The UK Albums Chart is one of many music charts compiled by the Official Charts Company 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 UK Albums Chart during 2008, as well as albums which peaked in 2007 and 2009 but were in the top 10 in 2008. 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 fifty-eight albums were in the top ten this year. Two albums from 2006 and sixteen albums from 2007 remained in the top 10 for several weeks at the beginning of the year, while I Am... Sasha Fierce by Beyoncé was released in 2008 but did not reach its peak until 2009. Back to Black: Deluxe Edition by Amy Winehouse, Raising Sand by Robert Plant & Alison Krauss and This Is the Life by Amy Macdonald were the albums from 2007 to reach their peak in 2008. Six artists scored multiple entries in the top 10 in 2008. Adele, Chris Brown, Miley Cyrus, OneRepublic and Scouting for Girls were among the many artists who achieved their first UK charting top 10 album in 2008.
The 2007 Christmas number-one album, Spirit, remained at the top spot for the first week of 2008. The first new number-one album of the year was In Rainbows by Radiohead. Overall, thirty-three different albums peaked at number-one in 2008, with thirty-three unique artists hitting that position.
Background Multiple entries One-hundred and fifty-eight albums charted in the top 10 in 2008, with one-hundred and forty-two albums reaching their peak this year (including Gold: Greatest Hits, Piano Man: The Very Best of Billy Joel and The Best of Neil Diamond, which charted in previous years but reached a peak on their latest chart run).
Six artists scored multiple entries in the top 10 in 2008. Amy Winehouse, Michael Jackson, Neil Diamond, Nickelback, Radiohead and Take That were the acts who had two top 10 albums this year. Michael Jackson, Nickelback and Radiohead's two entries were both released this year, with The Best of Neil Diamond by Neil Diamond returning after missing the top 10 when it was first released in 1998 and later in 2006.
Chart debuts Forty-eight artists achieved their first top 10 album in 2008 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.
Artist Number of top 10s First entry Chart position Other entriesScouting for Girls1Scouting for Girls1—British Sea Power1Do You Like Rock Music?10—Lupe Fiasco1Lupe Fiasco's The Cool7—Adele1191—Bullet for My Valentine1Scream Aim Fire5—Hot Chip1Made in the Dark4—One Night Only1Started a Fire10—Duffy1Rockferry1—OneRepublic1Dreaming Out Loud2—Panic! at the Disco1Pretty. Odd.2—Foals1Antidotes3—Guillemots1Red9—Estelle1Shine6—1St. Jude4—Elliot Minor1Elliot Minor6—1The Age of the Understatement1—Sam Sparro1Sam Sparro4—Gabriella Cilmi1Lessons to Be Learned8—Scooter1Jumping All Over the World1—Pendulum1In Silico2—Jay Sean1My Own Way6—1We Started Nothing1—Beth Rowley1Little Dreamer6— Cistercian Monks of Stift Heiligenkreu1Chant – Music for Paradise7—Alphabeat1This Is Alphabeat10—Darren Styles1Skydivin'7—Sara Bareilles1Little Voice9—Sigur Rós1Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaust5—Chris Brown1Exclusive3—Jonas Brothers1Jonas Brothers9—Seth Lakeman1Poor Man's Heaven8—Black Kids1Partie Traumatic5—Beck1Modern Guilt9—Basshunter1Now You're Gone – The Album1—Kid Rock1Rock n Roll Jesus4—1The Script1—Noah and the Whale1Peaceful, the World Lays Me Down5—Monkey1Journey to the West5—UK Chinese EnsembleTeddy Thompson1A Piece of What You Need10—Miley Cyrus1Breakout10—Glasvegas1Glasvegas2—Queen + Paul Rodgers1The Cosmos Rocks5—Andrew Johnston1One Voice4—Seasick Steve1I Started Out with Nothin and I Still Got Most of It Left9—Leon Jackson1Right Now4—Rhydian1Rhydian3—1The Priests5—
Notes Jonathan Ansell stepped away from his group G4 - who finished second on the second series of The X Factor and recorded two top 10 albums including a number-one - to record his debut top 10 solo album Tenor at the Movies. Sharleen Spiteri had a highly successful career to date as a member of the Scottish band Texas. Her debut album as a solo artist, Melody, reached number three.
Damon Albarn of Gorillaz and Blur recorded the soundtrack to the stage adaption of Chinese novel Journey to the West under the name Monkey. The album also featured the UK Chinese Ensemble making their album chart debut.
Queen + Paul Rodgers was a collaboration between Brian May and Roger Taylor from Queen, and Paul Rodgers, who had been part of numerous bands including Free and The Firm. The Cosmos Rocks was their first and only charting album as a supergroup.
Best-selling albums Duffy had the best-selling album of the year with Rockferry. The album spent 42 weeks in the top 10 (including five weeks at number one), sold almost 1.685 million copies and was certified 6× platinum by the BPI. The Circus by Take That came in second place. Kings of Leon's Only by the Night, Spirit from Leona Lewis and Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends by Coldplay made up the top five. Albums by Rihanna, The Killers, Girls Aloud, Pink and Scouting for Girls were also in the top ten best-selling albums of the year.
Top-ten albums Key SymbolMeaning‡Album peaked in 2006 or 2007 but still in chart in 2008.♦Album released in 2008 but peaked in 2009.(#)Year-end top-ten album position and rankEnteredThe date that the album first appeared in the chart.PeakHighest position that the album reached in the UK Albums Chart.
Entered (week ending)Weeksintop10 Album ArtistPeak Peakreached (week ending)WeeksatpeakAlbums in 2006 54Back to Black ‡Amy Winehouse 1 3 28Beautiful World ‡Take That 1 8Albums in 2007 32Life in Cartoon Motion ‡Mika 1 2 11Timbaland Presents: Shock Value ‡Timbaland 2 1 13Version ‡Mark Ronson 2 2 12Call Me Irresponsible ‡Michael Bublé 2 1 27Good Girl Gone Bad ‡ (#6)Rihanna 1 1 14This Is the Life Amy Macdonald 1 1 11Hand Built by Robots ‡Newton Faulkner 1 2 5All the Lost Souls ‡James Blunt 1 1 7The Trick to Life ‡ 1 1 7Raising Sand Robert Plant & Alison Krauss 2 1 8Back Home ‡Westlife 1 1 26Spirit ‡ (#4)Leona Lewis 1 8 7Mothership ‡Led Zeppelin 4 2 7The Best of Andrea Bocelli: Vivere ‡Andrea Bocelli 4 1 5Breathless ‡Shayne Ward 2 1 12Back to Black: The Deluxe EditionAmy Winehouse 1 1Albums in 2008 2Perfect Day Cascada 9 1 3In RainbowsRadiohead 1 1 14Scouting for Girls (#10)Scouting for Girls 1 2 1Do You Like Rock Music?British Sea Power 10 1 1Lupe Fiasco's The CoolLupe Fiasco 7 1 19All the Right ReasonsNickelback 2 2 719Adele 1 1 1Scream Aim FireBullet for My Valentine 5 1 1The Ultimate HitsGarth Brooks 10 1 3Sleep Through the StaticJack Johnson 1 2 1Made in the DarkHot Chip 4 1 1Growing PainsMary J. Blige 6 1 2His Wondrous Story – The Complete CollectionBilly Fury 10 2 7Thriller 25Michael Jackson 3 1 1Greatest HitsMorrissey 5 1 1Started a FireOne Night Only 10 1 1Join With Us 1 1 1Tenor at the MoviesJonathan Ansell 9 1 3Seventh TreeGoldfrapp 2 1 1From Donny... with LoveDonny Osmond 8 1 42Rockferry (#1)Duffy 1 5 1Dig, Lazarus, Dig!!!Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds 4 1 6Dreaming Out LoudOneRepublic 2 1 1Classic Soul Hits 8 1 2HaarpMuse 2 1 8The Seldom Seen KidElbow 5 2 111Bryan Adams 6 1 1Music of the SpheresMike Oldfield 9 11Keep It SimpleVan Morrison 10 1 1Pretty. Odd.Panic! at the Disco 2 1 1AntidotesFoals 3 1 2Consolers of the Lonely 8 1 1RedGuillemots 9 1 3AccelerateR.E.M. 1 1 1ShineEstelle 6 1 1Shine a Light 2 1 2St. Jude 4 1 1Hey MaJames 10 1 4Konk 1 1 2E=MC²Mariah Carey 3 1 1Elliot MinorElliot Minor 6 1 3The Age of the Understatement 1 1 1Good to Be BadWhitesnake 7 1 5Hard CandyMadonna 1 1 2ThirdPortishead 2 1 2Sam SparroSam Sparro 4 1 3The Very Best of The Platters 8 1 2Lessons to Be LearnedGabriella Cilmi 8 1 7Jumping All Over the WorldScooter 1 1 1Songs from the Sparkle LoungeDef Leppard 10 1 8Home Before DarkNeil Diamond 1 1 3In SilicoPendulum 2 1 1My Own WayJay Sean 6 1 1Nothing but the BestFrank Sinatra 10 1 14We Started Nothing 1 1 2Little DreamerBeth Rowley 6 1 5The Best of Neil DiamondNeil Diamond 7 2 3Chant – Music for Paradise Cistercian Monks of Stift Heiligenkreu 7 1 3Here I StandUsher 1 1 1Emergency 5 1 422 DreamsPaul Weller 1 1 3Radiohead: The Best OfRadiohead 4 1 1You Can Do Anything 6 1 1This Is AlphabeatAlphabeat 10 1 14Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends (#5)Coldplay 1 6 3Here We Stand 5 1 4Skydivin'Darren Styles 4 2 1Silent CryFeeder 8 1 1Little VoiceSara Bareilles 9 1 1Með suð í eyrum við spilum endalaustSigur Rós 5 1 6ExclusiveChris Brown 3 2 1Jonas BrothersJonas Brothers 9 1 1Poor Man's HeavenSeth Lakeman 8 1 1Partie TraumaticBlack Kids 5 1 1Modern GuiltBeck 9 1 4Now You're Gone – The AlbumBasshunter 1 1 5MelodySharleen Spiteri 3 1 9ABBA Gold: Greatest HitsABBA 1 2 1Piano Man: The Very Best of Billy JoelBilly Joel 9 1 3I Believe – The Very Best of The Bachelors 7 1 1Beautiful FuturePrimal Scream 9 1 4Rock n Roll JesusKid Rock 4 2 12The Script 1 3 2Peaceful, the World Lays Me DownNoah and the Whale 5 1 2JaneJane McDonald 7 1 1Journey to the WestMonkey 5 1 4Forth 1 2 2All Hope Is GoneSlipknot 2 1 2SomewhereEva Cassidy 4 1 4King of PopMichael Jackson 3 1 1LAX 9 1 1A Piece of What You NeedTeddy Thompson 10 1 1BreakoutMiley Cyrus 10 1 3Death MagneticMetallica 1 2 2GlasvegasGlasvegas 2 1 5Year of the GentlemanNe-Yo 2 1 1The Cosmos RocksQueen + Paul Rodgers 5 1 1Everything Is Borrowed 7 1 40Only By the Night (#3)Kings of Leon 1 4 2Doll Domination 4 1 6The Best BetteBette Midler 6 2 1Radio ActiveMcFly 8 4 1Live in GdańskDavid Gilmour 10 1 3Let It GoWill Young 2 1 13Songs for You, Truths for MeJames Morrison 3 1 2One VoiceAndrew Johnston 4 1 2I Started Out with Nothin and I Still Got Most of It LeftSeasick Steve 9 2 4Dig Out Your SoulOasis 1 1 1The Bootleg Series Vol. 8: Tell Tale SignsBob Dylan 9 1 2Perfect SymmetryKeane 1 1 2Back Again... No Matter WhatBoyzone 4 1 3Black IceAC/DC 1 1 1Off with Their HeadsKaiser Chiefs 2 1 1Right NowLeon Jackson 4 1 2Sacred AriasKatherine Jenkins 5 1 1Catfights and SpotlightsSugababes 8 1 3The Best OfSash! 8 1 14Funhouse (#9)Pink 1 1 3A Hundred Million SunsSnow Patrol 2 1 3My Love: Essential CollectionCeline Dion 5 1 1Country BoyDaniel O'Donnell 6 1 1IntimacyBloc Party 8 1 9Out of Control (#8)Girls Aloud 1 1 2Greatest HitsEnrique Iglesias 3 1 1Slipway FiresRazorlight 4 1 1Pictures – 40 Years of HitsStatus Quo 8 1 6The PromiseIl Divo 1 1 8Decade in the Sun: Best of StereophonicsStereophonics 2 1 1And Winter Came...Enya 6 1 1Keeps Gettin' Better: A Decade of HitsChristina Aguilera 10 1 1Safe Trip HomeDido 2 1 1Dark HorseNickelback 4 1 1Simply Red 25: The Greatest HitsSimply Red 9 1 22I Am... Sasha Fierce ♦Beyoncé 2 1 13Day & Age (#6) 1 1 1Chinese DemocracyGuns N' Roses 2 1 3RhydianRhydian 3 1 4The Priests 5 1 12The Circus (#2)Take That 1 5 1CircusBritney Spears 4 1
Entries by artist The following table shows artists who achieved two or more top 10 entries in 2008, including albums that reached their peak in 2007 or 2009. 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 2008 is also shown.
Entries Artist Weeks Albums2Amy Winehouse14Back to Black, Back to Black: The Deluxe EditionMichael Jackson9King of Pop, Thriller 25Neil Diamond13Home Before Dark, The Best of Neil DiamondNickelback20All the Right Reasons, Dark HorseRadiohead6In Rainbows, Radiohead: The Best OfTake That8Beautiful World, The Circus
Notes