INDEPENDENT MAGAZINE  ·  EST. 2019
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 26, 2026Press DeskSubscribe
VOL. 8 · MUSIC · ENTERTAINMENT · CELEBRITIES · BUSINESS
AUTHORITY
DAILY
— The Magazine of Music & Culture —
— Year-End Charts —

The Best-Selling Albums and Songs of 2014

A Disney soundtrack beat every pop star in America, and 1989 arrived in October and still finished third.

Artists of the Year

Top ArtistOne DirectionCombined albums + singles performance
Top Albums ArtistTaylor Swift
Top Singles ArtistKaty Perry

Top 10 Albums of 2014 Billboard 200

  1. 1FrozenSoundtrack
  2. 2BeyoncéBeyoncé
  3. 31989Taylor Swift
  4. 4Midnight MemoriesOne Direction
  5. 5The Marshall Mathers LP 2Eminem
  6. 6Pure HeroineLorde
  7. 7Crash My PartyLuke Bryan
  8. 8PrismKaty Perry
  9. 9Blame It on My RootsGarth Brooks
  10. 10Here’s to the Good TimesFlorida Georgia Line

Top 10 Songs of 2014 Hot 100

  1. 1HappyPharrell Williams
  2. 2Dark HorseKaty Perry ft. Juicy J
  3. 3All of MeJohn Legend
  4. 4FancyIggy Azalea ft. Charli XCX
  5. 5Counting StarsOneRepublic
  6. 6Talk DirtyJason Derulo ft. 2 Chainz
  7. 7RudeMagic!
  8. 8All About That BassMeghan Trainor
  9. 9ProblemAriana Grande ft. Iggy Azalea
  10. 10Stay with MeSam Smith

What the 2014 Charts Show

  • The year split: Taylor Swift led on albums while Katy Perry led on singles.
  • 2 albums held their top-10 places from 2013: Crash My Party and Here’s to the Good Times — the streaming era’s long tail at work.

How the 2014 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.

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