Most US No.1 albums by a female artist

The Life of a Showgirl, Taylor Swift’s (USA) 12th original studio album and 16th release overall, became her 15th US No.1 (not to mention her 15th album to debut at No.1). On 18 October 2025, Showgirl entered the US Billboard 200 with an unprecedented 4.002 million equivalent album units earned, including 3.479 million traditional album sales and 680.9 million on-demand official streams. Swift had previously reached No.1 with Fearless (2008), Speak Now (2010), Red (2012), 1989 (2014), reputation (2017), Lover (2019), folklore (2020), evermore (2020), Fearless (Taylor’s Version) (2021), Red (Taylor’s Version) (2021), Midnights (2022), Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) (2023), 1989 (Taylor's Version) (2023) and The Tortured Poets Department (2024).

Barbra Streisand (11, in 1964–2016) and Madonna (nine, in 1985–2019) are ranked second and third for the most US No.1 albums by a female artist.

The Life of a Showgirl broke a tie with both Jay-Z (1998–2017) and Drake (2010–25), not only for the most US No.1 albums by a solo artist, but also for the most debuts at No.1 on the US Billboard 200.

The Beatles are the only act with more US No.1 albums than Taylor Swift overall – 19 between 1964 and 2000 – but only all three parts of their Anthology series (1995–96) and their 2000 compilation managed to start at No.1.