#1 Album Artists

The following list shows the artists ranked by the number of weeks spent at the top.

Weeks spent at #1 (number of chart-topping albums if more than one)–Artist
(Weeks at #1) Album title

102 (7)–Värttinä
29 Vihma
26 Ilmatar
19 Seleniko
11 6.12.
11 iki
Aitara
Oi dai

100 (9)–Madonna
30 ray of light
18 Like a Prayer
10 True Blue
10 Erotica
“Music”
I’m Breathless
The Immaculate Collection
American Life
Bedtime Stories

85 (9)–Paul McCartney
19 Off the Ground
18 Flowers in the Dirt
16 Give My Regards to Broad Street
11 Pipes of Peace
Press to Play
Wingspan Hits and History
“Driving Rain”
Flaming Pie
Say Say Say with Michael Jackson

57 (5)–Pointer Sisters
15 Fire–The Very Best of the Pointer Sisters
12 Right Rhythm
12 Only Sisters Can Do That
Hot Together
Serious Slammin’

53 (7)–The Beatles
12 The Beatles Anthology 1
10 The Beatles Anthology 2
10 The Beatles Anthology 3
1
‘Live at the BBC’
The Beatles/1967-1970
Let it Be… Naked

44 (5)–Simple Minds
16 Once Upon a Time
11 Live in the City of Light
Real Life
Good News from the Next World
Street Fighting Years

44 (5)–Ultra Bra
26 Sinä päivänä kun synnyin
11 Kroketti
Vesireittejä
Vapaaherran elämää
Kalifornia

39 (5)–Pet Shop Boys
25 Very
Alternative
Bilingual
Nightlife
Release

34 (5)–Janet Jackson
14 The Velvet Rope
Janet Jackson’s Rhythm Nation 1814
All for You
Design of a Decade 1986/1996
janet.

32 (2)–John Lennon
26 Milk and Honey with Yoko Ono
John Lennon Live in New York City

31 (3)–George Harrison
21 Cloud Nine
All Things Must Pass
Brainwashed

30 (5)–Michael Jackson
15 Dangerous
Bad
HIStory Past, Present and Future Book 1
Thriller
Say Say Say with Paul McCartney

27 (4)–R.E.M.
16 Out of Time
Automatic for the People
Monster
New Adventures in Hi-Fi

26 (3)–The B-52’s
14 Cosmic Thing
10 Good Stuff
Time Capsule Songs for a Future Generation

26–Yoko Ono
Milk and Honey with John Lennon

22 (5)–U2
10 Achtung Baby
The Joshua Tree
Rattle and Hum
The Best of 1980-1990 The B-Sides 1980-1990
Zooropa

22 (2)–Julian Lennon
15 Valotte
The Secret Value of Daydreaming

21 (3)–m people
the best of m people
Bizarre Fruit
fresco

20 (4)–Duran Duran
Notorious
Thank You
Big Thing
Liberty

17 (2)–Traveling Wilburys
16 Volume One
Vol. 3

15 (3)–Prince
10 Purple Rain
Diamonds and Pearls
Lovesexy

15 (2)–Sari Kaasinen
14 emo
Joko Joulun alkaa saa with Mari Kaasinen

15–LeAnn Rimes
Blue

14–INXS
X

13 (2)–Def Leppard
Adrenalize
Hysteria

12 (2)–Chris Isaak
San Francisco Days
Forever Blue

12–Tears For Fears
Songs from the Big Chair

10 (4)–Oasis
(What’s the Story) Morning Glory?
Be Here Now
Standing on the Shoulder of Giants
Heathen Chemistry

10 (2)–Bruce Springsteen
Tunnel of Love
Live/1975-85

9 (2)–Bryan Adams
Waking Up the Neighbours
Reckless

9 (2)–Elvis Presley
Elv1s 30 #1 Hits
Elvis 2nd to None

8–George Michael
Faith

6–Hedningarna
Karelia Visa

6–k.d. lang
Even Cowgirls Get the Blues

6–Alanis Morissette
Jagged Little Pill

6–Scandinavian Music Group
Onnelliset kohtaa

5–Peter Gabriel
So

5–The Power Station
The Power Station

4 (2)–Donna Summer
Endless Summer Donna Summer’s Greatest Hits
Live & More Encore!

4–Heart
Heart

4–Nirvana
Nevermind

3–Rick Astley
Whenever You Need Somebody

3–Rosemary Clooney
Do You Miss New York?

3–The Cult
Love

3–Jacksons
Victory

2–Lisa Stansfield
Affection

2–’til tuesday
Voices Carry

1–Paula Abdul
Forever Your Girl

1–Bon Jovi
Slippery When Wet

1–c + c music factory
Gonna Make You Sweat

1–Darude
Before the Storm

1–Ella Fitzgerald
Ella Wishes You a Swinging Christmas

1–Mari Kaasinen
Joko Joulun alkaa saa with Sari Kaasinen

1–Joni Mitchell
Hits

1–New Order
Republic

1–the northern pikes
hits and assorted secrets 1984-1993

31 (3)–Soundtracks
18 Evita
12 Zero Patience A Musical About AIDS
Nousukausi

4 (3)–Various Artists compilations
Jackpot! The Las Vegas Story
Diana Princess of Wales Tribute
Now That’s What I Call Christmas 2! The Signature Collection

A total of 142 albums hit the #1 spot over the twenty years I kept a Top Ten Albums chart. 136 of those albums were by artists and six albums, listed immediately above, were either multi-artist Soundtracks or Various Artists compilations. 56 artists comprised these 136 chart-topping albums. In three cases a #1 album was by a pair of performers, such as:

Say Say Say by Paul McCartney and Michael Jackson
Milk and Honey by John Lennon and Yoko Ono
Joko Joulun alkaa saa by Sari ja Mari Kaasinen

In all three examples, at least one member of this pair also had at least one chart-topping album of his or her own. I have decided to separate these individual chart-topping artists from their #1 pairings. So while Paul McCartney and Michael Jackson would have been listed separately anyway as each had multiple #1 solo albums, Yoko Ono and Mari Kaasinen only appeared as half of an album pairing and are listed separately from John Lennon and Sari Kaasinen respectively. I have been lenient with Prince, where all three of his #1 albums were credited to a different permutation of His Purpleness: as Prince and the Revolution; Prince And The N.P.G. and Prince. There are no separate entries for the Revolution or The N.P.G.

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