Twenty-one artists have achieved the ultimate sign of success on the Billboard 200 – a No. 1 album – without ever cracking the Billboard Hot 100. Four of these acts have done it more than once.
Slipknot and Vampire Weekend have each landed three No. 1 albums without ever cracking the Hot 100; Marilyn Manson and the late Bob Newhart have each had two. Most of the acts on this list lie outside of the pop mainstream, which explains why they haven’t landed on the Hot 100.
The 21 acts include three hard rock or metal acts ( Pantera , Marilyn Manson and Slipknot), three K-pop acts ( SuperM , TOMORROW X TOGETHER and ATEEZ ); two contemporary Christian music artists (Bob Carlisle and tobyMac ), two comedians (Newhart and Vaughn Meader), two classical or classical crossover acts (Van Cliburn and Il Divo ) and two modern-day folk acts ( The Decemberists and Amos Lee). One artist on this list, Judy Garland , had numerous hits on Billboard pop charts from 1940 to 1945 – before the 1958 inception of the Hot 100. These include such classics as “For Me and My Gal” (a duet with Gene Kelly ), “The Trolley Song” and the Oscar-winning “On the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe” (a collab with the Merry Macs.
) And, of course, her Oscar-winning 1939 classic “Over the Rainbow” is one of the most beloved recordings of the 20th Century – though it predated Billboard ’s first National and Regional List of Best Selling Retail Records (July 27, 1940), which is widely regarded as the first weekly national pop chart. Let’s scroll back through this list of acts who reached the top spot on the Billboard 200 but have yet to crack the Hot 100. If any of these acts ever do make the Hot 100, we’ll remove them from this list.
Album: Tchaikovsky: Piano Concerto No. 1 (1958) Weeks at No. 1: 7 Notes: This was the first classical album to top the Billboard 200.
The album won a Grammy for best classical performance—instrumentalist (with concerto scale accompaniment) and received a Grammy nod for album of the year. The album was voted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2002. Albums: The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart (1960); The Button-Down Mind Strikes Back! (1961) Weeks at No.
1: 14 and 1, respectively. Notes: These were the first and second comedy albums to reach No. 1.
The initial Button-Down Mind was also the first comedy album to win a Grammy for album of the year. Strikes Back! won a Grammy that same year for best comedy performance – spoken word. Newhart won a third Grammy that year for best new artist, making him the only comedian to win in that category.
The initial Button-Down Mind was voted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2007. Album: Judy at Carnegie Hall (1961) Weeks at No. 1: 13 Note: This was the first album by a woman solo artist to top the Billboard 200.
The double-disk album was also the first album by a woman to win a Grammy for album of the year. Garland won a second Grammy for her work on the album – best solo vocal performance, female. One double-sided single was released from the album – “Rock-a-Bye Your Baby with a Dixie Melody”/”Zing! Went the Strings of My Heart.
” Judy at Carnegie Hall briefly returned to the Billboard 200 following the star’s death in 1969 at age 47. The album was voted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1998. Album: The First Family (1962) Weeks at No.
1: 12 Notes: This spoof of President Kennedy and his family was the second (and most recent) comedy album to win a Grammy for album of the year. The album also won best comedy performance. Meader was nominated that same year for best new artist.
Just six months after the Grammy ceremony, President Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, making further impersonations unthinkable. Album: Songs I Sing on the Jackie Gleason Show (1963) Weeks at No. 1: 5 Notes: Fontane played the good-natured drunk Crazy Guggenham in the “Joe the Bartender” sketches on Jackie Gleason’s long-running variety show.
At the end of each conversation between the Fontaine and Gleason characters, Fontaine would sing a sentimental song in his natural voice, demonstrating a surprisingly strong baritone. This album collected those songs, including the Irving Berlin classics “Always” and “Easter Parade.” Fontaine also charted with two follow-up albums – Sings Like Crazy (a nod to his character’s name) and How Sweet It Is (Gleason’s signature catchphrase).
Album: Blind Faith (1969) Weeks at No. 1: 2 Notes: This was the only studio album by the English blues rock group, which consisted of Steve Winwood, Eric Clapton, Ginger Baker and Ric Grech. Key songs on the album included Winwood’s “Can’t Find My Way Home” and “Well All Right,” which was recorded by Buddy Holly in 1958.
Two of the four members of Blind Faith later topped the Hot 100 as a solo artists. Clapton reached the summit in 1974 with “I Shot the Sheriff.” Winwood scored in 1986 with “Higher Love” and in 1988 with “Roll With It.
” Album: Far Beyond Driven (1994) Weeks at No. 1: 1 Notes: This was the seventh studio album by the heavy metal band. Singles released from the album included “I’m Broken” (a Grammy nominee for best metal performance) and “Planet Caravan,” which reached No.
21 on Mainstream Rock Airplay. Album: Butterfly Kisses (Shades of Grace) (1997) Weeks at No. 1: 2 Notes: This was the third studio album by the contemporary Christian artist.
This one should really come with an asterisk. It’s true that Carlisle never made the Hot 100, but that’s because “Butterfly Kisses” had just a limited release as a physical single – a “Limited Edition Collector’s CD Gift Box” single was available only in Christian bookstores. (At the time, Billboard required that songs be physically released as singles to qualify for the Hot 100, a rule that was lifted on the Hot 100 dated Dec.
5, 1998.) “Butterfly Kisses” reached No. 10 on Radio Songs/Hot 100 Airplay.
In addition, it reached No. 1 on Adult Contemporary and No. 45 on Hot Country Songs.
What’s more, a cover version by the country duo Raybon Brothers reached No. 22 on the Hot 100. Carlisle won a Grammy for best country song for co-writing “Butterfly Kisses.
” Albums: Mechanical Animals (1998), The Golden Age of Grotesque (2003) Weeks at No. 1: 1 each Notes: These were the third and fifth studio albums by the flamboyant rock star. The lead single from Mechanical Animals was “The Dope Show,” which hit No.
22 on Bubbling Under Hot 100 and received a Grammy nomination for best hard rock performance. Two other singles from the album, “I Don’t Like the Drugs (but the Drugs Like Me) and “Rock Is Dead,” were hits on both Alternative Airplay and Mainstream Rock Airplay. The lead single from The Golden Age of Grotesque was “Mobscene,” which was also a hit on both of those charts and received a Grammy nod for best metal performance.
Album: Ancora (2006) Weeks at No. 1: 1 Notes: This was the third studio album by the multinational classical crossover vocal quartet. The biggest hit from the album was “I Believe in You (Je Crois en Toi),” on which they were joined by Celine Dion.
The track reached No. 31 on Adult Contemporary. Albums: All Hope Is Gone (2008), .
5: The Gray Chapter (2014), We Are Not Your Kind (2019) Weeks at No. 1: 1 each Notes: These were the fourth, fifth and sixth studio albums released by the heavy metal band . .
5: The Gray Chapter received a Grammy nod for best rock album. “Custer” and “The Negative One,” tracks from that album, were nominated for best metal performance. Singles from all three albums reached Bubbling Under Hot 100: “Psychosocial” (No.
2, also a Grammy nominee for best metal performance) and “Snuff” (No. 10) from All Hope Is Gone; “The Devil in I” (No. 23) from .
5: The Gray Chapter ; and “Unsainted” (No. 20) from We Are Not Your Kind . Albums: Contra (2010), Modern Vampires of the City (2013), Father of the Bride (2019) Weeks at No.
1: 1 each Notes: These were the second, third and fourth studio albums released by the rock band. All three albums received Grammy nods for best alternative music album ; Modern Vampires of the City and Father of the Bride won. The latter album was also nominated for album of the year.
Singles from the first two albums hit Bubbling Under Hot 100: “Horchata” (No. 2) and “Holiday (No. 25) from Contra ; and “Diane Young” (No.
19) from Modern Vampires of the City . “Harmony Hall” from Father of the Bride reached No. 5 on Hot Rock & Alternative Songs.
Album: The King Is Dead (2011) Weeks at No. 1: 1 Notes: This was the band’s sixth studio album. Singles released from the album were “Down by the Water” (which received a Grammy nomination for best rock performance), “This Is Why We Fight” and “Calamity Song.
” All three songs charted on Hot Rock & Alternative Songs and made the top 10 on Adult Alternative Airplay. Album: Mission Bell (2011) Weeks at No. 1: 1 Notes: Mission Bell followed The Decemberists’ The King Is Dead into the No.
1 spot on the Billboard 200. Mission Bell was Lee’s fourth studio album. Featured artists included Willie Nelson and Lucinda Williams.
“Windows Are Rolled Down” and “Flower” both made the top 20 on Adult Alternative Airplay. Album: Eye on It (2012) Weeks at No. 1: 1 Notes: This album, TobyMac’s sixth studio set, won a Grammy as best contemporary Christian music album.
The lead single, “Me Without You,” reached No. 4 on Bubbling Under Hot 100 and No. 1 on Hot Christian Songs.
“Steal My Show” and “Speak Life” (Grammy nominee for best contemporary Christian music song) both reached No. 3 on Hot Christian Songs. Album: Anomaly (2014) Weeks at No.
1: 1 Notes : This was the seventh studio album by the Christian hip-hop artist. “Say I Won’t” (featuring Andy Mineo) reached No. 7 on Bubbling Under Hot 100.
“All I Need Is You” reached No. 23 on Bubbling Under and received a Grammy nomination for best rap performance. Both songs reached No.
1 on Hot Gospel Songs. “Messengers” (featuring for King and Country) reached No. 7 on Hot Gospel Songs.
and received a Grammy nod for best contemporary Christian music performance/song. Album: Science Fiction (2017) Weeks at No. 1: 1 Notes: This was the rock band’s fifth and final studio album.
“Can’t Get It Out” was released as a promotional single from the album. Album: American Dream (2017) Weeks at No. 1: 1 Notes: This was the rock band’s fourth studio album.
It received a Grammy nod for best alternative music album. Both sides of the first single from the album, “Call the Police”/“American Dream,” charted on Hot Rock & Alternative Songs, at No. 26 and 43, respectively.
The second single, “Tonite,” reached No. 33 on Hot Dance/Electronic Songs and won a Grammy for best dance recording. Album: SuperM – The 1st Mini Album (2019) Weeks at No.
1: 1 Notes: This made SuperM the first Korean act to top the Billboard 200 with their debut release. “Jopping” hit No. 1 on World Digital Song Sales.
Album: The Name Chapter: TEMPTATION (2023) Weeks at No. 1: 1 Notes: This was the fifth Korean-language EP by the South Korean boy band. “Sugar Rush Ride” reached No.
4 on Bubbling Under Hot 100 and No. 1 on World Digital Song Sales. Album: THE WORLD EP.
FIN: WILL (2023) Weeks at No. 1: 1 Notes: This was the second Korean-language studio album by the South Korean boy band. “Crazy Form” reached No.
3 on World Digital Song Sales..
