More than 40 years after its release, Thriller yet again vaults Michael Jackson into the record books. The landmark album spends a 39th nonconsecutive week at No. 1 on Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (dated May 23), bringing the King of Pop’s total weeks at No. 1 — across his nine No. 1 albums — to an even 100. He is the first solo artist to reach the triple-digit mark in the chart’s 61-year history.
For its latest week in charge, Thriller earned 66,000 equivalent album units in the tracking week of May 8-14 in the United States, according to Luminate. The album improved 6% in units compared to its previous week’s count.
The smash album, released in 1982, reclaimed the top spot last week for the first time since 1984 as fan reaction to the Michael biopic has prompted massive surges in Jackson’s overall streaming catalog across all of his songs. For the fourth consecutive week, Jackson reaches a new best streaming week career for his solo material in U.S. official on-demand streams. His May 8-14 sum of 190.4 million follows his 181.6 million count (May 1-7), 137.6 million (April 24-30) and 55.9 million (April 17-23).
With Thriller retaining the crown, Jackson adds his 100th career week at No. 1 on Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums. He claims the second-best career total in the chart’s history, after only The Temptations, whose record 17 No. 1s on the chart combined for 109 weeks in the top spot. Jackson joins the triple-digit club via these nine No. 1s:
Weeks at No. 1, Album Title, Year(s) at No. 1
- 16, Off the Wall, 1979-80
- 39, Thriller, 1983-84; 2026
- 18, Bad, 1987-88
- 12, Dangerous, 1992
- two, HIStory: Past Present and Future Book 1, 1995
- four, Invincible, 2001
- four, Michael Jackson’s This Is It Soundtrack, 2009
- two, Michael, 2011
- three, Xscape, 2014
In its original era, Thriller clocked a then-record 37 weeks at No. 1 in 1983-84 off the strength of classic singles including “Billie Jean,” “Beat It” and the title track. Its mark stood for 41 years until SZA’s SOS, reinforced with its SOS Deluxe: LANA edition, surpassed it in June 2025 and extended to 46 total weeks at the top.
“Billie Jean” leads Jackson’s song catalog again, at No. 3 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, maintaining last week’s position. The former No. 1 is joined by Thriller tracks “Human Nature” (6-4) and “Beat It” (7-6) closely behind. In total, Jackson lands 14 cuts on the chart, the most simultaneous appearances he’s ever had in a single week.
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