Foreign Tongues earns The Rolling Stones the band’s first No. 1 on Billboard’s Top Album Sales chart after several projects peaked at No. 2. BROOKLYN, NEW YORK – MAY 05: Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood pose backstage during the exclusive launch event of The Rolling Stones new album “Foreign Tongues” at Weylin on May 5, 2026 in Brooklyn, NY. (Photo by Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for UMG)
Kevin Mazur/Getty Images for UMG
One might assume that the Rolling Stones hit No. 1 every time the group drops a new album. That was not the case when the band was new and competing with the Beatles decades ago, and it is not quite true today. While the rockers have sold more albums than most acts could imagine, they do not always conquer the charts, especially in America.
The outfit’s latest project, Foreign Tongues, is one of more than two dozen studio LPs the band has released throughout its lengthy tenure. The new collection arrives inside the top 10 on every Billboard ranking where it debuts, but it leads the charge on only one. Shockingly, the victory gives one of the most successful rock acts of all time its first champion on one of the country’s busiest sales rosters.
The Rolling Stones Score Their First Sales No. 1
Foreign Tongues debuts at No. 1 on the Top Album Sales chart. The full-length becomes the Rolling Stones’ first leader on the tally, which measures purchases only across physical formats and digital downloads. The group has sent 45 projects to the roster throughout the years, and 16 of them have now entered the top 10 for at least one frame.
Somehow, it took until 2026 for the Rolling Stones to claim the bestselling release in the nation – at least on the sales-only roster. For many years, the Billboard 200, which these days details the most-consumed projects, was built using solely sales information, though that hasn’t been the case for years.
Foreign Tongues Sold Just a Little Less Than 50,000 Copies
Luminate reports that Foreign Tongues sold just under 49,000 copies during its first seven days of availability. That total is spread across vinyl, CD and downloads, and it was enough for the Stones to beat the runner-up by several thousand purchases.
The Heated Rivalry soundtrack launches at No. 2 with 41,400 copies sold. The collection recently became available on physical formats months after the television series grew into a global phenomenon.
TORONTO, ONTARIO – NOVEMBER 24: Connor Storrie and Hudson Williams attend the premiere of “Heated Rivalry” at TIFF Lightbox on November 24, 2025 in Toronto, Ontario. (Photo by Harold Feng/Getty Images)
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The Rolling Stones Have Reached No. 2 Five Times
The Rolling Stones may not have ruled the Top Album Sales chart before this frame, but the band did come within one space of doing so on five separate occasions. Hackney Diamonds, its most recent studio collection before Foreign Tongues, peaked at No. 2 in November 2023. Several other fan favorites, including Voodoo Lounge, Blue & Lonesome, Exile on Main St. and the hugely popular compilation Forty Licks, also peaked in the runner-up position.
Another four releases stopped at No. 3. Bridges to Babylon, A Bigger Bang, Sticky Fingers and Goats Head Soup all entered the highest tier without managing to take control.
Here are all of the Rolling Stones’ top 10 bestsellers on the Top Album Sales chart.
- A Bigger Bang
- Blue & Lonesome
- Bridges to Babylon
- Exile on Main St.
- Foreign Tongues
- Forty Licks
- Grrr! Live
- Hackney Diamonds
- Honk
- Hot Rocks 1964–1971
- Live at the El Mocambo
- Sticky Fingers
- Stripped
- Tattoo You
- Voodoo Lounge
The Rolling Stones Lead a Busy Sales Ranking
INGLEWOOD, CALIFORNIA – JANUARY 14: (FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY) Jack White performs onstage at the 2023 iHeartRadio ALTer EGO Presented by Capital One at The Kia Forum on January 14, 2023 in Inglewood, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images for iHeartRadio)
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A dozen projects debut on the 50-position Top Album Sales chart this frame. In addition to the Rolling Stones and the Heated Rivalry soundtrack, Tomorrow X Together member Yeonjun, Jack White and Future all break into the top 10 with new efforts.
My Chemical Romance’s Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys does not have to debut, but it performs better than ever. The album reenters the roster at No. 3, establishing a new peak roughly a decade and a half after its release.
The Rolling Stones Nearly Rule the Rock Chart
Foreign Tongues almost gives the Rolling Stones another No. 1 on the Top Rock Albums chart – the only list in America where it arrives at No. 2 – but Noah Kahan’s The Great Divide prevents the veteran group from taking over. The Stones’ set begins in the runner-up space.
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – FEBRUARY 01: Noah Kahan attends the 68th GRAMMY Awards on February 01, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Neilson Barnard/Getty Images for The Recording Academy)
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The collection starts its run at No. 3 on both the Vinyl Albums and Top Rock & Alternative Albums charts. The set becomes the band’s twelfth and thirteenth top 10s on the rankings, respectively.
The Rolling Stones Extend the Billboard 200 Top 10 Record
Foreign Tongues opens lowest among the tallies where it debuts in America this frame on the Billboard 200, though its No. 7 starting point is still historic. The 200-position tally ranks the most-consumed albums and EPs in the United States without regard to genre, combining traditional sales with equivalent units built with both individual track purchases and streaming activity.
The album immediately becomes the thirty-ninth top 10 on the competitive Billboard 200 for the Rolling Stones. The band extends its lead for the most placements inside that region among all artists – groups and soloists – while Foreign Tongues becomes its sixty-second title to reach the chart.
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