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A Latin album in the United States is defined by both the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and Billboard magazine as being a type of music release that features 51% or more of its content recorded in Spanish. Sales of Latin albums in the US are compiled by Billboard which began in November 1972. The first Latin albums chart was compiled on December 1972, then known as the Hot Latin LP's, which surveyed sales of Latin LP's in selected regions in the United States including Los Angeles, Chicago, Miami, New York, and Texas. In 1982, LP's from the US territory of Puerto Rico were included in the survey for Latin albums. In June 1985, Billboard introduced the Top Latin Albums chart which surveyed all aforementioned markets and was divided into three genre categories— Latin Pop Albums, Tropical Albums, and Regional Mexican Albums. The sales were provided by Latin music retailers and distributors. On July 10, 1993, an overall Top Latin Albums was established and the methodology was changed to have sales data compiled by Nielsen SoundScan. The first number one was Mi Tierra by Gloria Estefan. The album spent 25 weeks at atop in 1993 and 33 weeks in this position in 1994, becoming the best-selling Latin album of the latter year in the United States.
Spanish singer Julio Iglesias was among the successful Latin acts of the 1980s with his albums Julio and In Concert having success in the Anglophone and Hispanophone markets in the United States. Tex-Mex music performer Selena's albums Amor Prohibido and Dreaming of You reached number one on the chart; the latter album debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, making Selena the first Hispanic singer to debut at the top of this chart. Dreaming of You was the best-selling Latin album of 1995 and 1996. Barrio Fino by Puerto Rican singer Daddy Yankee was cited by Billboard as the main influence for bringing reggaetón into mainstream in the 2000s and was the best-selling Latin album of the decade.
Sales certifications for US album sales are awarded by the RIAA. The RIAA began awarding certifications in 1958. Certifications are based on unit retail sales: sales of 500,000 were awarded gold, 1,000,000 for platinum and 2,000,000 or more for multi-platinum. In 2000, the RIAA launched "Los Premios Oro y Platino" (The Gold and Platinum Awards in Spanish) to acknowledge the Latin market in the United States. The initial threshold for the certifications were —sales of 100,000 for gold (Disco de oro), 200,000 for platinum (Disco de platino), and 400,000 or more for multi-platinum (Multi-platino). In 2008, these requirements were lowered due to declining shipment figures for Latin albums. The thresholds for a Latin album certification were — 50,000 for gold, 100,000 for platinum, and 200,000 or more for multi-platinum. All albums that received a Latin certification before 2008 were updated to match the current criteria at the time. On December 20, 2013, the RIAA lowered the criteria for Spanish-speaking album once more to reflect on the Latin music in the country. As of December 30, 2013, the current thresholds for a Latin album certification are — 30,000 for gold, 60,000 for platinum, and 120,000 or more for multi-platinum.
Mexican singer Luis Miguel became the first non-crossover Latin artist to achieve gold status for his album Romance, a collection of classic boleros. The album as well at its follow-ups — Segundo Romance and Romances were later certified platinum. Me Estoy Enamorando and Vuelve by Alejandro Fernández and Ricky Martin were both certified platinum and were the best-selling Latin albums of 1998 and 1999 respectively. Colombian singer Shakira's albums Pies Descalzos and Dónde Están los Ladrones? were both certified while her 2005 album, Fijación Oral Vol. 1 was certified 11× Platinum (Latin field). As of February 2010, the highest-certified Latin album is Dreaming of You by Selena, which has been awarded platinum certification 35 × in the Latin field.