List of Billboard 200 number-one albums of 1988

George Michael has topped the Billboard Year-End of 1988 charts in the U.S. with his album Faith and single of the same title. According to RIAA, he was the top-selling artist of the year 1988 in the United States.

The highest-selling albums and EPs in the United States are ranked in the Billboard 200, which is published by Billboard magazine. The data are compiled by Nielsen Soundscan based on each album's weekly physical and digital sales.^[1] In 1988, 11 albums advanced to the peak position of the chart.

The beginning of the year started with the continuation of Dirty Dancing but was bumped out of the number one spot by Pop singer George Michael's first solo album Faith. It had the longest run among the releases, spending 12 non-consecutive weeks in the top position. The album was also notable for entering the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (U.S. Hot Black Singles) at number-one making it the first album by a Caucasian artist to hit the top spot on that chart, mainly due to the R&B/funk-leaning singles that were released from the album, most notably, "One More Try", "I Want Your Sex" and "Father Figure". Faith was the best-selling album of 1988 in the United States, and eventually reached Diamond certification by the RIAA. Closely behind Faith, the Dirty Dancing soundtrack spent 11 non-consecutive weeks in the top position. From its August 1987 release, it spent a total of 18 weeks at #1 on the Billboard 200 and went platinum eleven times.

Guns N' Roses' debut album, Appetite for Destruction, was their first number one album on the Billboard 200, and is one of the best selling albums in the U.S., being certified diamond (plus 18x platinum) by the RIAA.^[2]

Van Halen, Bon Jovi, and U2 garnered their second number one albums on the Billboard 200, while Tiffany, Def Leppard, Anita Baker, and Steve Winwood garnered their first.

Albums

Key

Indicates best performing album of 1988

Issue Date	Album	Artist	Reference
January 2	Dirty Dancing	Soundtrack	[3]
January 9			[4]
January 16	Faith	George Michael	[5]
January 23	Tiffany	Tiffany	[6]
January 30			[7]
February 6	Faith	George Michael	[8]
February 13			[9]
February 20			[10]
February 27			[11]
March 5			[12]
March 12	Dirty Dancing	Soundtrack	[13]
March 19			[14]
March 26			[15]
April 2			[16]
April 9			[17]
April 16			[18]
April 23			[19]
April 30			[20]
May 7			[21]
May 14	Faith	George Michael	[22]
May 21			[23]
May 28			[24]
June 4			[25]
June 11			[26]
June 18			[27]
June 25	OU812	Van Halen	[28]
July 2			[29]
July 9			[30]
July 16			[31]
July 23	Hysteria	Def Leppard	[32]
July 30			[31]
August 6	Appetite for Destruction	Guns N' Roses	[33]
August 13	Hysteria	Def Leppard	[34]
August 20	Roll with It	Steve Winwood	[35]
August 27	Tracy Chapman	Tracy Chapman
September 3	Hysteria	Def Leppard	[36]
September 10			[37]
September 17			[38]
September 24	Appetite for Destruction	Guns N' Roses	[39]
October 1			[40]
October 8			[41]
October 15	New Jersey	Bon Jovi	[42]
October 22			[43]
October 29			[44]
November 5			[45]
November 12	Rattle and Hum	U2	[46]
November 19			[47]
November 26			[48]
December 3			[49]
December 10			[50]
December 17			[51]
December 24	Giving You the Best That I Got	Anita Baker	[52]
December 31			[53]

See also

• 1988 in music
• List of number-one albums (United States)
• List of best-selling albums
• List of best-selling albums in the United States

References

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