Source& Published On December 20, 2016

Adele’s 25 and Drake’s Views are the most popular albums of 2016. But which came out on top? That’s a surprisingly complicated question. Adele’s 25 has sold more copies than any other album this year, though Views pulls ahead if you factor in digital track sales and streaming activity — what the music industry calls “equivalent units.”

Prince and David Bowie, who died earlier this year, both rank high on the year’s best-selling albums chart. Prince is the only artist with two of the year’s top 20 albums. The Very Best of Prince ranks No. 7. The Purple Rainsoundtrack, which was released 32 years ago, ranks No. 13. Bowie’s final studio album, Blackstar, ranks No. 14. The album was released just two days before Bowie’s death in January.

Pentatonix’s A Pentatonix Christmasranks No. 8 for the year. This is the sixth time in the past 10 years that a Christmas album has appeared in the year’s top 10. By contrast, in the preceding 16 years (1991-2006), only one Christmas album appeared in the year-end top 10. Explanation: Though album sales in general have fallen off in the past decade, holiday albums have held their own — and thus are becoming more important on the list relative to all other albums released.

In 2016, for the first time since Nielsen Music began tracking music sales in 1991, not one album sold 2 million copies (in traditional album sales).Here are the 15 best-selling albums so far in 2016, in terms of traditional album sales, according to Nielsen Music. At the end of each entry, I indicate the album’s rank on the year’s Track Equivalent Albums (TEA) chart. That chart factors in sales of digital tracks from the album1/15 15. Metallica, ‘Hardwired … to Self-Destruct’

The album has sold 432K copies since its release in November. Metallica has placed an album in the year-end top 10 four times. The band’s highest year-end ranking came in 1991, when its blockbuster 'Metallica' release was that year’s No. 6 album. TEA rank: No. 26.

2/15 14. David Bowie, ‘Blackstar’

The album has sold 448K copies since its release in January. TEA rank: No. 25.

3/15 13. Prince & The Revolution, ‘Purple Rain’

The 1984 album has sold 487K copies so far this year. It’s the year’s top-selling soundtrack. This was a 1984 Grammy nominee for Album of the Year. TEA rank: No. 17.
4/15 12. Panic! at the Disco, ‘Death of a Bachelor’

The album has sold 506K copies since its release in January. This will be the band’s highest ranking on a year-end chart. Its previous highest rank came in 2006, when 'A Fever You Can’t Sweat Out' ranked at No. 26. TEA rank: No. 13.
5/15 11. Blake Shelton, ‘If I’m Honest’

The album has sold 522K copies since its release in May. This is the second time that Shelton has had an album in the year’s top 15. 'Based on a True Story…' was No. 9 for 2013. TEA rank: No. 12.
6/15 10. Justin Bieber, ‘Purpose’

The album has sold 543K copies in 2016, on top of 1,269,000 million it sold in 2015 (when it ranked No. 3 for the year). This is the fifth time that Bieber has had one of the year’s top 10 albums. 'Purpose' was nominated for a Grammy for Album of the Year. TEA r7/15 9. Rihanna, ‘Anti’

This album has sold 591K copies since its release in January. Surprisingly, this marks the first time that Rihanna has had one of the year’s top 10 albums. Her previous highest ranking on a year-end chart was in 2008, when 'Good Girls Gone Bad' ranked No. 16. TEA rank: No. 6.

8/15 8. Pentatonix, ‘A Pentatonix Christmas’

This holiday release has sold 639K copies since October. This is the second time that the vocal group has had an album in the year’s top 10. 'That’s Christmas to Me' was No. 4 for 2014. 'A Pentatonix Christmas' is likely to overtake Twenty One Pilots' 'Blurryface' to become the year’s best-selling album by a group or duo. 'That’s Christmas to Me' held that distinction two years ago. This is the third consecutive year that Pentatonix has had the year’s top Christmas album. Nobody else has taken that title three years in a row in the Nielsen Music era. TEA rank: No. 11.

9/15 7. Prince, ‘The Very Best of Prince’

The 2001 compilation has sold 660K copies in 2016 (on top of more than 2 million copies sold prior to this year). This is the highest ranking for an album by an artist who had died since 2009, when Michael Jackson’s 'Number Ones' was the year’s No. 3 album. TEA rank: No. 8.

10/15 6. Twenty One Pilots, ‘Blurryface’

The album has sold 678K copies in 2016, on top of 592K it sold in 2015 (when it ranked No. 19 for the year). This is the highest ranking for an album by a rock artist since 2013, when Imagine Dragons’ 'Night Visions' was the year’s No. 4 album. It’s the highest ranking for an album by a duo since 2013, when Florida Georgia Line’s 'Here’s to the Good Times' was the year’s No. 6 album. TEA rank: No. 5.

11/15 5. ‘Hamilton’ Original Cast Album

The album has sold 739K copies in 2016, on top of 169K it sold in 2015 (when it ranked No. 110 for the year). This is by far the highest ranking for a Broadway cast album in the Nielsen Music era. TEA rank: No. 10.

12/15 4. Chris Stapleton, ‘Traveller’

The album has sold 1,042,000 copies in 2016, on top of 685K it sold in 2015 (when it ranked No. 14 for the year). This is the highest ranking for a country album since 2013, when Luke Bryan’s 'Crash My Party' was the year’s No. 3 album. This was Stapleton’s first solo album; it’s the year’s top debut album. 'Traveller' was a 2015 Grammy nominee for Album of the Year. TEA rank: No. 4.

13/15 3. Beyoncé, ‘Lemonade’

The critically acclaimed surprise album has sold 1,527,000 copies since its release in April. This is the eighth time Beyoncé has had an album in the year’s top 10 (counting two albums she recorded with Destiny’s Child). She’s the only artist in the Nielsen Music era who can make that claim. This is Beyoncé’s highest ranking to date. Her former personal best was shared by 'Dangerously in Love' (No. 6 for 2003) and 'Beyoncé' (No. 6 for 2014). 'Lemonade' was nominated for a Grammy for Album of the Year. TEA rank: No. 3.

14/15 2. Drake, ‘Views’

The album has sold 1,579,000 copies since its release in April. This is the fifth time that Drake has had an album in the year’s top 10. Among hip-hop artists, only Eminem has had more years with an album in the year’s top 10 (six). This is Drake’s highest year-end ranking to date, topping 'If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late,' which finished No. 5 for 2015. This is the highest ranking for a rap album since 2013, when Eminem’s 'The Marshall Mathers LP 2' was the year’s No. 2 album. It’s the highest ranking for an album by a Canadian artist since 2011, when Michael Bublé’s 'Christmas' was the year’s No. 2 album. 'Views' was nominated for a Grammy for Album of the Year. TEA rank: No. 1.

15/15 1. Adele, ‘25’

Adele's third album has sold 1,684,000 copies in 2016, on top of the 7,441,000 it sold in 2015 (when it also ranked No. 1 for the year). This is the fourth time that Adele has had the year’s top-selling album. Her previous album, '21,' was No. 1 for both 2011 and 2012. No other artist has had the year’s top-seller more than twice. '25' was nominated for a Grammy for Album of the Year. TEA rank: No. 2.