Green Day’s ‘Saviors’ Starts at No. 1 on Multiple Billboard Album Charts
Written by Keith Caulfield on February 2, 2024
Green Day’s latest studio album, Saviors, makes an eye-catching debut across Billboard’s charts, as it debuts atop seven different U.S. album charts (all dated Feb. 3). Plus, the set scores the band its best sales week ever on vinyl in the U.S.
All told, Saviors starts at No. 1 on Top Album Sales, Top Current Album Sales, Top Rock & Alternative Albums, Top Rock Albums, Top Alternative Albums, Vinyl Albums and Tastemaker Albums.
In the tracking week ending Jan. 25, Saviors sold 39,000 copies in the U.S., according to Luminate. Of that sum, physical sales comprise 30,000 (18,000 on vinyl – the band’s best week ever on vinyl; 11,000 on CD and 1,000 on cassette) and digital album download sales comprise 9,000.
Saviors is Green Day’s fifth No. 1 on Top Album Sales and Top Current Album Sales; fourth No. 1 on Top Rock & Alternative Albums, Top Rock Albums and Top Alternative Albums, third No. 1 on Vinyl Albums and fifth leader on Tastemaker Albums.
Billboard’s Top Album Sales chart ranks the top-selling albums of the week based only on traditional album sales. The chart’s history dates back to May 25, 1991, the first week Billboard began tabulating charts with electronically monitored piece count information from SoundScan, now Luminate. Pure album sales were the sole measurement utilized by the Billboard 200 albums chart through the list dated Dec. 6, 2014, after which that chart switched to a methodology that blends album sales with track equivalent album units and streaming equivalent album units. For all chart news, follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both Twitter and Instagram.
Top Rock & Alternative Albums, Top Rock Albums and Top Alternative Albums rank, respectively, the week’s most popular rock and alternative, rock, and alternative albums by equivalent album units. Vinyl Album tallies the week’s top-selling vinyl releases. Tastemaker Albums measures the top-selling titles at independent and small chain record stores. Top Current Album Sales ranks the week’s top-selling new/current albums (non-catalog/older titles).
The first-week sales of Saviors were bolstered by its availability across more than 15 vinyl variants (all with the same tracklist, just different colored vinyl), an autographed CD sold through the band’s webstore and two deluxe boxed sets containing a CD and an artist branded t-shirt (both exclusive to Green Day’s Webstore).
A quartet of former No. 1s follows Saviors on the new Top Album Sales chart, as Taylor Swift’s Folklore is a non-mover at No. 2 (11,000; down 42%), as is Swift’s 1989 (Taylor’s Version) at No. 3 (nearly 11,000; down 18%). Kali Uchis’ Orquideas falls 1-4 in its second week with 7,000 (down 78%), while Swift’s Midnights rises 6-5 (nearly 7,000; down 15%).
NMIXX notches its first top 10-charting effort on Top Album Sales as Fe3O4: Break debuts at No. 6 with a little over 6,000 sold. Its sales were encouraged by its availability in five collectible CD packages, all containing branded paper merchandise (including some randomized), including two signed editions sold through the act’s official webstore.
Stray Kids’ former No. 1 ROCK-STAR is steady at No. 7 (6,000; down 19%) and Swift’s chart-topping Lover is stationary at No. 8 (nearly 6,000; down 9%). The Rolling Stones’ Hackney Diamonds returns to the top 10, re-entering the chart at No. 9 with just over 5,000 sold, following the release of a new deluxe edition containing seven live bonus tracks recorded in October 2023. Swift’s former leader Evermore rounds out the top 10, dipping 9-10 with 5,000 sold (down 12%).
In the week ending Jan. 25, there were 1.103 million albums sold in the U.S. (up 1.8% compared to the previous week). Of that sum, physical albums (CDs, vinyl LPs, cassettes, etc.) comprised 823,000 (up 0.1%) and digital albums comprised 280,000 (up 7.4%).
There were 388,000 CD albums sold in the week ending Jan. 25 (up 5.1 week-over-week) and 429,000 vinyl albums sold (down 4.6%). Year-to-date CD album sales stand at 1.704 million (down 26.9% compared to the same time frame a year ago) and year-to-date vinyl album sales total 1.995 million (down 45.8%).
Overall year-to-date album sales total 4.797 million (down 35% compared to the same year-to-date time frame a year ago). Year-to-date physical album sales stand at 3.718 million (down 38.5%) and digital album sales total 1.079 million (down 19%).
