Official Albums Chart reveal the UK’s biggest-selling albums of all time

There are some obvious and not-so-obvious records in the list
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Ben Travis5 July 2016

The UK album chart has now been around for 60 years, and to celebrate the Official Albums Chart have revealed a list of the UK’s biggest-selling albums of all time.

There are some obvious favourites in the top 10, as well as some more recent releases.

In at the #1 spot is Queen’s Greatest Hits, which has sold 6.1 million copies to date. The band’s Greatest Hits II collection also nabbed the #10 spot.

“What a great bit of news to wake up to!” said Brian May. “The most popular album? Well, I always thought the band showed promise, but this is beyond our boyhood dreams!”

In second place is ABBA’s greatest hits collection Gold, selling just under 5.2 million units since 1992.

The Beatles claimed the highest-selling non-compilation album, with Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band selling over 5.1 million copies and placing at #3.

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The most recent album in the all-time Top 10 is Adele’s 21, while her follow-up album 25 placed at #27 despite only being released seven months ago.

See the top 20 list below, and the full top 60 list at the Official Albums Chart.

1) Queen – Greatest Hits
2) Abba - Gold
3) The Beatles – Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band
4) Adele – 21
5) Oasis – (What’s the Story) Morning Glory
6) Michael Jackson – Thriller
7) Pink Floyd – Dark Side of the Moon
8) Dire Straits – Brothers in Arms
9) Michael Jackson – Bad
10) Queen – Greatest Hits II
11) Fleetwood Mac – Rumours
12) Madonna – The Immaculate Collection
13) Amy Winehouse – Back to Black
14) Simply Red – Stars
15) Shania Twain – Come on Over
16) Bob Marley & The Wailers – Legend
17) James Blunt – Back To Bedlam
18) The Verve – Urban Hymns
19) Meat Loaf – Bat Out Of Hell
20) The Beatles – 1

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