UK Album Chart Records 1958-1995

ALL-TIME UK ALBUM CHART RECORDS 1958-1995


Most weeks on chart

1160, Beatles
1111, Queen
1083, Simon & Garfunkel
1082, Dire Straits
1071, Elvis Presley
903, David Bowie
861, U2
859, Pink Floyd
801, Elton John
795, Fleetwood Mac
770, Michael Jackson
761, Cliff Richard
756, Phil Collins
747, Rod Stewart
741, Rolling Stones
713, Meat Loaf
677, Madonna
662, Frank Sinatra
635, Abba
575, Bob Dylan
574, Carpenters
569, Diana Ross
558, Beach Boys
541, UB 40
535, Neil Diamond
526, Mike Oldfield
522, Paul McCartney/Wings
475, Eric Clapton
468, Genesis
461, Shadows
459, Bruce Springsteen
450, Tina Turner
443, Bob Marley & the Wailers
442, Andy Williams
441, Led Zeppelin
435, Status Quo
431, James Last
425, Eurythmics
422, Tom Jones
415, Barbra Streisand
414, Roxy Music
410, Simply Red
409, Prince
405, R.E.M.
396, Madness
391, Jim Reeves
381, Electric Light Orchestra
372, Duran Duran
366, Lionel Richie
353, Police
351, Guns`n`Roses
347, Simple Minds
340, Bon Jovi
340, Eagles
340, Stevie Wonder
336, Barry Manilow
331, Chris Rea
328, Buddy Holly & the Crickets
321, Pet Shop Boys
316, Billy Joel
312, Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass
311, Erasure
310, Moody Blues


Most Number One Albums

13, Beatles
10, Rolling Stones
9, Abba
9, Queen
8, David Bowie
8, Led Zeppelin
7, Genesis
7, Paul McCartney/Wings
7, Cliff Richard
7, Rod Stewart
6, Bob Dylan
6, Elton John
6, Elvis Presley
5, Erasure
5, Michael Jackson
5, Pink Floyd
5, Police
5, Prince
5, Simple Minds
5, U2

Most weeks at Number One, by artist

164, Beatles
50, Abba
49, Elvis Presley
48, Simon & Garfunkel
44, Rolling Stones
30, Cliff Richard
29, Carpenters
28, Elton John
27, Rod Stewart
24, Phil Collins
22, David Bowie
22, Dire Straits
22, Bob Dylan
22, Simpy Red
21, Shadows
21, Queen
19, Madonna
19, George Mitchell Minstrels
18, Michael Jackson
16, Paul McCartney/Wings
16, Diana Ross & the Supremes
15, Police
15, Barbra Streisand
14, Led Zeppelin
13, Beach Boys
13, Cher
13, Eurythmics
13, Meat Loaf
13, Roxy Music
12, Adam & the Ants
12, Bon Jovi
12, Genesis
12, Kids from Fame
12, Bob Marley & the Wailers
12, T Rex
12, Luciano Pavarotti
12, Paul Simon
11, Wet Wet Wet
10, John Lennon
10, Pink Floyd
10, Stylistics
10, Slim Whitman


Most weeks on chart in a year

217, Dire Straits (1986)
198, David Bowie (1983)
182, David Bowie (1973)
177, Bruce Springsteen (1985)
168, U2 (1985)
167, Simon & Garfunkel (1970)
158, Dire Straits (1985)
136, Michael Jackson (1984)
135, Tom Jones (1968)
131, Phil Collins (1985)
128, Queen (1992)
127, Madonna (1987)
126, U2 (1987)
125, Johnny Cash (1970)
125, Madonna (1986)
123, Michael Jackson (1983)
122, Beatles (1970)
121, Otis Redding (1968)
121, Guns`n`Roses (1992)


Most weeks on chart in each year

1958 Elvis Presley, 16 weeks
1959, Frank Sinatra, 56
1960, Elvis Presley, 51
1961, Elvis Presley, 91
1962, George Mitchell Minstrels, 109
1963, Cliff Richard, 72
1964, Jim Reeves, 115
1965, Bob Dylan, 112
1966, Beach Boys, 95
1967, Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass, 101
1968, Tom Jones, 125
1969, Seekers, 66
1970, Simon & Garfunkel, 167
1971, Andy Williams, 111
1972, Cat Stevens, 89
1973, David Bowie, 182
1974, David Bowie, 107
1975, Elton John, 105
1976, Demis Roussos, 84
1977, Pink Floyd, 108
1978, Abba, 112
1979, Electric Light Orchestra, 112
1980, Police, 116
1981, Barry Manilow, 92
1982, Human League, 102
1983, David Bowie, 198
1984, Michael Jackson, 136
1985, Bruce Springsteen, 177
1986, Dire Straits, 217
1987, Madonna, 127
1988, Michael Jackson, 116
1989, Guns`n`Roses, 85
1990, Phil Collins, 85
1991, Michael Bolton, 63
1992, Queen, 128
1993, R.E.M., 97
1994, Meat Loaf, 75
1995, Cranberries, 96


Most weeks on chart by one album

472, Bat Out Of Hell, Meat Loaf
443, Rumours, Fleetwood Mac
433, Greatest Hits, Queen
382, The Sound Of Music, Soundtrack
337, Dark Side Of The Moon, Pink Floyd
304, Bridge Over Troubled Water, Simon & Garfunkel
288, South Pacific, Soundtrack
283, Greatest Hits, Simon & Garfunkel
274, Face Value, Phil Collins
271, Tubular Bells, Mike Oldfield
265, Legend, Bob Marley & the Wailers
249, Makin` Movies, Dire Straits
235, Jeff Wayne`s War Of The World`s, Various
203, Brothers In Arms, Dire Straits
203, U2 Live: Under A Blood Red Sky, U2
198, Love Over Gold, Dire Straits
178, Off The Wall, Michael Jackson
176, No Jacket Required, Phil Collins
175, West Side Story, Soundtrack
174, Sgt. Pepper`s Lonely Hearts Club Band, Beatles
173, Thriller, Michael Jackson
172, The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars, David Bowie
171, The Beatles/1962-1966, Beatles
164, Nevermind, Nirvana
163, Alchemy/Dire Straits Live, Dire Straits
156, The Buddy Holly Story, Buddy Holly
154, Can`t Slow Down, Lionel Richie
153, Out Of Time, R.E.M.
152, Like A Virgin, Madonna
151, Manilow Magic, Barry Manilow
147, Private Dancer, Tina Turner
147, War, U2
142, The Best Of The Beach Boys, Beach Boys
142, The Black And White Minstrel Show, George Mitchell Minstrels
141, Immaculate Collection, Madonna
138, Going Places, Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass
138, Led Zeppelin II, Led Zeppelin
137, Appetite For Destruction, Guns`n`Roses
135, Eliminator, ZZ Top
133, The Beatles/1967-1970, Beatles
131, Automatic For The People, R.E.M.
130, The Best Of UB40, Vol. 1, UB40
130, Dire Straits, Dire Straits
130, Greatest Hits, Abba
130, Picture Book, Simply Red
130, Simply The Best, Tina Turner
130, The Unforgettable Fire, U2


Most Hit Albums

96, Elvis Presley
61, James Last
54, Frank Sinatra
50, Cliff Richard
41, Rolling Stones
39, Diana Ross
38, Bob Dylan
34, Elton John
32, Shirley Bassey
31, David Bowie
29, Neil Diamond
27, Beach Boys
27, Beatles
27, Johnny Mathis
27, Jim Reeves
27, Status Quo
27, Neil Young
26, Shadows
25, Jethro Tull
25, Andy Williams
24, Iron Maiden
24, Tom Jones
24, Paul McCartney/Wings
24, Rod Stewart
23, Jimi Hendrix
23, Gary Numan/Tubeway Army
22, Eric Clapton
22, Hawkwind
22, Van Morrison
22, Who
21, Black Sabbath
21, Marc Bolan/T.Rex
21, Deep Purple
21, Queen
20, Mike Oldfield
20, Santana


Most Top Ten Hit Albums

37, Elvis Presley
33, Cliff Richard
31, Rolling Stones
29, Frank Sinatra
25, Bob Dylan
22, David Bowie
21, Elton John
20, Beatles
19, Iron Maiden
19, Paul McCartney/Wings
19, Queen
19, Rod Stewart
18, Status Quo
15, Genesis
15, Pink Floyd
14, Beach Boys
14, Prince
14, Jim Reeves
13, Who
12, Elvis Costello
12, Tom Jones
11, Led Zeppelin
11, Roxy Music
11, Shadows
10, Eric Clapton
10, Depeche Mode
10, Jimi Hendrix
10, Madonna
10, Diana Ross
10, Andy Williams
10, Yes


Most weeks at Number One in a calendar year

52, Cast of South Pacific (1959)
45, Cast of South Pacific (1960)
40, Beatles (1964)
34, Beatles (1963)
30, Cast of The Sound Of Music (1966)
26, Beatles (1967)
24, Elvis Presley (1962)
24, Simon & Garfunkel (1970)
22, Elvis Presley (1961)
20, Cast of The Sound Of Music (1965)


Most Number One Albums in a calendar year

3, Beatles (1965)
3, T Rex (1972)
2, George Mitchell Minstrels (1961, 1962)
2, Elvis Presley (1962)
2, Beatles (1963, 1964, 1965, 1969, 1970)
2, Bob Dylan (1965, 1970)
2, Monkees (1967)
2, Led Zeppelin (1970, 1976)
2, Andy Williams (1971)
2, T Rex (1972)
2, Elton John (1973, 1974, 1990)
2, David Bowie (1973)
2, Slade (1973)
2, Mike Oldfield (1974)
2, Abba (1979, 1980, 1981, 1982)
2, Gary Numan/Tubeway Army (1979)
2, Erasure (1989)
2, Queen (1991)


Self-Replacement at the Top

Beatles, "With The Beatles" replaced "Please Please Me" on 7 Dec 1963
Beatles, "Beatles For Sale" replaced "A Hard Day`s Night" on 19 Dec 1964
Bob Dylan, "Bringing It All Back Home" replaced "Freewheelin`" on 29 May 1965
Mike Oldfield, "Tubular Bells" replaced "Hergest Ridge" on 5 Oct 1974


Most weeks at Number One in total, by album

115, South Pacific, Soundtrack
70, The Sound Of Music, Soundtrack
41, Bridge Over Troubled Water, Simon & Garfunkel
30, Please Please Me, Beatles
27, Sgt. Pepper`s Lonely Hearts Club Band, Beatles
22, GI Blues, Elvis Presley
21, With The Beatles, Beatles
21, A Hard Day`s Night, Beatles
18, Blue Hawaii, Elvis Presley
18, Saturday Night Fever, Soundtrack
17, Abbey Road, Beatles
17, The Singles 1969-73, Carpenters
15, But Seriously, Phil Collins
14, Brothers In Arms, Dire Straits
14, Summer Holiday, Cliff Richard & the Shadows
13, John Wesley Harding, Bob Dylan
13, Grease, Soundtrack
13, West Side Story, Soundtrack
12, Kings Of The Wild Frontier, Adam & the Ants
12, The Kids From Fame, Kids from Fame
12, Legend, Bob Marley & the Wailers
12, The Rolling Stones, Rolling Stones
12, Stars, Simply Red
11, Greatest Hits, Abba
11, Bat Out Of Hell II, Meat Loaf
11, Beatles For Sale, Beatles
11, Elton John`s Greatest Hits, Elton John
11, 20 All Time Hits Of The 50s, Various
10, Arrival, Abba
10, 20 Golden Greats, Beach Boys
10, Greatest Hits, Eurythmics
10, The Rolling Stones No. 2, Rolling Stones


Most consecutive weeks at Number One by one album

70, South Pacific, Soundtrack, from 8 Nov 58
30, Please Please Me, Beatles, from 11 May 63
23, Sgt. Pepper`s Lonely Hearts Club Band, Beatles, from 10 Jun 67
21, With The Beatles, Beatles, from 7 Dec 63
21, A Hard Day`s Night, Beatles, from 25 Jul 64
19, South Pacific, Soundtrack, from 19 Mar 60
18, The Sound Of Music, Soundtrack, from 1 Oct 66
18, Saturday Night Fever, Soundtrack, from 6 May 78
17, Blue Hawaii, Elvis Presley, from 24 Feb 62
14, Summer Holiday, Cliff Richard & the Shadows, from 2 Feb 63
13, South Pacific, Soundtrack, from 15 Oct 60
13, Bridge Over Troubled Water, Simon & Garfunkel, from 21 Feb 70
13, Grease, Soundtrack, from 7 Oct 78
12, GI Blues, Elvis Presley, from 8 Apr 61
12, The Rolling Stones, Rolling Stones, from 2 May 64
12, Legend, Bob Marley & the Wailers, from 19 May 84
11, Abbey Road, Beatles, from 4 Oct 69
11, Bridge Over Troubled Water, Simon & Garfunkel, from 16 Jan 71
11, The Singles 1969-73, Carpenters, from 9 Mar 74
11, Elton John`s Greatest Hits, Elton John, from 23 Nov 74
10, The Sound Of Music, Soundtrack, from 5 Jun 65
10, The Sound Of Music, Soundtrack, from 16 Oct 65
10, The Sound Of Music, Soundtrack, from 19 Feb 66
10, John Wesley Harding, Bob Dylan, from 9 Mar 68
10, 20 Golden Greats, Beach Boys, from 24 Jul 76
10, Kings Of The Wild Fronties, Adam & the Ants, from 14 Mar 81
10, Brothers In Arms, Dire Straits, from 18 Jan 86


Most consecutive Number One Albums

8, Abba (from "Greatest Hits", 1976, to "The Singles/The First Ten Years", 1982)
8, Led Zeppelin (from "Led Zeppelin II", 1970, to "In Through The Out Door", 1979)
7, Beatles (from "Please Please Me", 1963, to "Revolver", 1966)
6, Rod Stewart (from "Every Picture Tells A Story", 1971, to "A Night On The Town", 1976)
5, Erasure (from "The Innocents", 1988, to "I Say I Say I Say", 1994)
5, Police (from "Regatta De Blanc", 1979, to "Every Breath You Take/The Singles", 1986)
5, Rolling Stones (from "Let It Bleed", 1969, to "Goat`s Head Soup", 1973)
4, Beatles (from "Sgt. Pepper`s Lonely Hearts Club Band", 1967, to "Let It Be", 1970, during this run "Magical Mystery Tour" (import) and "Yellow Submarine" hit the charts, but cannot be considered part of the official sequence of Beatles albums)
4, Bon Jovi (from "New Jersey", 1988, to "These Days", 1995)
4, Bob Dylan (from "John Wesley Harding", 1968, to "New Morning", 1970)
4, Michael Jackson (from "Thriller", 1983, to "History", 1995, no fewer than seven other albums under the Jackson name hit the charts during this run, but there is no doubt that these were not official releases by Jackson)
4, Elton John (from "Don`t Shoot Me, I´m Only The Piano Player", 1973, to "Elton John`s Greatest Hits", 1975)
4, Simple Minds (from "Sparkle In The Rain", 1984, to "Street Fighting Years", 1989)


Albums that debuted at Number One (1958 - 1998)

8, David Bowie
8, Beatles
7, Rolling Stones
7, U2
6, Genesis
6. Madonna
5, Abba
5, Phil Collins
5, Erasure
5, Led Zeppelin
5, Police
5, Prince
5, Queen
5, Simple Minds
5, Michael Jackson
5, Pink Floyd

Many acts over the years have claimed the top spot in the singles charts, and many acts have claimed the number one position in the albums charts. But only 41 different artists have achieved the feat of holding the top placing in both charts in the same week. The first was Elvis Presley, in the week ending 26 January 1961, and the 41st was Robson & Jerome, in the week ending 2 December 1995.

Most weeks at the top of both charts:

45, Beatles
22, Elvis Presley
13, Abba
11, Cliff Richard

Most consecutive weeks at the top of both charts:

6, Cliff Richard & the Shadows, single: "The Young Ones", album: "The Young Ones", from 11 Jan 62
6, Beatles, single: "From Me To You", album: "Please Please Me", from 11 May 63
6, John Travolta & Olivia Newton-John, single: "Summer Nights", album: "Grease" (OST), from 7 Oct 1978
5, Beatles, single: "I Want To Hold Your Hand", album: "With The Beatles", from 12 Dec 63
5, Celine Dion, single: "Think Twice", album: "The Colour Of My Love", from 4 Feb 95
4, Elvis Presley, single: "Are You Lonesome Tonight", album: "GI Blues", from 26 Jan 61
4, Elvis Presleys, single: "Surrender", album: "GI Blues", from 1 Jun 61
4, Elvis Presley, single: "Rock A Hula Baby/Can`t Help Falling In Love", album: "Blue Hawaii", from 22 Feb 62
4, Elvis Presley, single: "Good Luck Charm", album: "Blue Hawaii", from 24 May 62
4, Beatles, single: "She Loves You", album: "Please Please Me", from 12 Sep 63
4, Beatles, single: "I Feel Fine", album: "Beatles For Sale", from 17 Dec 64
4, Beatles, single: "Day Tripper/We Can Work It" Out, album: "Rubber Soul", from 23 Dec 65
4, Rod Stewart, single: "Sailing", album: "Atlantic Crossing", from 6 Sep 75
4, Abba, single: "Fernando", album: "Greatest Hits", from 8 May 76
4, Wet Wet Wet, single: "Love Is All Around", album: "End Of Part One", from 30 Jul 94


If we look at the top acts on the basis of the average number of weeks each album has spent in the charts (i.e. total weeks divided by total hits), seven acts prove to have spent an average of more than one year on the charts with each album:

Phil Collins, 126 weeks per album
Simon & Garfunkel, 108 weeks
Dire Straits, 108 weeks
U2, 78 weeks
Meat Loaf, 71 weeks
Madonna, 68 weeks
Queen, 53 weeks

At the other end of the scale, each album hit by Elvis Presley has lasted on average only 11 weeks on the chart, each Frank Sinatra hit lasts only 12 weeks, and each Bob Dylan album hangs around for no more than 15 weeks. Cliff Richard`s average stay is only 15 weeks and the Rolling Stones` a mere 18 weeks.

In terms of consistent chart success, we can rank these acts in terms of percentage of their albums which reach the Top 10, and the percentage which go all the way to the number one slot. In these terms, the top acts are:

% of albums reaching the Top 10

100 %, Madonna
100 % Phil Collins
90.5 %, Queen
90.0 %, Dire Straits
83.3 %, Pink Floyd
79.2 %, Rod Stewart
75.6 %, Rolling Stones

% of albums reaching number one

66.7 %, Phil Collins
64.3 %, Abba
48.1 %, Beatles
45.5 %, U2
42.9 %, Queen
40.0 %, Madonna
40.0 %, Dire Straits

WOW! Great list! Thanks!

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Have you heard the word is Love? It's so fine, it's sunshine. It's the word LOVE."

Queen now have most weeks on the album chart with the beatles second.

I tip my hat to you Wolf. Another fantastic list! :-)

There was one thing I've just noticed though. For your 'Most weeks at number one by artist' section I see no mention of Bryan Adams, who was at number one for 16 weeks with 'Everything I Do (I Do It For You)' alone. Surely he'd therefore be with Paul McCartney/Wings and Diana Ross & the Supremes?