Top Country Albums is a chart that ranks the top-performing country music albums in the United States, published by "Billboard". In 2004, 11 different albums topped the chart, based on electronic point of sale data provided by SoundScan Inc.
In the issue of "Billboard" dated January 3, Toby Keith was at number one with "Shock'n Y'all", the album's seventh week in the top spot. It occupied the top spot for the first seven weeks of 2004 before being displaced by Kenny Chesney's "When the Sun Goes Down", which would go on to spend 14 consecutive weeks at number one, the year's longest unbroken run in the top spot. It also meant that Chesney was the act with most weeks at number one during the year; his figure of 14 weeks atop the chart was nearly twice that achieved by any other act. "When the Sun Goes Down" was one of five of 2004's Top Country Albums number ones to also reach the top spot on the all-genre "Billboard" 200 listing, along with releases by Jimmy Buffett, Tim McGraw, Alan Jackson and George Strait. The year's final country chart-topper was "Greatest Hits" by Shania Twain, which held the top spot for the final five weeks of 2004. Following that album's release, Twain, one of the most successful artists in country music history, would take a lengthy hiatus from the music industry and not release an album of new material until 2017.
Four acts reached number one for the first time in 2004. Most notably, in the issue of "Billboard" dated July 31, Jimmy Buffett gained his first number one with "License to Chill" after more than 30 years in the music industry. Buffett had first entered the Top Country Albums listing with his major-label debut "A White Sport Coat and a Pink Crustacean" in 1973 and had placed 10 albums on the chart between then and 1986 without ever reaching number one. After that, although his albums continued to enter the all-genre "Billboard" 200, he did not return to the country listing until "License to Chill" entered at number one in July 2004. Gretchen Wilson, Keith Urban, and the duo Big &amp; Rich also reached number one for the first time in 2004 with "Here for the Party", "Be Here" and "Horse of a Different Color" respectively. Wilson's album recorded the highest first-week sales to date for a debut album by a country musician. In contrast to the first-time chart-toppers, George Strait gained his 19th number one with "50 Number Ones", extending his record for the highest number of chart-toppers in the listing's history.
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