— Year-End Charts —
The Best-Selling Albums and Songs of 2016
Justin Bieber took the top two songs of the year; Adele took the album. Streaming was now the whole ballgame.
Artists of the Year
Top ArtistAdeleCombined albums + singles performance
Top Albums ArtistAdele
Top Singles ArtistDrake
Top 10 Albums of 2016 Billboard 200
- 125Adele
- 2ViewsDrake
- 3PurposeJustin Bieber
- 4LemonadeBeyoncé
- 5AntiRihanna
- 6BlurryfaceTwenty One Pilots
- 7TravellerChris Stapleton
- 8Made in the A.M.One Direction
- 9Beauty Behind the MadnessThe Weeknd
- 10HamiltonOriginal Broadway Cast
Top 10 Songs of 2016 Hot 100
- 1Love YourselfJustin Bieber
- 2SorryJustin Bieber
- 3One DanceDrake ft. Wizkid and Kyla
- 4WorkRihanna ft. Drake
- 5Stressed OutTwenty One Pilots
- 6PandaDesiigner
- 7HelloAdele
- 8Don’t Let Me DownThe Chainsmokers ft. Daya
- 9Can’t Stop the Feeling!Justin Timberlake
- 10CloserThe Chainsmokers ft. Halsey
What the 2016 Charts Show
- The year split: Adele led on albums while Drake led on singles.
How the 2016 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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