The Best-Selling Albums and Songs of 2008
A Christmas record finished second — Josh Groban’s Noel, behind Alicia Keys’ As I Am — and Chris Brown closed out the Hot 100 top 10 with two songs at Nos. 9 and 10.
Artists of the Year
Top 10 Albums of 2008 Billboard 200
- 1As I AmAlicia Keys
- 2NoelJosh Groban
- 3Tha Carter IIILil Wayne
- 4Long Road Out of EdenEagles
- 5Taylor SwiftTaylor Swift
- 6Rock n Roll JesusKid Rock
- 7Viva la Vida or Death and All His FriendsColdplay
- 8Now That’s What I Call Music! 26Various Artists
- 9Carnival RideCarrie Underwood
- 10The Ultimate HitsGarth Brooks
Top 10 Songs of 2008 Hot 100
- 1LowFlo Rida ft. T-Pain
- 2Bleeding LoveLeona Lewis
- 3No OneAlicia Keys
- 4LollipopLil Wayne ft. Static Major
- 5ApologizeOneRepublic
- 6No AirJordin Sparks and Chris Brown
- 7Love SongSara Bareilles
- 8Love in This ClubUsher ft. Young Jeezy
- 9With YouChris Brown
- 10ForeverChris Brown
What the 2008 Charts Show
- The year split: Josh Groban led on albums while Chris Brown led on singles.
How the 2008 charts were compiled
Every position here is a chart placement — measured sales, radio airplay and, in the years Billboard counted it, streaming across its tracking year — not an editorial ranking. Albums come from the year-end Billboard 200, songs from the year-end Hot 100.
Billboard’s tracking year runs from roughly late October to mid-October rather than January to December, which is why a late-autumn release can win the following year and why a song can appear on two consecutive year-end lists.
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