The Albums That Hit #1 This Year
When it came to the chart-topping albums of 2010, there were comebacks, stunning debuts and records that would eventually go on to become Grammy nominees. There was also redemption, twice as much Susan Boyle and, overall, a whole lot of Glee. Head below to see our breakdown of the LPs you put at #1 on Billboard‘s Top 200 chart during the first year of the new decade. 
BEST-SELLING ALBUM: Eminem’s Recovery sold 3.2 million copies in 2010. According to Billboard, Em’s LP was followed by Need You Now, from fellow Album Of The Year Grammy nominees Lady Antebellum (3 million), and Taylor Swift’s Speak Now (2.6 million).
DEBUT ALBUMS VS. SOPHOMORE ALBUMS: When we rounded up the top albums halfway through the year, four artists (Susan Boyle, Ke$ha, B.o.B and Drake) had reached the #1 position with their debut LPs. But while no other acts managed to pull off the same feat after that, three sophomore albums reached the top of the chart in 2010: Vampire Weekend’s Contra, Lady Antebellum’s Need You Now and Susan Boyle’s The Gift. We’ll leave it up to you to decide where Justin Bieber’s My World 2.0 falls (technically, his first My World, which was released in 2009, is an EP).
DIGITAL LOVE: The Hope For Haiti Now charity compilation became the first digital-exclusive album to reach #1 on the Billboard Top 200 (there was no physical CD available).
FOLLOW-UPS: Of all the artists who reached #1 in 2010, five of them offered follow-up releases to their chart-topping albums by December: Susan Boyle’s sophomore LP The Gift was in the hands of holiday shoppers 10 months after I Dreamed A Dream spent its final week on top of the chart; Usher rolled out Versus a mere five months after Raymond v. Raymond; Justin Bieber stripped things down (minds out of the gutter, ladies) with My Worlds Acoustic, which breezed in on the heels of My World 2.0; Ke$ha unleashed Animal, the first 2010 release to hit #1, then added mini album Cannibal to her catalog in November; the cast of Glee had three #1s on the Top 200 in 2010.
IDOLATOR FAVES: Only one of the albums we singled out in our 10 Out Of ’10: Idolator’s Favorite Albums Of The Year list hit the top of the chart—Ke$ha’s Animal. Oh, well. Being #1 isn’t everything, you know.
THE RELEASES THAT TOPPED THE CHART IN 2010
Susan Boyle, I Dreamed A DreamKe$ha, AnimalVampire Weekend, ContraVarious Artists, Hope For Haiti NowLady Antebellum, Need You NowSade, Soldier Of LoveLudacris, Battle Of The SexesJustin Bieber, My World 2.0Usher, Raymond v. RaymondGlee Cast, Glee—The Music: The Power Of MadonnaB.o.B, The Adventures Of Bobby RayGodsmack, The OracleGlee Cast, Glee—The Music, Vol. 3: ShowstoppersJack Johnson, To The SeaGlee Cast, Glee—The Music: Journey To RegionalsDrake, Thank Me LaterEminem, RecoveryAvenged Sevenfold, NightmareArcade Fire, The SuburbsKaty Perry, Teenage DreamDisturbed, AsylumSara Bareilles, Kaleidoscope HeartLinkin Park, A Thousand SunsZac Brown Band, You Get What You GiveKenny Chesney, Hemingway’s WhiskeyToby Keith, Bullets In The GunLil Wayne, I Am Not A Human BeingSugarland, The Incredible MachineTaylor Swift, Speak NowSusan Boyle, The GiftKanye West, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy
