‘Charlie Brown Christmas’ Hits No. 2 on Billboard’s Album Sales Chart – Billboard

Vince Guaraldi Trio’s evergreen soundtrack to A Charlie Brown Christmas hits a new peak on Billboard’s Top Album Sales chart, as the set rises 5-2 (on the list dated Dec. 24). That surpasses its previous high, notched just a week ago, when the album rose 7-5, beating its earlier peak of No. 6, achieved last holiday season (Dec. 18, 2021).

The companion album to the 1965 animated TV special sold 17,000 copies in the U.S. in the week ending Dec. 15 (up 24%), according to Luminate. Most of that sum (14,000) is driven by vinyl album sales. A Charlie Brown Christmas is available across more than 15 vinyl variants (most differing in the color of its vinyl LP), including versions exclusive to Barnes & Noble, Newbury Comics, independent record stores, Target, Urban Outfitters, Vinyl Me, Please and Walmart.

A Charlie Brown Christmas is a consistent strong performer on vinyl, as it was the top-selling holiday album on vinyl annually in the U.S. from 2012 through 2021.

Since Luminate began tracking music sales in 1991, A Charlie Brown Christmas has sold 4.3 million in traditional album sales across all formats (CD, vinyl, cassette, digital download album, etc.), with 469,000 of that sum in vinyl LP sales.

Also in the top 10 of the new Top Album Sales chart, Taylor Swift’s Midnights holds at No. 1 for a eighth week in a row — the most weeks at No. 1 since Adele’s 30 also spent its first eight weeks atop the list a year ago). Meanwhile, Zach Bryan’s American Heartbreak reaches a new peak as it re-enters the chart at No. 4 following its release on vinyl.

Billboard’s Top Album Sales chart ranks the top-selling albums of the week based only on traditional album sales. The chart’s history dates back to May 25, 1991, the first week Billboard began tabulating charts with electronically monitored piece count information from SoundScan, now Luminate. Pure album sales were the sole measurement utilized by the Billboard 200 albums chart through the list dated Dec. 6, 2014, after which that chart switched to a methodology that blends album sales with track equivalent album units and streaming equivalent album units. For all chart news, follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both Twitter and Instagram.

A Charlie Brown Christmas was released in 1965 but did not reach any Billboard ranking until 1987, when it debuted on the Top Holiday Albums chart, where it later peaked at No. 2 (Jan. 27, 2007). On the Billboard 200 chart, the set reached a new peak last season, climbing to No. 6 on the list dated Jan. 1, 2022. A year prior, it reached the top 10 for the first time (No. 10 on the Jan. 2, 2021 chart).

The A Charlie Brown Christmas TV special aired annually on CBS during the holiday season from 1965 through 2000. ABC picked up the rights to the show from 2001-19. In 2020, the Apple TV+ subscription service acquired the rights to the special – along with other classic animated Peanuts programs. A Charlie Brown Christmas is one of many animated TV specials based on the Peanuts comic characters. It was followed by familiar favorites like It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown (1966) and A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving (1973).

A Charlie Brown Christmas made its Apple TV+ premiere on Dec. 4, 2020. Apple initially teamed with PBS to bring the special back to free over-the-air TV with commercial-free airings on PBS and sister network PBS KIDS in 2020 and 2021. In 2022, Apple TV+ and PBS did not collaborate on a Peanuts presentation. Instead, Apple TV+ offered free limited time screenings of three Peanuts specials for anyone that logs into the service using their Apple ID. It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown was available free between Oct. 28-31, followed by A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving on Nov. 23-27 and A Charlie Brown Christmas on Dec. 22-25.