The UK Albums Chart is a weekly record chart based on album sales from Friday to Thursday in the United Kingdom; as of 15 February 2019[update], there had been 266 number-one albums during the 2010s, by 76 artists. The Official Charts Company (OCC) defines an "album" as being a type of music release that feature more than four tracks and last longer than 25 minutes;[1] sales of albums in the UK are recorded on behalf of the British music industry by the OCC and compiled weekly as the UK Albums Chart.[2]
The chart is based on both physical and digital album sales,[3] as well as audio streaming,[4] and each week's new number one is first announced every Friday (previously Sunday) on The Official Chart on BBC Radio 1, which is currently hosted by Scott Mills.[5] The album chart is published online by Radio 1 (Top 40),[6] in Music Week magazine (Top 75),[7] on the OCC website (Top 100)[8] and the full Top 200 is published exclusively in UKChartsPlus.[9] In June 2010, Time Flies... 1994–2009 by Oasis became the 900th album ever to top the UK Albums Chart,[10] in November 2013, Swings Both Ways by Robbie Williams became the 1,000th,[11] and in November 2016, 24 Hrs by Olly Murs became the 1,100th. Ed Sheeran, who released four albums during the decade, spent a total of 41 weeks at number one, more than any other artist, while the two albums released by Adele during the decade (21 and 25) spent 36 weeks at number one, and were the top two best-selling albums of the 2010s.[12]
The following albums were all number one in the United Kingdom during the 2010s.[6][8]
Number-one albums
Artists with the most number ones in the 2010s
Eighteen different artists had three number ones on the UK Albums Chart during the 2010s, whilst eight artists have had four number ones. In 2012, Rihanna became the first artist to have three albums reach number one: Loud, which spent three weeks at number one; Talk That Talk, which spent two weeks at number one, and Unapologetic, which spent one week at number one.[23]One Direction gained their fourth UK number-one album in 2015, followed by Robbie Williams and Olly Murs in 2016. Eminem, Lady Gaga, Ed Sheeran, Taylor Swift, Lana Del Rey and Coldplay later scored their fourth chart-toppers of the decade as well.[24] In December 2019, Williams' album The Christmas Present claimed the number 1 spot, making him the first artist of the decade to have five number-one albums and the artist with the most-chart topping albums for the second consecutive decade.
† Originally released in the 2000s, but went to number one during the 2010s.
Albums with the most weeks at number one
The following albums spent at least seven weeks at number one during the 2010s.
Artists with the most weeks at number one
Twenty different artists spent five weeks or more at number one on the album chart during the 2010s. Ed Sheeran spent the most weeks at number one, with a total of 41 weeks.
By record label
Thirteen different record labels have spent five weeks or more at number one on the album chart so far during the 2010s.
Christmas number ones
In the UK, Christmas number one albums are those that are at the top of the UK Albums Chart on Christmas Day. Typically, this will refer to the album that was announced as number one on the Sunday before 25 December—when Christmas Day falls on a Sunday itself, the official number one is considered by the OCC to be the one announced on that day's chart.[25] During the 2010s, the following albums were Christmas number ones.
^"Rules For Chart Eligibility – Albums" (PDF). London: Official Charts Company. January 2007. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 June 2007. Retrieved 29 July 2011.
^"UK's Official Albums Chart to include streaming data for first time". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 9 July 2015.
^BBC Radio 1. "The Official Chart with Scott Mills". Retrieved 10 January 2010.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
^ a b"The Official UK Top 40 Albums Chart". BBC Radio 1. Retrieved 10 January 2010.
^MusicWeek. "Music Week – Music Week – Music business magazine". Retrieved 10 January 2010.
^ a b"The Official UK Top 40 Albums Chart". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 10 January 2010.
^ChartsPlus. "Charts Plus – The Definitive UK Charts Magazine". Retrieved 10 January 2010.
^Sexton, Paul (21 June 2010). "Oasis Flies to U.K. Chart Summit". Billboard. Retrieved 9 January 2018.
^"Robbie Williams scores UK's 1,000th number one album". BBC News. 24 November 2013. Retrieved 23 December 2013.
^"Ed Sheeran named 'artist of the decade'". BBC News. 11 December 2019. Archived from the original on 11 December 2019. Retrieved 11 December 2019.
^Copsey, Rob (25 November 2016). "Little Mix claim fastest-selling UK girl group Number 1 album since Spiceworld". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 13 August 2021.
^"Little Mix's Glory Days is the millennium's longest reigning girl group Number 1". www.officialcharts.com. Retrieved 3 March 2022.
^Myers, Justin (27 March 2018). "Little Mix's Glory Days sets new UK chart record as the longest-reigning Top 40 girl group album ever". Official Charts Company. Archived from the original on 28 March 2018. Retrieved 28 March 2018.
^ a bVilensky, Mike (20 June 2010). "Christina Aguilera Makes Music History in the UK". New York. Retrieved 25 February 2018.
^White, Jack (21 July 2017). "The Vamps end Ed Sheeran's reign to scoop first UK Number 1 album". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 25 February 2018.
^McIntyre, Hugh (2 August 2017). "Last Week's No. 1 Album in the U.K. Now Owns The Record for the Biggest Drop From The Top". Forbes. Retrieved 25 February 2018.
^"The Greatest Showman soundtrack beats Adele's UK album chart record". BBC. 28 December 2018. Retrieved 8 January 2019.
^"All the Official Albums Chart Number 1s". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 1 February 2016.
^Eames, Tom (25 November 2012). "Rihanna lands fourth No.1 UK album with 'Unapologetic'". Digital Spy. Retrieved 21 December 2017.
^Jones, Alan (30 August 2019). "Charts analysis: Taylor Swift feels the love on streaming services". Music Week. Retrieved 6 September 2019. [Taylor] Swift is the seventh/eighth artist to secure four new No.1 albums in the 2010s, following One Direction, Robbie Williams, Olly Murs, Eminem, Lady Gaga, Ed Sheeran and (possibly) Michael Buble, whose Crazy Love topped for the only time in Week 52, 2009, a chart whose publication date was 2 January 2010. One Direction's Harry Styles topped with his eponymous 2017 solo debut album too, so he arguably leads the list, alongside Robbie Williams, who can also claim five, if we include his 2010 Take That reunion album, Progress. If it reaches No.1, Lana Del Rey's new album, Norman Fucking Rockwell, which was released on Friday (August 30), will be her fourth No.1.
^"Get into The Festive Spirit With Music". Easier. 20 December 2006. Archived from the original on 26 March 2012. Retrieved 27 June 2011.
^"Top 40 Official UK Albums Archive: 25th December 2010". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 26 May 2021.
^"Top 40 Official UK Albums Archive: 25th December 2011". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 26 May 2021.
^"Top 40 Official UK Albums Archive: 23rd December 2012". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 26 May 2021.
^"Top 40 Official UK Albums Archive: 28th December 2013". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 26 May 2021.
^"Top 40 Official UK Albums Archive: 27th December 2014". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 26 May 2021.
^"Top 40 Official UK Albums Archive: 31st December 2015". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 26 May 2021.
^"Top 40 Official UK Albums Archive: 29th December 2016". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 27 May 2021.
^"Top 40 Official UK Albums Archive: 28th December 2017". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 27 May 2021.
^"Top 40 Official UK Albums Archive: 27th December 2018". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 27 May 2021.
^"Top 40 Official UK Albums Archive: 26th December 2019". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 27 May 2021.