UNSPECIFIED – circa 1970: (AUSTRALIA OUT) Photo of GRATEFUL DEAD. The Grateful Dead’s new album, … [+]
Despite the fact that they haven’t been together for many years, the Grateful Dead regularly score new hits on the Billboard charts in America. The jam rockers frequently release archival live recordings from concerts that took place decades prior. Their following remains large enough that almost everything the band drops becomes a commercial hit, including their latest project.
Dave’s Picks Vol. 51: Scranton Catholic Youth Center, Scranton, PA (4/13/71), the new live album from the Grateful Dead, debuts on the Billboard charts this week. The set blasts onto four tallies, and it reaches the highest tier on all but one of them.
The Grateful Dead find themselves within reach of the throne on the Top Album Sales chart, which ranks the bestselling full-lengths of any style or format. Dave’s Picks Vol. 51 lands highest on that tally, where it enters at No. 3.
In its first full tracking frame of availability, Dave’s Picks Vol. 51 was purchased by just under 21,000 fans in the U.S., according to Luminate. That’s the set’s entire consumption figure as well, as the title was not uploaded to streaming platforms.
Dave’s Picks Vol. 51 also starts inside the top 10 on two other, genre-specific rosters. The latest from the Grateful Dead opens at No. 7 on the Top Rock Albums chart. Meanwhile, it starts its time on the similar Top Rock & Alternative Albums tally at No. 10, narrowly breaking into the loftiest space on that ranking.
The same live recording also reaches the Billboard 200, but it doesn’t appear inside the top 10. On that all-encompassing albums ranking, Dave’s Picks Vol. 51 launches at No. 31.
Throughout their time together, the Grateful Dead have now earned 52 top 10 titles on both the Top Rock Albums and Top Rock & Alternative Albums charts. They’ve pushed 42 projects into the loftiest region on the Top Album Sales tally.
While they haven’t collected as many top 10s on the Top Album Sales chart as on other Billboard tallies, that’s the ranking where the band has placed the most titles. The Grateful Dead has accrued 124 appearances on the purchase-only roster–a historically-high sum.
