The Billboard magazine publishes a weekly chart that ranks the bestselling albums in the United States. In 1946, twelve albums by eleven artists topped the chart. At the time, the chart was titled Best-Selling Popular Record Albums, and it collected sales data from United States-based record dealers, numbering at least 200 in January and increasing to over 4,000 by the end of the year. In 1946, all photograph records were 78 rpm records that held one recording per side. An album consisted of multiple records, each in a separate sleeve, the sleeves bound together along one edge within two stiff pasteboard covers, much like a traditional photograph album.

The first album atop the chart in 1946 was Merry Christmas, a Christmas compilation album by Bing Crosby, released by Decca. It reached the top in December 1945, and it peaked for two more weeks in January 1946, for a total of six consecutive weeks at number one. It again reached the top in late November for an additional six weeks, making it the longest reigning album of the year. The album was certified gold 25 years after its release by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for shipments of 500,000 or more units. Crosby placed a second album atop the listing with the soundtrack to the movie The Bells of St. Mary's in March, bringing his total weeks spent at number one to ten.

Following numerous single releases in the early 1940s, Frank Sinatra released his debut studio album The Voice of Frank Sinatra in March 1946. The album topped the chart for seven consecutive weeks in April and May—the second-longest reigning album in 1946. The second longest-reigning album of the previous year, Glenn Miller, recorded by Glenn Miller & His Orchestra, again reached the top for an additional five weeks. The album was later crowned as the bestselling album of the year and certified gold by the RIAA in 1968. The Ink Spots' eponymous album reached the top in late September and topped the chart without interruption until mid-November, making it the second-longest reigning album of the year, alongside Sinatra's.

Chart history

Key

†	Indicates best selling album of 1946

Issue date	Album	Artist(s)	Ref.
January 5	Merry Christmas	Bing Crosby
January 12
January 19	On the Moon-Beam	Vaughn Monroe
January 26
February 2
February 9
February 16
February 23	State Fair	Dick Haymes
March 2
March 9
March 16
March 23	Selections from The Bells of St. Mary's	Bing Crosby
March 30
April 6	The Voice of Frank Sinatra	Frank Sinatra
April 13
April 20
April 27
May 4
May 11
May 18
May 25	Benny Goodman Sextet	Benny Goodman Sextet
June 1
June 8	Glenn Miller †	Glenn Miller & His Orchestra
June 15	Benny Goodman Sextet	Benny Goodman Sextet
June 22	Glenn Miller †	Glenn Miller & His Orchestra
June 29
July 6
July 13
July 20	Dancing in the Dark	Carmen Cavallaro
July 27
August 3
August 10
August 17	King Cole Trio, Volume 2	King Cole Trio
August 24
August 31	Cole Porter Review	David Rose & His Orchestra
September 7
September 14	King Cole Trio, Volume 2	King Cole Trio
September 21
September 28	The Ink Spots	The Ink Spots
October 5
October 12
October 19
October 26
November 2
November 9
November 16	Merry Christmas Music	Perry Como
November 23	Merry Christmas	Bing Crosby
November 30
December 7
December 14
December 21
December 28

See also

• 1946 in music
• List of Billboard 200 number-one albums