The best-selling album the year you were born, according to Billboard

• Billboard, using data recorded by Nielsen Soundscan/Luminate, tracks each year's best-selling album.

• Since 2015, streaming has been incorporated into music metrics through the use of album-equivalent units.

• Many classic albums don't appear on the list, having been outsold by lesser-known records.

Each year, one album taps into the hearts and ears of the public on its way to becoming the year's best-selling album.

Times have changed, though. In recent years, singers like Adele and Taylor Swift have dominated the charts, while in the 1950s and early 1960s, musical soundtracks and Broadway cast recordings often topped the list.

Billboard has been tracking the best-selling album of the year since 1956, but its methodology has changed several times. Before 1991, the outlet relied on retailer report, but that year it began using Nielsen SoundScan data, which was more accurate, according to Billboard.

And since 2015, Nielsen Soundscan — now called Luminate — has incorporated album-equivalent units into its data to account for streaming. This means that in 2022, Taylor Swift's "Midnights" was the best-selling album based on sales alone, while Bad Bunny's "Un Verano Sin Ti" was the top album overall, including album-equivalent units.

Methodology aside, the list isn't without its surprises. In 1967, The Beatles' critically acclaimed album "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" was outsold by The Monkees' "More of The Monkees."

Using Billboard and Luminate's data, Business Insider compiled all the best-selling albums and their respective notable singles, dating back to 1956, so you can see which album was the soundtrack to your birth year (provided you're 70 or younger).

See the best-selling album every year since 1956.