These are the Billboard magazine number-one albums of 1997, per the Billboard 200.
| † | Indicates best performing album of 1997 |
| Issue date | Album | Artist(s) | Label | Sales | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January 4 | Tragic Kingdom | No Doubt | Trauma | 484,500 | [1] [2] |
| January 11 | 506,000 | [3] [4] | |||
| January 18 | 251,000 | [5] [6] | |||
| January 25 | 155,500 | [7] [8] | |||
| February 1 | 143,000 | [9] [10] | |||
| February 8 | 144,000 | [11] [12] | |||
| February 15 | Gridlock'd | Soundtrack | Death Row | 150,000 | [13] [14] |
| February 22 | Tragic Kingdom | No Doubt | Trauma | 119,000 | [15] [16] |
| March 1 | Unchained Melody: The Early Years | LeAnn Rimes | Curb | 166,000 | [17] [18] |
| March 8 | Secret Samadhi | Live | Radioactive | 227,000 | [19] [20] |
| March 15 | Howard Stern Private Parts – The Album | Soundtrack | Warner Bros. | 177,590 | [21] [22] |
| March 22 | Pop | U2 | Island | 349,000 | [23] [24] |
| March 29 | The Untouchable | Scarface | Rap-A-Lot | 168,000 | [25] [26] |
| April 5 | Nine Lives | Aerosmith | Columbia | 139,000 | [27] [28] |
| April 12 | Life After Death | The Notorious B.I.G. | Bad Boy | 689,535 | [29] [30] |
| April 19 | 307,000 | [31] [32] | |||
| April 26 | 197,000 | [33] [34] | |||
| May 3 | 165,000 | [35] [36] | |||
| May 10 | Share My World | Mary J. Blige | MCA | 240,000 | [37] [38] |
| May 17 | Carrying Your Love with Me | George Strait | MCA | 178,000 | [39] [40] |
| May 24 | Spice † | Spice Girls | Virgin | 138,000 | [41] [42] |
| May 31 | 134,000 | [43] [44] | |||
| June 7 | 136,000 | [45] [46] | |||
| June 14 | 137,000 | [47] [48] | |||
| June 21 | Wu-Tang Forever | Wu-Tang Clan | Loud | 612,069 | [49] [50] |
| June 28 | Butterfly Kisses (Shades of Grace) | Bob Carlisle | Jive | 233,000 | [51] [52] |
| July 5 | 123,000 | [53] [54] | |||
| July 12 | Spice† | Spice Girls | Virgin | 123,000 | [55] [56] |
| July 19 | The Fat of the Land | The Prodigy | Maverick | 201,000 | [57] [58] |
| July 26 | Men in Black: The Album | Soundtrack | Columbia | 178,000 | [59] [60] |
| August 2 | 168,000 | [61] [62] | |||
| August 9 | No Way Out | Puff Daddy and the Family | Bad Boy | 560,862 | [63] [64] |
| August 16 | The Art of War | Bone Thugs N Harmony | Ruthless | 394,000 | [65] [66] |
| August 23 | No Way Out | Puff Daddy and the Family | Bad Boy | 228,000 | [67] [68] |
| August 30 | 186,000 | [69] [70] | |||
| September 6 | The Dance | Fleetwood Mac | Reprise | 199,000 | [71] [72] |
| September 13 | No Way Out | Puff Daddy and the Family | Bad Boy | 153,000 | [73] [74] |
| September 20 | Ghetto D | Master P | No Limit | 260,000 | [75] [76] |
| September 27 | You Light Up My Life: Inspirational Songs | LeAnn Rimes | Curb | 186,000 | [77] [78] |
| October 4 | Butterfly | Mariah Carey | Columbia | 235,000 | [79] [80] |
| October 11 | Evolution | Boyz II Men | Motown | 211,000 | [81] [82] |
| October 18 | You Light Up My Life: Inspirational Songs | LeAnn Rimes | Curb | 175,000 | [83] [84] |
| October 25 | The Velvet Rope | Janet Jackson | Virgin | 202,000 | [85] [86] |
| November 1 | You Light Up My Life: Inspirational Songs | LeAnn Rimes | Curb | 131,000 | [87] [88] |
| November 8 | The Firm – The Album | The Firm | Aftermath | 147,000 | [89] [90] |
| November 15 | Harlem World | Mase | Bad Boy | 273,000 | [91] [92] |
| November 22 | 175,000 | [93] [94] | |||
| November 29 | Higher Ground | Barbra Streisand | Columbia | 207,000 | [95] [96] |
| December 6 | ReLoad | Metallica | Elektra | 435,000 | [97] [98] |
| December 13 | Sevens | Garth Brooks | Capitol | 896,932 | [99] [100] |
| December 20 | 609,000 | [101] [102] | |||
| December 27 | 529,000 | [103] [104] |