The

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts C ...

is a weekly

record chart A record chart, in the music industry, also called a music chart, is a ranking of Sound recording and reproduction, recorded music according to certain criteria during a given period. Many different criteria are used in worldwide charts, often ...

based on album sales from Friday to Thursday in the United Kingdom. The

Official Charts Company The Official Charts (legal name: The Official UK Charts Company Limited) is a British inter-professional organization that compiles various "official" record charts in the United Kingdom, Ireland and France. In the United Kingdom, its charts inc ...

(OCC) defines an "album" as being a type of

music release An art release is the premiere of an artistic production and its presentation and marketing to the public. Film A film release is the authorization by the owner of a completed film to a public exhibition of the film. The exhibition may be in theat ...

that feature more than four tracks and last longer than 25 minutes; 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. The chart is based on both physical and digital album sales, as well as

audio streaming Streaming media is multimedia that is delivered and consumed in a continuous manner from a source, with little or no intermediate storage in network elements. ''Streaming'' refers to the delivery method of content, rather than the content it ...

, and each week's new number one is first announced every Friday on ''

The Official Chart ''The Official Chart'' is a long-running United Kingdom music chart programme, airing each Friday afternoon on BBC Radio 1. It airs the UK Singles Chart compiled by the Official Charts Company. In July 2015 ''The Official Chart'' moved from ...

'' on

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance, ...

, which is currently hosted by

Scott Mills Scott Robert Mills (born 28 March 1973) is an English radio DJ, television presenter and occasional actor. He is best known for presenting the '' Scott Mills'' show on BBC Radio 1 from 2004 to 2022 and since then, on BBC Radio 2. Mills has also ...

. The album chart is published online by Radio 1 (Top 40), in ''

Music Week ''Music Week'' is a trade publication for the UK record industry distributed via a website and a monthly print magazine. It is published by Future. History Founded in 1959 as '' Record Retailer'', it relaunched on 18 March 1972 as ''Music W ...

'' magazine (Top 75), and on the OCC website (Top 100).

Lewis Capaldi Lewis Marc Capaldi ( ; born 7 October 1996) is a Scottish singer-songwriter and musician. He was nominated for the Critics' Choice Award at the 2019 Brit Awards. In March 2019, his single " Someone You Loved" topped the UK Singles Chart wher ...

was the first artist to top the albums chart in the 2020s with '' Divinely Uninspired to a Hellish Extent''. In July 2020, ''On Sunset'' by

Paul Weller Paul John Weller (born John William Weller; 25 May 1958) is an English singer-songwriter and musician. Weller achieved fame with the punk rock/ new wave/mod revival band the Jam (1972–1982). He had further success with the blue-eyed soul m ...

became the 1200th album to ever top the UK Albums Chart. In December 2022, ''This Is What I Mean'' by Stormzy became the 1300th album to ever top the UK Albums Chart. The following albums have all been number one in the United Kingdom during the 2020s. HAIMO2210722 (30 of 51) (52232595478) Cropped

HAIMO2210722 (30 of 51) (52232595478) Cropped

Number-one albums

DuaLipaO2020522 (101 of 110) (52052470251) (cropped)

Celeste at Royal Variety Performance 2020 (cropped)

Artists with the most number ones in the 2020s

The following artists have had more than one album number-one album in the 2020s.

Taylor Swift Taylor Alison Swift (born December 13, 1989) is an American singer-songwriter. Her discography spans multiple genres, and her vivid songwriting—often inspired by her personal life—has received critical praise and wide media coverage. Bor ...

reached the top position in August 2020 with ''

Folklore Folklore is shared by a particular group of people; it encompasses the traditions common to that culture, subculture or group. This includes oral traditions such as tales, legends, proverbs and jokes. They include material culture, ranging ...

'', December 2020 with '' Evermore'', April 2021 with ''

Fearless (Taylor's Version) ''Fearless (Taylor's Version)'' is the first re-recorded album by American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift, released on April 9, 2021, through Republic Records. It is a re-recording of Swift's second studio album, ''Fearless'' (2008), and the f ...

'', November 2021 with ''

Red (Taylor's Version) ''Red (Taylor's Version)'' is the second re-recorded album by American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift. Released via Republic Records on November 12, 2021, as a part of Swift's countermeasure against the purchase of the masters of her back cata ...

'' and in October 2022 with ''

Midnights ''Midnights'' is the tenth studio album by American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift, released on October 21, 2022, via Republic Records. Announced at the 2022 MTV Video Music Awards, the album marks Swift's first body of new work since her 2020 ...

''.

Drake Drake may refer to: Animals * A male duck People and fictional characters * Drake (surname), a list of people and fictional characters with the family name * Drake (given name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * ...

reached the top position in May 2020 with ''

Dark Lane Demo Tapes ''Dark Lane Demo Tapes'' is a mixtape by Canadian rapper and singer Drake. The mixtape is a compilation of songs that were released on SoundCloud or leaked on the internet, as well as new songs, and is considered a "warm-up" to Drake's sixth stu ...

'', September 2021 with ''

Certified Lover Boy ''Certified Lover Boy'' is the sixth studio album by Canadian rapper and singer Drake, released on September 3, 2021, by OVO Sound and Republic Records. Its production was handled by frequent collaborators 40, Nineteen85, PartyNextDoor, OZ, a ...

'' and in November 2022 with the collaborative album '' Her Loss''.

The Killers The Killers are an American rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingd ...

reached the top position in August 2020 with ''

Imploding the Mirage ''Imploding the Mirage'' is the sixth studio album by American rock band the Killers. It was released on August 21, 2020, by Island Records in the United States and internationally by EMI. To date, it is the band's only album without lead guitar ...

'' and in August 2021 with ''

Pressure Machine ''Pressure Machine'' is the seventh studio album by American rock band the Killers. It was released on August 13, 2021. The album features the return of guitarist Dave Keuning to the studio with the band, after his absence on the previous album ...

''.

reached the top position in July 2020 with '' On Sunset'' and in May 2021 with '' Fat Pop (Volume 1)''.

The Weeknd Abel Makkonen Tesfaye (born February 16, 1990), known professionally as the Weeknd, is a Canadian singer, songwriter, record producer, and actor. Known for his sonic versatility and dark lyricism, his music explores escapism, Romance (love), ...

reached the top position in March 2020 with '' After Hours'' and in January 2022 with ''

Dawn FM ''Dawn FM'' is the fifth studio album by Canadian singer-songwriter the Weeknd. It was released on January 7, 2022, through XO and Republic Records. The album features narration by Jim Carrey, guest vocals from Tyler, the Creator and Lil Wayne ...

''.

Michael Bublé Michael Steven Bublé ( ; born September 9, 1975) is a Canadian singer. A four-time Grammy Award winner, he is often credited for helping to renew public interest and appreciation for traditional pop standards and the Great American Songboo ...

returned to number one in January 2021 with ''

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus, Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by country, around t ...

'', originally reaching number one in November 2011, and in April 2022 with '' Higher''.

Blossoms In botany, blossoms are the flowers of stone fruit trees (genus ''Prunus'') and of some other plants with a similar appearance that flower profusely for a period of time in spring. Colloquially, flowers of orange are referred to as such as wel ...

reached number one in February 2020 with '' Foolish Loving Spaces'' and in May 2022 with '' Ribbon Around the Bomb''.

Liam Gallagher William John Paul Gallagher (born 21 September 1972) is an English singer and songwriter. He achieved fame as the lead vocalist of the rock band Oasis from 1991 to 2009, and later fronted the rock band Beady Eye from 2009 to 2014, before starti ...

reached number one in June 2020 with '' MTV Unplugged (Live at Hull City Hall)'' and in June 2022 with ''

C'mon You Know ''C'mon You Know'' is the third solo studio album by English musician Liam Gallagher, released on 27 May 2022 through Warner Records. Andrew Wyatt served as the album's primary producer and co-writer. It was preceded by lead single "Everything's E ...

''.

Yungblud Dominic Richard Harrison (born 5 August 1997), known professionally as Yungblud (pronounced "Youngblood"), is an English singer, musician, songwriter and actor. In 2018, he released his first EP, ''Yungblud'', followed shortly after by the albu ...

reached number one in December 2020 with ''

Weird! ''Weird!'' is the second studio album by English singer Yungblud, released on 4 December 2020 by Locomotion and Interscope Records. Originally scheduled for 13 November 2020, the album's release was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It is Y ...

'' and in September 2022 with ''

''. 5 Seconds of Summer reached number one in April 2020 with '' Calm'' and in September 2022 with '' 5SOS5''. The duo of

Paul Heaton Paul David Heaton (born 9 May 1962) is an English singer-songwriter. He was the frontman of the Housemartins, who had success with the singles " Happy Hour" and the UK number one "Caravan of Love" in 1986 before disbanding in 1988. He then form ...

and

Jacqui Abbott Jacqueline Abbott (born 10 November 1973) is an English singer who was a vocalist with the band The Beautiful South from 1994 to 2000, following the departure of Briana Corrigan. With Abbott, the band released several Top 10 singles. Amongst t ...

reached number one in March 2020 with ''

Manchester Calling ''Manchester Calling'' is the fourth studio album by Paul Heaton and Jacqui Abbott, both formerly members of the Beautiful South. The album was released on 6 March 2020 by Virgin EMI. Heaton wrote the songs in various locations in North Holland ...

'' and in October 2022 with '' N.K-Pop''.

The 1975 The 1975 are an English pop rock band formed in 2002 in Wilmslow, Cheshire. Now based in Manchester, the band consists of lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Matthew "Matty" Healy, lead guitarist Adam Hann, bassist Ross MacDonald, and drummer G ...

reached number one in May 2020 with ''

Notes on a Conditional Form ''Notes on a Conditional Form'' is the fourth studio album by English band the 1975. It was released on 22 May 2020 by Dirty Hit and Polydor Records. Initially titled ''Music for Cars'', the album was intended as the follow-up to ''I Like It When ...

'' and in October 2022 with '' Being Funny in a Foreign Language''. Stormzy reached number one in January 2020 with '' Heavy Is the Head'' and in December 2022 with ''

This Is What I Mean ''This Is What I Mean'' is the third studio album by British rapper Stormzy, released through #Merky and 0207 Def Jam on 25 November 2022. It follows Stormzy's 2019 album '' Heavy Is the Head'', and was preceded by the lead single "Hide & Seek" a ...

''. * Originally reached number one in the 2010s, but went to number one again during the 2020s.

Albums with the most weeks at number one

The following albums spent at least three weeks at number one during the 2020s.

Artists with the most weeks at number one

Nine different artists have spent three weeks or more at number one on the album chart so far during the 2020s.

has spent the most weeks at number one, with a total of 12 weeks.

By record label

Eight different record labels have spent five weeks or more at number one on the album chart so far during the 2020s.

Christmas number ones

In the UK, Christmas number one albums are those that are at the top of the

Christmas Day Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year, ...

. Typically, this will refer to the album that was announced as number one on the Friday before 25 December—when Christmas Day falls on a Friday itself, the official number one is considered by the OCC to be the one announced on that day's chart. During the 2020s, the following albums were Christmas number ones.

Notes

References

External links

Official Albums Chart Top 100
at the

The Official UK Top 40 Albums Chart
at

{{Use dmy dates, date=January 2020 2020s in British music United Kingdom Albums

2020s The 2020s (pronounced "twenty-twenties" shortened to "the '20s" and referred to as the twenties) is the current decade, which began on January 1, 2020, and will end on December 31, 2029. The 2020s began with the COVID-19 pandemic — the first ...