Are you ready for it? And by “it,” we mean potential Reputation (Taylor’s Version) variants. As always, Swifties are hard at work creating theories about when Taylor Swift will announce the release of her expected next re-recorded album, which will offer her more chances to top the charts … and yes, release more special versions if she feels like it. After a summer of The Tortured Poets Department sitting comfortably atop the charts, there’s been a lot of discourse about how much Swift is driven by numbers (and even whether she should be at all). But what more could she want? She already holds several records — according to Billboard, she has the most albums (seven) that have sold one million copies in a single week for any artist since the Luminate tracking era began in 1991. She also boasts the most vinyl album sales in a week (859,000 for TTPD), has more Billboard Hot 100 appearances than any other woman, and is the first and so far only artist to ever occupy all top 10 spots on the chart at the same time (which she accomplished during both the Midnights and TTPD eras). Still, there are still some chart records that Swift hasn’t cracked. Here, the records that she could break next, and who she’d need to pass to get there.
Longest a Woman’s Album Has Been No. 1
With 15 weeks atop the Billboard 200, TTPD has tied Carole King’s 1971 album Tapestry for third place in this category. Adele is currently in first, with 21 having spent 24 weeks at No. 1. How long do we think the Whitney Houston-led soundtrack album The Bodyguard can defend its second-place spot with 20 weeks?
Most Cumulative Weeks at No. 1
Across her discography, Swift has currently spent 84 weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard 200. That already makes her the top soloist and woman in this category. But if you’re counting all artists, she’s still trailing pretty far behind the Beatles, who lead with 132 weeks. (Elvis Presley is in third place with 67 weeks; Swift passed him in January 2024 after her 1989 re-record’s fifth week at No. 1.) Based on past performance, it seems like Swift could threaten the Beatles’ record three or four albums from now. We got what was billed as the “last Beatles song” last year, so this record feels like a sitting target for Swift, unless Beatles fans randomly decide to start streaming.
Most No.1 Albums By a Soloist (with No Tie)
Swift and Jay-Z are already tied in first, with 14 albums each that topped the Billboard 200. That’s already impressive enough, but if she doesn’t want to share with Hov, just one more chart-topper could secure her a new record.
Most Songs to Debut at No. 1
Just looking at women, Swift is currently in first with Ariana Grande. (Both of them have had seven songs debut atop the Billboard Hot 100 chart.) But if Swift wants to have the most No. 1 debuts of any artist regardless of gender, only Drake has more. And passing him here would definitely be easier than aiming to break his record for total appearances on the Hot 100 (at 336, he’s currently got more than 70 entries than her). Drake has had nine songs debut at No. 1, so it seems possible for Swift to get a leg up in this category after a few more releases. And why stop after nine? We’re sure some Swifties would be delighted to see her reach her lucky 13.
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