‘Heaven’ or ‘Hell’: Which Word Appears in the Titles of More No. 1 Albums?

Billboard reported yesterday that Gracie Abrams’ Daughter From Hell enters the Billboard 200 (dated Aug. 1) at No. 1. It’s the fifth album with the word “hell” in its title to reach No. 1 since the Billboard 200 launched as a consistent weekly feature in March 1956.

In the same 70+ years, just two albums with the word “heaven” (or a derivation of that word) in their titles have reached No. 1 – Johnny Mathis’ Heavenly, which topped the chart for five consecutive weeks in November and December 1959, and Zach Bryan’s With Heaven on Top, which led for one week in January of this year.

Fun Fact: This is the first year in which albums with the words “heaven” and “hell” in their titles have topped the Billboard 200 in the same calendar year.

Abrams’ album includes a track called “Daughter From Hell.” Likewise, Bryan’s album includes a track called “With Heaven on Top” and Mathis’ album includes a song titled “Heavenly.” But not all of the albums on this list had title tracks. Read on for the wonderful story about how Eagles’ 1994 album Hell Freezes Over, the band’s first album in 14 years, got its title.

Here are all the albums with the words “heaven” or “hell” in their titles that have reached No. 1. They are shown in chronological order, along with a running scorecard showing whether “heaven” or “hell” was ahead at that point. As you’ll see, “heaven” got off to an early lead, but “hell” caught up and eventually took the lead.