Country albums, or national albums, include stamps according to the nation which issued them. In the world of album publishing, some companies group stamps within a particular country according to their usage - parcel post, air mail, general issues. Others present them in chronological order regardless of type. Also, the stamps that are actually included vary from publisher to publisher, depending on which catalog they use in determining which issues to include.

Topical collecting probably started with the Queen Elizabeth Coronation issue, which was issued in every British colony and protectorate in June of 1953 - 106 stamps in 68 countries. Other popular topics among collectors include Lady Diana, Disney, and Trains.