The UK’s Biggest Selling Albums Of The Millennium (Thus Far) Include Lady Gaga’s ‘The Fame’ And Rihanna’s ‘Loud’

Mike Wass | March 19, 2015 1:18 pm
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From Beyonce’s 20 Grammys to Mariah Carey’s 18 number one hits, stats (or receipts) are highly prized by fans and routinely quoted when it’s time to clock a bitch on Twitter. That makes the just-announced list of the UK’s top 50 selling albums of the millennium — thus far — so tantalizing. Still pressed that Lady Gaga’s ARTPOP flopped? Well, take pride in the fact that The Fame is the ninth best-selling LP released in Great Britain since 2000!

Of course, there can only be one queen and that’s (pretty obviously) Adele. The Brit’s chart-conquering 21 has sold more than 4.7 millions copies in the UK, which places the opus ahead of Amy Winehouse’s seminal Back To Black. It sold 3,560,000 copies. The top five is rounded out by James Blunt’s Back To Bedlam, Leona Lewis’ debut LP Spirit and Dido’s No Angel.

While the list is dominated by local acts (Robbie Williams and Take That have four entries each), most international superstars are represented. Eminem, Maroon 5, Justin Timberlake and Christina Aguilera all made the cut, as did Rihanna — twice. Loud and Good Girl Gone Bad are represented, which is interesting given her comparatively low album sales in the US. Also, there’s no Beyonce, Britney Spears, Madonna or Katy Perry. Which surprised me.

The UK’s top 50 biggest selling albums of the millennium:

1. 21 — ADELE
2. BACK TO BLACK — AMY WINEHOUSE
3. BACK TO BEDLAM — JAMES BLUNT
4. SPIRIT — LEONA LEWIS
5. NO ANGEL — DIDO
6. 1 — BEATLES
7. CRAZY LOVE — MICHAEL BUBLE
8. WHITE LADDER — DAVID GRAY
9. THE FAME — LADY GAGA
10. A RUSH OF BLOOD TO THE HEAD — COLDPLAY
11. LIFE FOR RENT — DIDO
12. ONLY BY THE NIGHT — KINGS OF LEON
13. BEAUTIFUL WORLD — TAKE THAT
14. HOPES AND FEARS — KEANE
15. SCISSOR SISTERS — SCISSOR SISTERS
16. X&Y — COLDPLAY
17. PARACHUTES — COLDPLAY
18. COME AWAY WITH ME — NORAH JONES
19. GOLD – GREATEST HITS — ABBA
20. THE MARSHALL MATHERS LP — EMINEM
21. SWING WHEN YOU’RE WINNING — ROBBIE WILLIAMS
22. PROGRESS — TAKE THAT
23. EYES OPEN — SNOW PATROL
24. NEVER FORGET THE ULTIMATE COLLECTION — TAKE THAT
25. GREATEST HITS — ROBBIE WILLIAMS
26. NUMBER ONES — MICHAEL JACKSON
27. 19 — ADELE
28. CHRISTMAS — MICHAEL BUBLE
29. ROCKFERRY — DUFFY
30. THE CIRCUS — TAKE THAT
31. SING WHEN YOU’RE WINNING — ROBBIE WILLIAMS
32. OUR VERSION OF EVENTS — EMELI SANDE
33. HOT FUSS — KILLERS
34. AMERICAN IDIOT — GREEN DAY
35. ESCAPOLOGY — ROBBIE WILLIAMS
36. EMPLOYMENT — KAISER CHIEFS
37. SONGS ABOUT JANE — MAROON 5
38. BY THE WAY — RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS
39. X — ED SHEERAN
40. STRIPPED — CHRISTINA AGUILERA
41. JUSTIFIED — JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE
42. THE GREATEST HITS — TEXAS
43. I DREAMED A DREAM — SUSAN BOYLE
44. + — ED SHEERAN
45. LOUD — RIHANNA
46. GOOD GIRL GONE BAD — RIHANNA
47. CALL OFF THE SEARCH — KATIE MELUA
48. BORN TO DO IT — CRAIG DAVID
49. UNBREAKABLE THE GREATEST HITS VOL 1 — WESTLIFE
50. GREATEST HITS — GUNS N’ ROSES

Are you surprised by any of the entries? Have your say in the comments below.

[Via Official Charts].

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