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Billboard
Comprehensive Albums
was established in 2003
[1]
and was a weekly
albums
chart
produced by
Billboard
magazine
that ranked the biggest selling albums in the
United States
regardless of the product's age or method of sales.
Billboard
Comprehensive Albums included any album, old or new, sold anywhere, for which sales data was available. Generally, the
Billboard
Comprehensive Albums was nearly identical to the
Billboard
200, with the exception of approximately 20 to 30 "catalog" albums that still sell well enough to be one of the top 200-selling albums in any given week.
Albums which are over 18 months old (from the date of release) and have dropped below position 100 on
The
Billboard
200
were removed from that chart and placed on the
Top Pop Catalog Albums
chart.
Until November 2007, albums sold as an "exclusive" to a particular retail outlet (such as
iTunes
,
Starbucks
, or
Wal-Mart
) were not eligible for the
Billboard
200 due to a long-standing policy. This policy was changed following the first-week success of
The Eagles
' album
Long Road Out of Eden
, sold exclusively at Wal-Mart and on the Eagles' website; the rule change took effect with the issue dated November 17, 2007.
[2]
The
Billboard
Comprehensive Albums chart was not published in the print edition of
Billboard
magazine. Instead, it could be viewed via paid subscription to
Billboard
's online service, Billboard.biz.
The issue dated July 11, 2009 was the first time any catalog album outsold the number-one album on the
Billboard
200. Three of Michael Jackson's albums (
Number Ones
,
The Essential Michael Jackson
and
Thriller
) claimed positions 1-3 respectively on
Top Pop Catalog Albums
and
Top Comprehensive Albums
in the week following Jackson's death.
[3]
[4]
After the continued success of such catalog albums,
Billboard
Comprehensive Albums chart was discontinued in November 2009, and the
Billboard
200 began to incorporate the catalog albums.
Billboard
then started the
Top Current Albums
chart with the old rules of the
Billboard
200.
References
[
edit
]