATLES - ABBEY ROAD

251 weeks - #191 JUSTIN BIEBER - PURPOSE

247 weeks - #136 U2 - U218 SINGLES

245 weeks - #165 WEEKND - BEAUTY BEHIND THE MADNESS

243 weeks - #57 ELVIS PRESLEY - THE 50 GREATEST HITS

241 weeks - #61 PHIL COLLINS - THE SINGLES

239 weeks - #154 AC/DC - BACK IN BLACK

239 weeks - #170 50 CENT - GET RICH OR DIE TRYIN'

238 weeks - #41 DAVID BOWIE - LEGACY

237 weeks - #157 LITTLE MIX - GLORY DAYS

234 weeks - #178 POST MALONE - STONEY

231 weeks - #172 DRAKE - VIEWS

229 weeks - #90 JASON DERULO - PLATINUM HITS

225 weeks - #116 AC/DC - IRON MAN 2 - OST

222 weeks - #16 ED SHEERAN - DIVIDE

222 weeks - #145 DESTINY'S CHILD - NO 1'S

212 weeks - #177 MICHAEL JACKSON - BAD

211 weeks - #160 DRAKE - MORE LIFE

210 weeks - #171 NIRVANA - IN UTERO

209 weeks - #33 DUA LIPA - DUA LIPA

201 weeks - #102 NOTORIOUS BIG - GREATEST HITS

199 weeks - #200 RIHANNA - LOUD

198 weeks - #103 50 CENT - BEST OF

197 weeks - #127 UB40 - THE VERY BEST OF - 1980-2000

193 weeks - #112 DOLLY PARTON - THE VERY BEST OF

187 weeks - #174 ONE DIRECTION - TAKE ME HOME

186 weeks - #10 ELTON JOHN - DIAMONDS

185 weeks - #82 GREEN DAY - GREATEST HITS - GOD'S FAVORITE BAND

185 weeks - #111 DAVID GUETTA - ONE LOVE

174 weeks - #75 PARAMORE - RIOT

168 weeks - #88 XXXTENTACION - QUESTION MARK

167 weeks - #99 GEORGE EZRA - STAYING AT TAMARA'S

162 weeks - #133 POST MALONE - BEERBONGS & BENTLEYS

161 weeks - #78 BILLIE EILISH - DON'T SMILE AT ME

157 weeks - #117 MARVIN GAYE - THE VERY BEST OF

156 weeks - #38 JUICE WRLD - GOODBYE & GOOD RIDDANCE

156 weeks - #123 ANNE-MARIE - SPEAK YOUR MIND

153 weeks - #104 DRAKE - SCORPION

148 weeks - #158 TRAVIS SCOTT - ASTROWORLD

148 weeks - #168 PRINCE - THE VERY BEST OF

148 weeks - #175 PINK FLOYD - ECHOES - THE BEST OF

139 weeks - #85 HARRY STYLES - HARRY STYLES

139 weeks - #95 RAG'N'BONE MAN - HUMAN

138 weeks - #146 JESS GLYNNE - ALWAYS IN BETWEEN

135 weeks - #76 JAX JONES - SNACKS

134 weeks - #180 TAYLOR SWIFT - REPUTATION

133 weeks - #9 FLEETWOOD MAC - 50 YEARS - DON'T STOP

121 weeks - #196 ARIANA GRANDE - THANK U NEXT

121 weeks - #199 BLINK 182 - GREATEST HITS

119 weeks - #142 SIGALA - BRIGHTER DAYS

117 weeks - #126 DAVE - PSYCHODRAMA

114 weeks - #29 BILLIE EILISH - WHEN WE ALL FALL ASLEEP WHERE DO WE GO

108 weeks - #65 BEE GEES - TIMELESS - THE ALL-TIME GREATEST HITS

108 weeks - #197 CLEAN BANDIT - WHAT IS LOVE

107 weeks - #20 LEWIS CAPALDI - DIVINELY UNINSPIRED TO A HELLISH EXTENT

105 weeks - #162 JUICE WRLD - DEATH RACE FOR LOVE

99 weeks - #47 ED SHEERAN - NO 6 COLLABORATIONS PROJECT

96 weeks - #32 MABEL - HIGH EXPECTATIONS

95 weeks - #188 WESTLIFE - GREATEST HITS

93 weeks - #96 TAYLOR SWIFT - LOVER

91 weeks - #69 POST MALONE - HOLLYWOOD'S BLEEDING

90 weeks - #166 BOB DYLAN - THE VERY BEST OF

89 weeks - #77 PITBULL - GREATEST HITS

88 weeks - #36 BECKY HILL - GET TO KNOW

88 weeks - #83 BRITNEY SPEARS - THE SINGLES COLLECTION

87 weeks - #54 DERMOT KENNEDY - WITHOUT FEAR

87 weeks - #192 JONAS BLUE - BLUE

86 weeks - #198 LIL TJAY - TRUE 2 MYSELF

81 weeks - #173 KANYE WEST - GRADUATION

78 weeks - #18 HARRY STYLES - FINE LINE

77 weeks - #132 STORMZY - HEAVY IS THE HEAD

73 weeks - #115 DOJA CAT - HOT PINK

69 weeks - #125 POP SMOKE - MEET THE WOO 2

69 weeks - #164 EMINEM - MUSIC TO BE MURDERED BY

66 weeks - #181 DIANA ROSS - LOVE AND LIFE - THE VERY BEST OF

65 weeks - #190 CHRISTINA AGUILERA - KEEPS GETTIN' BETTER - A DECADE OF HITS

63 weeks - #62 WEEKND - AFTER HOURS

62 weeks - #8 DUA LIPA - FUTURE NOSTALGIA

59 weeks - #143 GERRY CINNAMON - THE BONNY

55 weeks - #105 POLO G - THE GOAT

53 weeks - #193 KANYE WEST - MY BEAUTIFUL DARK TWISTED FANTASY

48 weeks - #19 POP SMOKE - SHOOT FOR THE STARS AIM FOR THE MOON

47 weeks - #44 JUICE WRLD - LEGENDS NEVER DIE

45 weeks - #58 KID LAROI - F**K LOVE

45 weeks - #64 TAYLOR SWIFT - FOLKLORE

37 weeks - #101 AVA MAX - HEAVEN & HELL

36 weeks - #73 MACHINE GUN KELLY - TICKETS TO MY DOWNFALL

36 weeks - #150 BEACH BOYS - SOUNDS OF SUMMER - THE VERY BEST OF

35 weeks - #120 PITBULL - GLOBAL WARMING

34 weeks - #92 D-BLOCK EUROPE - THE BLUE PRINT - US VS THEM

31 weeks - #74 ARIANA GRANDE - POSITIONS

31 weeks - #89 SAM SMITH - LOVE GOES

30 weeks - #30 LITTLE MIX - CONFETTI

28 weeks - #183 CAMELPHAT - DARK MATTER

27 weeks - #139 MILEY CYRUS - PLASTIC HEARTS

25 weeks - #4 TAYLOR SWIFT - EVERMORE

24 weeks - #159 MADNESS - FULL HOUSE - THE VERY BEST OF

19 weeks - #187 BOB MARLEY & THE WAILERS - EXODUS

17 weeks - #11 WEEKND - THE HIGHLIGHTS

17 weeks - #179 CELESTE - NOT YOUR MUSE

14 weeks - #107 DIGGA D - MADE IN THE PYREX

14 weeks - #182 ARLO PARKS - COLLAPSED IN SUNBEAMS

13 weeks - #121 TOM JONES - GREATEST HITS - REDISCOVERED

12 weeks - #34 CENTRAL CEE - WILD WEST

12 weeks - #131 TOM GRENNAN - EVERING ROAD

11 weeks - #28 JUSTIN BIEBER - JUSTICE

9 weeks - #144 LIL TJAY - DESTINED 2 WIN

8 weeks - #138 TAYLOR SWIFT - FEARLESS (TAYLOR'S VERSION)

7 weeks - #37 AJ TRACEY - FLU GAME

7 weeks - #55 LONDON GRAMMAR - CALIFORNIAN SOIL

7 weeks - #80 DAVID BOWIE - THE MAN WHO SOLD THE WORLD

5 weeks - #39 ROYAL BLOOD - TYPHOONS

5 weeks - #68 DJ KHALED - KHALED KHALED

4 weeks - #6 RAG'N'BONE MAN - LIFE BY MISADVENTURE

4 weeks - #106 MICHAEL BALL - WE ARE MORE THAN ONE

3 weeks - #12 J COLE - THE OFF-SEASON

3 weeks - #52 PAUL WELLER - FAT POP

3 weeks - #108 BLACK KEYS - DELTA KREAM

3 weeks - #137 JORJA SMITH - BE RIGHT BACK

3 weeks - #189 ST VINCENT - DADDY'S HOME

2 weeks - #1 OLIVIA RODRIGO - SOUR

2 weeks - #14 PINK - ALL I KNOW SO FAR - SETLIST

2 weeks - #24 TWENTY ONE PILOTS - SCALED AND ICY

2 weeks - #49 MANESKIN - TEATRO D'IRA - VOL I

2 weeks - #63 GARY NUMAN - INTRUDER

1 week - #2 EASY LIFE - LIFE'S A BEACH

1 week - #3 TEXAS - HI

1 week - #5 DEL AMITRI - FATAL MISTAKES

1 week - #7 BUGZY MALONE - THE RESURRECTION

1 week - #15 DAVID BOWIE - THE WIDTH OF A CIRCLE

1 week - #17 BLACKBERRY SMOKE - YOU HEAR GEORGIA

1 week - #21 MOBY - REPRISE

1 week - #59 TOYAH - THE BLUE MEANING

1 week - #60 BLACK MIDI - CAVALCADE

1 week - #84 CAN - LIVE IN STUTTGART 1975

1 week - #98 JUSTIN SULLIVAN - SURROUNDED

1 week - #135 DMX - EXODUS

1 week - #152 SPORTS TEAM - B SIDES & RARITIES

I find the album chart a weird situation. I was thinking maybe a three year rule could help, so if an album reached three years old it is kicked out of the chart or moved to a catalogue chart.

 

But that would be half of the top 100 and what albums would replace them? Ones with hardly any streams or sales that don't represent what people listen to? I'm not sure that's a better option.

 

Unfortunately, I think streaming has just changed how the chart works and there is no ideal way to fix it.

My only problem is the inclusion of GHs - they don't allow soundtracks to the regular charts so why would albums including all the biggest hits from the artist be any more "fair" in the streaming era?

 

In general, album chart is a bit of a relic, but I still wish it keeps existing.

I think it’s a shame to artists that put so much work into creating a body of work only for it to spend 2 weeks Top 100 because people are streaming singles which is the sole reason many albums then stay in the chart. It’s really diminishing what an album should be.

 

Typically iTunes separates ties based on lifetime sales, so whatever's sold the most in the past stays ahead (meaning that a lot of new releases that appear on the chart are disadvantaged and are selling slightly *better* than they appear to. It also means that you can spot the point where the chart runs out of sales depending on the country you're looking at, because stuff with 0 sales in the last *mystery time frame* will appear, and it's often peak download era stuff be it Adele, LMFAO or Gangnam Style.

omg so this is why the music video chart always seems to reset itself to 2008 with Peter Kay’s Animated Band, Single Ladies, Bad Boys etc

 

I always think whose even buying them and its always the same random songs from 10+ years ago

I've reworked the current album chart to exclude anything that's over 2 years old, which would be in a catalogue chart instead (maybe 2 years is a bit radical, but I went with this because most eras seem to be done with by that point). I excluded reissues too.

 

This reworked chart isn't perfect because there's still albums appearing here that you could find issues with being so high up, such as...

 

The Weeknd - The Highlights (Greatest Hits that is there primarily because of old songs being streamed)

Mabel - High Expectations (essentially a mini Greatest Hits at this point)

Becky Hill - Get to Know (arguably more of a compilation than an album)

 

...but this image does at least offer a glimpse of what a "current" album chart could look like (sorry if I missed anything here that is actually older than 2 years):

 

 

I guess if this theoretical chart went as low as #100 then it would include albums that are probably outside of the Top 300 in the actual albums chart, but I'd honestly find it more interesting

How many units that Lil Tjay album 'sold' last week?

Problem is we need streaming and all these Greatest Hits to artificially inflate the chart ‘sales’ because chart fans are absolutely terrified of low sales for some reason. The chart show also pays hardly any attention to the album chart, it’s like an afterthought. The downward trajectory of album sales doesn’t just fit the rise of streaming but also the reduced amount of attention the album chart gets. It has a big focus from 2003-07 which is when album sales were huge. As a result too many albums come and go in 2 weeks and don’t get a chance. If you don’t land top 5 then you don’t even get 5 seconds of attention.

The whole situation is messy because in theory, these flash in the pan albums and monolith albums haven't gotten less or more popular respectively, it's just that the chart's fixture of measuring the top 100 most consumed albums of the week no longer balances out the situation in a way we get to observe. We've reached a point where first week sales are being pushed to their limit at the expense of the immediate shelf life after that fact, and yet I would argue that with streaming, the long term sales of those albums* will turn out higher than before, it just takes decades I guess? Outside of new music, everything else is just stuck in an equilibrium because there's no reason that more or less people are going to listen to the Eagles or whatever this week or last week, they're just in permanent cruise control without a healthy bed of fresh competition ahead of them. I do want to believe that there is a paradigm shift in process, just because zoomers prove time & time again to have way more interesting and eclectic taste than my generation ever has, so something's gotta give eventually, but it is truly glacial.

 

*No doubt there is a lot of interesting action in terms of how these albums are stacking up week by week, but this is taking place hundreds if not thousands of places below the chart, which feels like it only has space for about 20 new albums at a time.

But T Boy, the GHs are not in top 8 this week so it's hardly a case of inflating the sales on the top of the chart. In fact, only The Weeknd's GH has gone top 3 in years. Of course the special editions of older albums can do that as well, but it's just one week.

 

 

Edited June 5, 20214 yr by Sour Candy