— Year-End Charts —
The Best-Selling Albums and Songs of 2012
21 became the first album since the SoundScan era began to finish No. 1 in two consecutive years.
Artists of the Year
Top ArtistAdeleCombined albums + singles performance
Top Albums ArtistAdele
Top Singles ArtistRihanna
Top 10 Albums of 2012 Billboard 200
- 121Adele
- 2ChristmasMichael Bublé
- 3Take CareDrake
- 4RedTaylor Swift
- 5Up All NightOne Direction
- 6Tailgates & TanlinesLuke Bryan
- 7BabelMumford & Sons
- 8Talk That TalkRihanna
- 9TuskegeeLionel Richie
- 10El CaminoThe Black Keys
Top 10 Songs of 2012 Hot 100
- 1Somebody That I Used to KnowGotye ft. Kimbra
- 2Call Me MaybeCarly Rae Jepsen
- 3We Are YoungFun ft. Janelle Monáe
- 4PayphoneMaroon 5 ft. Wiz Khalifa
- 5LightsEllie Goulding
- 6Glad You CameThe Wanted
- 7Stronger (What Doesn’t Kill You)Kelly Clarkson
- 8We Found LoveRihanna ft. Calvin Harris
- 9StarshipsNicki Minaj
- 10What Makes You BeautifulOne Direction
What the 2012 Charts Show
- The year split: Adele led on albums while Rihanna led on singles.
- 21 placed in the year-end top 10 for a second straight year, having also charted in 2011.
How the 2012 charts were compiled
Every position here is a chart placement — measured sales, radio airplay and streaming across Billboard’s 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.
Liner Notes
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