Metallica's 1991 album Metallica, commonly called The Black Album, remained atop the Billboard 200 for four consecutive weeks.
The album debuted at number one in the United States, making it Metallica's first album to reach the top of that chart. Its opening-week performance was especially strong, with approximately 598,000 copies sold in the United States. The record's success continued well beyond its initial chart run because its singles and videos kept attracting new listeners.
The Billboard 200 measures album popularity in the United States, so its four-week run is distinct from the album's chart performance in other countries. Metallica also reached number one in several international markets, including the United Kingdom, Canada, Germany, Australia, and New Zealand. The album later became one of the defining long-running sellers of the SoundScan era, but the original number-one streak was four consecutive weeks.