List of artists by number of UK Albums Chart number ones
The UK Albums Chart is a weekly record chart based on album sales from Friday to Thursday in the United Kingdom (the chart week ran from Sunday to Saturday until 2015). It listed only physical album sales until 2007, after which it has also included albums sold digitally, and from March 2015, includes streamed tracks. The chart is currently compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC) on behalf of the UK music industry,[1] and each week's new number one is first announced on Friday evenings (Sunday evenings until July 2015) by BBC Radio 1 on their weekly chart show.[2]
The album chart was first published by Record Mirror on 28 July 1956[3]—the album at number one that week was Songs for Swingin' Lovers! by Frank Sinatra.[4] As of 24 November 2013, 1,000 different albums have reached the top of the chart;[5] 12 artists have topped the chart with nine or more different albums. The most successful act is the Beatles, who have reached number one with fifteen records and spent 176 weeks at the top, longer than any other artist. Elvis Presley and Robbie Williams are the most successful solo artists with 13 number-one albums each, while Madonna is the most successful female artist with 12 number ones.[6]
Artists[]
The following artists have been credited on at least nine different number-one albums, as recognised by the OCC. Appearances on compilation albums featuring various artists are not included. Artists with the same amount of number-one albums are ordered by the earlier date of accumulation.
[x] | Indicates that, with this album, the artist became the first act to have this many number ones |
Best-selling album in the UK |
Artist | Number ones | Number one studio albums | Albums | Record labels | First reached number one | Total weeks at number one | Notes | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
The Beatles | 15 | 11 | Please Please Me | Parlophone | 5 May 1963 | 30 | [7] | |
With the Beatles | Parlophone | 1 December 1963 | 21 | 1963 Christmas number one | ||||
A Hard Day's Night | Parlophone | 19 July 1964 | 21 | |||||
Beatles for Sale | Parlophone | 13 December 1964 | 11 | 1964 Christmas number one | ||||
Help! | Parlophone | 8 August 1965 | 9 | |||||
Rubber Soul | Parlophone | 19 December 1965 | 8 | 1965 Christmas number one | ||||
Revolver | Parlophone | 7 August 1966 | 7 | |||||
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band [8] | Parlophone | 4 June 1967 | 28[note 1] | 1967 Christmas number one | ||||
The Beatles (White Album) [9] | Apple | 1 December 1968 | 8 | 1968 Christmas number one | ||||
Abbey Road [10] | Apple | 28 September 1969 | 18[note 2] | 1969 Christmas number one | ||||
Let It Be [11] | Apple | 17 May 1970 | 3 | |||||
The Beatles at the Hollywood Bowl [12] | Parlophone | 12 June 1977 | 1 | |||||
Live at the BBC [13] | Apple | 4 December 1994 | 1 | |||||
Anthology 2 [14] | Apple | 24 March 1996 | 1 | |||||
1 [15] | Apple | 19 November 2000 | 9 | 2000 Christmas number one | ||||
Elvis Presley | 13 | 5 | Rock 'N' Roll | HMV | 4 November 1956 | 1 | [8] | |
Loving You | RCA | 1 September 1957 | 3 | |||||
King Creole | RCA | 14 September 1958 | 7 | |||||
Elvis Is Back! [4] | RCA | 24 July 1960 | 1 | |||||
G.I. Blues [5] | RCA | 1 August 1961 | 22 | |||||
Blue Hawaii [6] | RCA | 31 December 1961 | 18 | |||||
Pot Luck [7] | RCA | 22 July 1962 | 6 | |||||
From Elvis in Memphis | RCA Victor | 24 August 1969 | 1 | |||||
Elvis' 40 Greatest | Arcade | 4 September 1977 | 1 | Posthumous number one | ||||
ELV1S: 30 No. 1 Hits | RCA | 29 September 2002 | 2 | Posthumous number one | ||||
The King | RCA | 19 August 2007 | 1 | Posthumous number one | ||||
If I Can Dream | RCA, Legacy | 6 November 2015 | 2 | Posthumous number one; Credited to Elvis Presley with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra | ||||
The Wonder of You | RCA, Legacy | 28 October 2016 | 1 | Posthumous number one; Credited to Elvis Presley with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra | ||||
Robbie Williams | 13 | 11 | Life thru a Lens | Chrysalis | 12 April 1998 | 2 | [9][10] | |
I've Been Expecting You | Chrysalis | 1 November 1998 | 3 | |||||
Sing When You're Winning | Chrysalis | 3 September 2000 | 3 | |||||
Swing When You're Winning | Chrysalis | 25 November 2001 | 7 | 2001 Christmas number one | ||||
Escapology | EMI | 16 November 2002 | 7 | 2002 Christmas number one | ||||
Greatest Hits | Chrysalis | 24 October 2004 | 4 | 2004 Christmas number one | ||||
Intensive Care | Chrysalis | 30 October 2005 | 1 | |||||
Rudebox | Chrysalis | 29 October 2006 | 1 | |||||
In and Out of Consciousness: Greatest Hits 1990–2010 | Virgin | 17 October 2010 | 1 | |||||
Take the Crown | Island | 11 November 2012 | 1 | |||||
Swings Both Ways | Island | 24 November 2013 | 4 | 2013 Christmas number one | ||||
The Heavy Entertainment Show | Columbia | 11 November 2016 | 1 | |||||
The Christmas Present | Columbia | 6 December 2019 | 1 | |||||
Madonna | 12 | 9 | Like a Virgin | Sire | 15 September 1985 | 2 | [11] | |
True Blue | Sire | 6 July 1986 | 6 | |||||
Like a Prayer | Sire | 26 March 1989 | 2 | |||||
The Immaculate Collection | Sire | 18 November 1990 | 9 | 1990 Christmas number one | ||||
Evita | Warner Bros. | 26 January 1997 | 1 | Sometimes credited to Madonna & Various Artists | ||||
Ray of Light | Maverick | 8 March 1998 | 2 | |||||
Music | Maverick | 24 September 2000 | 2 | |||||
American Life | Maverick | 27 April 2003 | 1 | |||||
Confessions on a Dance Floor | Warner Bros. | 20 November 2005 | 2 | |||||
Hard Candy | Warner Bros. | 4 May 2008 | 1 | |||||
Celebration | Warner Bros. | 27 September 2009 | 1 | |||||
MDNA | Interscope | 1 April 2012 | 1 | |||||
Bruce Springsteen | 12 | 11 | Born in the U.S.A. | CBS | 16 June 1984 | 5 | [12] | |
Tunnel of Love | CBS | 17 October 1987 | 1 | |||||
Human Touch | Columbia | 4 April 1992 | 1 | |||||
Greatest Hits | Columbia | 11 March 1995 | 2 | |||||
The Rising | Columbia | 10 August 2002 | 1 | |||||
Devils and Dust | Columbia | 7 May 2005 | 1 | |||||
Magic | Columbia | 13 October 2007 | 1 | |||||
Working on a Dream | Columbia | 2 July 2009 | 2 | |||||
Wrecking Ball | Columbia | 11 March 2012 | 1 | |||||
High Hopes | Columbia | 19 January 2014 | 1 | |||||
Western Stars | Columbia | 27 June 2019 | 1 | |||||
Letter to You | Columbia | 5 November 2020 | 1 | |||||
David Bowie | 11 | 9 | Aladdin Sane | RCA | 5 May 1973 | 5 | [13] | |
Pin Ups | RCA | 3 November 1973 | 5 | |||||
Diamond Dogs | RCA | 8 June 1974 | 4 | |||||
Scary Monsters (And Super Creeps) | RCA | 27 September 1980 | 2 | |||||
Let's Dance | EMI | 23 April 1983 | 3 | |||||
Tonight | EMI | 6 October 1984 | 1 | |||||
Changesbowie | EMI | 24 March 1990 | 1 | |||||
Black Tie White Noise | Arista | 17 April 1993 | 1 | |||||
The Next Day[14] | ISO/Columbia | 23 March 2013 | 1 | |||||
Blackstar[15] | RCA | 15 January 2016 | 3 | Posthumous number one | ||||
Best of Bowie[16] | EMI | 5 February 2016 | 1 | Posthumous number one | ||||
The Rolling Stones | 11 | 10 | The Rolling Stones | Decca | 26 April 1964 | 12 | [17] | |
The Rolling Stones No. 2 | Decca | 31 January 1965 | 10 | |||||
Aftermath | Decca | 24 April 1966 | 8 | |||||
Let It Bleed | Decca | 14 December 1969 | 1 | |||||
Get Yer Ya-Ya's Out! The Rolling Stones in Concert | Decca | 13 September 1970 | 2 | |||||
Sticky Fingers | Rolling Stones | 13 June 1971 | 5 | |||||
Exile on Main St. | Rolling Stones | 4 June 1972 | 2[note 3] | |||||
Goats Head Soup | Rolling Stones | 16 September 1973 | 3[note 4] | |||||
Emotional Rescue | Rolling Stones | 29 June 1980 | 2 | |||||
Voodoo Lounge | Rolling Stones | 17 July 1994 | 1 | |||||
Blue & Lonesome | Rolling Stones | 9 December 2016 | 1 | |||||
U2 | 10 | 9 | War | Island | 6 March 1983 | 1 | [18] | |
The Unforgettable Fire | Island | 7 October 1984 | 2 | |||||
The Joshua Tree | Island | 15 March 1987 | 2 | |||||
Rattle and Hum | Island | 16 October 1988 | 1 | |||||
Zooropa | Island | 11 July 1993 | 1 | |||||
Pop | Island | 9 March 1997 | 1 | |||||
The Best of 1980–1990 | Island | 8 November 1998 | 1 | |||||
All That You Can't Leave Behind | Island | 5 November 2000 | 1 | |||||
How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb | Island | 28 November 2004 | 3 | |||||
No Line on the Horizon | Vertigo | 8 March 2009 | 2 | |||||
Michael Jackson | 10 | 5 | Thriller | Epic | 27 February 1983 | 8 | [19] | |
18 Greatest Hits | Telstar | 14 August 1983 | 3 | Credited to Michael Jackson Plus The Jackson 5 | ||||
Bad | Epic | 6 September 1987 | 5 | |||||
Dangerous | Epic | 24 November 1991 | 1 | |||||
HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I | Epic | 18 June 1995 | 1 | |||||
Blood on the Dance Floor: HIStory in the Mix | Epic | 18 May 1997 | 2 | |||||
Invincible | Epic | 4 November 2001 | 1 | |||||
Number Ones | Epic | 23 November 2003 | 2 | Posthumous number one | ||||
The Essential Michael Jackson | Epic | 5 July 2009 | 7 | Posthumous number one | ||||
Xscape | Epic | 18 May 2014 | 1 | Posthumous number one | ||||
Rod Stewart | 10 | 7 | Every Picture Tells a Story | Mercury | 2 October 1971 | 6 | [20] | |
Never a Dull Moment | Philips | 16 September 1972 | 2 | |||||
Sing It Again Rod | Mercury | 1 September 1973 | 3 | |||||
Smiler | Mercury | 19 October 1974 | 2 | |||||
Atlantic Crossing | Warner Bros. | 30 August 1975 | 7 | |||||
A Night on the Town | Riva | 10 July 1976 | 2 | |||||
Greatest Hits, Vol. 1 | Riva | 8 December 1979 | 5 | |||||
Time | Capitol | 25 May 2013 | 1 | |||||
Blood Red Roses | Decca | 11 October 2018 | 1 | |||||
You're in My Heart: Rod Stewart with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra | Rhino | 13 December 2019 | 2 | 2019 Christmas number one | ||||
Eminem | 10 | 9 | The Marshall Mathers LP | Interscope | 23 May 2000 | 2 | [21] | |
The Eminem Show | Interscope | 26 May 2002 | 5 | |||||
Encore | Interscope | 11 December 2004 | 2 | |||||
Curtain Call: The Hits | Interscope | 6 December 2005 | 5 | |||||
Relapse | Interscope | 15 May 2009 | 2 | |||||
Recovery | Interscope | 18 June 2010 | 7 | |||||
The Marshall Mathers LP 2 | Interscope | 5 November 2013 | 1 | |||||
Revival | Interscope | 15 December 2017 | 1 | 2017 Christmas number one | ||||
Kamikaze | Interscope | 31 August 2018 | 4 | |||||
Music to Be Murdered By | Interscope | 17 January 2020 | 1 | |||||
Queen | 10 | 7 | A Night at the Opera | EMI | 21 December 1975 | 4 | 1975 Christmas number one | [22] |
A Day at the Races | EMI | 2 January 1977 | 1 | |||||
The Game | EMI | 13 July 1980 | 2 | |||||
Greatest Hits | EMI | 8 November 1981 | 4 | As of 4 July 2016, the best-selling album in the UK | ||||
A Kind of Magic | EMI | 8 June 1986 | 1 | |||||
The Miracle | Parlophone | 28 May 1989 | 1 | |||||
Innuendo | Parlophone | 10 February 1991 | 2 | |||||
Greatest Hits II | Parlophone | 3 November 1991 | 5 | 1991 Christmas number one | ||||
Made in Heaven | Parlophone | 12 November 1995 | 1 | |||||
Live Around the World | EMI | 2 October 2020 | 1 | Credited to Queen + Adam Lambert | ||||
ABBA | 9 | 5 | Greatest Hits | Epic | 2 May 1976 | 11 | [23] | |
Arrival | Epic | 9 January 1977 | 10 | |||||
ABBA: The Album | Epic | 29 January 1978 | 7 | |||||
Voulez-Vous | Epic | 13 May 1979 | 4 | |||||
Greatest Hits Vol. 2 | Epic | 11 November 1979 | 4 | |||||
Super Trouper | Epic | 16 November 1980 | 9 | 1980 Christmas number one | ||||
The Visitors | Epic | 13 December 1981 | 3 | 1981 Christmas number one | ||||
The Singles: The First Ten Years | Epic | 21 November 1982 | 1 | |||||
Gold: Greatest Hits | Polydor | 27 September 1992 | 8 | As of 4 July 2016, the second best-selling album in the UK | ||||
Bob Dylan | 9 | 9 | The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan | CBS | 23 May 1964 | 2 | [24] | |
Bringing It All Back Home | CBS | 15 May 1965 | 1 | |||||
John Wesley Harding | CBS | 3 February 1968 | 13 | |||||
Nashville Skyline | CBS | 17 May 1969 | 4 | |||||
Self Portrait | CBS | 11 June 1970 | 1 | |||||
New Morning | CBS | 28 November 1970 | 1 | |||||
Together Through Life | Columbia | 9 May 2009 | 2 | |||||
Shadows in the Night | Columbia | 14 February 2015 | 1 | |||||
Rough and Rowdy Ways | Columbia | 2 July 2020 | 1 |
See also[]
- List of artists by number of UK Singles Chart number ones
- List of best-selling albums in the United Kingdom
- List of one-hit wonders on the UK Albums Chart
- List of UK Albums Chart Christmas number ones
- List of UK Albums Chart number ones
References[]
- ^ "The Charts We Compile". London: Official Charts Company. 2010. Retrieved 28 June 2011.
- ^ "The Official UK Top 40 Albums Chart". London: BBC Radio 1. 2011. Retrieved 28 June 2011.
- ^ Mawer, Sharon (2008). "1956". London: Official Charts Company. Archived from the original on 8 March 2009. Retrieved 28 June 2011.
- ^ "Albums chart: 50 chart facts". Music Week. London. 5 August 2006. ISSN 0265-1548. OCLC 60620772. Retrieved 15 July 2011.
... The first number one album – Songs For Swingin' Lovers by Frank Sinatra ...
- ^ "Robbie Williams scores UK's 1,000th number one album". BBC News. BBC. 24 November 2013. Retrieved 23 September 2015.
- ^ "Acts with the most Number 1 albums on the Official UK Chart". officialcharts.com. Retrieved 30 August 2019.
- ^ "Beatles". London: Official Charts Company. 2010. Retrieved 1 August 2011.
- ^ "Elvis Presley". London: Official Charts Company. 2010. Retrieved 1 August 2011.
- ^ "Robbie Williams". London: Official Charts Company. 2010. Retrieved 1 August 2011.
- ^ "Robbie Williams". London: Official Charts Company. 2013. Retrieved 26 November 2013.
- ^ "Madonna". London: Official Charts Company. 2010. Retrieved 1 August 2011.
- ^ "Bruce Springsteen". London: Official Charts Company. 2012. Retrieved 11 March 2012.
- ^ "David Bowie". London: Official Charts Company. 2013. Archived from the original on 3 November 2013. Retrieved 18 March 2013.
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 21 May 2012. Retrieved 22 May 2016.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 21 May 2012. Retrieved 22 May 2016.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 21 May 2012. Retrieved 22 May 2016.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
- ^ "Rolling Stones". London: Official Charts Company. 2010. Retrieved 1 August 2011.
- ^ "U2". London: Official Charts Company. 2010. Retrieved 1 August 2011.
- ^ "Michael Jackson". London: Official Charts Company. 2010. Retrieved 1 August 2011.
- ^ "Rod Stewart". London: Official Charts Company. 2018. Retrieved 7 October 2018.
- ^ "Eminem". London: Official Charts Company. 2010. Retrieved 1 August 2011.
- ^ "Queen". London: Official Charts Company. 2010. Retrieved 1 August 2011.
- ^ "ABBA". London: Official Charts Company. 2010. Retrieved 1 August 2011.
- ^ "Bob Dylan". London: Official Charts Company. 2020. Retrieved 27 June 2020.
Notes[]
- ^ Includes 27 weeks at number one on the album's original release in 1967, plus 1 week on its reissue in 2017.
- ^ Includes 17 weeks at number one on the album's original release in 1969, plus 1 week on its reissue in 2019.
- ^ Includes 1 week at number one on the album's original release in 1972, plus 1 week on its reissue in 2010.
- ^ Includes 2 weeks at number one on the album's original release in 1973, plus 1 week on its reissue in 2020.
External links[]
- Official UK Albums Top 100 at the Official Charts Company
- The Official UK Top 40 Albums Chart at BBC Radio 1
- Lists of artists by record chart achievement