Bob Dylan Leads Artist 100 Chart for First Time, Thanks to 'Rough and Rowdy Ways' Album

6/30/2020 by Xander Zellner

Bob Dylan in 2015 — Michael Kovac/WireImage

Bob Dylan speaks onstage at the 25th anniversary MusiCares 2015 Person Of The Year Gala at the Los Angeles Convention Center on Feb. 6, 2015 in Los Angeles.

The set makes history on the Billboard 200.

Bob Dylan re-enters the Billboard Artist 100 chart (dated July 4) at No. 1 to become the top musical act in the U.S. for the first time, dating to the chart's launch in 2014.

The legendary singer-songwriter reigns on the strength of his new LP Rough and Rowdy Ways, which arrives at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 with 53,000 equivalent album units, according to Nielsen Music/MRC Data.

The set earns Dylan his 23rd career top 10, as he becomes the first act to have achieved at least one new top 40-charting album in every decade from the 1960s through the 2020s.

The LP also opens at No. 1 on Top Rock Albums and Americana/Folk Albums. On the latter list, Dylan adds his record-extending eighth leader, dating to the chart's 2009 inception. (Seven acts rank second with four No. 1s apiece.)

Meanwhile, at 79 years old, Dylan is the senior-most act to have topped the Artist 100, surpassing Paul McCartney, who was 76 when he led in September 2018.

Among other Artist 100 moves, another iconic singer-songwriter returns, as Neil Young re-enters at No. 12, driven by his album Homegrown, which he recorded in 1974-75 and released for the first time on June 19. The set debuts at No. 17 on the Billboard 200 (26,000 units), earning Young his 61st career solo entry and highest-charting since A Letter Home, which peaked at No. 13 in 2014.

The Artist 100 measures artist activity across key metrics of music consumption, blending album and track sales, radio airplay, streaming and social media fan interaction to provide a weekly multi-dimensional ranking of artist popularity.

Check out this week's full Artist 100 chart here.