The Official Top 40 Biggest Albums of 2023 so far

The UK's top albums of the year so far including Lewis Capaldi, Ed Sheeran, Pink and more
Biggest albums of 2023

Lewis Capaldi claims the UK’s Official biggest new album of 2023 so far with Broken by Desire to be Heavenly Sent, Official Charts can confirm, while The Weeknd’s The Highlights leads the pack overall. 

Released in May of this year and the eighth biggest LP of 2023 thus far, Lewis’s second studio album saw him clinch the biggest opening week of his career; Broken by Desire… shifted 95,000 chart units in its first seven days of release. 

The record, which houses Number 1 singles Forget Me, Pointless and Wish You the Best, is 2023’s most physically purchased album so far, selling 100,000 copies on physical formats since its release, and the year’s biggest seller overall when including downloads too. Lewis’s debut album, 2019’s Divinely Uninspired to a Hellish Extent also makes the list at Number 12.

Lewis Capaldi

MORE: The Official Top 40 Biggest Songs of 2023 so far

Canadian singer-songwriter The Weeknd, born Abel Tesfaye, tops the year-to-date list. His career-spanning album The Highlights, which includes Number 1 hit Blinding Lights and a selection of his 35 Top 40 singles, is the UK’s Official biggest album of the year so far. The collection peaked at Number 2 on the Official Albums Chart upon its release. 

The Weeknd’s 2016 record Starboy also secures a place on the year-to-date list at Number 29 thanks, in part, to the success of a 2023 remix of its single Die for You featuring Ariana Grande, which peaked at Number 3 earlier this year. 

Elsewhere in the Top 5 of 2023 so far, Harry Styles’ third studio release Harry’s House holds steady at (3), and Elton John’s headline Glastonbury Pyramid Stage performance in back in June ensures his 2017 Diamonds compilation upholds its Top 5 position for another quarter (4). SZA’s 2022 record SOS also retains its Top 5 placing as Q3 closes out (5).

After just 12 weeks on chart, Taylor Swift’s Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) earns a spot on the list at Number 20. Hitting Number 1 on its release in July 2023, the fully re-recorded version of Taylor’s 2010 record Speak Now out-peaked its original release, the first issue having reached a high of Number 6. In the process, Taylor’s Version more than doubled the opening week figure of the original album.

Taylor Swift

MORE: Albums to look forward to in 2023

As her career-celebrating The Eras Tour gets well under way in the US, Taylor enjoys a further four entries inside the year-to-date Top 40. At Number 2 is 2022’s Midnights, which saw Taylor break Official Chart records last year as she became the female solo artist to claim nine chart-topping albums in the fastest succession ever; surpassing previous record-holder Madonna.

Other Taylor appearances come courtesy of 2014 LP 1989 at Number 11 (soon to be re-released with re-recordings and previously unheard material ‘from the vault’ as 1989 (Taylor’s Version)), 2020’s folklore at Number 19 and 2017 release Reputation at Number 24. 

Pink earns another of 2023’s biggest new release records with TRUSTFALL at Number 21. Alicia Moore’s ninth studio album, housing Top 20 singles Never Gonna Not Dance Again, and its Fred again..-produced title track TRUSTFALL, claims the title of the UK’s most downloaded album of the year so far. 

Olivia Rodrigo’s second studio album GUTS is one of 2023’s biggest albums so far after just three weeks of release. The former Number 1, which contains chart-topping single vampire and Top 10 tracks bad idea, right? and get him back!, lands at Number 36 in the year-to-date Top 40. Additionally Olivia’s chart-topping debut, 2021’s SOUR, holds strong in 2023’s Top 20 so far at Number 17.

Olivia Rodrigo poses with her Official Number 1 album award for GUTS

Lana Del Rey’s 2023 release Did you know that there’s a tunnel under Ocean Blvd makes the year-to-date list at Number 37. The album topped the Official Albums Chart on its release in April, providing Lana her sixth UK Number 1 record and earning her strongest opening week since 2014’s Ultraviolence.

Lana Del Rey

Another new 2023 release, Post Malone’s hits compilation The Diamond Collection, rounds out the list at Number 40. The New York multi-hyphenate’s collection includes 2017 Number 1 single rockstar ft. 21 Savage, plus a curated tracklist of some of his further 19 UK Top 40 songs.

Official Top 40 Biggest Albums of 2023 so far

POS TITLE ARTIST PEAK
1 THE HIGHLIGHTS WEEKND 2
2 MIDNIGHTS TAYLOR SWIFT 1
3 HARRY'S HOUSE HARRY STYLES 1
4 DIAMONDS ELTON JOHN 2
5 SOS SZA 2
6 50 YEARS - DON'T STOP FLEETWOOD MAC 5
7 CURTAIN CALL - THE HITS EMINEM 1
8 BROKEN BY DESIRE TO BE HEAVENLY SENT LEWIS CAPALDI 1
9 AM ARCTIC MONKEYS 1
10 GOLD - GREATEST HITS ABBA 1
11 1989 TAYLOR SWIFT 1
12 DIVINELY UNINSPIRED TO A HELLISH EXTENT LEWIS CAPALDI 1
13 - ED SHEERAN 1
14 LOVER TAYLOR SWIFT 1
15 = ED SHEERAN 1
16 TIME FLIES - 1994-2009 OASIS 1
17 SOUR OLIVIA RODRIGO 1
18 GREATEST HITS QUEEN 1
19 FOLKLORE TAYLOR SWIFT 1
20 SPEAK NOW (TAYLOR'S VERSION) TAYLOR SWIFT 1
21 TRUSTFALL PINK 1
22 DIVIDE ED SHEERAN 1
23 RUMOURS FLEETWOOD MAC 1
24 REPUTATION TAYLOR SWIFT 1
25 THE ESSENTIAL MICHAEL JACKSON 1
26 FINE LINE HARRY STYLES 2
27 RENAISSANCE BEYONCE 1
28 BETWEEN US LITTLE MIX 2
29 STARBOY WEEKND 5
30 CURTAIN CALL 2 EMINEM 3
31 BORN TO DIE LANA DEL REY 1
32 I WILL ALWAYS LOVE YOU - THE BEST OF WHITNEY HOUSTON 13
33 ELV1S - 30 NUMBER 1 HITS ELVIS PRESLEY 1
34 WHAT'S THE STORY MORNING GLORY OASIS 1
35 HEROES & VILLAINS METRO BOOMIN 3
36 GUTS OLIVIA RODRIGO 1
37 DID YOU KNOW THAT THERE'S A TUNNEL UNDER LANA DEL REY 1
38 WHATEVER PEOPLE SAY I AM THAT'S WHAT I'M ARCTIC MONKEYS 1
39 SINGLES MAROON 5 32
40 THE DIAMOND COLLECTION POST MALONE 14

©2023 Official Charts Company. All rights reserved.

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THIERRY

1

TRUSTFALL only at number 14!! but at least i am happy to see WHITNEY and BOB making the Top 40!!

PTTT

Pay The Troll Toll.....

1

Fact check: Taylor Swift overtook Madonna's record of 9 number ones by re-recording her own old albums for fans who were suckers and bought into being ripped off. This should not count! Re-issues and re-recordings. At least Madonna's albums, albeit a couple of compilations in there, were not rehashed whole collections. Anyway, Kylie Minogue is going to get another number one album with Tension if the success of the single is anything to go by.

A

Andy💁🏼

0

I’m hoping that the OCC agree to make a separate chart for compilation / greatest hits albums. The way those are clogging up the weekly charts is not dissimilar to what happened with soundtracks a few years ago. The Top 100 albums chart should be compiled of standalone studio albums only for the positions to mean anything.
For example, how is it fair to compare the success of a greatest hits release, mainly comprised of previously released hits to sales of a brand new, original, unknown album? They aren’t on a level playing field.
Create a new chart and remove these greatest hits releases there to battle it out amongst themselves.

PYG

pipis y gañas

0

if an album in consumed who cares if it's a GH or not. Why do you want to remove those? to have flop new material go 1-15565? or how about 7-out? please.... GHs are here to stay

M

Moca

1

In the future charts, I'd be curious to see the sales of just 2023 albums.

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🧡 oliviasnoodles 🍜

3

the weeknd is the biggest album of the year with something that’s not even a studio album? . somehow staler than last year. i hoped it would be sza, that album was remarkable but i’m glad to see born to die in the top 40 following ocean blvd’s success!

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Blank

0

5 GH in the top 10, 10 in the top 40. 13 catalogue albums (over 18 months old). So 23 of the top 40 are of old music! As you say, not exactly the freshest year, but then last year and the one before that were similar.

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afrog

0

also wasn't released in the last year :P

AUCF

Angry UK Chart Fan

-1

What a fresh chart. Especially the 2 earlier Arctic Monkeys albums outselling their latest 'The Car'. Wonderful stuff. *clap* *clap* *clap*