A list of the UK’s best-selling albums of the 21st Century has been revealed.
Announced to coincide with National Album Day (October 12), a list of the country’s 40 best-selling albums over the past 20 years was shared on BBC Radio 2’s Pick of the Pops.
Adele took the top spot with her second album, ’21’, which, since being released in 2011, has sold over five million copies.
The album, which features hits such as ‘Rolling in the Deep’ and ‘Someone Like You’, has sold over a million copies more than the second biggest-seller, Amy Winehouse‘s ‘Back To Black’.
Adele’s most recent album, ’25’, also made the list, coming in third on the chart, while her debut, ’19’, also made the list at 26.
Other albums to appear on the list included Ed Sheeran‘s ‘x’, ‘+’ and ‘÷’, Dido‘s ‘No Angel’ and ‘Life For Rent’, King of Leon‘s ‘Only By the Night’, Eminem‘s ‘Marshall Mathers LP’, as well albums by Coldplay, Lady Gaga, Take That, Keane, Green Day, Maroon 5, Scissor Sisters and Robbie Williams.
See the full list below:
1 ’21’ – Adele (2011)
2 ‘Back To Black’ – Amy Winehouse (2006)
3 ’25’ – Adele (2015)
4 ‘X’ – Ed Sheeran (2014)
5 ‘÷’ – Ed Sheeran (2017)
6 ‘Back To Bedlam’ – James Blunt (2004)
7 ‘Spirit’ – Leona Lewis (2007)
8 ‘Crazy Love’ – Michael Buble (2009)
9 ‘No Angel’ – Dido (2000)
10 ‘White Ladder’ – David Gray (1999)
11 ‘The Fame’ – Lady Gaga (2008)
12 ‘Only By The Night’ – Kings Of Leon (2008)
13 ‘A Rush Of Blood To The Head’ – Coldplay (2002)
14 ‘Christmas’ – Michael Buble (2011)
15 ‘Life For Rent’ – Dido (2003)
16 ‘Beautiful World’ – Take That (2006)
17 ‘Hopes And Fears’ – Keane (2004)
18 ‘X&Y’ – Coldplay (2005)
19 ‘Scissor Sisters’ – Scissor Sisters (2004)
20 ‘Parachutes’ – Coldplay (2000)
21 ‘Come Away With Me’ – Norah Jones (2002)
22 ‘The Marshall Mathers Lp’ – Eminem (2000)
23 ‘In The Lonely Hour’ – Sam Smith (2014)
24 ‘+’ – Ed Sheeran (2011)
25 ‘Eyes Open’ – Snow Patrol (2006)
26 ’19’ – Adele (2008)
27 ‘Our Version Of Events’ – Emeli Sande (2012)
28 ‘Swing When You’re Winning’ – Robbie Williams (2001)
29 ‘Progress’ – Take That (2010)
30 ‘Hot Fuss’ – Killers (2004)
31 ‘American Idiot’ – Green Day (2004)
32 ‘The Circus’ – Take That (2008)
33 ‘Rockferry’ – Duffy (2008)
34 ‘Sing When You’re Winning’ – Robbie Williams (2000)
35 ‘By The Way’ – Red Hot Chili Peppers (2002)
36 ‘Songs About Jane’ – Maroon 5 (2003)
37 ‘Escapology’ – Robbie Williams (2002)
38 ‘Employment’ – Kaiser Chiefs (2005)
39 ‘The Greatest Showman’ – Motion Picture Cast Recording (2017)
40 ‘Loud’ – Rihanna (2010)
The tweet read: “I’m calling my next album ADELE”, with some fans assuming Gaga is just joking, and others wondering if she’s seriously naming her album after her fellow pop megastar.