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鈥�Weird Al鈥� Yankovic, the curly haired accordionist who鈥檚 made song parodies of hits from everyone from Madonna (鈥淟ike a Surgeon鈥�) to Coolio (鈥淎mish Paradise鈥�) has had a career full of milestones, from Grammy wins to platinum records. But now, three decades and 14 albums into his career, he鈥檚 reached another.

The world鈥檚 foremost pop parodist celebrated his first-ever No. 1 album this week with 鈥淢andatory Fun,鈥� which debuted Tuesday in the top spot on the Billboard 200. In addition to being Weird Al鈥檚 first chart-topper, "Mandatory Fun鈥� is the first comedy album to hit number one since Allan Sherman鈥檚 鈥淢y Son the Nut,鈥� did it in 1963.

鈥淚f you鈥檇 told me 30 years ago this would happen, I never would鈥檝e believed it,鈥� Weird Al tweeted Wednesday. 鈥淚f you鈥檇 told me 2 WEEKS ago, I never would鈥檝e believed it.鈥�

Like past albums, 鈥淢andatory Fun鈥� features send-ups of some of the most popular radio songs of the past year or so, including 鈥淭acky,鈥� a take of of Pharell Williams鈥� megahit 鈥淗appy鈥�; 鈥淲ord Crimes,鈥� 鈥� a scolding about grammar to the tune of Robin Thicke鈥檚 鈥淏lurred Lines;鈥� and 鈥淔oil,鈥� to the tune of Lorde鈥檚 "Royals."

To some, the news that this is Weird Al鈥檚 first No. 1 album may come as a surprise. He has sold over 12 million records in the US, and has definitely been more of a culturally relevant name at other stages in his career. His most fertile ground was arguably in the 80s and 90s, when a few megastars dominated the pop culture landscape and songs on the radio were well-known by a wider group of Americans. Yankovic rose to fame parodying the likes of monoliths like Michael Jackson, an early supporter who let Weird Al use the set of his 鈥淏ad鈥� video for the parody 鈥淔at,鈥� and Nirvana (Kurt Cobain is said to have called him a 鈥渕usical genius鈥�).

But the music industry has changed, in ways that have made it both harder and easier for someone like Weird Al to produce a hit album. Record sales are a fraction of what they once were 鈥� indie music groups like The Decemberists can hit number one on Billboard by selling 40,000 or so copies of a new album. Pop culture is more fractured, with true household names like Madonna and Michael Jackson in shorter supply, and thus fewer targets ripe for a parody that a wide swath of the public will immediately recognize and find funny (I have no idea whether or not my mother has heard 鈥淩oyals,鈥� and she certainly wouldn鈥檛 know Lorde if she ran across her in a supermarket).

What鈥檚 more, the rise of YouTube, Vine, and all other manner of social media 鈥� as well as the breakneck pace with which we consume our entertainment 鈥� have made it possible for thousands of aspiring Weird Als to create and release their own 鈥淗appy鈥� parodies with the click of a button. In comparison, the process of creating and releasing a full music album is downright glacial.

But Weird Al has managed to adapt, and reaped the benefits. To promote 鈥淢andatory Fun,鈥� he launched a聽 full-scale assault online, debuting a new music video for a song from the album every day leading up to its release on popular comedy sites like 鈥淣erdist鈥� and 鈥淔unny or Die.鈥� It worked: the videos racked up a combined 20 million views during the week, and 鈥淢andatory Fun鈥� sold 104,000 copies during its first week, according to Nielsen SoundScan nearly twice the debut sales of his 2011 effort, 鈥淎lpocalypse.鈥�

And it may be a good note to end on. 鈥淢andatory Fun,鈥� marks the last album of a record contract that Weird Al has been under since 1982. 鈥淚 just kind of feel like especially with the kind of music that I do, the album format isn't the best way to deliver that music,鈥� he told the Associated Press Tuesday. 鈥淚'm going to try to jump on new hits and new trends as soon as I can (with singles) and try to be a little bit more competitive with everybody else in the world on YouTube.鈥澛�