Tropical Albums (formerly known as ''Tropical/Salsa'') is a

record chart A record chart, in the music industry, also called a music chart, is a ranking of Sound recording and reproduction, recorded music according to certain criteria during a given period. Many different criteria are used in worldwide charts, often ...

published by ''Billboard'' magazine. Established in June 1985, the chart compiles information about the top-selling albums in genres like

salsa Salsa most often refers to: * Salsa (Mexican cuisine), a variety of sauces used as condiments * Salsa music, a popular style of Latin American music * Salsa (dance), a Latin dance associated with Salsa music Salsa or SALSA may also refer to: ...

, merengue, bachata,

cumbia Cumbia refers to a number of musical rhythms and folk dance traditions of Latin America, generally involving musical and cultural elements from American Indigenous peoples, enslaved Africans during colonial times, and Europeans. Examples include: ...

, and

vallenato Vallenato () or "Szlager" in Wayuu language (from the German "Schlager"), is a popular folk music genre from Colombia. It primarily comes from its Caribbean region. ''Vallenato'' literally means "born in the valley". The valley influencing th ...

, which are frequently considered

tropical music Tropical music ( es, música tropical) is a term in the Latin music, Latin music industry that refers to music genres deriving from or influenced by the Spanish-speaking areas of the Caribbean. It includes the islands of Music of Cuba, Cuba, Music ...

. The chart features only full-length albums and, like all ''Billboard'' album charts, is based on sales. The information is compiled by

Nielsen SoundScan Luminate (formerly Nielsen SoundScan, Nielsen Music Products, and MRC Data) is a provider of music sales data. Established by Mike Fine and Mike Shalett in 1991, data is collected weekly and made available every Sunday (for albums sales) and eve ...

from a sample representing more than 90% of the U.S. music retail market, including not only music stores and music departments at electronics and department stores but also direct-to-consumer transactions and Internet sales (both physical albums and digital downloads). A limited number of verifiable sales at concert venues is also tabulated. ''

Innovations Innovation is the practical implementation of ideas that result in the introduction of new goods or services or improvement in offering goods or services. ISO TC 279 in the standard ISO 56000:2020 defines innovation as "a new or changed entit ...

'' by

El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico El Gran Combo de Puerto Rico, commonly known as El Gran Combo, is a Puerto Rican salsa orchestra based in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2012, it was often considered Puerto Rico's most successful musical group. The ...

was the first album to reach number-one in the chart. Up until May 21, 2005,

reggaeton Reggaeton (, ), also known as reggaetón and reguetón (), is a music style that originated in Panama during the late 1980s. It was later popularized in Puerto Rico. It has evolved from dancehall and has been influenced by American Hip hop m ...

albums appeared on the chart. After the installation of the

Latin Rhythm Albums Latin Rhythm Albums is a record chart published by ''Billboard'' magazine. Like all ''Billboard'' album charts, the chart is based on sales, which are compiled by Nielsen SoundScan based on sales data from merchants representing more than 90 ...

chart, reggaeton titles could no longer appear on the Tropical Albums chart. By removing reggaeton albums from the Tropical Albums chart, it opened slots for re-entries and debuts. American bachata group Aventura claimed the top spot on the Tropical Albums chart, which marked the first time since the issue dated November 6, 2004 that a reggaeton album was not at the number-one spot. The current number-one album, as of the December 24, 2022 issue is ''

Formula, Vol. 3 ''Formula, Vol. 3'' is the fifth studio album by American singer Romeo Santos, released on September 1, 2022, by Sony Music Latin. It is the third installment of Santos' ''Formula'' trilogy following ''Formula, Vol. 1 (2011)'' and ''Formula, Vo ...

' by

Romeo Santos Anthony "Romeo" Santos (born July 21, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer and actor who is best known as the frontman and lead vocalist of the bachata group Aventura. In 2002, the song " Obsesión" reached number one in It ...

Chart achievements

Artist with the most number-ones

Gilberto Santa Rosa Gilberto Santa Rosa Cortés, nicknamed "El Caballero de la Salsa" (The Gentleman of Salsa) (born August 21, 1962), is a Puerto Rican bandleader and singer of salsa and bolero. He is a six time Grammy Award winner and has sold over three million ...

(12) *

Víctor Manuelle Víctor Manuel Ruiz Velázquez (born September 27, 1968), known professionally as Víctor Manuelle, is an American salsa musician, known to his fans as ''El Sonero de la Juventud'' ("The Singer Of Youths"). He is identified primarily with ''s ...

(12) *

Marc Anthony Marco Antonio Muñiz Rivera (born September 16, 1968), known professionally as Marc Anthony, is an American singer, songwriter, and actor. He is the top selling tropical salsa artist of all time. A three-time Grammy Award and six-time Latin Gra ...

(7) *

(6) *

Eddie Santiago Eddie Santiago (born Eduardo Santiago Rodríguez, August 18, 1955) is a Salsa music, salsa singer from Puerto Rico. Early years At a young age, Santiago demonstrated great love for salsa music. He performed with several groups, including Gener ...

(6) *

La India Linda Viera Caballero (born March 9, 1969), better known as La India, is a Puerto Rican singer and songwriter of salsa, house music and Latin pop. La India has been nominated for both Grammy and Latin Grammy Awards, winning the Latin Grammy Aw ...

(6) *

Prince Royce Geoffrey Royce Rojas (born May 11, 1989), known professionally as Prince Royce, is an American singer. At an early age, Royce took an interest in music, and in his teenage years began experimenting with music and writing poetry. By age nineteen ...

(6) *

(6) * Aventura (5) *

Jerry Rivera Jerry Rivera (born Gerardo Rivera Rodríguez on July 31, 1973) is a Puerto Rican salsa singer and songwriter. Early years Rivera was born in Humacao, a town located on the eastern coast of Puerto Rico. He moved with his family to Levittown i ...

(5) *

Juan Luis Guerra Juan Luis Guerra Seijas (born June 7, 1957) is a Dominican musician, singer, composer, and record producer. He has sold 30 million records worldwide, making him one of the best-selling Latin music artists. Throughout his career, he has wo ...

(5) *

Luis Enrique Luis Enrique Martínez García (; born 8 May 1970), known as Luis Enrique, is a Spanish football manager and former player. A versatile player with good technique, he was capable of playing in several different positions, but usually played as ...

(5) *

Frankie Ruiz José Antonio Torresola Ruiz better known as Frankie Ruiz (March 10, 1958 – August 9, 1998) was an American salsa singer and songwriter of Puerto Rican descent. He was a major figure in the ''salsa romántica'' subgenre that was popular in the ...

(4) *

Gloria Estefan Gloria Estefan (; born Gloria María Milagrosa Fajardo García; born 1 September 1957) is a Cuban-American singer, actress, and businesswoman. Estefan is a seven-time Grammy Award winner, a Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient, and has been ...

(4)

Year-end best selling albums

According to the

RIAA The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

, albums containing more than 50% Spanish language content are awarded with

gold certification Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see ...

s (Disco de Oro) for U.S. shipments of 100,000 units;

platinum Platinum is a chemical element with the symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a dense, malleable, ductile, highly unreactive, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name originates from Spanish , a diminutive of "silver". Platinu ...

(Disco de Platino) for 200,000 and multi-platinum (Multi-Platino) for 400,000 and following in increments of 200,000 thereafter.

References

;General * NOTE: Tropical Albums prior to 2004 are listed under the "Tropical Songs" chart. ;Specific

External links

Official Billboard website
{{Billboard Latin charts Billboard charts Tropical music albums

Chart achievements

Artist with the most number-ones

Year-end best selling albums

See also

References

External links