# List of Billboard 200 number-one albums of 1996

These are the Billboard magazine number-one albums of 1996, per the Billboard 200.

## Chart history

Key :
| † | Indicates best performing album of 1996 |
| Issue date | Album | Artist(s) | Label | Sales |
| January 6 | Daydream | Mariah Carey | Columbia | 759,959 |
| January 13 | Daydream | Mariah Carey | Columbia | 414,000 |
| January 20 | Waiting to Exhale | Soundtrack | Arista | 231,000 |
| January 27 | Waiting to Exhale | Soundtrack | Arista | 174,000 |
| February 3 | Waiting to Exhale | Soundtrack | Arista | 159,000 |
| February 10 | Waiting to Exhale | Soundtrack | Arista | 131,000 |
| February 17 | Waiting to Exhale | Soundtrack | Arista | 118,000 |
| February 24 | Jagged Little Pill † | Alanis Morissette | Maverick | 132,000 |
| March 2 | All Eyez on Me | 2Pac | Death Row | 566,500 |
| March 9 | All Eyez on Me | 2Pac | Death Row | 297,000 |
| March 16 | Jagged Little Pill † | Alanis Morissette | Maverick | 241,000 |
| March 23 | Jagged Little Pill † | Alanis Morissette | Maverick | 251,000 |
| March 30 | Jagged Little Pill † | Alanis Morissette | Maverick | 233,000 |
| April 6 | Anthology 2 | The Beatles | Apple | 441,000 |
| April 13 | Jagged Little Pill † | Alanis Morissette | Maverick | 213,000 |
| April 20 | Jagged Little Pill † | Alanis Morissette | Maverick | 254,000 |
| April 27 | Jagged Little Pill † | Alanis Morissette | Maverick | 200,000 |
| May 4 | Evil Empire | Rage Against the Machine | Epic | 249,000 |
| May 11 | Fairweather Johnson | Hootie & the Blowfish | Atlantic | 411,000 |
| May 18 | Fairweather Johnson | Hootie & the Blowfish | Atlantic | 259,000 |
| May 25 | The Score | Fugees | Ruffhouse | 206,000 |
| June 1 | The Score | Fugees | Ruffhouse | 189,000 |
| June 8 | The Score | Fugees | Ruffhouse | 180,000 |
| June 15 | The Score | Fugees | Ruffhouse | 179,000 |
| June 22 | Load | Metallica | Elektra | 680,000 |
| June 29 | Load | Metallica | Elektra | 302,000 |
| July 6 | Load | Metallica | Elektra | 219,000 |
| July 13 | Load | Metallica | Elektra | 172,000 |
| July 20 | It Was Written | Nas | Columbia | 269,000 |
| July 27 | It Was Written | Nas | Columbia | 161,000 |
| August 3 | It Was Written | Nas | Columbia | 144,000 |
| August 10 | It Was Written | Nas | Columbia | 132,000 |
| August 17 | Beats, Rhymes and Life | A Tribe Called Quest | Jive | 173,000 |
| August 24 | Jagged Little Pill † | Alanis Morissette | Maverick | 121,000 |
| August 31 | Jagged Little Pill † | Alanis Morissette | Maverick | 120,000 |
| September 7 | Jagged Little Pill † | Alanis Morissette | Maverick | 115,000 |
| September 14 | No Code | Pearl Jam | Epic | 366,500 |
| September 21 | No Code | Pearl Jam | Epic | 146,000 |
| September 28 | Home Again | New Edition | MCA | 227,000 |
| October 5 | Falling into You | Celine Dion | 550 Music | 132,000 |
| October 12 | Falling into You | Celine Dion | 550 Music | 131,000 |
| October 19 | From the Muddy Banks of the Wishkah | Nirvana | DGC | 158,000 |
| October 26 | Falling into You | Celine Dion | 550 Music | 136,000 |
| November 2 | Recovering the Satellites | Counting Crows | Geffen | 160,000 |
| November 9 | Best Of Volume I | Van Halen | Warner Bros | 233,000 |
| November 16 | Anthology 3 | The Beatles | Apple | 236,000 |
| November 23 | The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory | Makaveli | Death Row | 664,000 |
| November 30 | Tha Doggfather | Snoop Doggy Dogg | Death Row | 478,971 |
| December 7 | Razorblade Suitcase | Bush | Trauma | 295,000 |
| December 14 | Razorblade Suitcase | Bush | Trauma | 200,000 |
| December 21 | Tragic Kingdom | No Doubt | Trauma | 229,000 |
| December 28 | Tragic Kingdom | No Doubt | Trauma | 329,000 |