The following is a list of all albums that have spent at least 150 weeks on the UK Albums Chart as published by the Official Charts Company (OCC). The chart comprises a top 100 from August 1981 to 1988 and since 1994, a top 75 before this (and from 1988 to 1994) from 1978 and various lengths before this from July 1956. Re-releases – such as remasters, re-issues, deluxe versions or anniversary editions – are treated together unless the re-released version differs significantly from the original (for example, it has been re-recorded or remixed). This list does not include compilation albums by various artists, which have been excluded from the UK Albums Chart since 1989. Soundtracks are still included if they are an original cast performance or if all tracks are performed by the same artist.[1]

The top three are all compilation albums, headed by Queen's Greatest Hits which has spent 1359 weeks in the top 100, ABBA Gold: Greatest Hits, with 1096 weeks on the chart, followed by Legend by Bob Marley and the Wailers with 1071 weeks. The most weeks for a studio album is 985 for Rumours by Fleetwood Mac which charted every year from its release in 1977 until 1989 and in fifteen different years since then.
Amy Winehouse's 2006 album Back to Black has the most weeks for a post-2000 release, charting for 535 weeks to date, though this total includes 55 weeks for the deluxe edition and 1 week for the box set that includes Back to Black and Winehouse's debut album Frank. The original soundtrack of South Pacific has the most weeks at number 1, with 115.[2] The most weeks by an album not reaching number 1 is 557 for Dark Side of the Moon by Pink Floyd and the most weeks by an album not reaching the top 10 is 283 for Singles by Maroon 5.
Dire Straits, Michael Jackson and U2 jointly hold the record for most albums to reach 100 weeks on chart, with five each. Of these, three albums by both Dire Straits and Jackson have achieved 200 weeks on chart; in the case of Dire Straits, all of them studio albums (Brothers in Arms, Making Movies and Love over Gold). The only other acts to have three albums reach 200 weeks on chart are Oasis, Adele and Ed Sheeran.
Five acts have multiple albums achieving 300 weeks on chart: Fleetwood Mac, Oasis, Ed Sheeran, Simon & Garfunkel and Arctic Monkeys. Of these, Oasis is the only act to have three albums pass the 300-week threshold, all of which subsequently passed the 400-week threshold. This made them the first act with multiple albums achieving 400 weeks on the chart, and they remain the only act with three albums having reached this milestone. Sheeran would become the second act to have two albums achieve 400 weeks on the chart in 2022.
The numbers shown are up to the chart for the week ending 30 March 2023.
(*) indicates that the album is in the top 100 for the current week ending.
400 or more weeksEdit
Title | Artist | Year first entered chart |
Peak | Weeks | Ref |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Greatest Hits | Queen | 1981 | 1 | 1359* | [nb 1] [3] |
Gold: Greatest Hits | ABBA | 1992 | 1 | 1096* | [nb 2] [3] |
Legend | Bob Marley and the Wailers | 1984 | 1 | 1074* | [3] |
Rumours | Fleetwood Mac | 1977 | 1 | 985* | [7] |
Number Ones | Michael Jackson | 2003 | 1 | 587 | [8] |
(What's the Story) Morning Glory? | Oasis | 1995 | 1 | 585* | [9] |
Curtain Call: The Hits | Eminem | 2005 | 1 | 558* | [10] |
The Dark Side of the Moon | Pink Floyd | 1973 | 2 | 557 | [11] |
Back to Black | Amy Winehouse | 2006 | 1 | 535 | [nb 3] [12] |
Bat Out of Hell | Meat Loaf | 1978 | 3 | 530 | [nb 4] [16] |
Time Flies... 1994–2009 | Oasis | 2010 | 1 | 498* | [9] |
AM | Arctic Monkeys | 2013 | 1 | 497* | [17] |
Greatest Hits II | Queen | 1991 | 1 | 481 | [nb 5] [18] |
Definitely Maybe | Oasis | 1994 | 1 | 481* | [9] |
Greatest Hits | Foo Fighters | 2009 | 4 | 480 | [19] |
+ | Ed Sheeran | 2011 | 1 | 444 | [20] |
Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not | Arctic Monkeys | 2006 | 1 | 436* | [17] |
x | Ed Sheeran | 2014 | 1 | 433 | [20] |
Nevermind | Nirvana | 1991 | 5 | 433* | [21] |
In the Lonely Hour | Sam Smith | 2014 | 1 | 432* | [22] |
1 | The Beatles | 2000 | 1 | 411* | [23] |
200 to 399 weeksEdit
150 to 199 weeksEdit
Artists with the most entriesEdit
The following artists have 2 or more albums charting on the UK Album Charts for more than 150 weeks
See alsoEdit
NotesEdit
- ^ Including 317 weeks for The Platinum Collection, which includes all three Greatest Hits albums
- ^ Including 6 weeks for 2014's 40th Anniversary Edition box set which includes Gold, More ABBA Gold and The Golden B-sides. Please also note that the Official Chart Company recognised the original Gold – Greatest Hits as being the first album to spend over 1000 weeks on the Top 100 Albums chart in July 2021[4][5][6]
- ^ Including 55 weeks for the deluxe edition and 1 week for the box set with Frank and Back to Black
- ^ The album reached its peak position in January 2022, after the death of Meat Loaf at the age of 74.[13][14] In the 45 years which followed the original release of the album in 1977, the highest peak position for Bat Out of Hell had been number 9, a position achieved in 1981 and 2013. It originally debuted at number 60 in 1978 and lasted a week on the chart, but would go on to peak at number 11 by the end of the 1970s. As per The Guinness Book of British Hit Albums lists of Top 75 records, the album has spent 456 weeks in the Top 75 as of 3 February 2022.[15]
- ^ Including 317 weeks for The Platinum Collection, which includes all three Greatest Hits albums
- ^ Including 2 weeks for box set with Whitney Houston Live: Her Greatest Performances
- ^ includes 22 weeks as part of the Platinum Collection + 1 week as part of the Take a Look at Me boxed set + 1 week as part of the Take a Look at Me Now – Complete boxed set.
- ^ includes 1 week as part of The Beatles in Mono boxed set + 1 week as part of The Beatles in Stereo boxed set
- ^ Including 27 weeks for the 25th anniversary edition reissue, Thriller 25
- ^ Includes 10 weeks as part of the Take a Look at Me Now... The Complete Studio Collection box set and 22 weeks as part of The Platinum Collection box set
- ^ Including 5 weeks for box set with 1962–1966 and 1967–1970
- ^ a b Including 1 week for box set Five Years (1969–1973), which includes the albums Space Oddity, The Man Who Sold the World, Hunky Dory, The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars, Pin Ups, Aladdin Sane, Live Santa Monica '72 and Ziggy Stardust: The Motion Picture
- ^ Including 32 weeks for box set with Volume 1 and Volume 2
- ^ Including 67 weeks for 2001 reissue with the same tracks in a different order
- ^ Including 5 weeks for box set with 1962–1966 and 1967–1970
- ^ Including 1 week for box set The Complete Studio Albums (1983-2008), which includes the albums Madonna, Like a Virgin, True Blue, Like a Prayer, Erotica, Bedtime Stories, Ray of Light, Music, American Life, Confessions on a Dancefloor and Hard Candy
BooksEdit
- British Albums Chart: All Time Top 1000 by Michael Churchill. Published by Lulu.com, 2013.
ReferencesEdit
- ^ "Rules for Chart Eligibility: Albums" (PDF). 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 May 2012. Retrieved 20 March 2015.
- ^ The Guinness Book of Records. Guinness. 1998. p. 230.
- ^ a b c "ABBA Gold becomes first album to reach 1000 weeks on the Official Albums Chart". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 4 July 2021.
- ^ "ABBA 'Gold' reaches 1000 weeks on the Official Albums Chart". Umusicpub.com. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
- ^ "Abba Gold reaches record-breaking 1,000 weeks in UK album chart". BBC News. 2 July 2021.
- ^ "ABBA's Gold becomes first album to reach 1000 weeks on Official UK Albums Chart". OfficialCharts.com.
- ^ a b "UK Charts > Fleetwood Mac". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 10 November 2015.
- ^ a b c d "UK Charts > Michael Jackson". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 10 November 2015.
- ^ a b c "UK Charts > Oasis". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 17 July 2017.
- ^ "UK Charts > Eminem". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 16 January 2016.
- ^ "UK Charts > Pink Floyd". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 10 November 2015.
- ^ "UK Charts > Amy Winehouse". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 10 November 2015.
- ^ "Meat Loaf: Bat Out of Hell singer dead at 74". TheGuardian.com. 21 January 2022.
- ^ "Official Charts Company". Officialcharts.com. Retrieved 28 May 2022.
- ^ "Charts analysis: Years & Years land second No.1 album | Analysis | Music Week".
- ^ "UK Charts > Meat Loaf". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 21 September 2015.
- ^ a b "UK Charts > Arctic Monkeys". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 10 November 2015.
- ^ "UK Charts > Queen". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 16 January 2016.
- ^ "UK Charts > Foo Fighters". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2 June 2018.
- ^ a b c d "UK Charts > Ed Sheeran". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 10 November 2015.
- ^ "UK Charts > Nirvana". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 10 October 2018.
- ^ "UK Charts > Sam Smith". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 27 April 2016.
- ^ a b c d "UK Charts > Beatles". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 19 February 2015.
- ^ a b "UK Charts > Guns N' Roses". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 10 August 2015.
- ^ "UK Charts > Whitney Houston". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 16 January 2016.
- ^ "UK Charts > The Sound of Music". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 18 March 2015.
- ^ a b "UK Charts > Madonna". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 19 February 2015.
- ^ a b c "UK Charts > Adele". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 16 January 2016.
- ^ a b "UK Charts > Simon & Garfunkel". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 27 April 2015.
- ^ "UK Charts > Red Hot Chili Peppers". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 25 July 2017.
- ^ a b c d "UK Charts > David Bowie". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 13 October 2015.
- ^ "UK Charts > Jeff Wayne". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 19 February 2015.
- ^ "UK Charts > Queen". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 24 June 2022.
- ^ "UK Charts > South Pacific". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 18 March 2015.
- ^ "UK Charts > George Michael". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 14 June 2020.
- ^ a b c d "UK Charts > Phil Collins". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 10 August 2015.
- ^ a b "UK Charts > Dua Lipa". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 16 May 2021.
- ^ a b "UK Charts > Killers". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 20 February 2015.
- ^ a b "UK Charts > Taylor Swift". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 4 November 2016.
- ^ "UK Charts > Tracy Chapman". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 19 February 2015.
- ^ "UK Charts > Mike Oldfield". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 19 February 2015.
- ^ "UK Charts > Maroon 5". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 12 March 2021.
- ^ "UK Charts > Bruno Mars". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 22 February 2015.
- ^ "UK Charts > Elton John". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 12 March 2021.
- ^ "Jess Glynne". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 23 July 2017.
- ^ a b c d "UK Charts > Dire Straits". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 19 February 2015.
- ^ "UK Charts > Katy Perry". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 4 November 2016.
- ^ "Stevie Wonder | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company". OfficialCharts.com.
- ^ a b "UK Charts > R.E.M." Official Charts Company. Retrieved 22 March 2015.
- ^ "UK Charts > Frank Sinatra". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 21 February 2015.
- ^ "UK Charts > Lady Gaga". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 21 February 2015.
- ^ "UK Charts > Pink". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 29 June 2015.
- ^ "UK Charts > Fleetwood Mac". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 22 October 2021.
- ^ "UK Charts > Alanis Morissette". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 10 November 2015.
- ^ "UK Charts > Take That". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 21 February 2015.
- ^ "UK Charts > Mumford & Sons". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 15 September 2015.
- ^ "UK Charts > Stone Roses". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 12 July 2020.
- ^ "UK Charts > Billie Eilish". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 21 May 2021.
- ^ "UK Charts > Electric Light Orchestra". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 7 April 2015.
- ^ a b "UK Charts > Bon Jovi". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 10 November 2015.
- ^ a b "UK Charts > U2". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 19 February 2015.
- ^ "UK Charts > Radiohead". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 21 February 2015.
- ^ "UK Charts > The King and I". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 18 March 2015.
- ^ "UK Charts > Billie Eilish". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 11 February 2022.
- ^ "UK Charts > Green Day". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 18 February 2022.
- ^ "UK Charts > Lewis Capaldi". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 1 April 2022.
- ^ "UK Charts > Florence and the Machine". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 15 September 2015.
- ^ "UK Charts > XXXTentacion". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 19 March 2021.
- ^ a b "UK Charts > Coldplay". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 21 February 2015.
- ^ "UK Charts > Billy Joel". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 30 May 2022.
- ^ "UK Charts > UB40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 25 February 2015.
- ^ "UK Charts > Lana Del Rey". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 20 August 2021.
- ^ a b "UK Charts > George Ezra". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 10 April 2021.
- ^ "UK Charts > Rihanna". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 22 February 2015.
- ^ a b "UK Charts > Elvis Presley". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 25 February 2022.
- ^ a b "UK Charts > Michael Bublé". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 21 February 2015.
- ^ a b "UK Charts > Tina Turner". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
- ^ "UK Charts > Eagles". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 25 February 2015.
- ^ "UK Charts > Paolo Nutini". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 22 February 2015.
- ^ "UK Charts > David Gray". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 21 February 2015.
- ^ "UK Charts > West Side Story". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 18 March 2015.
- ^ "UK Charts > Lighthouse Family". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 21 February 2015.
- ^ "UK Charts > Van Morrison". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 27 March 2015.
- ^ "UK Charts > The 1975". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 6 February 2016.
- ^ "UK Charts > Little Mix". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 19 October 2018.
- ^ "UK Charts > Harry Styles". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 30 October 2022.
- ^ "UK Charts > Red Hot Chili Peppers". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 22 February 2015.
- ^ "UK Charts > Post Malone". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 7 December 2018.
- ^ "UK Charts > Oklahoma!". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 18 March 2015.
- ^ a b "UK Charts > Stereophonics". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 10 November 2015.
- ^ "UK Charts > Kings of Leon". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 18 May 2015.
- ^ "UK Charts > The Corrs". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
- ^ "UK Charts > Dave". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 22 April 2022.
- ^ "UK Charts > Paul Simon". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 5 May 2015.
- ^ "UK Charts > The Verve". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 26 March 2015.
- ^ "UK Charts > Simply Red". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 21 February 2015.
- ^ "UK Charts > Shania Twain". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 24 February 2015.
- ^ "UK Charts > Juice WRLD". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 14 January 2022.
- ^ "UK Charts > My Fair Lady". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 18 March 2015.
- ^ "UK Charts > Eva Cassidy". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 27 March 2015.
- ^ "UK Charts > Buddy Holly". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 21 February 2015.
- ^ "UK Charts > Lionel Richie". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 21 February 2015.
- ^ "UK Charts > Norah Jones". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 21 February 2015.
- ^ "UK Charts > Snow Patrol". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 22 February 2015.
- ^ "UK Charts > Beach Boys". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
- ^ "UK Charts > Barry Manilow". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 21 February 2015.
- ^ "UK Charts > Becky Hill". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 16 September 2022.