Only 3 Rock Artists With New Albums Land on 4 of Billboard’s 2022 Year-End Charts
Billboard has started revealing their year-end stats for the biggest charting acts, songs and albums of the year, and while things are looking a little light on the rock side for new releases, a growing trend is the continued strength of catalog releases from veteran rock acts.
When it comes down to acts supporting new music in 2022, one three have made the cut in four of Billboard's biggest categories - Top Billboard 200 Albums, Top Artists, Top Streaming Songs and Top Artists Duo/Group. They are Machine Gun Kelly, Imagine Dragons and Red Hot Chili Peppers.
Imagine Dragons actually fared the best of the three, with their Mercury - Act 1 album placing at No. 98 for the year on the Billboard 200 Album Chart. The band's prior album Evolve also hit No. 146. They were also the No. 33 charting artist, had the lone rock entry in the Streaming Songs year-end chart with their collaboration with JID on the song "Enemy" hitting No. 34 for the year and they placed second among the Top Artists that are duos or groups.
Machine Gun Kelly had the only other new rock release on the Billboard 200 Album Chart, as mainstream sellout hit No. 121 for the year. Another of his albums, Tickets to My Downfall, finished just two spots behind that at No. 123 for the year. He was also No. 62 on the Top Artists Chart.
As for Red Hot Chili Peppers, despite having two No. 1 albums in 2022, they did not make the cut for the Billboard 200 Albums year-end chart. They did, however, place at No. 79 on the Top Artists chart and No. 8 for the Top Artists Duo/Group.
But it's not all doom and gloom for rock on Billboard's year-end charts as older rock releases continue to have lasting staying power. A wealth of greatest hits collections and legendary albums found their way into the biggest sellers of the year, with Fleetwood Mac's Rumours topping all rock albums at No. 30 for the year. Queen's Greatest Hits also cracked the Top 50 at No. 31.
Others making the cut on the Billboard 200 Year-End Album Chart include Creedence Clearwater Revival (No. 55, Chronicle The 20 Greatest Hits), Nirvana (No. 57 - Nevermind), Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers (No. 78 - Greatest Hits), Guns N' Roses (No. 81 - Greatest Hits), AC/DC (No. 84 - Back in Black), Journey (No. 93 - Greatest Hits), Metallica (No. 102 - Metallica (Black Album)), Arctic Monkeys (No. 105 - AM), Foo Fighters (No. 109 - Greatest Hits), Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band (No. 117 - Greatest Hits), Nickelback (No. 119 - The Best of Nickelback: Vol. 1), Lynyrd Skynyrd (No. 122 - All Time Greatest Hits), Bon Jovi (No. 144 - Greatest Hits: The Ultimate Collection), Aerosmith (No. 184 - Devil's Got a New Disguise: The Very Best of Aerosmith) and Blink-182 (No. 200 - Greatest Hits). You can see the full Billboard 200 Album Year-End Chart here.
As for the Top Artists Chart, while Imagine Dragons (No. 33), Machine Gun Kelly (No. 62) and Red Hot Chili Peppers (No. 79) all made the cut, so did several rock acts that did not have new albums in 2022. Fleetwood Mac landed at No. 66, Queen at No. 67, Guns N' Roses at No. 84, Metallica at No. 89 and Nirvana at No. 99. See the Top Artists Chart here.
Meanwhile, Imagine Dragons and Red Hot Chili Peppers made the cut for the Top Artists Duo/Group at No. 2 and No. 8 respectively. They're joined in the Top 10 by Fleetwood Mac (No. 5), Queen (No. 6), Guns N' Roses (No. 9) and Metallica (No. 10)