— Year-End Charts —
The Best-Selling Albums and Songs of 2013
An independent rap duo with no label took the year’s biggest song — the first real sign of what distribution was about to become.
Artists of the Year
Top ArtistBruno MarsCombined albums + singles performance
Top Albums ArtistJustin Timberlake
Top Singles ArtistBruno Mars
Top 10 Albums of 2013 Billboard 200
- 1The 20/20 ExperienceJustin Timberlake
- 2RedTaylor Swift
- 3Take Me HomeOne Direction
- 4Unorthodox JukeboxBruno Mars
- 5BabelMumford & Sons
- 6Night VisionsImagine Dragons
- 7Here’s to the Good TimesFlorida Georgia Line
- 8The Truth About LoveP!nk
- 9Crash My PartyLuke Bryan
- 10UnapologeticRihanna
Top 10 Songs of 2013 Hot 100
- 1Thrift ShopMacklemore & Ryan Lewis ft. Wanz
- 2Blurred LinesRobin Thicke ft. T.I. and Pharrell Williams
- 3RadioactiveImagine Dragons
- 4Harlem ShakeBaauer
- 5Can’t Hold UsMacklemore & Ryan Lewis ft. Ray Dalton
- 6MirrorsJustin Timberlake
- 7Just Give Me a ReasonPink ft. Nate Ruess
- 8When I Was Your ManBruno Mars
- 9CruiseFlorida Georgia Line ft. Nelly
- 10RoarKaty Perry
What the 2013 Charts Show
- The year split: Justin Timberlake led on albums while Bruno Mars led on singles.
- 2 albums held their top-10 places from 2012: Red and Babel — the streaming era’s long tail at work.
How the 2013 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
The stories behind the music, every week.
The Authority Daily newsletter: the features, interviews, and business moves shaping music and culture — the ones worth your inbox. Free. No spam, ever.
FREE · ONE EMAIL A WEEK · UNSUBSCRIBE ANYTIME