Jay-Z Scores His First No. 1 On One Billboard Chart With A Decades-Old Album

Jay-Z Debuts Reasonable Doubt at No. 1

Jay-Z’s Reasonable Doubt debuts on the Vinyl Albums chart this week. Billboard‘s tally, which ranks the top-selling collections available on wax in the United States, sees Reasonable Doubt open at No. 1, earning Jay-Z not only his first No. 1 or even top 10, but his initial placement on the format-specific roster.

Reasonable Doubt Becomes a Bestseller – Again

30 years ago, Jay-Z released Reasonable Doubt, his debut album. The project introduced the musician to the world and quickly became a classic. Some longtime fans of the rapper would even say it ranks among his best work.

To celebrate the set’s thirtieth anniversary, new vinyl editions of Reasonable Doubt were recently released, and the project has become a bestseller again. This week, Reasonable Doubt appears on five Billboard charts, ranking inside the top 10 on all but one of them. Jay-Z also returned to New York City to perform multiple shows at Yankee Stadium, selling out the massive venue in only a matter of days.

Reasonable Doubt Hits New Chart Highs

In addition to debuting on the Vinyl Albums ranking, Reasonable Doubt returns at a new all-time high on two additional rosters. On the Top Album Sales chart, Reasonable Doubt comes in at No. 3. Over on the Top Rap Albums tally, which lists the most-consumed rap collections in the nation, Reasonable Doubt settles at No. 5.

Jay-Z scores his thirteenth top 10 on the rap-only roster and his seventeenth placement between Nos. 1 and 10 on the list of the top-selling albums and EPs of any genre in the country.

Jay-Z Has Scored 14 Sales Chart Leaders

Of the 17 titles Jay-Z has pushed into the top 10 on the Top Album Sales chart, all but three – now including Reasonable Doubt – have reached No. 1. Reasonable Doubt is tied with In My Lifetime, Vol. 1, which similarly topped out at No. 3, while The Best of Both Worlds, a collaborative full-length with R. Kelly, missed out on ruling by only a single rung more than 20 years ago.

Jay-Z Has Seven Rap Albums Chart Leaders in His Catalog

Jay-Z has seen seven of his 13 top 10s on the Top Rap Albums chart – a little more than half – spend at least one frame at No. 1. Almost all of those collections managed multiple periods in first place. Two sets, MTV Ultimate Mash-Ups Presents: Collision Course – an unlikely collaborative EP with Linkin Park – and The Blueprint: Collector’s Edition, stopped rising at No. 3, while both Reasonable Doubt and Live in Brooklyn stalled at No. 5.

Reasonable Doubt Took Two Different Paths to the Charts

Between the two charts where Reasonable Doubt returns and soars higher than ever, the LP debuted at very different times. Jay-Z’s first full-length arrived on the Top Album Sales ranking in July 1996, when it was brand new. The full-length didn’t make it to the Top Rap Albums rundown until December 2006, more than a decade later.

Reasonable Doubt Returns to Several Other Charts

Of the four Billboard rankings where Reasonable Doubt reappears, it fails to establish new high points on half of them. On the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, Reasonable Doubt has previously soared all the way to No. 3, and this week, it’s back at No. 8. Over on the Billboard 200, the most important and competitive albums ranking in America – which is built using both sales and streaming data – Reasonable Doubt misses out on returning to its No. 23 pinnacle by only one space.

ForbesJay-Z’s Decades-Old Song Grows By 300% On Streaming, And He Had Some HelpBy Hugh McIntyre