Rolling Stone Top 100
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The ''Rolling Stone'' charts tabulated the relative weekly popularity of songs and albums in the United States. Chart data was powered by analytics firm Alpha Data (formerly BuzzAngle Music) and results were published on the website of pop culture magazine ''
Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...
'', both of which are properties of the United States-based
Penske Media Corporation Penske Media Corporation (PMC) () is an American digital media, publishing, and information services company based in Los Angeles and New York City. It publishes more than 20 digital and print brands, including ''Variety'', ''Rolling Stone'', '' ...
. The ''Rolling Stone'' charts competed with the ''Billboard'' charts, which are powered by
Nielsen SoundScan Luminate (formerly Nielsen SoundScan, Nielsen Music Products, and MRC Data) is a provider of music sales data. Established by Mike Fine and Mike Shalett in 1991, data is collected weekly and made available every Sunday (for albums sales) and eve ...
and published by ''
Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...
'' magazine. The ''Rolling Stone'' charts were differentiated by their emphasis in
streaming media Streaming media is multimedia that is delivered and consumed in a continuous manner from a source, with little or no intermediate storage in network elements. ''Streaming'' refers to the delivery method of content, rather than the content it ...
and daily updates while still publishing a weekly final version on the Monday following the Friday-to-Thursday tracking week. They were announced on May 7, 2019, and were expected to launch on May 13, but were ultimately launched on July 2. The charts were discontinued at the end of October 2021 after the October 21 issue, with ''Billboard'' having become a sister PMC publication to ''Rolling Stone'' in the last part of 2020, thus making the ''Rolling Stone'' charts internally duplicative and superfluous.


Background

Since ''
Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...
'' began publishing its first ranked
record chart A record chart, in the music industry, also called a music chart, is a ranking of Sound recording and reproduction, recorded music according to certain criteria during a given period. Many different criteria are used in worldwide charts, often ...
s in 1940, the ''Billboard'' charts have been considered the standard in gauging the popularity of music in the United States. Throughout the 20th century, several competitors came and went, including charts published in ''
Cash Box ''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', was an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...
'' (1952–96), ''
Record World ''Record World'' magazine was one of the three main music industry trade magazines in the United States, along with '' Billboard'' and '' Cashbox''. It was founded in 1946 under the name ''Music Vendor'', but in 1964 it was changed to ''Record Wo ...
'' (1954–82) and ''
Radio & Records ''Radio & Records'' (''R&R'') was a trade publication providing news and airplay information for the radio and music industries. It started as an independent trade from 1973 to 2006 until VNU Media took over in 2006 and became a relaunched sister ...
'' (1973–2009). Over time, incomplete distinctions between album sales, album shipments, digital downloads, and streaming media have been sources of criticism regarding the charts' validities. ''Rolling Stone'' first announced it would be launching a group of record charts on May 7, 2019. The scheduled launch date for the project was announced by the magazine as May 13, 2019. It was included in the announcement that the charts would be powered by information supplied by data analytics company Alpha Data, previously known as "BuzzAngle Music" prior to their rebranding on May 13, 2019. Alpha Data is owned by the parent company of ''Rolling Stone'',
Penske Media Corporation Penske Media Corporation (PMC) () is an American digital media, publishing, and information services company based in Los Angeles and New York City. It publishes more than 20 digital and print brands, including ''Variety'', ''Rolling Stone'', '' ...
, which had fully acquired the magazine at the start of 2019. On May 11, it was announced that the public launch would be delayed indefinitely and the project would remain in private beta, citing intentions to "optimize with industry partners" and "fully ensure smoothness" of the project. The record charts served as a competitor to the ''Billboard'' charts, which have been published by New York City-based magazine ''
Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...
'' since 1958. Additionally, Alpha Data serves as a competitor to
Nielsen Media Research Nielsen Media Research (NMR) is an American firm that measures media audiences, including television, radio, theatre, films (via the AMC Theatres MAP program), and newspapers. Headquartered in New York City, it is best known for the Nielsen rat ...
, an analytics firm which provide ''Billboard'' chart data.


Methodology

The ''Rolling Stone'' charts followed a Friday-Thursday tracking week, based on the
Eastern Time Zone The Eastern Time Zone (ET) is a time zone encompassing part or all of 23 states in the eastern part of the United States, parts of eastern Canada, the state of Quintana Roo in Mexico, Panama, Colombia, mainland Ecuador, Peru, and a small por ...
in the United States and consistent with the industry standard of releasing new music on Fridays since
Global Release Day Global Release Day (alternatively known as New Music Fridays) is a set international day for releasing of music singles and albums. The new global release day went into effect on 10 July 2015 in more than 45 major recorded music markets worldwide wi ...
on July 10, 2015. The final weekly charts were published on the Monday following the previous tracking week. (For example, for a tracking week beginning on Friday, January 1 and ending on Thursday, January 7, the final weekly charts would be published on Monday, January 11.) A song must have been sold for at least $0.49 for that sale to be logged for a given tracking week; units sold for less than the minimum price requirement in the first three months of release would not be considered for weekly charts. A "song unit" was determined by an algorithm that weights a digital song sale as 1 and respectively values 120 subscription-based streams and 360 ad-supported streams as a song-equivalent unit. With regard to
album-equivalent unit The album-equivalent unit, or album equivalent, is a measurement unit in music industry to define the consumption of music that equals the purchase of one album copy. This consumption includes streaming and song downloads in addition to traditi ...
s, a song was generally considered to be part of the first album in which it was included, with the exception of the first four weeks in which a song experiences a surge in consumption because of inclusion on a compilation or greatest hits album. For charts where streaming was the only metric for chart positioning, the type of stream was disregarded and weighted equivalent to each other. An album must have sold for at least $3.75 for that sale to be logged for a given tracking week; units sold for less than the minimum price requirement in the first month of release would not be considered for weekly charts, but would be reflected in its lifetime sales. An "album unit" is determined by an algorithm that weights a digital, CD, and cassette standard-format album sale as 1; a digital and CD deluxe-format album sales as 1.3; a vinyl standard-format album sales as 2; a vinyl deluxe-format album sales as 2.5; and respectively values 10 digital song sales, 1,200 subscription-based streams, and 3,600 ad-supported streams as an album-equivalent unit. An album edition was considered "deluxe" if the bonus content does not exceed the duration of the standard edition, in which case the standard and deluxe editions would chart as a single album. An album edition was considered "super deluxe" if the bonus content exceeds the duration of the standard edition, in which case the super deluxe edition would chart as a separate album from the standard and deluxe versions. Bundled sales (for example, with concert tickets or merchandise) are considered valid so long as the product listing specifically states that the album is included with the purchase; sales are logged upon redemption of a digital download code or fulfillment of a physical order.


Song charts


''Rolling Stone'' Top 100

The ''Rolling Stone'' Top 100 compiled the 100 most popular songs in the United States. A song's position was determined by streams and purchases, and excludes "passive listening" including radio play. The chart was first issued on July 2, 2019, for the week of June 21–27, 2019. The first number-one song on the ''Rolling Stone'' Top 100 was "
Old Town Road "Old Town Road" is the debut single of American rapper Lil Nas X, first released independently in December 2018. After gaining popularity, the single was re-released by Columbia Records in March 2019. Lil Nas X also recorded a remix with America ...
" by
Lil Nas X Montero Lamar Hill (born April 9, 1999), known by his stage name Lil Nas X ( ), is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. He rose to prominence with the release of his country rap single " Old Town Road", which first achieved viral popula ...
on June 27, 2019. The final number-one song was "
Easy On Me "Easy on Me" is a song by English singer Adele from her fourth studio album '' 30'' (2021). Adele wrote the song with its producer, Greg Kurstin. Columbia Records released it as the album's lead single on 15 October 2021. It is a minimally pr ...
" by
Adele Adele Laurie Blue Adkins (, ; born 5 May 1988), professionally known by the mononym Adele, is an English singer and songwriter. After graduating in arts from the BRIT School in 2006, Adele signed a reco ...
on October 21, 2021.


''Rolling Stone'' Trending 25

The ''Rolling Stone'' Trending 25 compiled the 25 songs with the greatest growth in the United States. A song's position was determined exclusively by percentage-growth of its streams, and excluded songs that had charted highly on the Top 100 chart.


Album charts


''Rolling Stone'' Top 200

The ''Rolling Stone'' Top 200 compiled the 200 most popular albums in the United States. An album's position was determined by streams and purchases of the album and songs on it, and excluded "passive listening" including radio play. The chart was first issued on July 2, 2019, for the week of June 21–27, 2019. The first number-one album on the ''Rolling Stone'' Top 200 was ''
Help Us Stranger ''Help Us Stranger'' is the third studio album by American rock band The Raconteurs. It was released on June 21, 2019, through Third Man Records, their first studio album in 11 years following '' Consolers of the Lonely'' (2008). The album was re ...
'' by
the Raconteurs The Raconteurs (, also known as The Saboteurs in Australia) is an American rock band from Detroit, Michigan, formed in 2005. The band consists of Jack White (vocals, guitar), Brendan Benson (vocals, guitar), Jack Lawrence (bass guitar), and ...
on June 27, 2019. The final number-one album was ''
Certified Lover Boy ''Certified Lover Boy'' is the sixth studio album by Canadian rapper and singer Drake, released on September 3, 2021, by OVO Sound and Republic Records. Its production was handled by frequent collaborators 40, Nineteen85, PartyNextDoor, OZ, a ...
'' by
Drake Drake may refer to: Animals * A male duck People and fictional characters * Drake (surname), a list of people and fictional characters with the family name * Drake (given name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * ...
on October 21, 2021.


Artist charts


''Rolling Stone'' Artists 500

The ''Rolling Stone'' Artists 500 compiled the 500 most popular artists in the United States. An artist's position was determined exclusively by streams of their music catalog.


''Rolling Stone'' Breakthrough 25

The ''Rolling Stone'' Breakthrough 25 compiled the 25 artists with the greatest growth in the United States. An artist's position was determined exclusively by demand of streams, and excluded artists that had charted on the Artists 500 chart.


References


External links

* {{Music industry American record charts Rolling Stone 2019 establishments in the United States 2021 disestablishments in the United States Top lists