‘Legend’ by Bob Marley reaches 950 weeks on the Billboard 200, joining Pink Floyd’s ‘The Dark Side of the Moon’ as the only other set to reach that number. Jamaican musician Bob Marley performing in Chicago, Il, 27th May 1978. (Photo by Paul Natkin/WireImage)
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Looking simply at Bob Marley’s history on the Billboard 200 – the most important albums ranking in the United States – one might not be able to guess just how important and commercially successful the music he wrote and recorded with his band, the Wailers, would turn out to be. Marley earned only a handful of top 10s on the tally, and Legend: The Best of Bob Marley and the Wailers, a compilation of many of the most popular singles he released, is still his highest-ranking project.
Legend never climbed all the way to No. 1, but it has outperformed nearly every title that has risen to the top spot on the Billboard 200 at any point in the chart’s more than half-century-long history. As of this frame, the collection is inducted into perhaps the most exclusive club when it comes to the long-running roster.
Bob Marley Reaches 950 Weeks on the Billboard 200
Legend has now lived on the Billboard 200 for 950 weeks. That is more than 18 years spent first as one of the bestselling releases in the country, and later — and currently — as one of the most-consumed. This frame, Legend improves by just one peg. The compilation inches from No. 84 to No. 83 as it celebrates.
Bob Marley Joins Pink Floyd
Only two albums have lived on the Billboard 200 for 950 weeks or more. Legend joins Pink Floyd’s The Dark Side of the Moon in that incredibly exclusive group.
The Dark Side of the Moon only needs about another month on the ranking before it becomes the first title in Billboard 200 history to reach 1,000 weeks. That said, the Pink Floyd classic does not appear on the tally as regularly as Legend does, so the two bestsellers may be in a race to see which one reaches that sum first.
Journey Claims the Only Other 900-Week-Charter
Only one additional album has managed 900 frames or more on the Billboard 200. Journey’s Greatest Hits reached that milestone not long ago. That compilation, like Legend, continues to add to its already historic sum each and every week.
Journey, group portrait, New York, 1978, L-R Aynsley Dunbar;Ross Valory;Steve Perry;Neal Schon;Gregg Rolie. (Photo by Michael Putland/Getty Images)
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Bob Marley Rules the Reggae Ranking, as Always
As is almost always the case, Legend also controls the Reggae Albums chart. The compilation holds steady at No. 1 and has slipped from the summit only once during its nearly 350 frames on the ranking.
Marley and the Wailers fill two spaces on the 10-position tally this week. While Legend remains in first place, Exodus improves slightly from No. 9 to No. 8. That classic has never risen all the way to No. 1 on the Reggae Albums roster. Instead, it has peaked at No. 3.
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