Linkin Park’s Meteora Reaches 250 Weeks on Billboard 200

More than two decades after its release, Linkin Park’s second studio album, Meteora, continues to demonstrate remarkable staying power in the U.S. music market. The album has now spent 250 weeks on the Billboard 200, becoming only the second Linkin Park release to reach that milestone.

This week, Meteora slips from No. 87 to No. 89 on the Billboard 200, the chart that tracks the most-consumed albums and EPs in the United States. According to Luminate, the album generated another 14,000 equivalent units during the latest tracking period, including more than 1,400 pure sales. The achievement highlights the enduring popularity of the band’s early catalog despite the arrival of newer releases and compilations.

Meteora joins Hybrid Theory as the only Linkin Park albums to spend at least 250 weeks on the Billboard 200. The band’s debut album remains its longest-running success on the chart, reaching an impressive 418 weeks. Hybrid Theory is also still present on the ranking, landing at No. 91, just two spots behind Meteora.

Released in 2003, Meteora became Linkin Park’s first No. 1 album on the Billboard 200. The record followed the massive success of Hybrid Theory, which peaked at No. 2 despite becoming one of the defining rock albums of its era. The band’s remix project Reanimation also reached No. 2, while From Zero, the album that marked Linkin Park’s return with new music following the death of frontman Chester Bennington and the introduction of new members, likewise fell just short of the top position.

Before launching its latest era, Linkin Park released the greatest-hits collection Papercuts in spring 2024. The compilation arrived months before the group unveiled new members and released “The Emptiness Machine,” the lead single from From Zero. Although Papercuts performed well commercially, fans have continued to focus much of their streaming and purchasing activity on Hybrid Theory and Meteora.

This week, Meteora appears on five separate Billboard rankings. In addition to the Billboard 200, the album remains on the Top Alternative Albums chart at No. 13, the Top Rock Albums chart at No. 21, and the Top Rock & Alternative Albums chart at No. 24. It also holds steady at No. 4 on the Top Hard Rock Albums chart. Across several of these rankings, the album has accumulated well over 100 charting weeks and recently surpassed 150 weeks on two of them.

Hybrid Theory continues to chart alongside Meteora on the same five Billboard lists. On the Top Hard Rock Albums chart, it remains at No. 5, directly behind Meteora. Linkin Park occupies three positions on that ranking this week, as Papercuts re-enters the chart at No. 22 shortly after celebrating two years as one of the top-performing hard rock collections in the country.