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 2016, as well as albums which peaked in 2015 but were in the top 10 in 2016. 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-seven albums were in the top 10 this year. Two albums from 2014 and eight albums from 2015 remained in the top 10 for several weeks at the beginning of the year. A Head Full of Dreams by Coldplay was the only album from 2015 to reach its peak in 2016. Giggs and Jack Garratt were among the many artists who achieved their first UK charting top 10 album in 2016.
The 2015 Christmas number-one album, 25 by Adele, remained at number one for the first two weeks of 2016. The first new number-one album of the year was Blackstar by David Bowie. Overall, thirty-five different albums peaked at number-one in 2016, with David Bowie (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 10 solo album, or featured appearances on compilations or other artists recordings.
Artist Number of top 10s First entry Chart position Other entriesJack Savoretti2Written in Scars7Sleep No More (6)Charlie Puth1Nine Track Mind6—Jack Garratt1Phase3—Kano1Made in the Manor8—Killswitch Engage1Incarnate10—Lukas Graham1Lukas Graham2—Skepta1Konnichiwa2—Kygo1Cloud Nine3—Fifth Harmony17/276—Christine and the Queens1Chaleur humaine2—Bear's Den1Red Earth & Pouring Rain6—Viola Beach1Viola Beach1—DJ Khaled1Major Key7—Blossoms1Blossoms1—Giggs1Landlord2—Moose Blood1Blush10—Twenty One Pilots1Blurryface5—Ward Thomas1Cartwheels1—A Day to Remember1Bad Vibrations6—Shawn Mendes1Illuminate3—Airbourne1Breakin' Outta Hell9—Blackberry Smoke1Like an Arrow8—Bradley Walsh1Chasing Dreams10—
Soundtracks The only film soundtrack album to enter the top 10 this year was Purple Rain by Prince and The Revolution. The album had previously charted in the top 10 upon its initial release in 1984 and peaked at number 7. Upon its 2016 re-entry, following Prince's death, the album reached a brand new peak of number 4.
Best-selling albums For the second year in a row, Adele had the best-selling album of the year with 25. A Head Full of Dreams by Coldplay came in second place. Michael Ball & Alfie Boe's Together, Purpose from Justin Bieber and The Wonder of You by Elvis Presley with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra made up the top five. Albums by David Bowie, Little Mix, Drake, Jess Glynne and David Bowie (Best of Bowie) were also in the top ten best-selling albums of the year.
Top-ten albums Key SymbolMeaning‡Album peaked in 2014 or 2015 but still in chart in 2016.(#)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 2014 77× ‡Ed Sheeran 1 13 431989 ‡Taylor Swift 1 1Albums in 2015 32Chaos and the Calm ‡James Bay 1 1 42I Cry When I Laugh ‡ (#9)Jess Glynne 1 1 13If I Can Dream ‡Elvis Presley with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra 1 2 20Get Weird ‡Little Mix 2 1 9Made in the A.M. ‡One Direction 1 1 33Purpose ‡ (#4)Justin Bieber 2 2 4325 ‡ (#1)Adele 1 13 30A Head Full of Dreams (#2)Coldplay 1 1Albums in 2016 6Blackstar (#6)David Bowie 1 3 5Nothing Has Changed: The Very Best of David Bowie 5 2 11Best of Bowie (#10) 1 1 1Death of a BachelorPanic! at the Disco 4 1 1Written in ScarsJack Savoretti 7 1 1Night ThoughtsSuede 6 1 1Hunky DoryDavid Bowie 9 1 1The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars 10 1 9This Is ActingSia 3 1 2Nine Track MindCharlie Puth 6 1 5AntiRihanna 7 2 1Wonderful Crazy NightElton John 6 1 1Time of My LifeRonan Keating 4 1 1PhaseJack Garratt 3 1 4I Like It When You Sleep, for You Are So Beautiful yet So Unaware of ItThe 1975 1 1 1Believe – Songs of InspirationRichard & Adam 9 1 1Untitled UnmasteredKendrick Lamar 7 1 1Made in the ManorKano 8 1 1IncarnateKillswitch Engage 10 1 1Girl at the End of the WorldJames 2 1 1Post Pop DepressionIggy Pop 5 1 1Barbara Barbara, We Face a Shining FutureUnderworld 10 1 2Mind of MineZayn 1 1 1Blues of DesperationJoe Bonamassa 3 1 1Beautiful LiesBirdy 4 1 2Everything You've Come to ExpectThe Last Shadow Puppets 1 1 3Lukas GrahamLukas Graham 2 1 1SuperPet Shop Boys 3 1 1KentuckyBlack Stone Cherry 5 1 4One VoiceAled Jones 3 1 1CleopatraThe Lumineers 1 1 1Red FlagAll Saints 3 1 1GoreDeftones 5 1 1The Hope Six Demolition ProjectPJ Harvey 1 1 1Santana IVSantana 4 1 2Ultimate PrincePrince 3 1 13LemonadeBeyoncé 1 1 5The Very Best of PrincePrince 2 1 1Purple RainPrince and The Revolution 4 1 1CelebrationKatherine Jenkins 7 1 16Views (#8)Drake 1 2 3Here You Are: The Best of Billy OceanBilly Ocean 4 1 1Everything at OnceTravis 5 1 5A Moon Shaped PoolRadiohead 1 2 2KonnichiwaSkepta 2 1 2Take Me to the AlleyGregory Porter 5 1 1Electronica 2: The Heart of NoiseJean Michel Jarre 8 1 1Cloud NineKygo 3 1 1Thank YouMeghan Trainor 5 1 2Dangerous WomanAriana Grande 1 1 1These PeopleRichard Ashcroft 3 1 1Fallen AngelsBob Dylan 5 1 1I Still DoEric Clapton 6 1 3The RideCatfish and the Bottlemen 1 1 1The Lexicon of Love IIABC 5 1 17/27Fifth Harmony 6 1 2Stranger to StrangerPaul Simon 1 1 1Facing TimeBugzy Malone 6 1 1Let the Record Show: Dexys Do Irish and Country SoulDexys 10 1 950Rick Astley 1 1 1Wrong CrowdTom Odell 2 1 1Pure McCartneyPaul McCartney 3 1 11All Over the World: The Very Best of Electric Light OrchestraElectric Light Orchestra 1 1 1SoulsvilleBeverley Knight 9 1 3The GetawayRed Hot Chili Peppers 2 1 1On My OneJake Bugg 4 1 1Johannesburg (EP)Mumford & Sons with Baaba Maal 6 1 11Chaleur humaineChristine and the Queens 2 1 121Adele 10 1 2CaliforniaBlink-182 1 1 1The BrideBat for Lashes 9 1 4EllipsisBiffy Clyro 1 1 1WildflowerThe Avalanches 10 1 4Love & HateMichael Kiwanuka 1 1 9LegendBob Marley and the Wailers 5 2 1Red Earth & Pouring RainBear's Den 6 1 2Viola BeachViola Beach 1 1 1Major KeyDJ Khaled 7 1 2BlossomsBlossoms 1 2 1LandlordGiggs 2 1 1Boy KingWild Beasts 9 1 1BlushMoose Blood 10 1 5BlurryfaceTwenty One Pilots 5 1 2BlondeFrank Ocean 1 1 2Pure & SimpleDolly Parton 2 1 1Life on the RoadDavid Brent & Foregone Conclusion 3 1 2Encore: Movie Partners Sing BroadwayBarbra Streisand 1 1 1GloryBritney Spears 2 1 3CartwheelsWard Thomas 1 1 2The Nation's Favourite Carpenters SongsThe Carpenters 2 1 1TrickJamie T 3 1 1Growing Over LifeWretch 32 5 1 1Bad VibrationsA Day to Remember 6 1 1ForeverlandThe Divine Comedy 7 1 4Wild WorldBastille 1 2 2Skeleton TreeNick Cave and the Bad Seeds 2 2 2Live at the Hollywood BowlThe Beatles 3 1 1Braver Than We AreMeat Loaf 4 1 1KinKT Tunstall 7 1 1GLATwin Atlantic 9 1 1HereTeenage Fanclub 10 1 1The Complete BBC SessionsLed Zeppelin 3 1 1Hard II LoveUsher 7 1 2Young as the Morning, Old as the SeaPassenger 1 1 2Chapter and VerseBruce Springsteen 2 1 1IlluminateShawn Mendes 3 1 1F E A RMarillion 4 1 1Breakin' Outta HellAirbourne 9 1 2Following My IntuitionCraig David 1 1 122, A MillionBon Iver 2 1 2My UniverseThe Shires 3 1 1Keep Me SingingVan Morrison 4 1 1Take ControlSlaves 6 1 1Head CarrierPixies 7 1 2Revolution RadioGreen Day 1 1 1In the NowBarry Gibb 2 1 1The Last HeroAlter Bridge 3 1 1Stay TogetherKaiser Chiefs 4 1 1Oh My MyOneRepublic 6 1 1Keepin' the Horse Between Me and the GroundSeasick Steve 8 1 1Day BreaksNorah Jones 9 1 1All Bright ElectricFeeder 10 1 3WallsKings of Leon 1 1 4The SinglesPhil Collins 2 1 1The WaveTom Chaplin 3 1 1Be Here NowOasis 4 1 1GameshowTwo Door Cinema Club 5 1 1SuperwomanRebecca Ferguson 7 1 1Like an ArrowBlackberry Smoke 8 1 1In WinterKatie Melua 9 1 12The Wonder of You (#5)Elvis Presley with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra 1 1 9Nobody but MeMichael Bublé 2 1 1JoanneLady Gaga 3 1 2You Want It DarkerLeonard Cohen 4 1 1Aquostic II: That's a FactStatus Quo 7 1 1The Serenity of SufferingKorn 9 1 1Lazarus (Original Cast Recording)David Bowie and the New York Cast of Lazarus 10 1 4Back from the EdgeJames Arthur 1 1 1Mapping the RendezvousCourteeners 4 1 1Can't Touch Us NowMadness 5 1 1Sleep No MoreJack Savoretti 6 1 2Upon a Different ShoreAlexander Armstrong 8 2 1Greatest HitsRobbie Williams 9 1 8The Heavy Entertainment Show 1 1 10Together (#3)Michael Ball & Alfie Boe 1 2 1This House Is Not for SaleBon Jovi 5 1 7ChristmasMichael Bublé 6 1 1The Ultimate CollectionRoy Orbison 10 1 924 HrsOlly Murs 1 1 6Long Live the AngelsEmeli Sandé 2 1 1Just... Fabulous Rock 'n' RollCliff Richard 4 1 29Glory Days (#7)Little Mix 1 5 1Hardwired... to Self-DestructMetallica 2 1 824K MagicBruno Mars 3 1 1Before the DawnKate Bush 4 1 9StarboyThe Weeknd 5 1 1Falling in LoveAndre Rieu & the Johann Strauss Orchestra 7 1 1Chasing DreamsBradley Walsh 10 1 7Blue & LonesomeThe Rolling Stones 1 1
Entries by artist The following table shows artists who achieved two or more top 10 entries in 2016, including albums that reached their peak in 2015. 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 2016 is also shown.
Entries Artist Weeks Albums6David Bowie25Best of Bowie, Blackstar, Hunky Dory, Lazarus (Original Cast Recording), Nothing Has Changed: The Very Best of David Bowie, The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars3Prince8Purple Rain, The Very Best of Prince, Ultimate Prince2Adele4421, 25Elvis Presley25If I Can Dream, The Wonder of YouJack Savoretti2Sleep No More, Written in ScarsLittle Mix49Get Weird, Glory DaysMichael Bublé16Christmas, Nobody but MeRoyal Philharmonic Orchestra25If I Can Dream, The Wonder of You
Notes
Nothing Has Changed: The Best of David Bowie originally peaked at number 9 upon its initial release in 2014. It re-entered the top 10 at its brand new peak of number 5 on 21 January 2016 (week ending) following the death of David Bowie. Best of Bowie originally peaked outside the top-ten at number 11 upon its initial release in 2002. It made the top 10 for the first time in January 2016, following David Bowie's death, entering on 28 January (week ending) at number 3 and rising to number-one two weeks later. Hunky Dory first entered the UK Albums Chart in 1972 and made the top 10 for the first time in 1973, peaking at number 3. Following David Bowie's death, the album re-entered the top 10 at number 9 on 4 February 2016 (week ending). The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars first entered the top 10 in 1972 and rose to its peak of number 5 in 1973. Following David Bowie's death, the album re-entered the top 10 at number 10 on 4 February 2016 (week ending). Ultimate Prince originally peaked at number 24 upon its initial release in 2006. It made the top 10 for the first time in 2007, peaking at number 6. Following Prince's death, the album re-entered the top 10 and reached a brand new peak of number 3. The Very Best of Prince originally peaked at number 2 upon its initial release in 2001. Following Prince's death, the album re-entered the top 10 at number 2, the second time the album had made the runner-up spot. Purple Rain originally peaked at number 7 upon its initial release in 1984. Following Prince's death, the album re-entered the top 10 and reached a brand new peak of number 4.