AceShowbiz - Michael Jackson has achieved a remarkable milestone on the latest Billboard 200 albums chart dated May 16, as his compilation album Number Ones climbs seven spots to No. 6.

This ascent marks Michael Jackson's 11th top 10 album overall and his first to enter the top 10 in the 2020s, securing his position as one of the few artists with top 10 albums spanning six consecutive decades.

By reaching this milestone, Michael Jackson joins an exclusive group of performers — including Paul McCartney, the Rolling Stones, Bruce Springsteen, and James Taylor — who have had at least one new top 10 album in every decade from the 1970s through the 2020s.

Number Ones was originally released in 2003, but its recent surge back into the top 10 is largely fueled by the ongoing popularity of the biographical film Michael. The movie debuted in U.S. theaters on April 24 and had grossed over $240 million in the United States and Canada by May 10, becoming the highest-grossing music biopic in history, surpassing Bohemian Rhapsody (not adjusted for inflation).

Alongside Number Ones, Michael Jackson's iconic album Thriller has also returned to the top 10, rising from No. 7 to No. 5, marking its first week in the top five since May 1984. Thriller famously spent 37 weeks at No. 1 during 1983-84, holding the record for the most weeks at No. 1 by a solo artist.

Here is a breakdown of Michael Jackson's 11 top 10 albums by decade:

• 1970s: Two top 10 albums — Ben peaked at No. 5 in 1972, and Off the Wall reached No. 3 in February 1980 after entering the top 10 in September 1979.
• 1980s: Two top 10 albums — Thriller (37 weeks at No. 1) and Bad (No. 1 for six weeks in 1987).
• 1990s: Two top 10 albums — Dangerous (No. 1 for four weeks in 1991-92) and HIStory: Past, Present and Future Book 1 (No. 1 for two weeks in 1995).
• 2000s: Two top 10 albums — Invincible (No. 1 for one week in 2001) and the posthumous soundtrack This Is It (No. 1 for one week in 2009).
• 2010s: Two top 10 albums — Michael (No. 3 in 2011) and Xscape (No. 2 in 2014).
• 2020s: One top 10 album — Number Ones (No. 6 in 2026).

The Billboard 200 chart ranks the most popular albums in the U.S. each week based on multi-metric consumption, measured in equivalent album units. These units combine album sales, track equivalent albums (TEA), and streaming equivalent albums (SEA). Specifically, one unit equals one album sale, 10 individual track sales, or 2,500 ad-supported or 1,000 paid/subscription on-demand streams generated by songs from an album.

The new chart dated May 16, 2026, will be fully available on Billboard's website on May 12. For the latest updates, fans and industry professionals can follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram.

Michael Jackson's continued chart success underscores his lasting influence on music and pop culture, as his albums remain relevant and popular across multiple generations and decades.