| 1990s in music in the UK |
| Events |
|---|
TheUK Albums Chart is one of many music charts compiled by theOfficial Charts Company that calculates the best-selling albums of the week in the United Kingdom.[1][2][3] Before 2004, the chart was only based on the sales of physical albums. This list shows albums that peaked in the Top 10 of theUK Albums Chart during1996, as well as albums which peaked in1995 and1997 but were in the top 10 in 1996. The entry date is when the album appeared in the top ten for the first time (week ending, as published by the Official Charts Company, which is six days after the chart is announced).
Ninety-seven albums were in the top ten this year. Three albums from 1994 and fifteen from 1995 remained in the top 10 for several weeks at the beginning of the year, whileEvita: The Complete Motion Picture Music Soundtrack byMadonna and Various artists andOcean Drive byLighthouse Family were both released in 1996 but did not reach their peak until 1997.Bizarre Fruit byM People first charted in 1994 but took until 1996 to hit its highest position.The Bends byRadiohead was the only album from 1995 to reach its peak in 1996. Eight artists scored multiple entries in the top 10 in 1996. are among the many artists who achieved their first UK charting top 10 album in 1996.
The first new number-one album of the year wasExpecting to Fly byThe Bluetones. Overall, nineteen different albums peaked at number-one in 1996, with nineteen unique artists hitting that position.
Ninety-seven albums charted in the top 10 in 1996, with seventy-nine albums reaching their peak this year.
Eight artists scored multiple entries in the top 10 in 1996.The Beatles,Boyzone,Celine Dion,Madonna,Oasis,Robson & Jerome,Simply Red,The Smurfs were the acts to chart with two albums this year.
artists achieved their first top 10 album in 1996 as a lead artist. had one other entry in their breakthrough year.
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 entries |
|---|
Soundtrack albums for various films entered the top 10 throughout the year. These included.
Alanis Morissette had the best-selling album of the year withJagged Little Pill. The album spent 41 weeks in the top 10 (including 11 weeks at number one), sold around 2 million copies and was certified 7× platinum by theBPI.Spice by theSpice Girls came in second place.Oasis'(What's the Story) Morning Glory?,Falling into You fromCeline Dion andOlder byGeorge Michael made up the top five. Albums byRobson & Jerome,The Fugees,Simply Red,The Beautiful South andTake That were also in thetop-ten best selling albums of the year.
| Symbol | Meaning |
|---|---|
| ‡ | Album peaked in 1994 or 1995 but still in chart in 1996. |
| ♦ | Album released in 1996 but peaked in 1997. |
| (#) | Year-endtop-ten album position and rank |
| Entered | The date that the album first appeared in the chart. |
| Peak | Highest position that the album reached in the UK Albums Chart. |
| Entered (week ending) | Weeks in top 10 | Single | Artist | Peak | Peak reached (week ending) | Weeks at peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Albums in 1994 | ||||||
| 5 March 1994 | 32 | The Colour of My Love ‡ | Celine Dion | 1 | 28 January 1995 | 7 |
| 10 September 1994 | 25 | Definitely Maybe ‡ | Oasis | 1 | 10 September 1994 | 1 |
| 26 November 1994 | 26 | Bizarre Fruit | M People | 3 | 17 February 1996 | 3 |
| Albums in 1995 | ||||||
| 25 March 1995 | 5 | The Bends | Radiohead | 4 | 10 February 1996 | 1 |
| 27 May 1995 | 24 | Stanley Road ‡ | Paul Weller | 1 | 27 May 1995 | 1 |
| 24 June 1995 | 22 | HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I ‡ | Michael Jackson | 1 | 24 June 1995 | 1 |
| 2 September 1995 | 10 | Said and Done ‡ | Boyzone | 1 | 2 September 1995 | 1 |
| 14 October 1995 | 51 | (What's the Story) Morning Glory? ‡ | Oasis | 1 | 14 October 1995 | 10 |
| 21 October 1995 | 15 | Life ‡ | Simply Red | 1 | 21 October 1995 | 3 |
| 28 October 1995 | 3 | All Change ‡ | Cast | 7 | 28 October 1995 | 1 |
| 11 November 1995 | 23 | Different Class ‡ | Pulp | 1 | 11 November 1995 | 1 |
| 5 | Welcome to the Neighbourhood ‡ | Meat Loaf | 3 | 11 November 1995 | 1 | |
| 4 | Power of a Woman ‡ | Eternal | 6 | 11 November 1995 | 1 | |
| 18 November 1995 | 10 | Made in Heaven ‡ | Queen | 1 | 18 November 1995 | 1 |
| 12 | Something to Remember ‡ | Madonna | 3 | 18 November 1995 | 1 | |
| 8 | Love Songs ‡ | Elton John | 4 | 16 December 1995 | 1 | |
| 25 November 1995 | 13 | Robson & Jerome ‡ | Robson & Jerome | 1 | 25 November 1995 | 7 |
| 2 December 1995 | 8 | The Memory of Trees ‡ | Enya | 5 | 9 December 1995 | 1 |
| Albums in 1996 | ||||||
| 20 January 1996 | 41 | Jagged Little Pill | Alanis Morissette | 1 | 4 May 1996 | 11 |
| 27 January 1996 | 2 | First Love | Michael Ball | 4 | 27 January 1996 | 1 |
| 3 February 1996 | 2 | Boys for Pele | Tori Amos | 2 | 3 February 1996 | 1 |
| 10 February 1996 | 1 | Deliverance | Baby D | 5 | 10 February 1996 | 1 |
| 1 | It's a Man's World | Cher | 10 | 10 February 1996 | 1 | |
| 17 February 1996 | 3 | Don't Stop | Status Quo | 2 | 17 February 1996 | 1 |
| 1 | The Boy with the X-Ray Eyes | Babylon Zoo | 6 | 17 February 1996 | 1 | |
| 1 | Murder Ballads | Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds | 8 | 17 February 1996 | 1 | |
| 1 | This World and Body | Marion | 10 | 17 February 1996 | 1 | |
| 24 February 1996 | 3 | Expecting to Fly | The Bluetones | 1 | 24 February 1996 | 1 |
| 1 | Same Oul' Town | The Saw Doctors | 6 | 24 February 1996 | 1 | |
| 9 March 1996 | 1 | Roots | Sepultura | 4 | 9 March 1996 | 1 |
| 1 | Relish | Joan Osborne | 5 | 9 March 1996 | 1 | |
| 16 March 1996 | 12 | Hits | Mike and the Mechanics | 3 | 16 March 1996 | 2 |
| 3 | Mercury Falling | Sting | 4 | 16 March 1996 | 1 | |
| 29 | Ocean Drive ♦ | Lighthouse Family | 3 | 8 March 1997 | 1 | |
| 23 March 1996 | 41 | Falling into You | Celine Dion | 1 | 23 March 1996 | 1 |
| 1 | Regular Urban Survivors | Terrorvision | 8 | 23 March 1996 | 1 | |
| 1 | Second Toughest in the Infants | Underworld | 9 | 23 March 1996 | 1 | |
| 1 | Countdown 1992–1983 | Pulp | 10 | 23 March 1996 | 1 | |
| 30 March 1996 | 2 | Anthology 2 | The Beatles | 1 | 30 March 1996 | 1 |
| 7 | Garbage | Garbage | 6 | 27 April 1996 | 2 | |
| 1 | Lovelife | Lush | 8 | 30 March 1996 | 1 | |
| 6 April 1996 | 10 | Greatest Hits | Take That | 1 | 6 April 1996 | 4 |
| 1 | Golden Heart | Mark Knopfler | 9 | 6 April 1996 | 1 | |
| 13 April 1996 | 4 | Wildest Dreams | Tina Turner | 4 | 13 April 1996 | 1 |
| 1 | A Maximum High | Shed Seven | 8 | 13 April 1996 | 1 | |
| 20 April 1996 | 22 | Moseley Shoals | Ocean Colour Scene | 2 | 20 April 1996 | 6 |
| 27 April 1996 | 1 | Evil Empire | Rage Against the Machine | 4 | 27 April 1996 | 1 |
| 4 May 1996 | 2 | Return of the Mack | Mark Morrison | 4 | 4 May 1996 | 1 |
| 1 | Fairweather Johnson | Hootie & the Blowfish | 9 | 4 May 1996 | 1 | |
| 1 | Nearly God | Tricky | 10 | 4 May 1996 | 1 | |
| 11 May 1996 | 4 | To the Faithful Departed | The Cranberries | 2 | 11 May 1996 | 1 |
| 1 | In Sides | Orbital | 5 | 11 May 1996 | 1 | |
| 18 May 1996 | 9 | 1977 | Ash | 1 | 18 May 1996 | 1 |
| 2 | Walking Wounded | Everything but the Girl | 4 | 18 May 1996 | 1 | |
| 2 | The It Girl | Sleeper | 5 | 18 May 1996 | 1 | |
| 1 | Wild Mood Swings | The Cure | 9 | 18 May 1996 | 1 | |
| 25 May 1996 | 35 | Older | George Michael | 1 | 25 May 1996 | 3 |
| 1 | Slang | Def Leppard | 5 | 25 May 1996 | 1 | |
| 1 June 1996 | 16 | Everything Must Go | Manic Street Preachers | 2 | 1 June 1996 | 2 |
| 31 | The Score | The Fugees | 2 | 5 October 1996 | 1 | |
| 1 | Down on the Upside | Soundgarden | 7 | 1 June 1996 | 1 | |
| 15 June 1996 | 2 | Load | Metallica | 1 | 15 June 1996 | 1 |
| 22 June 1996 | 3 | 18 til I Die | Bryan Adams | 1 | 22 June 1996 | 1 |
| 3 | Dreamland | Robert Miles | 7 | 22 June 1996 | 1 | |
| 29 June 1996 | 6 | Free Peace Sweet | Dodgy | 7 | 29 June 1996 | 1 |
| 6 July 1996 | 18 | Recurring Dream: The Very Best of Crowded House | Crowded House | 1 | 6 July 1996 | 2 |
| 1 | Naked | Louise | 7 | 6 July 1996 | 1 | |
| 12 | The Smurfs Go Pop! | The Smurfs | 2 | 17 August 1996 | 1 | |
| 20 July 1996 | 1 | Raise the Pressure | Electronic | 8 | 20 July 1996 | 1 |
| 31 August 1996 | 3 | The Ultimate Collection | Neil Diamond | 5 | 31 August 1996 | 1 |
| 7 September 1996 | 1 | No Code | Pearl Jam | 3 | 7 September 1996 | 1 |
| 14 September 1996 | 4 | Coming Up | Suede | 1 | 14 September 1996 | 1 |
| 1 | Bilingual | Pet Shop Boys | 4 | 14 September 1996 | 1 | |
| 21 September 1996 | 3 | New Adventures in Hi-Fi | R.E.M. | 1 | 21 September 1996 | 1 |
| 17 | Travelling Without Moving | Jamiroquai | 2 | 21 September 1996 | 2 | |
| 28 September 1996 | 10 | K | Kula Shaker | 1 | 28 September 1996 | 2 |
| 4 | Spiders | Space | 5 | 28 September 1996 | 1 | |
| 12 October 1996 | 2 | Natural | Peter Andre | 1 | 12 October 1996 | 1 |
| 1 | From the Muddy Banks of the Wishkah | Nirvana | 4 | 12 October 1996 | 1 | |
| 6 | Sheryl Crow | Sheryl Crow | 5 | 12 October 1996 | 3 | |
| 19 October 1996 | 16 | Greatest Hits | Simply Red | 1 | 19 October 1996 | 2 |
| 3 | Stoosh | Skunk Anansie | 9 | 19 October 1996 | 2 | |
| 26 October 1996 | 2 | Only Human | Dina Carroll | 2 | 26 October 1996 | 1 |
| 1 | Recovering the Satellites | Counting Crows | 4 | 26 October 1996 | 1 | |
| 2 November 1996 | 22 | Blue Is the Colour | The Beautiful South | 1 | 2 November 1996 | 1 |
| 2 | Dance into the Light | Phil Collins | 4 | 2 November 1996 | 1 | |
| 1 | Ugly Beautiful | Babybird | 9 | 2 November 1996 | 1 | |
| 9 November 1996 | 9 | A Different Beat | Boyzone | 1 | 9 November 1996 | 1 |
| 1 | Anthology 3 | The Beatles | 4 | 9 November 1996 | 1 | |
| 10 | Evita: The Complete Motion Picture Music Soundtrack ♦ | Madonna and Various artists | 1 | 1 February 1997 | 1 | |
| 16 November 1996 | 43 | Spice | Spice Girls | 1 | 16 November 1996 | 15 |
| 6 | Around the World Hit Singles: The Journey So Far | East 17 | 3 | 16 November 1996 | 2 | |
| 3 | If We Fall in Love Tonight | Rod Stewart | 8 | 16 November 1996 | 1 | |
| 23 November 1996 | 7 | Take Two | Robson & Jerome | 1 | 23 November 1996 | 2 |
| 5 | Christmas Party | The Smurfs | 8 | 23 November 1996 | 3 | |
| 1 | The Finest | Fine Young Cannibals | 10 | 23 November 1996 | 1 | |
| 28 December 1996 | 1 | Crocodile Shoes II (Original Songs from the BBC Television Serial) | Jimmy Nail | 10 | 28 December 1996 | 1 |
The following table shows artists who have achieved two or more top 10 entries in 1996, including albums that reached their peak in 1995 or 1997. 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 1996 is also shown.
| Entries | Artist | Weeks | Albums |
|---|
General
Specific
