The Best-Selling Albums and Songs of 2009
Taylor Swift’s first year-end crown — Fearless was the biggest album and she was artist of the year — while Lady Gaga led the singles with two of the year’s top three songs.
Artists of the Year
Top 10 Albums of 2009 Billboard 200
- 1FearlessTaylor Swift
- 2I Am... Sasha FierceBeyoncé
- 3Dark HorseNickelback
- 4TwilightSoundtrack
- 5Hannah Montana: The MovieSoundtrack
- 6CircusBritney Spears
- 7808s & HeartbreakKanye West
- 8The FameLady Gaga
- 9RelapseEminem
- 10The E.N.D.The Black Eyed Peas
Top 10 Songs of 2009 Hot 100
- 1Boom Boom PowThe Black Eyed Peas
- 2Poker FaceLady Gaga
- 3Just DanceLady Gaga ft. Colby O’Donis
- 4I Gotta FeelingThe Black Eyed Peas
- 5Love StoryTaylor Swift
- 6Right RoundFlo Rida
- 7I’m YoursJason Mraz
- 8Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)Beyoncé
- 9HeartlessKanye West
- 10Gives You HellThe All-American Rejects
What the 2009 Charts Show
- The year split: Taylor Swift led on albums while Lady Gaga led on singles.
- Soundtrack placed 2 albums inside the year-end top 10 — a share of the chart almost nobody manages.
How the 2009 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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