Cuphead's soundtrack hits number 1 on the Billboard jazz charts

For the better part of a century, the Billboard charts have plotted the course of our musical tastes. The rules have changed many times over the years, reflecting the evolution of music and how we consume it, but even in this digital era it remains a useful, indisputable measure of success.

There are actually multiple Billboard charts: The Billboard 200 is the big one, but there are all kinds of genre-specific rankings too, including one for jazz—which at the moment is topped by the Cuphead: Selected Tunes vinyl soundtrack. 

Composed by Kristofer Maddigan, the double-album collection of music from the game debuted in the top spot, and is the first videogame soundtrack to achieve the mark: The original Cuphead soundtrack made it as high as number four on the jazz charts last year. The new soundtrack is also currently parked at number six on the Vinyl Albums chart, just behind Queen's Greatest Hits. (Hey, it's the vinyl charts. Time moves differently there.)

If you're a collector, the Cuphead double-album soundtrack is available for purchase from iam8bit for $40. If you'd just like to listen (and it's really good, so I would encourage you to give it a try), the original soundtrack is available digitally from Bandcamp.

Andy Chalk

Andy has been gaming on PCs from the very beginning, starting as a youngster with text adventures and primitive action games on a cassette-based TRS80. From there he graduated to the glory days of Sierra Online adventures and Microprose sims, ran a local BBS, learned how to build PCs, and developed a longstanding love of RPGs, immersive sims, and shooters. He began writing videogame news in 2007 for The Escapist and somehow managed to avoid getting fired until 2014, when he joined the storied ranks of PC Gamer. He covers all aspects of the industry, from new game announcements and patch notes to legal disputes, Twitch beefs, esports, and Henry Cavill. Lots of Henry Cavill.