Fifty years marked a momentous occasion for Barbra Streisand: She released her fourth album and first to top the U.S. album charts, People.
It would be the only no. 1 album for the songstress from the decade but would still get a streak started, which would culminate in six straight decades with at least one no. 1 album (so far) for Streisand. Check out the decades that would follow and the albums that would help her attain the record.
The '70s
Streisand's best decade overall was the '70s, when she landed three albums at the top spot across the ten-year span.
The Way We Were was her first album to hit no. 1, more than ten years following her first chart topper (the longest gap between no. 1's that you'll see on this list). Again, the vocalist was borrowing the title of the album from an acting role, namely the titular film in which she appeared with Robert Redford the year before. The title was actually Barbra Streisand Featuring The Hit Single The Way We Were And All In Love Is Fair due to legal issues but has since been reverted.
Her next stop on top came as part of an actual soundtrack, that for the film A Star Is Born. The film starred Streisand and Kris Kristofferson, and that pair provided all of the soundtrack as well. She kind of cheated for her third no. 1 during that decade, getting there with Barbra Streisand's Greatest Hits Vol. 2. In defense of the buyers, it featured a new single with goals from Neil Diamond titled "You Don't Bring Me Flowers."
The '80s
Streisand opened up the '80s in a big way: Guilty, a collaboration with Barry Gibbs of the Bee Gees, went to no. 1 and ended up becoming the bestselling album to date, moving more than 12 million records over the last 30 years. Her single "Woman in Love" would also top the Billboard Hot 100 for three weeks.
Five years later she came with the first in her On Broadway series, which topped the billboard 200 during 1985. The vocalist hadn't been on Broadway in a while but she tapped Stephen Sondheim to write some new lyrics for "Send in The Clowns" from A Little Night Music, which he had originally produced during 1973.
The '90s
After eight years without a no. 1, Streisand decided to go back to a proven formula: Broadway. Back to Broadway found Streisand covering a new slew of musical theater pieces. The ranking made her the first female to top the Billboard 200 in four consecutive decades. She was not done of course.
It took her four years to release an album following her second collection of Broadway standards but when Higher Ground hit the shelves during 1997, it also went to no. 1. The album was dedicated to President Bill Clinton's mother, Virginia Clinton Kelley.
2000's
This decade came close to knocking Streisand's push for the record off the tracks. It wasn't until 2009 that she managed (we know...we make it sound like it's easy to top the Billboard 200) to get a no. 1 with Love Is The Answer, a collection backed on piano and produced by Diana Krall. One would think that her Barry Gibb followup Guilty Pleasures would peak higher considering its predecessor's success but no such luck.
2010's
You probably already know the answer to this one because Streisand took the record for most consecutive decades with a no. 1 album just this September with Partners, a collection of duets between herself and famous male vocalists. Although record sales overall are way down since she joined the industry during the '60s, her newest collection has managed to go gold (526,000 copies sold thus far) while staying in the Top 10 for its first six weeks.
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