Jimmy Buffett performs with Ilo and the Coral Reefer Allstars during Bonnaroo 2009 on June 13, 2009 ... [+]
Jimmy Buffett passed away in September of 2023, and both his fans and the music world continue to mourn his loss. The singer-songwriter’s legacy remains intact, though, as his work is still being listened to by a sizable population in the U.S.
The late musician returns to one Billboard chart this week. He posthumously finds his way back to the ranking he knew well with one of his most popular releases.
Songs You Know By Heart: Jimmy Buffett’s Greatest Hits reappears on this week’s Americana/Folk Albums chart. The Billboard tally tracks the most-consumed titles in those two genres, using a methodology that includes both streaming and sales data.
This frame, Songs You Know By Heart appears at No. 22. In the past, the set has climbed as high as No. 2, missing out on becoming another leader for the beloved musician by one space. As of this frame, the compilation has now spent 88 weeks on the roster.
Buffett may not have ruled the Americana/Folk Albums chart with this greatest hits set, but he did top it with other projects. The mogul dominated the ranking twice, once in his lifetime, and then again shortly after he passed away. In 2020, Life on the Flip Side reached the summit. Then, in 2023, a few months following his death, his posthumous release Equal Strain on All Parts debuted in first place.
Songs You Know By Heart is one of three titles on this week’s Americana/Folk Albums chart that didn’t appear on the list last time around. All of them return to the tally, as there are no debuts this frame. Buffett lands a few spaces ahead of Chris Stapleton’s From a Room: Vol. 1 (No. 24) and Jack Johnson’s In Between Dreams (No. 25).
Buffett released Songs You Know By Heart in 1985, when he was still producing big hits. The compilation has appeared on a number of charts, including the Billboard 200 and Top Country Albums lists. Billboard sometimes labels a song or full-length as more than one style, which allows it to break onto a number of different genre-specific lists.
