List of UK Albums Chart number ones of the 1990s

UK Albums Chart
number ones
UK Albums Chart
Official Charts Company
Christmas number one
Colour photograph of Simply Red performing live onstage in 2009.
British band Simply Red spent 19 weeks at the top of the UK Albums Chart during the 1990s, longer than any other act.

The UK Albums Chart is a weekly record chart based on album sales from Sunday to Saturday in the United Kingdom; during the 1990s, a total of 216 albums reached number one. Until 1 February 1994, the chart was compiled each week by Gallup – after this date, it was managed by Millward Brown, who expanded the number of sales figures sampled, and extended the use of electronic point of sale machines.[1] From July 1998 onwards, compilation of the chart was overseen by the Chart Information Network, jointly operated by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) and the British Association of Record Dealers.[1] Throughout the decade, the chart was based solely on physical album sales, and each week's number one was first announced on Sunday evenings on The Radio 1 Chart Show.[2]

The most successful artist of the 1990s was British band Simply Red, who topped the UK Albums Chart for 19 weeks with four different albums.[3] Stars, their fourth studio album, sold 3.29 million copies in total,[4] and was the biggest-selling album of both 1991 and 1992.[5] Stars was the second biggest-selling album of the decade; it was outsold by Manchester band Oasis's second album, (What's the Story) Morning Glory?,[4] which spent 10 weeks at number one during 1995 and 1996,[3] and sold 4.16 million copies.[4] It was the highest-certified album of the 1990s, achieving platinum certification 13 times.[6] Following the album's success, Oasis's follow-up, Be Here Now, sold 663,000 copies in the first four days of its release, making it the fastest-selling album in UK chart history.[7]

The first number-one album of the 1990s was ...But Seriously by Phil Collins[8] – released in 1989, ...But Seriously first reached number one in December of that year, and remained at the top for eight weeks.[9] It stayed at number one for nine weeks during the decade, and was the biggest-selling album of 1990.[3] The final number one of the 1990s was Come On Over by Shania Twain.[10] Like ...But Seriously, Come on Over remained at number one into the following decade,[11] and was the biggest-selling album of its year.[12] In chart terms, the most successful album of the nineties was Spice, the debut album from the Spice Girls, which spent 15 weeks at number one over five separate runs.[3] The Spice Girls' record label, Virgin Records, was the most successful label of the decade – with an artist roster that included the Spice Girls, Phil Collins and Meat Loaf, Virgin topped the albums chart with 19 different albums for a total of 62 weeks.[13]

  1. ^ a b "Key Dates in the History of the Official UK Charts". London: The Official UK Charts Company. 2007. Archived from the original on 10 January 2008. Retrieved 6 April 2012.
  2. ^ "The Official UK Top 40 Albums Chart". London: BBC Radio 1. 2011. Archived from the original on 3 July 2012. Retrieved 6 April 2012.
  3. ^ a b c d "Number 1 Albums – 1990s". London: The Official UK Charts Company. Archived from the original on 9 August 2005. Retrieved 6 April 2012.
  4. ^ a b c "Top 10 Selling Albums of the 1990s in the UK". Evening Chronicle. Newcastle upon Tyne. 16 August 2003.
  5. ^ Ellen, Barbara (23 March 2003). "The Mother of All Bachelors". The Observer. London: Guardian News and Media. ISSN 0029-7712. OCLC 470355082. Archived from the original on 17 December 2013.
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference Certifications was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Pickover, Ella (22 November 2010). "Record First-week Sales for Take That". The Independent. London: Independent Print. ISSN 0951-9467. OCLC 240904920. Archived from the original on 25 November 2010.
  8. ^ "Top 40 Official UK Albums Archive: 13th January 1990". Official Charts Company. 2010. Retrieved 6 April 2011.
  9. ^ Cite error: The named reference Year 1990 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  10. ^ "Top 40 Official UK Albums Archive: 1st January 2000". Official Charts Company. 2010. Retrieved 6 April 2011.
  11. ^ Cite error: The named reference Year 1999 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  12. ^ McLean, Craig (29 May 2003). "Up and Away". The Daily Telegraph. London. ISSN 0307-1235. OCLC 613316876. Archived from the original on 29 February 2016.
  13. ^ Martland, Peter (1997). Edge, Ruth (ed.). Since Records Began: EMI, the First 100 Years (illustrated ed.). London: Batsford. p. 263. ISBN 9780713462074. OCLC 37740500.