# List of Billboard Best Selling Pop Albums number ones of 1951

The Billboard magazine publishes a weekly chart that ranks the best-selling albums in the United States. The chart nowadays known as the Billboard 200 was titled Best Selling Pop Albums in 1951. Starting with the issue dated July 22, 1950, Billboard decided to split the popular albums chart between the two common album formats at the time–33 1/3 rpm and 45 rpm, because the versions of the albums were often not released simultaneously and larger retailers had issues filling out Billboards questionnaire.
The cast recording of the 1949 musical South Pacific, composed by Richard Rodgers and mainly recorded by Ezio Pinza and Mary Martin, spent nineteen combined weeks on top between January and April. The most dominant individual artist in 1951 was Mario Lanza. Three albums recorded by Lanza topped the charts for thirty combined weeks. The first of which, the soundtrack to the 1950 film The Toast of New Orleans, in which Lanza starred in topped the 45 rpm chart for six weeks in February and March. The soundtrack to his follow-up film The Great Caruso reigned atop each of the charts for ten consecutive weeks. The album sold more than 100,000 copies before the film was released and became the first LP to sell more than one million copies in the US. Finally, Lanza's christmas album Mario Lanza Sings Christmas Songs was number one for the final two weeks of the year on both charts. This made 1951 the first year since the charts inception in 1945, that Bing Crosby's Merry Christmas did not reach number one in December. Billboard did not issue a year-end chart for albums in 1951. The women's album that reigned at the top of the Billboard was The Voice of Xtabay of Yma Sumac in which she remained at the top for 6 weeks.

## Chart history

Chart history :
| Issue date | 33 1/3 R.P.M. | 33 1/3 R.P.M. | 33 1/3 R.P.M. | 45 R.P.M. | 45 R.P.M. | 45 R.P.M. | Ref. |
| Issue date | Album | Artist(s) | Label | Album | Artist(s) | Label | Ref. |
| January 6 | Merry Christmas | Bing Crosby | Decca | Merry Christmas | Bing Crosby | Decca | |
| January 13 | South Pacific | Original Cast | Columbia | Merry Christmas | Bing Crosby | Decca | |
| January 20 | South Pacific | Original Cast | Columbia | South Pacific | Original Cast | Columbia | |
| January 27 | South Pacific | Original Cast | Columbia | South Pacific | Original Cast | Columbia | |
| February 3 | South Pacific | Original Cast | Columbia | South Pacific | Original Cast | Columbia | |
| February 10 | South Pacific | Original Cast | Columbia | South Pacific | Original Cast | Columbia | |
| February 17 | South Pacific | Original Cast | Columbia | South Pacific | Original Cast | Columbia | |
| February 24 | South Pacific | Original Cast | Columbia | The Toast of New Orleans | Mario Lanza | RCA Victor | |
| March 3 | South Pacific | Original Cast | Columbia | The Toast of New Orleans | Mario Lanza | RCA Victor | |
| March 10 | South Pacific | Original Cast | Columbia | The Toast of New Orleans | Mario Lanza | RCA Victor | |
| March 17 | Guys and Dolls | Original Cast | Decca | The Toast of New Orleans | Mario Lanza | RCA Victor | |
| March 24 | South Pacific | Original Cast | Columbia | The Toast of New Orleans | Mario Lanza | RCA Victor | |
| March 31 | South Pacific | Original Cast | Columbia | The Toast of New Orleans | Mario Lanza | RCA Victor | |
| April 7 | South Pacific | Original Cast | Columbia | Voice of the Xtabay | Yma Sumac | Capitol | |
| April 14 | South Pacific | Original Cast | Columbia | Voice of the Xtabay | Yma Sumac | Capitol | |
| April 21 | South Pacific | Original Cast | Columbia | Lullaby of Broadway | Doris Day / Soundtrack | Columbia | |
| April 28 | Voice of the Xtabay | Yma Sumac | Capitol Records | Voice of the Xtabay | Yma Sumac | Capitol | |
| May 5 | Voice of the Xtabay | Yma Sumac | Capitol Records | Voice of the Xtabay | Yma Sumac | Capitol | |
| May 12 | Voice of the Xtabay | Yma Sumac | Capitol Records | Lullaby of Broadway | Doris Day / Soundtrack | Columbia | |
| May 19 | Voice of the Xtabay | Yma Sumac | Capitol Records | Voice of the Xtabay & Lullaby of Broadway tied | Yma Sumac & Doris Day tied | Capitol & Columbia tied | |
| May 26 | Voice of the Xtabay | Yma Sumac | Capitol Records | Voice of the Xtabay | Yma Sumac | Capitol | |
| June 2 | Voice of the Xtabay | Yma Sumac | Capitol Records | Mario Lanza Sings Selections from The Great Caruso | Mario Lanza | RCA Victor | |
| June 9 | Mario Lanza Sings Selections from the Great Caruso | Mario Lanza | RCA Victor | Mario Lanza Sings Selections from The Great Caruso | Mario Lanza | RCA Victor | |
| June 16 | Mario Lanza Sings Selections from the Great Caruso | Mario Lanza | RCA Victor | Mario Lanza Sings Selections from The Great Caruso | Mario Lanza | RCA Victor | |
| June 23 | Mario Lanza Sings Selections from the Great Caruso | Mario Lanza | RCA Victor | Mario Lanza Sings Selections from The Great Caruso | Mario Lanza | RCA Victor | |
| June 30 | Mario Lanza Sings Selections from the Great Caruso | Mario Lanza | RCA Victor | Mario Lanza Sings Selections from The Great Caruso | Mario Lanza | RCA Victor | |
| July 7 | Mario Lanza Sings Selections from the Great Caruso | Mario Lanza | RCA Victor | Mario Lanza Sings Selections from The Great Caruso | Mario Lanza | RCA Victor | |
| July 14 | Mario Lanza Sings Selections from the Great Caruso | Mario Lanza | RCA Victor | Mario Lanza Sings Selections from The Great Caruso | Mario Lanza | RCA Victor | |
| July 21 | Mario Lanza Sings Selections from the Great Caruso | Mario Lanza | RCA Victor | Mario Lanza Sings Selections from The Great Caruso | Mario Lanza | RCA Victor | |
| July 28 | Mario Lanza Sings Selections from the Great Caruso | Mario Lanza | RCA Victor | Mario Lanza Sings Selections from The Great Caruso | Mario Lanza | RCA Victor | |
| August 4 | Mario Lanza Sings Selections from the Great Caruso | Mario Lanza | RCA Victor | Mario Lanza Sings Selections from The Great Caruso | Mario Lanza | RCA Victor | |
| August 11 | Mario Lanza Sings Selections from the Great Caruso | Mario Lanza | RCA Victor | Show Boat | Soundtrack | MGM | |
| August 18 | Show Boat | Soundtrack | MGM | Show Boat | Soundtrack | MGM | |
| August 25 | Show Boat | Soundtrack | MGM | Show Boat | Soundtrack | MGM | |
| September 1 | Show Boat | Soundtrack | MGM | Show Boat | Soundtrack | MGM | |
| September 8 | Show Boat | Soundtrack | MGM | Show Boat | Soundtrack | MGM | |
| September 15 | Show Boat | Soundtrack | MGM | Show Boat | Soundtrack | MGM | |
| September 22 | Show Boat | Soundtrack | MGM | Show Boat | Soundtrack | MGM | |
| September 29 | Show Boat | Soundtrack | MGM | Show Boat | Soundtrack | MGM | |
| October 6 | Show Boat | Soundtrack | MGM | Show Boat | Soundtrack | MGM | |
| October 13 | Show Boat | Soundtrack | MGM | Show Boat | Soundtrack | MGM | |
| October 20 | Show Boat | Soundtrack | MGM | Show Boat | Soundtrack | MGM | |
| October 27 | Show Boat | Soundtrack | MGM | Show Boat | Soundtrack | MGM | |
| November 3 | Show Boat | Soundtrack | MGM | Show Boat | Soundtrack | MGM | |
| November 10 | Show Boat | Soundtrack | MGM | Show Boat | Soundtrack | MGM | |
| November 17 | Show Boat | Soundtrack | MGM | Show Boat | Soundtrack | MGM | |
| November 24 | Show Boat | Soundtrack | MGM | Show Boat | Soundtrack | MGM | |
| December 1 | Show Boat | Soundtrack | MGM | Show Boat | Soundtrack | MGM | |
| December 8 | Show Boat | Soundtrack | MGM | Show Boat | Soundtrack | MGM | |
| December 15 | Show Boat | Soundtrack | MGM | Show Boat | Soundtrack | MGM | |
| December 22 | Mario Lanza Sings Christmas Songs | Mario Lanza | RCA Victor | Mario Lanza Sings Christmas Songs | Mario Lanza | RCA Victor | |
| December 29 | Mario Lanza Sings Christmas Songs | Mario Lanza | RCA Victor | Mario Lanza Sings Christmas Songs | Mario Lanza | RCA Victor | |