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 one of many music charts compiled by 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 ...

that calculates the best-selling albums of the week in the United Kingdom. Since 2004 the chart has been based on the sales of both physical albums and digital downloads. This list shows albums that peaked in the Top 10 of the

during

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

, as well as albums which peaked in

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

and

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

but were in the top 10 in 2012. The entry date is when the album appeared in the top 10 for the first time (week ending, as published by the Official Charts Company, which is six days after the chart is announced). One hundred and sixty-three albums were in the top 10 this year. Seventeen albums from 2011 remained in the top 10 for several weeks at the beginning of the year. '' Halcyon'' by

Ellie Goulding Elena Jane Goulding ( ; born 30 December 1986) is an English singer and songwriter. Her career began when she met record producers Starsmith and Frankmusik, and she was later spotted by Jamie Lillywhite, who became her manager and Artists and ...

debuted this year but its peak position was not until two years later in 2014. Eighteen artists scored multiple entries in the top 10 in 2012.

Carly Rae Jepsen Carly Rae Jepsen (born November 21, 1985) is a Canadian singer and songwriter. After studying musical theatre for most of her school life and while in university, Jepsen garnered mainstream attention after placing third on the fifth season of ...

, Emeli Sandé,

Little Mix Little Mix are a British girl group, composed of group members Leigh-Anne Pinnock, Jade Thirlwall, and Perrie Edwards. Jesy Nelson was originally part of the group before she left in 2020. After becoming the first group to win the British ver ...

Nicki Minaj Onika Tanya Maraj-Petty (; born December 8, 1982), known professionally as Nicki Minaj ( ), is a Trinidadian-born rapper based in the United States. She is known for her musical versatility, animated flow in her rapping, alter egos and accent ...

and Rita Ora were among the many artists who achieved their first UK charting top 10 album in 2012. '' +'' by Ed Sheeran, returned to the top spot in the first week of 2012. The first new number-one album of the year was ''

Born to Die ''Born to Die'' is the second studio album and major-label debut by American singer-songwriter Lana Del Rey. It was released on January 27, 2012, through Interscope Records and Polydor Records. The album was reissued on November 9, 2012, as an e ...

'' by Lana Del Rey. Overall, thirty-five different albums peaked at number-one in 2012, with Bruno Mars and

Rihanna Robyn Rihanna Fenty ( ; born February 20, 1988) is a Barbadian singer, actress, and businesswoman. Born in Saint Michael and raised in Bridgetown, Barbados, Rihanna auditioned for American record producer Evan Rogers who invited her to the ...

(2) having the joint most albums hitting that position.

Background

Multiple entries

One hundred and sixty-three albums charted in the top 10, with one hundred and forty-four albums reaching their peak this year (including '' All Over the World: The Very Best of Electric Light Orchestra'', ''

Number Ones A number is a mathematical object used to count, measure, and label. The original examples are the natural numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, and so forth. Numbers can be represented in language with number words. More universally, individual numbers can ...

'', '' Sigh No More'', '' Teenage Dream'', ''

The Seldom Seen Kid ''The Seldom Seen Kid'' is the fourth studio album by English rock band Elbow. It was released by Fiction Records on 17 March 2008 in the United Kingdom and was released by Geffen Records on 22 April 2008 in the United States. The album debut ...

'' and '' Whitney: The Greatest Hits'', which charted in previous years but reached a peak on their latest chart run). In 2012 18 artists scored multiple entries in the top 10. Adele, Bruno Mars,

Cheryl Cheryl is a female given name common in English speaking countries. There are several prevailing theories about its etymology. The most common is that it has Italo-Celtic roots and is an Anglicised version of either the French name Cherie (from ...

, Elbow,

Electric Light Orchestra The Electric Light Orchestra (ELO) are an English rock band formed in Birmingham in 1970 by songwriters and multi-instrumentalists Jeff Lynne and Roy Wood with drummer Bev Bevan. Their music is characterised by a fusion of pop, classical a ...

Green Day Green Day is an American rock band formed in the East Bay of California in 1987 by lead vocalist and guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong, together with bassist and backing vocalist Mike Dirnt. For most of the band's career, they have been a powe ...

Military Wives The Military Wives Choirs is a registered charity and network of 75 choirs in British military bases across the UK and overseas, bringing women in the military community closer together through singing. With over 2,200 members, the MWC network ...

, Mumford & Sons, Olly Murs,

One Direction One Direction, often shortened to 1D, are an English-Irish pop boy band formed in London in 2010. The group are composed of Niall Horan, Liam Payne, Harry Styles, Louis Tomlinson, and previously Zayn Malik until his departure from the gr ...

, The Vaccines and

Whitney Houston Whitney Elizabeth Houston (August 9, 1963 – February 11, 2012) was an American singer and actress. Nicknamed "The Voice", she is one of the bestselling music artists of all time, with sales of over 200 million records worldwide. Houston in ...

were the acts who had two top 10 albums this year.

(one album with Girls Aloud as well as a solo release),

and

' two entries were both released this year, with ''All Over the World: The Very Best of Electric Light Orchestra'' by Electric Light Orchestra, ''Sigh No More'' by Mumford & Sons, ''The Seldom Seen Kid'' by Elbow and ''Whitney: The Greatest Hits'' by Whitney Houston, all returning after making the top 10 before.

Chart debuts

Thirty-seven artists achieved their first top 10 album in 2012 as a lead artist. The following table (collapsed on desktop site) does not include acts who had previously charted as part of a group and secured their first top 10 solo album, or featured appearances on compilations or other artists recordings. ;Notes ''

Blunderbuss The blunderbuss is a firearm with a short, large caliber barrel which is flared at the muzzle and frequently throughout the entire bore, and used with shot and other projectiles of relevant quantity or caliber. The blunderbuss is commonly consid ...

'' by Jack White was the singer's debut solo release, however he had previous chart success with The White Stripes and The Raconteurs.

Dappy Costadinos Contostavlos (Greek: Κωνσταντίνος Κοντόσταυλος; born 11 June 1987), better known by his stage name Dappy, is a British rapper and singer. He is the lead singer of the Camden-based hip hop and grime trio N- ...

took some time away from his group

N-Dubz N-Dubz are an English hip hop trio from Camden Town, London, consisting of cousins Dappy and Tulisa, and Fazer. After winning a MOBO Award for Best Newcomer in 2007, N-Dubz briefly signed to Polydor Records before joining All Around the Wor ...

, scoring a number 6 album '' Bad Intentions''.

Best-selling albums

Emeli Sandé had the best-selling album of the year with '' Our Version of Events''. The album spent 67 weeks in the top 10 (including 10 weeks at number 1), sold over 2.3 million copies and was certified 8× Platinum by the BPI. '' 21'' by Adele came in second place. Ed Sheeran's '' +'', ''

'' from Lana Del Rey and '' Take Me Home'' by

made up the top five. Albums by Mumford & Sons, Olly Murs, Michael Bublé, Coldplay and

were also in the top 10 best-selling albums of the year.

Top-ten albums

;Key

Entries by artist

The following table shows artists who achieved two or more top 10 entries in 2012, including albums that reached their peak in 2011. The figures only include main artists, with featured artists and appearances on compilation albums not counted individually for each artist. The total number of weeks an artist spent in the top 10 in 2011 is also shown.

Notes

* ''Doo-Wops & Hooligans'' re-entered the top 10 at number 2 on 7 January 2012 (week ending) for six weeks. * ''21'' re-entered the top 10 at number 9 on 14 July 2012 (week ending) and at number 7 on 27 July 2012 (week ending) for four weeks. * ''Who You Are'' re-entered the top 10 at number 10 on 7 January 2012 (week ending) for two weeks, at number 10 on 28 January 2012 (week ending) for six weeks, at number 5 on 7 April 2012 (week ending) for six weeks, at number 7 on 16 June 2012 (week ending) and at number 7 on 25 August 2012 (week ending). * ''What Did You Expect from the Vaccines'' re-entered the top 10 at number 6 on 21 January 2012 (week ending) for three weeks. * ''4'' re-entered the top 10 at number 6 on 14 January 2012 (week ending) for three weeks. * ''Nothing but the Beat'' re-entered the top 10 at number 9 on 11 February 2012 (week ending) for two weeks and at number 9 on 24 March 2012 (week ending) for seven weeks. * ''+'' re-entered the top 10 at number 8 on 26 May 2012 (week ending) and at number 2 on 16 June 2012 (week ending) for 13 weeks. * ''Every Kingdom'' originally peaked at number 7 upon release in 2011. It re-entered the top 10 at number 6 on 26 May 2012 (week ending) for two weeks. It also re-entered the top 10 at number 4 on 2 March 2013 (week ending) for two weeks, reaching a new peak. * ''Mylo Xyloto'' re-entered the top 10 at number 6 on 3 March 2012 (week ending) for three weeks, at number 7 on 31 March 2012 (week ending) for two weeks, at number 5 on 16 June 2012 (week ending), at number 7 on 14 July 2012 (week ending) for two weeks and at number 4 on 22 September 2012 (week ending) for two weeks. * ''Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds'' re-entered the top 10 at number 8 on 21 January 2012 (week ending) and at number 9 on 4 February 2012 (week ending) for two weeks. * ''Velociraptor!'' re-entered the top 10 at number 9 on 21 January 2012 (week ending). * ''Ceremonials'' re-entered the top 10 at number 8 on 28 January 2012 (week ending) for two weeks and at number 9 on 3 March 2012 (week ending) for two weeks. * ''Stereo Typical'' re-entered the top 10 at number 9 on 28 January 2012 (week ending) for three weeks. * ''Talk That Talk'' re-entered the top 10 at number 9 on 9 June 2012 (week ending) for ? weeks, at number 9 on 7 July 2012 (week ending) for two weeks, at number 6 on 28 July 2012 (week ending) for seven weeks. * ''Up All Night'' re-entered the top 10 at number 10 on 25 August 2012 (week ending). * ''In Case You Didn't Know'' re-entered the top 10 at number 7 on 5 May 2012 (week ending) for two weeks. * ''Heaven'' re-entered the top 10 at number 10 on 25 February 2012 (week ending), at number 6 on 19 May 2012 (week ending) for two weeks and at number 5 on 27 October 2012. * ''Born to Die'' re-entered the top 10 at number 6 on 21 April 2012 (week ending) for five weeks and at number 8 on 24 November 2012 (week ending). * ''Our Version of Events'' re-entered the top 10 at number 10 on 8 June 2013 (week ending). * ''Making Mirrors'' re-entered the top 10 at number 8 on 19 May 2012 (week ending) for two weeks. * ''Whitney: The Greatest Hits'' originally peaked at number 1 upon its initial release in 2000. It re-entered the top 10 following the

death Death is the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain an organism. For organisms with a brain, death can also be defined as the irreversible cessation of functioning of the whole brain, including brainstem, and brain ...

. * ''19'' originally peaked at number 1 upon its initial release in 2008. It re-entered the top 10 at number 9 on 25 February 2012 (week ending) for three weeks. * ''Teenage Dream'' re-entered the top 10 at number 6 on 7 April 2012 (week ending), having originally peaked at number-one upon release in 2010. * ''California 36'' re-entered the top 10 at number 9 on 28 July 2012 (week ending) and at number 7 on 18 August 2012 (week ending). * ''Strangeland'' re-entered the top 10 at number 10 on 18 August 2012 (week ending). * ''Some Nights'' re-entered the top 10 at number 8 on 8 September 2012 (week ending), at number 4 on 10 November 2012 (week ending), at number 10 on 12 January 2013 (week ending) and at number 9 on 2 February 2013 (week ending). * ''Number Ones'' (Bee Gees) originally peaked at number 7 upon its initial release in 2004. * ''Fall to Grace'' re-entered the top 10 at number 5 on 18 August 2012 (week ending) for five weeks, at number 9 on 3 November 2012 (week ending) for three weeks, at number 9 on 26 January 2013 (week ending) and at number 10 on 2 March 2013 (week ending). * ''Graceland'' originally peaked at number-one upon its initial release in 1986. It re-entered the top 10 at number 6 on 14 July 2012 (week ending) for three weeks. * ''Life in a Beautiful Light'' re-entered the top 10 at number 4 on 25 August 2012 (week ending). * ''Watch the Throne'' re-entered the top 10 at number 7 on 7 July 2012 (week ending) for two weeks. * ''ill Manors'' re-entered the top 10 at number 7 on 8 September 2012 (week ending) for four weeks. * ''The Seldom Seen Kid'' originally peaked at number 5 upon its initial release in 2008. * ''Ora'' re-entered the top 10 at number 8 on 5 January 2013 (week ending) for two weeks. * ''The Truth About Love'' re-entered the top 10 at number 10 on 22 December 2012 (week ending) for two weeks and at number 10 on 16 March 2013 (week ending) for 10 weeks. * ''Babel'' re-entered the top 10 at number 5 on 23 February 2013 (week ending) for five weeks and at number 1 on 13 July 2013 (week ending) for four weeks. * ''Sigh No More'' first entered the top 10 in 2010 and reached its peak of number two in 2011. It re-entered the top 10 at number 10 on 6 October 2012 (week ending), the same week ''Babel'' debuted at number 1. * ''All Over the World: The Very Best of Electric Light Orchestra'' originally peaked at number 6 upon its initial release in 2005. * ''Halcyon'' re-entered the top 10 at number 10 on 9 February 2013 (week ending), at number 9 on 8 June 2013 (week ending), at number 3 on 7 September 2013 (week ending) for two weeks, at number 6 on 28 December 2013 (week ending) for 13 weeks, at number 10 on 26 July 2014 (week ending) for two weeks and at number 7 on 16 August 2014 (week ending). * ''Jake Bugg'' re-entered the top 10 at number 4 on 13 January 2013 (week ending) for nine weeks and at number 5 on 6 July 2013 (week ending) for five weeks. * ''Red'' re-entered the top 10 at number 8 on 19 January 2013 (week ending) and at number 7 on 2 March 2013 (week ending). * ''18 Months'' re-entered the top 10 at number 7 on 5 January 2013 (week ending) for seven weeks, at number 8 on 4 May 2013 (week ending) for two weeks, at number 8 on 27 July 2012 (week ending) and at number 8 on 24 August 2013 (week ending) for two weeks. * ''Take Me Home'' re-entered the top 10 at number 8 on 2 February 2013 (week ending). * ''Storyteller'' re-entered the top 10 at number 9 on 15 December 2012 (week ending). * ''Unapologetic'' re-entered the top 10 at number 10 on 13 April 2013 (week ending). * ''Christmas'' (Michael Buble) originally peaked at number 1 upon its initial release in 2011. It re-entered the top 10 at number 5 on 1 December 2012 (week ending) for six weeks. * ''Right Place Right Time'' re-entered the top 10 at number 7 on 16 March 2013 (week ending), at number 9 on 15 June 2013 (week ending), at number 8 on 29 June 2013 (week ending) for three weeks and at number 4 on 7 December 2013 (week ending) for five weeks. * ''Unorthodox Jukebox'' re-entered the top 10 at number 7 on 23 February 2013 (week ending) for 12 weeks, at number 7 on 8 June 2013 (week ending) and at number 9 on 6 July 2013 (week ending) for four weeks. * Figure includes a top 10 album with the group Girls Aloud. * Figure includes album that peaked in 2011.

References

General * Specific

External links

2012 album chart archive
at the

(click on relevant week) {{UK Music Charts United Kingdom top 10 albums Top 10 albums