As we come to the end of 2012, it’s time to look back at the biggest records and artists of the year and the authority on all such things is Billboard.
Adele
With the publishing of their year-end charts, we can see where the music business has gone and what the public has purchased. Obviously, they were still very much enamored with Adele who, for the second year in a row, had the biggest album of the year with 21.
It was also a huge year for new artists as six of the ten biggest singles were from first timers including a top three of Gotye, Carly Rae Jepsen and .fun.
In the area of veteran artists, it really was all about the amazing comeback of Lionel Richie. Not only did he have the highest selling album by a veteran artist with Tuskegee (number 9 for the year) but he held the same spot in the world of Country music (number 3) and Adult Contemporary Tracks (Endless Love with Shania Twain was number 30).
Madonna also did well for all the criticism she received for the low sales of her album. MDNA was the third biggest seller for a veteran artist (number 44 for the year) and, when all charts were taken into account, she was the top veteran artist overall at number 23. The album was also number 2 on the Electronic Albums chart. In addition, on the Dance/Club Play Songs, she came in at 33, 41 and 44. While the album may not have been up to the gold standard set so many times over the years, it was still a moderate success for 2012.
Chart Date 2012
Comprehensive
Top 200 Albums
| TW | Title | Artist |
| 1 | 21 | Adele |
| 2 | Christmas | Michael Buble |
| 3 | Take Care | Drake |
| 4 | Red | Taylor Swift |
| 5 | Up All Night | One Direction |
| 6 | Tailgates and Tanlines | Luke Bryan |
| 7 | Babel | Mumford and Sons |
| 8 | Talk the Talk | Rihanna |
| 9 | Tuskegee | Lionel Richie |
| 10 | El Camino | Black Keys |
| 18 | Whitney: The Greatest Hits | Whitney Houston |
| 44 | MDNA | Madonna |
| 50 | Wrecking Ball | Bruce Springsteen |
| 71 | A Different Kind of Truth | Van Halen |
| 76 | Duets II | Tony Bennett |
| 83 | Ultimate Hits: Rock and Roll Never Forgets | Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band |
| 106 | Slipstream | Bonnie Raitt |
| 108 | Greatest Hits | Guns N’ Roses |
| 114 | Clockwork Angels | Rush |
| 117 | Greatest Hits | Journey |
| 128 | Legend | Bob Marley & the Wailers |
| 132 | Kisses On the Bottom | Paul McCartney |
| 137 | Tempest | Bob Dylan |
| 142 | Chronicle: The 20 Greatest Hits | Creedence Clearwater Revival Featuring John Fogerty |
| 145 | The Very Best of Neil Diamond | Neil Diamond |
| 147 | The Bodyguard | Whitney Houston |
| 164 | 20th Century Masters: The Millennium Edition: The Best of Lynyrd Skynyrd | Lynyrd Skynyrd |
| 166 | Christmas Symphony | Mannheim Steamroller with Members of the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra |
| 170 | Merry Christmas, Baby | Rod Stewart |
| 174 | Immortal | Michael Jackson |
| 175 | A Charlie Brown Christmas | Vince Guaraldi Trio |
| 176 | Sinatra: Best of the Best | Frank Sinatra |
| 182 | Americana | Neil Young and Crazy Horse |
| 192 | That’s Why God Made the Radio | Beach Boys |
| 193 | Dark Side of the Moon | Pink Floyd |
| 195 | 20th Century Masters: The Millennium Edition: The Best of Lionel Richie | Lionel Richie |
| 198 | Whitney Houston | Whitney Houston |
| 200 | Licensed to Ill | Beastie Boys |
Top 100 Artists
| TW | Artist |
| 1 | Adele |
| 2 | Rihanna |
| 3 | Taylor Swift |
| 4 | Drake |
| 5 | Justin Bieber |
| 6 | Nicki Minaj |
| 7 | Katy Perry |
| 8 | Maroon 5 |
| 9 | LMFAO |
| 10 | One Direction |
| 23 | Madonna |
| 25 | Bruce Springsteen |
| 30 | Roger Waters |
| 38 | Whitney Houston |
| 72 | Lionel Richie |
| 76 | Van Halen |
| 82 | Michael Jackson |
