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 1412 weeks in the top 100, ABBA Gold: Greatest Hits , with 1159 weeks on the chart, followed by Legend by Bob Marley and the Wailers with 1137 weeks. The most weeks for a studio album is 1048 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 558 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 574 for Dark Side of the Moon by Pink Floyd and the most weeks by an album not reaching the top 10 is 349 for Singles by Maroon 5.
Six acts have multiple albums achieving 300 weeks on chart: Fleetwood Mac, Oasis, Ed Sheeran, Simon & Garfunkel, Arctic Monkeys and Adele. 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, and the 500-week threshold, making them the first act with multiple studio albums achieving 500 weeks on the chart. They remain the only act with three albums having reached this milestone, and in 2023 became the first act to have multiple albums achieve 500 weeks. Sheeran would become the second act to have two studio albums achieve 400 weeks on the chart in 2022.
Taylor Swift is the artist to have the most studio albums pass the 150-week threshold, with five of her albums reaching this feat so far.
The numbers shown are up to the chart for the week ending 13 June 2024.
(*) indicates that the album is in the top 100 for the current week ending.
The following artists have 2 or more albums charting on the UK Album Charts for more than 150 weeks
Rumours is the eleventh studio album by the British-American rock band Fleetwood Mac, released on 4 February 1977 in the United States and on 11 February 1977 in the United Kingdom by Warner Bros. Records. Largely recorded in California in 1976, it was produced by the band with Ken Caillat and Richard Dashut. The recording sessions took place as the band members dealt with breakups and struggled with heavy drug usage, both of which shaped the album's direction and lyrics.
Fleetwood Mac is the tenth studio album by British-American rock band Fleetwood Mac, released on 11 July 1975 in the United States and on 1 August 1975 in the United Kingdom by Reprise Records. It is the band's second eponymous album after their 1968 debut album and is sometimes referred to by fans as the White Album. It is the first Fleetwood Mac album with Lindsey Buckingham as guitarist and Stevie Nicks as a vocalist, after Bob Welch departed the band in late 1974. It is also the band's last album to be released on the Reprise label until 1997's The Dance; the band's subsequent albums until then were released through Warner Bros. Records, Reprise's parent company.
"Dancing Queen" is a song by the Swedish group ABBA, released as the lead single from their fourth studio album, Arrival (1976). It was written by Benny Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus and Stig Anderson. Andersson and Ulvaeus also produced the song. "Dancing Queen" was released as a single in Sweden in August 1976, followed by a UK release and the rest of Europe. It was a worldwide hit. It became ABBA's only number one hit in the United States, and topped the charts in Australia, Canada, Denmark, the Netherlands, Belgium, Czechoslovakia, Ireland, Mexico, New Zealand, Portugal, Norway, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom, West Germany and the Soviet Union. "Dancing Queen" also reached the top five in many other countries.
ABBA: The Album is the fifth studio album by the Swedish pop group ABBA. It was released in Scandinavia on 12 December 1977 through Polar Music, but due to the massive pre-orders the UK pressing plants were not able to press sufficient copies before Christmas 1977 and so it was not released in the UK until January 1978. The album was released in conjunction with ABBA: The Movie, with several of the songs featured in the film. Altogether the album contains nine songs.
Greatest Hits is a greatest hits album by British-American rock band Fleetwood Mac, released on 21 November 1988 by Warner Bros. Records. It covers the period of the band's greatest commercial success, from the mid-1970s to the late-1980s.
"Waterloo" is a song recorded by Swedish pop group ABBA, with music composed by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus and lyrics written by Stikkan Anderson. It is first single of the group's second album of the same name, and their first under the Atlantic label in the United States. This was also the first single to be credited to the group performing under the name ABBA. The title and lyrics reference the 1815 Battle of Waterloo, and use it as a metaphor for a romantic relationship. The Swedish version of the single was backed with the Swedish version of "Honey, Honey", while the English version featured "Watch Out" on the B-side.
The Official UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by sales and 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 Company (OCC) on Fridays. It is broadcast on BBC Radio 1 and found on the OCC website as a Top 100 or on UKChartsPlus as a Top 200, with positions continuing until all sales have been tracked in data only available to industry insiders. However, even though number 100 was classed as a hit album in the 1980s until January 1989, since the compilations were removed, this definition was changed to Top 75 with follow-up books such as The Virgin Book of British Hit Albums only including this data. As of 2021, the OCC still only tracks how many UK Top 75s album hits and how many weeks in Top 75 albums chart each artist has achieved.
"Summer Night City" is a song recorded by the Swedish pop group ABBA, written by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus as a tribute to their hometown of Stockholm. It is the group's second non-album single, released on 6 September 1978. It was recorded during the sessions of the group's upcoming Voulez-Vous album, but was eventually not included. However, it was included on the ABBA compilation album Greatest Hits Vol. 2 in October 1979, more than a year after its release. It was also featured as a bonus track on both the 1997 and 2001 CD re-issues of Voulez-Vous and as the full length version with the original intro on the 2010 re-issue.
ABBA Gold: Greatest Hits is a compilation album by the Swedish pop group ABBA. It was released on 21 September 1992 through PolyGram, making it the first compilation to be released after the company had acquired Polar Music, and thus the rights to the ABBA back catalogue.
"Dreams" is a song by British-American rock band Fleetwood Mac, written by singer Stevie Nicks for the band's eleventh studio album, Rumours (1977). In the United States, "Dreams" was released as the second single from Rumours in March 1977, while in the United Kingdom, the song was released as the third single in June 1977. A stage performance of "Dreams" was used as the promotional music video.
"The Chain" is a song by British-American rock band Fleetwood Mac, released on their 1977 album Rumours. It is the only song from the album with writing credits for all five members.
Back to Black is the second and final studio album by English singer and songwriter Amy Winehouse, released on 27 October 2006 by Island Records. Winehouse predominantly based the album on her tumultuous relationship with then-ex-boyfriend and future husband Blake Fielder-Civil, who temporarily left her to pursue his previous ex-girlfriend. Their short-lived separation spurred her to create an album that explores themes of guilt, grief, infidelity, heartbreak and trauma in a relationship.
British singer Amy Winehouse released two studio albums, two live albums, one compilation album, five extended plays, 15 singles, three video albums and 14 music videos. At the time of her death on 23 July 2011, Winehouse had sold over 1.75 million singles and over 3.98 million albums in the United Kingdom. Meanwhile, she had sold about 3.4 million tracks and 2.7 million albums in the United States as of the same date.
"As Long as You Follow" is a song by British-American rock band Fleetwood Mac. Performed by Christine McVie and written alongside her then-husband, Eddy Quintela, the song was one of two new tracks on the band's 1988 greatest hits album, along with "No Questions Asked". Lead guitarist Rick Vito singled out the guitar solo on "As Long as You Follow" as his best work with Fleetwood Mac.
Greatest Hits is a compilation album by the Swedish pop group ABBA. It was originally released in Scandinavia on 17 November 1975 and in other parts of the world in 1976, notably the UK on 10 April, and on 18 September in the US and Canada. The 1976 version of the album included the band's most recent single "Fernando".