Every Number 1 album by a female solo artist

All the women who went to the top of the Official Albums Chart.

The first Number 1 by a female solo artist arrived shockingly late - a full 21 years after the Official Albums Chart was established.

But what a way to start, with a proper legend. The soundtrack to the seventies remake of A Star is Born climbed to Number 1 on its 13th week on the chart, making the movie's leading lady Barbra Streisand the first woman to top it. Although it was first officially billed as a soundtrack, the album has since been credited to Barbra as a solo artist upon re-release.

Barbra certainly got a taste for the Number 1 slot, heading back to it six more times, most recently in 2016 with Encore: Movie Partners Sing Broadway. View Barbra Streisand's full Official Chart history here.

More recently, Billie Eilish's chart-topping debut When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? in 2019 made her the youngest female solo star to both top and go straight in at Number 1 on the albums chart, at 17 years old.

MORE: The female solo artists with the most Number 1 albums

Kate Bush has racked up three Number 1 albums and also has a couple of chart records under her belt. With Never For Ever in 1980, Kate became not only the first British solo female to score a chart-topping album, she was the first EVER woman to go straight in at Number 1! And another record: in 2014, at the announcement of her first live shows in over 35 years, Kate scored more Top 40 albums in the same week than any other female artist ever.

The lady with the most visits to Number 1 is Madonna, who has topped the Official Albums Chart 12 times over her career. First was second album Like A Virgin, which took a mammoth 44 weeks to finally go to Number 1, in September 1985. Her next one, True Blue, went straight in at the top and stayed there for six straight weeks – it's her biggest selling studio album in the UK – and all but one of her subsequent Number 1s have debuted at the summit. Her 1990 greatest hits collection The Immaculate Collection is her longest-running Number 1 – nine weeks at the top and 3.7 million copies sold, making it her top seller in the UK and the 13th biggest selling album of all time here.

Next up is Taylor Swift, with a very impressive nine Number 1 albums since her first chart-topper in 2012 - three of which were within just 259 days of each other, beating a record held by The Beatles for 54 years. Taylor's most recent was Midnights in November 2022.

Kylie Minogue has eight Number 1s to her name and when her 1988 debut Kylie went to Number 1, she was the youngest female artist to top the chart – a record she held for almost 20 years until Made of Bricks made Kate Nash the youngest in 2007. Next down the list is Celine Dion with five, and Rihanna with four. Lady Gaga now joins Rihanna with four chart-toppers following the release of her Chromatica album.

No list of Number 1 females is complete without our national treasure Adele. She may have "only" scored four Number 1 albums but she has certainly kept herself busy at the top. Over those four chart-toppers, Adele has spent more weeks at Number 1 than any other woman in pop - 42!

The first female solo debut to go in at Number 1 was Gloria Estefan's Cuts Both Ways – previously she'd been credited alongside her band Miami Sound Machine. If we're talking a female solo artist going in at Number 1 with their very first album, that honour goes to Jane McDonald – she is the first British woman to debut at the top of the albums chart with their first LP.

Only 27 women can claim to have gone straight in at the top with their debut – you can see who has in the below table – but the exclusive club includes former Destiny's Child bandmates Kelly Rowland and Beyoncé, Corinne Bailey Rae, Adele, Susan Boyle, Ellie Goulding, Rita Ora, Lana Del Rey and Billie Eilish.

On one occasion in 2009, a debut album by a solo female act went straight in at Number 1, only to be knocked off the top by another female debut doing exactly the same! That honour goes to Alexandra Burke and her debut album Overcome, which was deposed by Alexandra's X Factor mentor Cheryl and 3 Words, her first album without the rest of Girls Aloud.

Here is the full list of the 168 female artist albums to reach Number 1 on the Official Albums Chart.

W/E DATE WENT TO NUMBER 1	TITLE	ARTIST	DEBUT ALBUM	ENTERED CHART AT NUMBER 1
02/07/1977	A STAR IS BORN (OST)	BARBRA STREISAND
27/08/1977	20 ALL TIME GREATS	CONNIE FRANCIS
31/03/1979	BARBRA STREISAND'S GREATEST HITS VOLUME 2	BARBRA STREISAND
20/09/1980	NEVER FOR EVER	KATE BUSH		*
08/11/1980	GUILTY	BARBRA STREISAND
30/01/1982	LOVE SONGS	BARBRA STREISAND
16/04/1983	FASTER THAN THE SPEED OF NIGHT	BONNIE TYLER		*
19/01/1985	ALF	ALISON MOYET	*
21/09/1985	LIKE A VIRGIN	MADONNA
28/09/1985	HOUNDS OF LOVE	KATE BUSH		*
12/07/1986	TRUE BLUE	MADONNA		*
17/01/1987	THE WHOLE STORY	KATE BUSH
13/06/1987	WHITNEY	WHITNEY HOUSTON		*
02/07/1988	TRACY CHAPMAN	TRACY CHAPMAN	*
27/08/1988	KYLIE - THE ALBUM	KYLIE MINOGUE	*
01/04/1989	LIKE A PRAYER	MADONNA		*
05/08/1989	CUTS BOTH WAYS	GLORIA ESTEFAN	*	*
30/09/1989	FOREIGN AFFAIR	TINA TURNER		*
14/10/1989	CROSSROADS	TRACY CHAPMAN		*
21/10/1989	ENJOY YOURSELF	KYLIE MINOGUE		*
24/03/1990	I DO NOT WANT WHAT I HAVEN'T GOT	SINEAD O'CONNOR
24/11/1990	THE IMMACULATE COLLECTION	MADONNA		*
02/03/1991	CIRCLE OF ONE	OLETA ADAMS		*
29/06/1991	LOVE HURTS	CHER		*
16/11/1991	SHEPHERD MOONS	ENYA		*
18/04/1992	DIVA	ANNIE LENNOX	*	*
05/09/1992	KYLIE GREATEST HITS	KYLIE MINOGUE		*
26/09/1992	THE BEST OF BELINDA VOLUME I	BELINDA CARLISLE
21/11/1992	CHER'S GREATEST HITS: 1965-1992	CHER		*
06/03/1993	DIVA	ANNIE LENNOX		*
29/05/1993	JANET	JANET JACKSON		*
19/06/1993	WHAT'S LOVE GOT TO DO WITH IT (OST)	TINA TURNER		*
11/09/1993	MUSIC BOX	MARIAH CAREY		*
01/01/1994	ONE WOMAN - THE ULTIMATE COLLECTION	DIANA ROSS
12/02/1994	UNDER THE PINK	TORI AMOS		*
28/01/1995	THE COLOUR OF MY LOVE	CELINE DION
18/03/1995	MEDUSA	ANNIE LENNOX		*
03/06/1995	SINGLES	ALISON MOYET		*
07/10/1995	DAYDREAM	MARIAH CAREY		*
23/03/1996	FALLING INTO YOU	CELINE DION		*
04/05/1996	JAGGED LITTLE PILL	ALANIS MORISSETTE	*
01/02/1997	EVITA (OST)	MADONNA & VARIOUS ARTISTS
29/11/1997	LET'S TALK ABOUT LOVE	CELINE DION		*
14/03/1998	RAY OF LIGHT	MADONNA		*
25/07/1998	JANE MCDONALD	JANE MCDONALD	*	*
11/09/1999	COME ON OVER	SHANIA TWAIN
27/11/1999	ALL THE WAY - A DECADE OF SONG	CELINE DION		*
19/02/2000	RISE	GABRIELLE
27/05/2000	GREATEST HITS	WHITNEY HOUSTON		*
30/09/2000	MUSIC	MADONNA		*
10/02/2001	NO ANGEL	DIDO	*
24/03/2001	SONGBIRD	EVA CASSIDY
29/09/2001	THE ID	MACY GRAY		*
13/10/2001	FEVER	KYLIE MINOGUE		*
16/03/2002	THE ESSENTIAL BARBRA STREISAND	BARBRA STREISAND
06/04/2002	A NEW DAY HAS COME	CELINE DION		*
31/08/2002	IMAGINE	EVA CASSIDY		*
11/01/2003	LET GO	AVRIL LAVIGNE	*
15/02/2003	SIMPLY DEEP	KELLY ROWLAND	*	*
08/03/2003	COME AWAY WITH ME	NORAH JONES	*
03/05/2003	AMERICAN LIFE	MADONNA		*
05/07/2003	DANGEROUSLY IN LOVE	BEYONCE	*	*
23/08/2003	AMERICAN TUNE	EVA CASSIDY		*
11/10/2003	LIFE FOR RENT	DIDO		*
31/01/2004	CALL OFF THE SEARCH	KATIE MELUA	*
21/02/2004	FEELS LIKE HOME	NORAH JONES		*
10/04/2004	ANASTACIA	ANASTACIA		*
05/06/2004	UNDER MY SKIN	AVRIL LAVIGNE		*
18/09/2004	UNWRITTEN	NATASHA BEDINGFIELD	*	*
09/10/2004	MIND BODY AND SOUL	JOSS STONE		*
16/04/2005	COUNTING DOWN THE DAYS	NATALIE IMBRUGLIA		*
08/10/2005	PIECE BY PIECE	KATIE MELUA		*
26/11/2005	CONFESSIONS ON A DANCEFLOOR	MADONNA		*
11/03/2006	CORINNE BAILEY RAE	CORINNE BAILEY RAE	*	*
17/06/2006	SMILE ... IT CONFUSES PEOPLE	SANDI THOM	*	*
26/08/2006	BACK TO BASICS	CHRISTINA AGUILERA		*
20/01/2007	BACK TO BLACK	AMY WINEHOUSE
10/02/2007	NOT TOO LATE	NORAH JONES		*
28/04/2007	THE BEST DAMN THING	AVRIL LAVIGNE		*
16/06/2007	GOOD GIRL GONE BAD	RIHANNA		*
18/08/2007	MADE OF BRICKS	KATE NASH	*	*
24/11/2007	SPIRIT	LEONA LEWIS	*	*
19/01/2008	THIS IS THE LIFE	AMY MACDONALD	*
09/02/2008	19	ADELE	*	*
08/03/2008	BACK TO BLACK (DELUXE EDITION)	AMY WINEHOUSE
15/03/2008	ROCKFERRY	DUFFY	*	*
10/05/2008	HARD CANDY	MADONNA		*
08/11/2008	FUNHOUSE	PINK		*
21/02/2009	IT'S NOT ME IT'S YOU	LILY ALLEN		*
11/04/2009	THE FAME	LADY GAGA	*
19/09/2009	WE'LL MEET AGAIN - THE VERY BEST OF	VERA LYNN
03/10/2009	CELEBRATION	MADONNA		*
17/10/2009	LOVE IS THE ANSWER	BARBRA STREISAND
31/10/2009	OVERCOME	ALEXANDRA BURKE	*	*
07/11/2009	3 WORDS	CHERYL COLE	*	*
28/11/2009	ECHO	LEONA LEWIS		*
05/12/2009	I DREAMED A DREAM	SUSAN BOYLE	*	*
23/01/2010	LUNGS	FLORENCE & THE MACHINE	*
13/02/2010	THE ELEMENT OF FREEDOM	ALICIA KEYS
13/03/2010	LIGHTS	ELLIE GOULDING	*	*
15/05/2010	SONGS FROM THE TAINTED CHERRY TREE	DIANA VICKERS	*	*
19/06/2010	BIONIC	CHRISTINA AGUILERA		*
17/07/2010	APHRODITE	KYLIE MINOGUE		*
11/09/2010	TEENAGE DREAM	KATY PERRY		*
13/11/2010	MESSY LITTLE RAINDROPS	CHERYL COLE		*
20/11/2010	THE GIFT	SUSAN BOYLE		*
08/01/2011	LOUD	RIHANNA
05/02/2011	21	ADELE		*
04/06/2011	BORN THIS WAY	LADY GAGA		*
09/07/2011	4	BEYONCE		*
12/11/2011	CEREMONIALS	FLORENCE & THE MACHINE		*
19/11/2011	SOMEONE TO WATCH OVER ME	SUSAN BOYLE		*
03/12/2011	TALK THAT TALK	RIHANNA		*
17/12/2011	LIONESS - HIDDEN TREASURES	AMY WINEHOUSE		*
11/02/2012	BORN TO DIE	LANA DEL REY	*	*
25/02/2012	OUR VERSION OF EVENTS	EMELI SANDE	*	*
07/04/2012	MDNA	MADONNA		*
14/04/2012	PINK FRIDAY - ROMAN RELOADED	NICKI MINAJ		*
12/05/2012	ELECTRA HEART	MARINA & THE DIAMONDS		*
08/09/2012	ORA	RITA ORA	*	*
03/11/2012	RED	TAYLOR SWIFT		*
01/12/2012	UNAPOLOGETIC	RIHANNA		*
18/05/2013	THE SHOCKING MISS EMERALD	CARO EMERALD		*
19/10/2013	BANGERZ	MILEY CYRUS		*
02/11/2013	PRISM	KATY PERRY		*
23/11/2013	ARTPOP	LADY GAGA		*
11/01/2014	HALCYON	ELLIE GOULDING
22/02/2014	LITTLE RED	KATY B		*
05/04/2014	THE POWER OF LOVE	SAM BAILEY	*	*
17/05/2014	SHEEZUS	LILY ALLEN		*
28/06/2014	ULTRAVIOLENCE	LANA DEL REY		*
25/10/2014	CHAPTER ONE	ELLA HENDERSON	*	*
08/11/2014	1989	TAYLOR SWIFT		*
07/02/2015	TITLE	MEGHAN TRAINOR	*	*
13/06/2015	HOW BIG, HOW BLUE, HOW BEAUTIFUL	FLORENCE + THE MACHINE		*
27/08/2015	THE VERY BEST OF	CILLA BLACK
03/09/2015	I CRY WHEN I LAUGH	JESS GLYNNE	*	*
03/12/2015	25	ADELE		*
28/04/2016	THE HOPE SIX DEMOLITION PROJECT	PJ HARVEY		*
05/05/2016	LEMONADE	BEYONCÉ		*
02/06/2016	DANGEROUS WOMAN	ARIANA GRANDE		*
08/09/2016	ENCORE: MOVIE PARTNERS SING BROADWAY	BARBRA STREISAND		*
03/08/2017	LUST FOR LIFE	LANA DEL REY		*
12/10/2017	NOW	SHANIA TWAIN		*
26/10/2017	BEAUTIFUL TRAUMA	PINK		*
23/11/2017	REPUTATION	TAYLOR SWIFT		*
30/11/2017	THE ARCHITECT	PALOMA FAITH		*
19/04/2018	GOLDEN	KYLIE MINOGUE		*
30/08/2018	SWEETENER	ARIANA GRANDE		*
25/10/2018	ALWAYS IN BETWEEN	JESS GLYNNE		*
21/02/2019	THANK U, NEXT	ARIANA GRANDE		*
11/04/2019	WHEN WE ALL FALL ASLEEP, WHERE DO WE GO?	BILLIE EILISH	*	*
09/05/2019	HURTS 2B HUMAN	PINK		*
11/07/2019	STEP BACK IN TIME: THE DEFINITIVE COLLECTION	KYLIE MINOGUE		*
05/09/2019	LOVER	TAYLOR SWIFT		*
12/09/2019	NORMAN F**KING ROCKWELL	LANA DEL REY		*
16/04/2020	FUTURE NOSTALGIA	DUA LIPA
11/06/2020	CHROMATICA	LADY GAGA		*
30/07/2020	BRIGHTEST BLUE	ELLIE GOULDING		*
06/08/2020	FOLKLORE	TAYLOR SWIFT		*
12/11/2020	POSITIONS	ARIANA GRANDE		*
19/11/2020	DISCO	KYLIE MINOGUE		*
24/12/2020	EVERMORE	TAYLOR SWIFT		*
11/02/2021	NOT YOUR MUSE	CELESTE	*	*
01/04/2021	CHEMTRAILS OVER THE COUNTRY CLUB	LANA DEL REY		*
22/04/2021	FEARLESS (TAYLOR'S VERSION)	TAYLOR SWIFT		*
03/06/2021	SOUR	OLIVIA RODRIGO	*	*
06/08/2021	HAPPIER THAN EVER	BILLIE EILISH		*
25/11/2021	RED (TAYLOR'S VERSION)	TAYLOR SWIFT		*
02/12/2021	30	ADELE		*
31/03/2022	CRASH	CHARLI XCX		*
26/05/2022	DANCE FEVER	FLORENCE + THE MACHINE		*
11/08/2022	RENAISSANCE	BEYONCE		*
03/11/2022	MIDNIGHTS	TAYLOR SWIFT		*
16/02/2023	QUEEN OF ME	SHANIA TWAIN		*
02/03/2023	TRUSTFALL	P!NK		*
23/03/2023	ENDLESS SUMMER VACATION	MILEY CYRUS		*
06/04/2023	DID YOU KNOW THAT THERE'S A TUNNEL UNDER OCEAN BLVD	LANA DEL REY		*
20/04/2023	HIGHER THAN HEAVEN	ELLIE GOULDING		*
06/07/2023	THE GOOD WITCH	MAISIE PETERS		*

Article images: Rex/Shutterstock

Related artists

Andii

10th December 2021

I guess you haven't updated the body text recently, as the current chart shows Taylor Swift tying Kylie on eight and Lana Del Rey on five, both more than the four for Rihanna & Lady Gaga mentioned in the text. Though maybe Taylor's count is just seven, as the same album, "Red", is listed twice?

Michael Ellis

10th February 2021

Kate Bush is the musical genius of the whole bunch

Chris Ortiz

9th February 2021

Where is Britney? This list is about UK I suppose... sadly

СЁ

Самбуу Ёндон

28th March 2021

Britney's albums has never topped UK Album Chart. And RIhanna, Celine Dion and many more non UK artists are there.

Damián

8th February 2021

Kylie, queen of pop!

Jack fitsy

13th June 2021

Bwahahaha! Take a seat! There is only 1 Queen and thats the one with 13 number 1 singles, 12 number 1 albums (7 that sold over a million each), 78 top 40 hits & the only female to sell out stadium venues for the past 40 Sweetie it isnt the singing budgie!

Jack fitsy

18th November 2020

Madonna, that is incredible!!! A real shame Rebel Heart had that major leak 4 months before its release, it really dented its sales, and it was a cracking album, a few too many songs but i get why Interscope threw every single they had on it, they needed sales! still it went gold in the UK and joined her tally of 6 number 2 albums!! Im sure she'll have more, especially now she is back at Warners 🙌🏼

Alan Trevor

8th June 2020

What about Diana Ross and The Supremes ‘Greatest Hits’ which made UK #1 in Feb 1968?

LAlieno

12th June 2020

erm, female solo artist?

Martin Tait

23rd June 2021

But A Star Is Born, is not by a solo artist, it's a duo of Kristoffersson and Streisand, as shown and credited on the front cover!

Mark Vickers

6th June 2020

Diana Ross and The Supremes had the 1st number one album by female artist(s) on 11 February 1968 for 3 weeks.

Sakgra

1st August 2020

Solo artists

Martin Tait

23rd June 2021

A Star Is Born is not a solo album either, it is a soundtrack credited to Streisand and Kristofferson, who are both shown and credited on the cover !

Nu No

7th August 2021

That's the cover. As Barbra Streisand sings in over 50% of the songs the album in considered her album (by the way this rule is applied in every European country and not just UK).

Jorge López

8th April 2019

Madonna and Kylie, the queen and the princess of pop.

GPB

9th February 2021

Errrrmm... They're the queens of EVERYTHING!!!

luca

6th April 2019

Madonna ❤️