Billboard Top 25 Country Music Albums for 2008
Rock Stars and Reggae Legends Invade the List of Top Country Albums
Jan 5, 2009
The Eagles captured the #1 spot on Billboard’s 2008 country music album chart with Long Road Out of Eden, their first new studio album in nearly 30 years and most likely their last, according to Eagle Don Henley. Taylor Swift’s self-titled debut album, Taylor Swift, took second place and helped her rocket to stardom in both the country and pop markets.
Billboard’s Top 25 Country Music Albums for 2008
- Eagles, Long Road Out of Eden
- Taylor Swift, Taylor Swift
- Carrie Underwood, Carnival Ride
- Garth Brooks, The Ultimate Hits
- Rascal Flatts, Still Feels Good
- Sugarland, Love on the Inside
- Sugarland, Enjoy the Ride
- Robert Plant/Alison Krauss, Raising Sand
- Kenny Chesney, Just Who I Am: Poets and Pirates
- Reba McEntire, Reba Duets
- Keith Urban, Greatest Hits
- George Strait, Troubadour
- Taylor Swift, Fearless
- Alan Jackson, Good Time
- Trace Adkins, American Man: Greatest Hits Volume II
- George Strait, 22 More Hits
- Brad Paisley, 5th Gear
- Toby Keith, 35 Biggest Hits
- Carrie Underwood, Some Hearts
- Josh Turner, Everything is Fine
- Kenny Chesney, Lucky Old Sun
- Miranda Lambert, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend
- James Otto, Sunset Man
- Gary Allan, Living Hard
- Lady Antebellum, Lady Antebellum
Rock Stars, Reggae Invade the Country Album Chart
Many country fans were surprised to see the Eagles take the top spot on the 2008 country album chart. While the Eagles’ early music from the 1970s had a country-rock flavor, they had long since moved away from their roots with rock albums like On the Border and One of These Nights. (Their album, The Eagles: Their Greatest Hits, is one of the best-selling pop albums of all time.)
Listeners in both the country and rock music worlds were also pleasantly surprised by the year’s #8 album, Raising Sand, the product of a partnership between former Led Zeppelin front man Robert Plant and Alison Krauss of the bluegrass group Union Station. Kenny Chesney’s #21 album, Lucky Old Sun, a paean to his love of the Caribbean, included the year’s #15 country single, Everybody Wants to Go to Heaven, on which he paired up with the reggae group The Wailers.
How Billboard Tracks the Top Country Albums
Billboard’s Top Country Albums chart is based on sales data from Nielsen Music. Sales of physical and digital products are compiled by Nielsen SoundScan, and radio airplay and digital streams are measured by Nielsen BDS.
Other Billboard Country Music Charts
Billboard publishes a number of charts that will interest country music lovers, including a list of the Hot 100 all-time top 10 country songs, Top 25 hot country songs for 2008, and top country artists for 2008.
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