Latin Rhythm Albums is a

record chart A record chart, in the music industry, also called a music chart, is a ranking of recorded music according to certain criteria during a given period. Many different criteria are used in worldwide charts, often in combination. These include ...

published by ''Billboard'' magazine. Like all ''Billboard'' album charts, the chart is based on sales, which are compiled 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 ...

based on sales data from merchants representing more than 90 percent of the U.S. music

retail market Retail is the sale of goods and services to consumers, in contrast to wholesaling, which is sale to business or institutional customers. A retailer purchases goods in large quantities from manufacturers, directly or through a wholesaler, and t ...

. The sample includes sales at music stores, the music departments of electronics and

department stores A department store is a retail establishment offering a wide range of consumer goods in different areas of the store, each area ("department") specializing in a product category. In modern major cities, the department store made a dramatic appea ...

direct-to-consumer Direct-to-consumer (DTC) or business-to-consumer (B2C) is the business model of selling products directly to customers and thereby bypassing any third-party retailers, wholesalers, or any other middlemen. Direct-to-consumer sales are usually tr ...

transactions, and Internet sales of physical albums or digital downloads. A limited array of verifiable sales from concert venues is also tabulated. The chart is composed of studio, live, and compilation releases by Latin artists performing in the Latin hip hop, urban,

dance Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoire ...

and

reggaeton Reggaeton (, ), also known as reggaetón and reguetón (), is a music style that originated in Panama during the late 1980s. It was later popularized in Puerto Rico. It has evolved from dancehall and has been influenced by American hip hop, ...

, the most popular Latin Rhythm music genres. It joins the main Latin Albums chart along with its respective genre components: the

Latin Pop Albums Latin Pop Albums is a record chart published on ''Billboard'' magazine. It features Latin music information of the Pop music genre. Established in June 1985, this chart features only full-length albums and like all album charts on ''Billboard'', i ...

Tropical Albums Tropical Albums (formerly known as ''Tropical/Salsa'') is a record chart published by ''Billboard'' magazine. Established in June 1985, the chart compiles information about the top-selling albums in genres like salsa, merengue, bachata, cumbia, ...

, and

Regional Mexican Albums Regional Mexican Albums is a genre-specific record chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' magazine in the United States. The chart was established in June 1985 and originally listed the top twenty-five best-selling albums of mariachi, tejano, n ...

charts.

History

It appeared every other week in ''Billboard'' magazine, rotating with the Tropical Albums chart and was updated weekly on ''Billboard'' online websites. The chart launched with the issue dated 21 May 2005 and its respective airplay component, the

Latin Rhythm Airplay Latin Rhythm Airplay is an airplay-only chart published weekly by '' Billboard'' that ranks the most popular songs being played on Hispanic rhythmic/ hurban radio stations in the United States. The music typically heard on these stations include ...

chart was also later launched on 19 August 2005. Following the installation of the Latin Rhythm Airplay chart, it and the Latin Rhythm Albums chart now rotate bi-weekly with both the Tropical Albums and

Tropical Songs The Tropical Airplay chart (formerly known as Tropical/Salsa and Tropical Songs) is a record chart published by ''Billboard'' magazine introduced in 1994. The first number-one song on the chart was " Quien Eres Tu" by Luis Enrique. Originally, ra ...

charts in magazine, however are all updated weekly online. With the launch of the main Latin Rhythm Albums chart, reggaeton albums were no longer eligible for appearance on the Tropical Albums and Reggae Albums charts. Likewise, banda rap albums no longer appear on the Regional Mexican Albums chart. Latin hip hop and dance albums were also withheld from appearing on the Latin Pop Albums chart.

Daddy Yankee Ramón Luis Ayala Rodríguez (born February 3, 1976), known professionally as Daddy Yankee, is a Puerto Rican rapper, singer, composer, and actor. Known as the " King of Reggaetón" by music critics and fans alike, he is the artist who coined ...

's '' Barrio Fino'' (2004) was the first album to reach number-one on the chart. According to Geoff Mayfield, the goal of the chart was not to be a reggaeton-only chart, despite the inaugural listing having all fifteen slots taken up by reggaeton titles. By moving reggaeton albums from the respective Tropical and Reggae Albums charts, it opened slots for re-entries and debuts, on those charts. American

bachata Bachata may refer to: * Bachata (music), a genre of Latin American music **Traditional bachata, a subgenre of bachata music * Bachata (dance), a dance style from the Dominican Republic * Bachatón, a hybrid bachata/reggaeton music style * "Bachata ...

group Aventura claimed the top spot on the Tropical Albums chart, which marked the first time since the issue dated 6 November 2004 that a reggaeton album was not at the number-one spot.

Wisin & Yandel Wisin & Yandel is a Puerto Rican reggaeton duo consisting of Wisin and Yandel. They started their career in the late 1990s and have been together since, winning several awards including a Grammy Award in 2009. They became the first and the onl ...

are the duo with the most number-one albums and entries on the chart.

is the male artist with the most solo number-one albums and entries on the chart.

Ivy Queen Martha Ivelisse Pesante Rodríguez (born March 4, 1972), known professionally as Ivy Queen, is a Puerto Rican singer, rapper, songwriter, and actress. She is considered one of the pioneers of the reggaeton genre, commonly referred to as the Qu ...

is the only female artist to have a number-one album on the Latin Rhythm Albums chart. She currently has two number-one and five top ten albums on that chart. Likewise, she is one of the few female artists to rank in the top ten of the Latin Rhythm Airplay chart along with

Nina Sky Nina Sky is an American musical duo consisting of identical twins Nicole and Natalie Albino. Their debut single " Move Ya Body", released from their self-titled debut album in 2004, was a success, reaching number four on the ''Billboard'' Hot ...

Shakira Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll ( , ; born 2 February 1977), professionally known by the mononym Shakira, is a Colombian singer and songwriter. Born and raised in Barranquilla, she has been referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular ...

, RBD,

Beyoncé Knowles Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter ( ; born September 4, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Beyoncé's boundary-pushing artistry and vocals have made her the most influential female musician of the 21st century, according to ...

Cassie Cassie is a feminine given name and a short form of various other given names mostly used in English-speaking countries. It is more rarely a surname. People and fictional characters named Cassie include: People with the name Given name or nickna ...

, and

Keyshia Cole Keyshia Myeshia Cole Johnson; born October 15, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and television personality. Born and raised in Oakland, California, Cole began her career as a backing vocalist for MC Hammer. After signing with A&M Records ...

Ana Tijoux Anamaría Tijoux Merino (; born 12 June 1977), commonly known by her stage name Ana Tijoux or Anita Tijoux, is a Chilean-French singer and musician. She became famous in Latin America as the MC of hip-hop group Makiza during the late 1990s. I ...

's 2012 album '' La Bala'' reached number two on the chart. The record label

Machete Music Machete Music is an urban music label owned by Universal Music Group. The record label had been largely associated with reggaeton music, but in recent years, it has been also been signing non-reggaeton artists such as Malverde, Mala Rodriguez ...

History

Chart achievements

Artist with the most number-one hits

Artist with the most entries on the Billboard chart

References