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. Since 2015, the album chart has been based on both sales and streaming. This list shows albums that peaked in the top ten of 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 ...
during
2020
2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...
, as well as albums which peaked in
2019
File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...
and
2021
File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...
but were in the top 10 in 2020. 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 ninety-eight albums were in the top ten this year. Thirteen albums from 2019 remained in the top ten for several weeks at the beginning of the year, while ''
Post Human: Survival Horror'' by
Bring Me the Horizon
Bring Me the Horizon (often abbreviated as BMTH) are a British rock band formed in Sheffield in 2004. The group consists of lead vocalist Oliver Sykes, guitarist Lee Malia, bassist Matt Kean, drummer Matt Nicholls and keyboardist Jordan Fis ...
was released in 2020, but did not reach its peak until 2021. ''
Fine Line'' by
Harry Styles
Harry Edward Styles (born 1 February 1994) is an English singer, songwriter, and actor. His musical career began in 2010 as a solo contestant on the British music competition series ''The X Factor (UK TV series), The X Factor''. Following hi ...
debuted in 2019 and re-entered the top 10 in 2020, but its peak position was not until 2021. ''
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 ...
'' by ''
Michael Bublé'' was originally released in 2011, launched a new chart run in 2019, reaching a peak on its latest run in 2020 and again in 2021, when it returned to number-one. ''
Heavy is the Head'' by
Stormzy
Michael Ebenezer Kwadjo Omari Owuo Jr. (born 26 July 1993), known professionally as Stormzy, is a British rapper, singer and songwriter. In 2014, he gained attention on the UK underground music scene through his ''Wicked Skengman'' series of f ...
was the only album from 2019 to reach its peak in 2020.
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 ...
scored the fastest-selling album of 2020 by a British act with
Confetti. Thirteen albums from 2019 remained in the top ten for several weeks at the beginning of the year.
Lil Uzi Vert
Symere Bysil Woods ( ; born July 31, 1995), known professionally as Lil Uzi Vert, is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter. They are characterized by their face tattoo, facial tattoos, facial piercings, eccentric hairstyles and androgynous ...
was among the many artists who achieved their first top 10 album in 2020.
The first new number-one album of the year was ''
Heavy Is the Head'' by
Stormzy
Michael Ebenezer Kwadjo Omari Owuo Jr. (born 26 July 1993), known professionally as Stormzy, is a British rapper, singer and songwriter. In 2014, he gained attention on the UK underground music scene through his ''Wicked Skengman'' series of f ...
. Overall, forty-one different albums peaked at number-one so in 2020, with
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 ...
(2) having the most albums hit that position.
Background
Chart debuts
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-ten solo album, or featured appearances on compilations or other artists recordings.
;Notes
Louis Tomlinson
Louis William Tomlinson (; born Louis Troy Austin; 24 December 1991) is an English singer and songwriter. He rose to fame as a member of the boy band One Direction. Tomlinson began his career appearing in television dramas before he auditioned ...
of the group
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 ...
reached the top 10 with his debut solo album this year, ''
Walls''. This added to his haul of five top 10 albums with One Direction to date, including four which had topped the chart.
Best-selling albums
For the second year in a row,
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 where ...
had the best-selling album of the year with ''
Divinely Uninspired to a Hellish Extent
''Divinely Uninspired to a Hellish Extent'' is the debut studio album by Scottish singer-songwriter Lewis Capaldi. It was released on 17 May 2019 through Vertigo Records in Europe and Capitol Records in the United States, and distributed globally ...
''. The album has now sold over 900,000 copies in the UK alone and has been certified 3× platinum by the
BPI. ''
Fine Line'' by
Harry Styles
Harry Edward Styles (born 1 February 1994) is an English singer, songwriter, and actor. His musical career began in 2010 as a solo contestant on the British music competition series ''The X Factor (UK TV series), The X Factor''. Following hi ...
came in second place.
Dua Lipa
Dua Lipa ( , ; born ) is an English and Albanian singer and songwriter. Possessing a mezzo-soprano vocal range, she is known for her signature disco- pop sound. Lipa has received numerous accolades, including six Brit Awards, three Gramm ...
's ''
Future Nostalgia'', ''
When We Fall Asleep Where Do We Go'' by
Billie Eilish and
Stormzy
Michael Ebenezer Kwadjo Omari Owuo Jr. (born 26 July 1993), known professionally as Stormzy, is a British rapper, singer and songwriter. In 2014, he gained attention on the UK underground music scene through his ''Wicked Skengman'' series of f ...
's ''
Heavy Is the Head'' made up the top five. Albums by
Pop Smoke,
Ed Sheeran,
Queen
Queen or QUEEN may refer to:
Monarchy
* Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom
** List of queens regnant
* Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king
* Queen dowager, the widow of a king
* Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...
,
Elton John
Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, pianist and composer. Commonly nicknamed the "Rocket Man" after his 1972 hit single of the same name, John has led a commercially successful career a ...
and
Fleetwood Mac
Fleetwood Mac are a British-American rock band, formed in London in 1967. Fleetwood Mac were founded by guitarist Peter Green, drummer Mick Fleetwood and guitarist Jeremy Spencer, before bassist John McVie joined the line-up for their epony ...
were also in the
top ten best-selling albums of the year.
Top-ten albums
;Key
Entries by artist
The following table shows artists who have achieved two or more top 10 entries in 2020, including albums that reached their peak in 2019. 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 ten in 2020 is also shown.
See also
*
List of UK Albums Chart number ones of the 2020s
The UK Albums Chart is a weekly record chart based on album sales from Friday to Thursday in the United Kingdom. The Official Charts Company (OCC) defines an "album" as being a type of music release that feature more than four tracks and last long ...
References
General
*
Specific
External links
2020 album chart archiveat 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 ...
(click on relevant week)
{{UK Music Charts
United Kingdom top 10 albums
Top 10 albums
2020
2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...