1. Taylor Swift - The Tortured Poets Department (4.660 million)
Swift expanded it into a double album shortly after its release in April following her six-year relationship with the actor Joe Alwyn. Her 11th studio album features a blend of synth, folk, chamber pop, rock and country music.
It achieved record-breaking sales and streaming numbers, debuting atop the Billboard 200 and making Swift the first artist to occupy the top 14 spots on the Billboard Hot 100.
When asked to comment on the meaning of the track “Fortnight” that she sang with Post Malone in the album, Swift said, “It's about a dramatic, artistic tragic kind of take on love and loss.”
2. Morgan Wallen - One Thing At a Time (1.776 million)
The American country singer released his third album, which includes hit singles like "You Proof," "Thought You Should Know," and "Last Night," as well as collaborations with Eric Church, Hardy, and Ernest. It also included three additional tracks, with "Last Night" topping the Billboard Hot 100 for 16 weeks.
“I just try to tell it how it is – the good, the bad, the love, the heartbreak. That’s all I know how to do. My hope is that this album makes my fans proud; makes ’em laugh, smirk, cry, and think—just like it did for me,” he said in an interview when he promoted the album.
3. Noah Kahan - Stick Season (1.224 million)
Kahan's third studio album shot to number one at the Billboard US Top Rock Albums and US Top Alternative Albums along with peak positions in the U.K., Canada, Denmark and Ireland charts. The album title and its lead single refer to the autumn season after Halloween in New England, which the singer calls a time that creates anxiety.
In an interview with Variety, the Grammy-nominated artist said about the album, "I hope that people can find in these songs what I found in the space itself, whether or not they have the space. I think being imaginative and dreaming and reflecting when you hear music is my favorite part about music. I can listen to a song and it brings me immediately back to a moment in my life, or a thought that I had, and it doesn’t matter where I am."
4. Beyoncé - Cowboy Carter (1.105 million)
The New York Times calls this album “a Rosetta Stone for the hidden racial politics.” The diva also commented: “I think people are going to be surprised because I don’t think this music is what everyone expects, but it’s the best music I’ve ever made.”
Her eighth studio album is the second installment of a planned trilogy following “Renaissance” in 2022. Beyoncé highlights the contributions of Black pioneers to American music and culture with country, R&B, blues, folk, and hip hop all rolled into one.
The album debuted at number one in multiple countries and became the first album by a Black woman to top the U.S. Top Country Albums chart.
At Royalty Exchange, a 235-track catalog that consists of Beyoncé’s “Signs” was sold for $150,000 in November 2023. The song also earned $1,900 for the investor in the last 12 months.
5. SZA - SOS (1.064 million)
SZA's second studio album received widespread critical acclaim plus nine nominations at the 66th Annual Grammy Awards. It won Best Progressive R&B Album and was also featured on Rolling Stone's "500 Greatest Albums of All Time" in 2023 and Apple Music's "100 Best Albums."
Variety calls it, "It’s not just an album that people like; it touches them, in a way similar to peak Lauryn Hill or OutKast, with songs that speak to and for and about her fans and their lives."
The album was mainly driven by the artist's departure from trying to be a "nice girl." However, while SZA believes she has done nice things and is a kind person, she acknowledges that being a "nice girl" doesn't define her. "And I think I’ve done nice things and I am a kind person, but I’m not a nice girl. And that’s okay," she confessed to Rolling Stone.
SZA’s debut album CTRL’s producer royalties was sold for $205,000 in April of last year at Royalty Exchange.
6. Future and Metro Boomin - We Don't Trust You (1.046 million)
The hip hop and trap album features "Like That," which debuted and peaked atop the US Billboard Hot 100, giving Future his third number-one single and Metro Boomin his first. The album was both a critical and commercial success, debuting atop the US Billboard 200 with 251,000 album-equivalent units. "We Don't Trust You" is Future's ninth and Metro Boomin's fourth number-one album in the US.
Billboard's executive director of music Jason Lipshutz stated, "Future and Metro Boomin have kicked off the spring in dominant fashion, and their album has become the biggest story in rap."
Future’s 13-track catalog was sold for $21,600 in June 2024 at Royalty Exchange.
7. Morgan Wallen - Dangerous: The Double Album (1.010 million)
Wallen's second studio album was released in 2021, but album sales are still hot three years after. The album received generally positive reviews from critics and debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 and US Top Country Albums charts, earning 265,000 album-equivalent units in its first week. It also set a record for the longest duration at number one at 97 weeks on Billboard's Country Albums chart.
It was revealed that Wallen wrote the songs at his home, "between fishing and riding four-wheelers." And in terms of production style, he stated, “We tried to stay in about three different categories. We did a Fleetwood Mac-inspired sound. Then I wanted to do something with a little bit more [of a beat], and then we stuck to some traditional sounding country music, as well. Those were the three main ones that I wanted to go with because that’s what I’m drawn to.
8. Zach Bryan - Zach Bryan (0.984 million)
The self-titled and self-produced fourth studio album's single "I Remember Everything" won Best Country Duo/Group Performance for the lead collaboration with Kacey Musgraves at the 66th Annual Grammy Awards. It also features guest appearances by The War and Treaty, Sierra Ferrell, and The Lumineers. Bryan aptly describes the tracks as "poems and songs."
Variety writes that the country rock artist knows intimacy is his "best feature, more than being a blowhard — and knows how to make the recordings playful and not just painful."
9. Taylor Swift - 1989 (Taylor's Version) (0.953 million)
Swift's re-recording of her iconic 2014 album was released last year. This version includes hits like "Shake It Off," "Blank Space," and "Style" with refreshed vocals and production. The global phenomenon’s aim was to regain control of her masters and offer fans nostalgic tracks while introducing previously unreleased songs from "The Vault." The album maintains the original's pop brilliance but with Swift's evolving artistry. This is her 13th number-one album on the Billboard 200 in the United States.
Jack Antonoff, who produced three tracks from the original album, describes Taylor’s Version as similar to “finding an old diary.”
10. Taylor Swift - Lover (0.948 million)
Released in 2019, this is Swift's seventh studio album, which explores social issues, self-awareness and self-love with pop, indie, and synth-pop influences. The title track, "Lover," a ballad celebrating commitment, received multi-platinum certifications in the United States and other countries.
When promoting the album, she spoke to CBS and confessed that the song was written on her piano at home. “There have been so many songs that were written at this piano. It's usually in the middle of the night, or if I'm trying to get to sleep and I can't and then I get an idea. And I'm, like, 'Well, I'm not tired anyway!' And then kind of wander over here."
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