My Chemical Romance have scored their first ever number one album — twenty years after they released it. The Black Parade, the band’s 2006 concept album, has reached number one on the Billboard 200 for the first time, on the chart dated November 7, 2026, jumping from number 139 to number one.
The climb is driven by the album’s 20th-anniversary deluxe reissue, which earned 78,000 equivalent album units in the United States in the week ending October 29, according to Luminate — a jump of 653 percent, with 68,000 of those units coming from album sales. It is the longest wait ever for an album to reach number one: 20 years, beating the previous record held by Toby Keith’s 35 Biggest Hits, which took around 15 years and nine months.
Second place, twenty years ago
The Black Parade originally debuted and peaked at number two in 2006, held off the top by the Hannah Montana soundtrack. For two decades it has been one of the most beloved rock albums of its era without ever topping the chart — a cult classic that outsold its chart position in influence many times over.
The reissue has also taken the album to number one in the UK. Billboard ranked every track on the reissue, with “Mama” at number one and “Welcome to the Black Parade” at number two. The same November 7 chart sees Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” re-enter the Hot 100 at number 20, up from number 32 last Halloween, with the Thriller album at number 13 on the Billboard 200.
A record that took two decades
The Black Parade’s number one is a reminder that chart records are not only made on release week. A deluxe reissue, a loyal fanbase and twenty years of the album’s reputation growing have done what the original release could not. The album — a concept record following a dying patient through his final days, built around the anthemic “Welcome to the Black Parade” — has been one of the most influential rock records of its era, its black-and-white parade imagery adopted by a generation of fans.
Related: Ella Langley Extends Hot 100 Record to 26 Weeks at Number 1; Amy Winehouse Back to Black Re-Enters Billboard Charts
Sources: Hypebeast, 2 Nov 2026; uInterview, 5 Nov 2026; MJVibe / Power 106.
