1991 was the first year that Nielsen started tracking music sales data.
I find it super interesting to look at this and see how current artists stack up against artists of the past so I broke it down into a few charts.
| Year | Artist | Album | Sales |
| 1991 | ??? | ??? | ??? |
| 1992 | ??? | ??? | ??? |
| 1993 | Snoop Dogg | Doggystyle | 803K |
| 1994 | Snoop Doggy Dogg | Murder Was the Case | 329K |
| 1995 | Bone Thugs-N-Harmony | E.1999 Eternal | 307K |
| 1996 | 2Pac | The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory | 664K |
| 1997 | The Notorious B.I.G. | Life After Death | 690K |
| 1998 | Beastie Boys | Hello Nasty | 681K |
| 1999 | DMX | …And Then There Was X | 698K |
| 2000 | Eminem | The Marshall Mathers LP | 1.76M |
| 2001 | DMX | The Great Depression | 439K |
| 2002 | Eminem | The Eminem Show | 1.322M |
| 2003 | 50 Cent | Get Rich or Die Tryin' | 872K |
| 2004 | Eminem | Encore | 710K |
| 2005 | 50 Cent | The Massacre | 1.14M |
| 2006 | Jay-Z | Kingdom Come | 680K |
| 2007 | Kanye West | Graduation | 957K |
| 2008 | Lil Wayne | Tha Carter III | 1.006M |
| 2009 | Eminem | Relapse | 608K |
| 2010 | Eminem | Recovery | 741K |
| 2011 | Lil Wayne | Tha Carter IV | 964K |
| 2012 | Nicki Minaj | Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded | 253K |
| 2013 | Eminem | The Marshall Mathers LP 2 | 792K |
| 2014 | J. Cole | 2014 Forest Hills Drive | 375K |
| 2015 | Drake | If You're Reading This It's Too Late | 535K |
| 2016 | Drake | Views | 1.075M |
| 2017 | Kendrick Lamar | DAMN. | 610K |
| 2018 | Drake | Scorpion | 749K |
| 2019 | Kanye West | JESUS IS KING | 276K |
| 2020 | Juice WRLD | Legends Never Die | 497K |
| 2021 | Drake | Certified Lover Boy | 613K |
Charts By Year
1991 - Nielsen begins to track music sales data.
| Artist | Album | Sales |
| ??? | ??? | ??? |
| ??? | ??? | ??? |
| ??? | ??? | ??? |
| ??? | ??? | ??? |
| ??? | ??? | ??? |
A lot of data was impossible for me to find here. If I had to guess, N.W.A.'s "Niggaz4Life", Ice Cube's "Death Certificate", MC Hammer's "Too Legit to Quit", Public Enemy's "Apocalypse 91… The Enemy Strikes Black", DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince's "Homebase", and Various Artist's "Boyz n the Hood (soundtrack)" probably round out the top 5.
1992 - N.W.A succeeds as solo acts
| Artist | Album | Sales |
| ??? | ??? | ??? |
| ??? | ??? | ??? |
| ??? | ??? | ??? |
| ??? | ??? | ??? |
| ??? | ??? | ??? |
Couldn't find much data for 92. I'm going to guess that Dr. Dre's "The Chronic", Beastie Boys' "Check Your Head", Too $hort's "Shorty the Pimp", MC Ren's "Kizz My Black Azz", and Ice Cube's "The Predator" (193K) round out the top 5.
1993 - The Rise of Snoop Dogg
| Artist | Album | Sales |
| Snoop Dogg | Doggystyle | 803K |
| Cypress Hill | Black Sunday | 261K |
| Ice Cube | Lethal Injection | 215K |
| Eazy-E | It's On (Dr. Dre) 187um Killa | 111K |
| ??? | ??? | ??? |
Snoop set the record for best first week for a debut album. No data for number 5 but I'm going to assume it was LL Cool J's "14 Shots to the Dome".
1994 - Bone Thugs on ah Come Up
| Artist | Album | Sales |
| Snoop Doggy Dogg | Murder Was the Case | 329K |
| Dr. Dre | Concrete Roots | 250K |
| Bone Thugs-N-Harmony | Creepin on ah Come Up | 220K |
| Warren G | Regulate... G Funk Era | 176K |
| Scarface | The Diary | 155K |
1995 - The rise of 2Pac
| Artist | Album | Sales |
| Bone Thugs-N-Harmony | E.1999 Eternal | 307K |
| Tha Dogg Pound | Dogg Food | 278K |
| 2Pac | Me Against The World | 240K |
| Cypress Hill | Cypress Hill III: Temples of Boom | 142K |
| Raekwon | Only Built 4 Cuban Linx... | 130K |
1996 - The death of 2Pac
| Artist | Album | Sales |
| 2Pac | The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory | 664K |
| 2Pac | All Eyez On Me | 566K |
| Snoop Dogg | Tha Doggfather | 479K |
| Nas | It Was Written | 268K |
| The Fugees | The Score | 206K |
1997 - The death of Biggie
| Artist | Album | Sales |
| The Notorious B.I.G. | Life After Death | 690K |
| Wu-Tang Clan | Wu-Tang Forever | 612K |
| P. Diddy | No Way Out | 561K |
| 2Pac | R U Still Down? (Remember Me) | 549K |
| Bone Thugs-N-Harmony | The Art Of War | 394K |
1998 - X is coming...
| Artist | Album | Sales |
| Beastie Boys | Hello Nasty | 681K |
| DMX | Flesh of My Flesh, Blood of My Blood | 670K |
| Snoop Dogg | Da Game Is to Be Sold, Not to Be Told | 520K |
| Master P | MP Da Last Don | 495K |
| Lauryn Hill | The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill | 423K |
DMX's "It's Dark and Hell Is Hot" also sold 251K making 1998 a dominant year for X.
1999 - The rise of Nas and Jay-Z
| Artist | Album | Sales |
| DMX | …And Then There Was X | 698K |
| Dr. Dre | 2001 | 516K |
| The Notorious B.I.G. | Born Again | 485K |
| Nas | I Am | 470K |
| Jay-Z | Vol. 3... Life and Times of S. Carter | 462K |
Eminem debuted with 283K first week for his "The Slim Shady LP".
2000 - A new millennium and the rise of Eminem
| Artist | Album | Sales |
| Eminem | The Marshall Mathers LP | 1.76M |
| Jay-Z | The Dynasty: Roc La Familia | 558K |
| Outkast | Stankonia | 530K |
| Snoop Dogg | Tha Last Meal | 397K |
| Mystikal | Let's Get Ready | 330K |
Eminem smashed N.W.A.'s record and had the most successful first week in hip hop by far. Outkast has their best commercial week thus far. Nelly debuted with 235K sales for "Country Grammar".
2001 - The beginning of the end for DMX
| Artist | Album | Sales |
| DMX | The Great Depression | 439K |
| 2Pac | Until The End of Time | 427K |
| Jay-Z | The Blueprint | 420K |
| D12 | Devil's Night | 372K |
| Ja Rule | Pain Is Love | 361K |
2002 - Eminem continues to dominate, the rise of Nelly
| Artist | Album | Sales |
| Eminem | The Eminem Show | 1.322M |
| Nelly | Nellyville | 714K |
| Eminem | 8 Mile OST | 702K |
| Jay-Z | The Blueprint 2: The Gift & The Curse | 545K |
| 2Pac | Better Dayz | 366K |
Somehow Pac was still having huuge debuts even 6 years after his death.
2003 - The rise of 50 Cent
| Artist | Album | Sales |
| 50 Cent | Get Rich or Die Tryin' | 872K |
| Outkast | Speakerboxxx/The Love Below | 510K |
| Jay-Z | The Black Album | 463K |
| 2Pac | Tupac: Resurrection | 430K |
| Ludacris | Chicken-n-Beer | 429K |
G-Unit's "Beg for Mercy" debuted with 377K. Somehow 2Pac continued to stay on top.
2004 - The rise of Kanye West. Eminem, G-Unit & Nelly continue to dominate
| Artist | Album | Sales |
| Eminem | Encore | 710K |
| D12 | D12 World | 544K |
| Kanye West | The College Dropout | 441K |
| Lloyd Banks | The Hunger for More | 433K |
| Nelly | Suit | 396K |
Young Buck's "Straight Outta Cashville" debuted with 361K. Nelly's "Sweat" debuted with 342K. 2Pac continued to post great first weeks with "Loyal to the Game" debuting with 330K.
2005 - 50 Cent "massacres" the competition, the rise of Lil Wayne
| Artist | Album | Sales |
| 50 Cent | The Massacre | 1.14M |
| Kanye West | Late Registration | 860K |
| The Game | The Documentary | 586K |
| 50 Cent | Get Rich Or Die Tryin' OST | 317K |
| Lil Wayne | Tha Carter II | 254K |
2006 - Kingdom Come
| Artist | Album | Sales |
| Jay-Z | Kingdom Come | 680K |
| T.I. | King | 522K |
| The Game | Doctors Advocate | 358K |
| Nas | Hip Hop Is Dead | 356K |
| Young Jeezy | The Inspiration | 352K |
Rick Ross' "Port of Miami" debuted with 187K.
2007 - Kanye kills gangster rap
| Artist | Album | Sales |
| Kanye West | Graduation | 957K |
| 50 Cent | Curtis | 697K |
| T.I. | T.I. vs. T.I.P. | 468K |
| Jay-Z | American Gangster | 426K |
| Fabolous | From Nothin' to Somethin' | 159K |
2008 - Weezy F Baby and the F is for "first week king"
| Artist | Album | Sales |
| Lil Wayne | Tha Carter III | 1.006M |
| T.I. | Paper Trail | 568K |
| Kanye West | 808s & Heartbreak | 450K |
| Young Jeezy | The Recession | 260K |
| The Game | LAX | 240K |
2009 - Eminem's return to the top and a new empire
| Artist | Album | Sales |
| Eminem | Relapse | 608K |
| Jay-Z | The Blueprint 3 | 476K |
| 50 Cent | Before I Self Destruct | 160K |
| Rick Ross | Deeper Than Rap | 158K |
| Young Money | We Are Young Money | 142K |
2010 - The rise of Drake and Nicki
| Artist | Album | Sales |
| Eminem | Recovery | 741K |
| Kanye West | My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy | 496K |
| Drake | Thank Me Later | 447K |
| Nicki Minaj | Pink Friday | 395K |
| Lil Wayne | Rebirth | 176K |
| Rick Ross | Teflon Don | 176K |
2011 - Weezy back on top and the rise of J. Cole
| Artist | Album | Sales |
| Lil Wayne | Tha Carter IV | 964K |
| Drake | Take Care | 631K |
| Jay-Z & Kanye West | Watch the Throne | 436K |
| Young Jeezy | Thug Motivation 103: Hustlerz Ambition | 233K |
| J. Cole | Cole World: The Sideline Story | 217K |
2012 - The rise of King Kendrick
| Artist | Album | Sales |
| Nicki Minaj | Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded | 253K |
| Kendrick Lamar | Good Kid, M.A.A.D City | 242K |
| Rick Ross | God Forgives, I Don't | 218K |
| GOOD Music | Cruel Summer | 205K |
| T.I. | Trouble Man: Heavy Is the Head | 179K |
Meek Mill's "Dreams & Nightmares" debuts with 165K.
2013 - Eminem is still sales king
| Artist | Album | Sales |
| Eminem | The Marshall Mathers LP 2 | 792K |
| Drake | Nothing Was the Same | 658K |
| Jay-Z | Magna Carta Holy Grail | 527K |
| Kanye West | Yeezus | 328K |
| J. Cole | Born Sinner | 298K |
Drake's "Nothing Was The Same" became the most pirated album of all time. A$AP Rocky's "Long. Live. ASAP" debuts with 139K.
2014 - The rise of streaming
| Artist | Album | Sales |
| J. Cole | 2014 Forest Hills Drive | 375K |
| Nicki Minaj | The Pinkprint | 244K |
| Rick Ross | Mastermind | 179K |
| ScHoolboy Q | Oxymoron | 139K |
| Shady Records | Shady XV | 138K |
In 2014 Billboard began to take streaming into account for first week sales and total album sales.
2015 - Back to Back
| Artist | Album | Sales |
| Drake | If You're Reading This It's Too Late | 535K |
| Drake & Future | What a Time to Be Alive | 375K |
| Kendrick Lamar | To Pimp a Butterfly | 363K |
| Dr. Dre | Compton | 295K |
| Meek Mill | Dreams Worth More Than Money | 245K |
2016 - Views from the top
| Artist | Album | Sales |
| Drake | Views | 1.075M |
| J. Cole | 4 Your Eyez Only | 511K |
| Kendrick Lamar | untitled unmastered | 182K |
| Future | Evol | 139K |
| A Tribe Called Quest | We Got It From Here... Thank You 4 Your Service | 136K |
Drake becomes the first artist to do a million in a week since Lil Wayne in 2008. "The Life Of Pablo" marks the first time in his career that a Kanye album does not have a top five debut week.
2017 - Kendrick is king
| Artist | Album | Sales |
| Kendrick Lamar | DAMN. | 610K |
| Drake | More Life | 505K |
| Eminem | Revival | 265K |
| Logic | Everybody | 251K |
| Big Sean | I Decided | 156K |
Eminem's "Revival" had his worst first week since "The Slim Shady LP" in 1999. Due to Tidal not reporting streaming numbers, Jay-Z's "4:44" is his first album since "In My Lifetime, Vol. 1" from 1997 not to have a top five debut week.
Tyler, The Creator, and Lil Uzi Vert burst into the mainstream with their albums "Flower Boy" and "Luv Is Rage 2", selling 106K and 126K respectively.
2018 - Drake cements himself as number one, Weezy is free, and the rise of Travis Scott
| Artist | Album | Sales |
| Drake | Scorpion | 749K |
| Travis Scott | Astroworld | 553K |
| Lil Wayne | Tha Carter V | 480K |
| Eminem | Kamikaze | 434K |
| J. Cole | KOD | 395K |
Cardi B's "Invasion of Privacy" debuts with 254K. Meek Mill's first album after being released from prison, "Championships" debuts with 229K.
2019 - Jesus Is King is king
| Artist | Album | Sales |
| Kanye West | JESUS IS KING | 276K |
| Juice WRLD | Death Race For Love | 164K |
| JACKBOYS | JACKBOYS | 154K |
| DaBaby | KIRK | 146K |
| DJ Khaled | Father Of Asahd | 132K |
Tyler, The Creator's "IGOR" debuts with 172K. He did not view the release as a hip-hop album, which is why it is omitted from this list.
2020 - Legends Never Die
| Artist | Album | Sales |
| Juice WRLD | Legends Never Die | 497K |
| Lil Uzi Vert | Eternal Atake | 288K |
| Eminem | Music To Be Murdered By | 279K |
| Pop Smoke | Shoot For The Stars Aim For The Moon | 251K |
| Drake | Dark Lane Demo Tapes | 223K |
Juice WRLD's and Pop Smoke's first posthumous albums see their largest commercial success. Lil Baby's "My Turn" debuts with 197K.
2021 - Kanye v Drake: Dawn of Prolonged Album Rollouts
| Artist | Album | Sales |
| Drake | Certified Lover Boy | 613K |
| Kanye West | Donda | 309K |
| J. Cole | The Off-Season | 282K |
| Tyler, The Creator | CALL ME IF YOU GET LOST | 170K |
| Lil Baby & Lil Durk | The Voice of the Heroes | 150K |
Top 100 First Weeks of All Time
| # | Artist | Title | Year | First Week Sales |
| 1 | Eminem | The Marshall Mathers LP | 2000 | 1.76M |
| 2 | Eminem | The Eminem Show | 2002 | 1.322M |
| 3 | 50 Cent | The Massacre | 2005 | 1.14M |
| 4 | Drake | Views | 2016 | 1.075M |
| 5 | Lil Wayne | Tha Carter III | 2008 | 1.006M |
| 6 | Lil Wayne | Tha Carter IV | 2011 | 964K |
| 7 | Kanye West | Graduation | 2007 | 957K |
| 8 | 50 Cent | Get Rich or Die Tryin' | 2003 | 872K |
| 9 | Kanye West | Late Registration | 2005 | 860K |
| 10 | Snoop Dogg | Doggystyle | 1993 | 803K |
| 11 | Eminem | The Marshall Mathers LP 2 | 2013 | 792K |
| 12 | Drake | Scorpion | 2018 | 749K |
| 13 | Eminem | Recovery | 2010 | 741K |
| 14 | Nelly | Nellyville | 2002 | 714K |
| 15 | Eminem | Encore | 2004 | 710K |
| 16 | Eminem | 8 Mile OST | 2002 | 702K |
| 17 | DMX | ...And Then There Was X | 1999 | 698K |
| 18 | 50 Cent | Curtis | 2007 | 697K |
| 19 | The Notorious B.I.G. | Life After Death | 1997 | 690K |
| 20 | Beastie Boys | Hello Nasty | 1998 | 681K |
| 21 | Jay-Z | Kingdom Come | 2006 | 680K |
| 22 | DMX | Flesh of My Flesh, Blood of My Blood | 1998 | 670K |
| 23 | 2Pac | The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory | 1996 | 664K |
| 24 | Drake | Nothing Was the Same | 2013 | 658K |
| 25 | Drake | Take Care | 2011 | 631K |
| 26 | Drake | Certified Lover Boy | 2021 | 613K |
| 27 | Wu-Tang Clan | Wu-Tang Forever | 1997 | 612K |
| 28 | Kendrick Lamar | DAMN. | 2017 | 610K |
| 29 | Eminem | Relapse | 2009 | 608K |
| 30 | The Game | The Documentary | 2005 | 586K |
| 31 | T.I. | Paper Trail | 2008 | 568K |
| 32 | 2Pac | All Eyez On Me | 1996 | 566K |
| 33 | P. Diddy | No Way Out | 1997 | 561K |
| 34 | Jay-Z | The Dynasty: Roc La Familia | 2000 | 558K |
| 35 | Travis Scott | Astroworld | 2018 | 553K |
| 36 | 2Pac | R U Still Down? (Remember Me) | 1997 | 549K |
| 37 | Jay-Z | The Blueprint 2: The Gift & The Curse | 2002 | 545K |
| 38 | D12 | D12 World | 2004 | 544K |
| 39 | Drake | If You're Reading This It's Too Late | 2015 | 535K |
| 40 | Outkast | Stankonia | 2000 | 530K |
| 41 | Jay-Z | Magna Carta Holy Grail | 2013 | 527K |
| 42 | T.I. | King | 2006 | 522K |
| 43 | Snoop Dogg | Da Game Is to Be Sold, Not to Be Told | 1998 | 520K |
| 44 | Dr. Dre | 2001 | 1999 | 516K |
| 45 | J. Cole | 4 Your Eyez Only | 2016 | 511K |
| 46 | Outkast | Speakerboxxx/The Love Below | 2003 | 510K |
| 47 | Drake | More Life | 2017 | 505K |
| 48 | Juice WRLD | Legends Never Die | 2020 | 497K |
| 49 | Kanye West | My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy | 2010 | 496K |
| 50 | Master P | MP Da Last Don | 1998 | 495K |
| 51 | The Notorious B.I.G. | Born Again | 1999 | 485K |
| 52 | Lil Wayne | Tha Carter V | 2018 | 480K |
| 53 | Snoop Dogg | Tha Doggfather | 1996 | 479K |
| 54 | Jay-Z | The Blueprint 3 | 2009 | 476K |
| 55 | Nas | I Am | 1999 | 470K |
| 56 | T.I. | T.I. vs. T.I.P. | 2007 | 468K |
| 57 | Jay-Z | The Black Album | 2003 | 463K |
| 58 | Jay-Z | Vol. 3... Life and Times of S. Carter | 1999 | 462K |
| 59 | Kanye West | 808's & Heartbreak | 2008 | 450K |
| 60 | Drake | Thank Me Later | 2010 | 447K |
| 61 | Kanye West | The College Dropout | 2004 | 441K |
| 62 | DMX | The Great Depression | 2001 | 439K |
| 63 | Jay-Z & Kanye West | Watch The Throne | 2011 | 436K |
| 64 | Eminem | Kamikaze | 2018 | 434K |
| 65 | Lloyd Banks | The Hunger for More | 2004 | 433K |
| 66 | 2Pac | Tupac: Resurrection | 2003 | 430K |
| 67 | Ludacris | Chicken-n-Beer | 2003 | 429K |
| 68 | 2Pac | Until The End of Time | 2001 | 427K |
| 69 | Jay-Z | American Gangster | 2007 | 426K |
| 70 | Lauryn Hill | The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill | 1998 | 423K |
| 71 | Jay-Z | The Blueprint | 2001 | 420K |
| 72 | Method Man | Tical 2000: Judgement Day | 1998 | 411K |
| 73 | 2Pac & Outlawz | Still I Rise | 1999 | 408K |
| 74 | J. Cole | KOD | 2018 | 398K |
| 75 | Snoop Dogg | Tha Last Meal | 2000 | 397K |
| 76 | Nelly | Suit | 2004 | 396K |
| 77 | Nicki Minaj | Pink Friday | 2010 | 395K |
| 78 | Bone Thugs-N-Harmony | The Art Of War | 1997 | 394K |
| 79 | Mystikal | Ghetto Fabulous | 1998 | 385K |
| 79 | The Game | Doctor's Advocate | 2006 | 385K |
| 81 | G-Unit | Beg for Mercy | 2003 | 377K |
| 82 | J. Cole | 2014 Forest Hills Drive | 2014 | 375K |
| 82 | Drake & Future | What A Time to Be Alive | 2015 | 375K |
| 84 | D12 | Devil's Night | 2001 | 372K |
| 85 | 2Pac | Better Dayz | 2002 | 366K |
| 86 | Kendrick Lamar | To Pimp a Butterfly | 2015 | 363K |
| 87 | Ja Rule | Pain Is Love | 2001 | 361K |
| 87 | Young Buck | Straight Outta Cashville | 2004 | 361K |
| 89 | Beastie Boys | To the 5 Boroughs | 2004 | 360K |
| 90 | Nas | Hip Hop Is Dead | 2006 | 356K |
| 91 | Young Jeezy | The Inspiration | 2006 | 352K |
| 92 | Jay-Z | Vol. 2... Hard Knock Life | 1998 | 350K |
| 93 | Nelly | Sweat | 2004 | 342K |
| 93 | Nas | Stillmatic | 2001 | 342K |
| 95 | Mystikal | Let's Get Ready | 2000 | 330K |
| 95 | 2Pac | Loyal to the Game | 2004 | 330K |
| 97 | Snoop Doggy Dogg | Murder Was the Case | 1994 | 329K |
| 98 | Kanye West | Yeezus | 2013 | 328K |
| 99 | Various Artists | Bad Boys II | 2003 | 324K |
| 100 | Ludacris | The Red Light District | 2004 | 322K |
Here is a graph showing the number of albums in the top 100 per year
