I’m expanding my record collection to include each country’s #1s and I’ve had no problem getting hold of US(Billboard), Australian and UK #1 chart lists. But I cannot get hold of a definitive list of Canadian ones. Anywhere. I’ve searched the Net, libraries. I’m assuming Canada does still have national #1 records. If so, where the hell are they hiding?
You want the Soundscan charts http://jam.canoe.ca/Music/Charts/
Looks like the current #1 album is Green Day’s American Idiot
Thanks. Any idea if there’s an archive of past #1 hits anywhere on the site or elsewhere on Web?
Now that’s just plain old funny!
You might try Billboard again. If I recall correctly (it’s been years since I last read it), they always had the Top Ten (or twenty or thirty; I can’t remember) for that week from a number of countries listed somewhere in the publication. And there was a list of Canadian hits. If memory serves, they were compiled by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), and sent to Billboard. Anyway, you might want to dig around in Billboard’s archives, or get in touch with the CBC.
A quicker solution might be to check out the charts published by Toronto’s 1050 CHUM radio. CHUM’s charts list their top 30 for every week from 1957 to 1986, and are both online and searchable. While CHUM, in the Toronto market, cannot be said to be necessarily indicative of the Canadian market as a whole, they are a good reflection of what was popular in Canada at the time, and would probably be suitable for your needs.