The Beatles return to the Billboard charts in the U.S. this week — an event that’s not entirely unusual, given the band’s continued popularity across the generations. But while it’s common to spot the group somewhere on the rankings, every now and then, one of its classic albums stages a comeback that stands out from the usual slow-burning chart presence, typically enjoyed by a compilation filled with hits. That’s what’s happened this frame, as Abbey Road reemerges as a success once again across multiple rankings.
Abbey Road Returns to the Billboard Charts
This week, Abbey Road finds space on three different Billboard charts. The beloved release had disappeared from each of these lists not long ago, but now it’s back – and even a top 20 win on one tally.
The highest placement this week for the title comes on the Vinyl Albums chart, where Abbey Road returns at No. 20, a solid reentry for a project that’s been around for decades. Elsewhere, the full-length also finds a spot on the Top Album Sales list at No. 42 and manages a more modest showing on the Top Rock & Alternative Albums list, landing at No. 49 — just one position away from the bottom of that roster.
A Sales Spike Sends Abbey Road Back
The Beatles’ return to the charts is due in large part to a noticeable uptick in purchases of Abbey Road. According to Luminate, the title sold a little more than 2,500 copies in the latest tracking period. That’s a 16% increase from the week prior. That may not sound massive, but for a collection that first hit shelves more than half a century ago, it’s a meaningful boost.
Abbey Road is One of the Beatles’ Longest-Charting Albums
Of all the albums in the Beatles’ catalog, Abbey Road is one of the most commercially successful, and certainly among the most beloved. The collection has already topped each of the three charts it appears on this week, and it’s remained a steady performer since long before Billboard began tracking vinyl sales as a standalone metric.
The title is inching toward a major milestone on the Vinyl Albums chart. Abbey Road has now spent 489 weeks on that tally. If it can remain present for just a few more frames this year – which seems highly likely – it will become one of only a handful of releases in history to hit 500 weeks on the vinyl-exclusive ranking.
Abbey Road Was Always a Favorite
Abbey Road was originally released in 1969 and stands as one of the final albums the Beatles shared together. The project includes some of the band’s most familiar hits, like “Come Together” and “Here Comes the Sun,” and its now-iconic cover — featuring the four members crossing the street outside London’s Abbey Road Studios — has become one of the most recognizable images in music history.