Ireland's Official Top 50 biggest albums of 2020

Dermot Kennedy, Dua Lipa, Taylor Swift and Bruce Springsteen impressed in 2020.

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Despite the closure of physical stores through lockdown and delays to the manufacturing process because of the COVID-19 pandemic, albums consumption increased overall in Ireland in 2020, with Dermot Kennedy claiming the biggest album of the year.

3.8 million albums or their streaming equivalent were consumed in 2020 – an increase of 3% year-on-year – with album streams increasing 19% from 2.37m to 2.83m.

Dermot Kennedy scores Ireland’s biggest album of 2020 with Without Fear. The singer-songwriter from Rathcoole’s debut album enjoyed an incredible 2020, ending the year as the country’s most physically purchased, downloaded and streamed album of the last 12 months.

MORE: Ireland's Official Top 50 biggest songs of 2020

Without Fear – released in October 2019 – spent the entirety of 2020 in the Official Irish Albums Chart Top 10, with the record becoming the longest-running Number 1 debut album of the millennium, with 15 weeks in total at the top spot (eight in 2020). He is also the first Irish soloist in modern chart history to claim the Official Irish Chart double, topping the Official Irish Albums and Singles Charts in the same week.

The top new album release of 2020 came courtesy of Dua Lipa’s Future Nostalgia - the British popstar’s second album spawned four Top 5 singles on the Official Irish Singles Chart and places at Number 5 for the year.

Taylor Swift’s surprise-released lockdown album Folklore claimed 2020’s biggest opening week of chart sales (paid-for sales and streaming units) and ranks in seventh for the year, while late rapper Pop Smoke secured Ireland’s best-performing debut album released in 2020 with Shoot For The Stars, Aim For The Moon, the eighth biggest album overall. Bruce Springsteen’s Letter To You, The Boss’ ninth Number 1 and the year’s fastest-selling album (physical and download purchases), occupies ninth.

MORE: Ireland's Official biggest vinyl albums and singles of 2020

Niall Horan scored the biggest homegrown album released in 2020 with Heartbreak Weather (12), followed by US rapper Juice WRLD’s posthumous chart-topper Legends Never Die (13). Also enjoying success were Eminem with his ninth Number 1 album Music To Be Murdered By (23), Canadian artist The Weeknd with his first Number 1 album After Hours (34), Selena Gomez with her Top 5 album Rare (36), and Andrea Bocelli with his highest-charting album for five years Believe (37).

Finally, Number 1 albums from Ariana Grande and Lady Gaga also feature in Ireland’s Top 50 biggest albums of 2020; Positions is Number 39, while Chromatica is Number 44.

MORE: The biggest Irish Homegrown songs and albums released in 2020

Ireland's Official Top 50 biggest albums of 2020

POS	TITLE	ARTIST	PEAK
1	WITHOUT FEAR	DERMOT KENNEDY	1
2	DIVINELY UNINSPIRED TO A HELLISH EXTENT	LEWIS CAPALDI	1
3	FINE LINE	HARRY STYLES	1
4	WHEN WE ALL FALL ASLEEP WHERE DO WE GO	BILLIE EILISH	1
5	FUTURE NOSTALGIA	DUA LIPA	1
6	50 YEARS - DON'T STOP	FLEETWOOD MAC	4
7	FOLKLORE	TAYLOR SWIFT	1
8	SHOOT FOR THE STARS AIM FOR THE MOON	POP SMOKE	1
9	LETTER TO YOU	BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN	1
10	RUMOURS	FLEETWOOD MAC	5
11	DERMOT KENNEDY	DERMOT KENNEDY	4
12	HEARTBREAK WEATHER	NIALL HORAN	1
13	LEGENDS NEVER DIE	JUICE WRLD	1
14	HEAVY IS THE HEAD	STORMZY	3
15	NO 6 COLLABORATIONS PROJECT	ED SHEERAN	1
16	DIVIDE	ED SHEERAN	1
17	HOLLYWOOD'S BLEEDING	POST MALONE	1
18	DIAMONDS	ELTON JOHN	3
19	GOLD - GREATEST HITS	ABBA	1
20	GREATEST HITS	QUEEN	12
21	HIGH EXPECTATIONS	MABEL	5
22	DUA LIPA	DUA LIPA	3
23	MUSIC TO BE MURDERED BY	EMINEM	1
24	DON'T SMILE AT ME	BILLIE EILISH	4
25	CURTAIN CALL - THE HITS	EMINEM	1
26	GET TO KNOW	BECKY HILL	14
27	GOODBYE & GOOD RIDDANCE	JUICE WRLD	16
28	SNACKS	JAX JONES	10
29	LOVER	TAYLOR SWIFT	1
30	GREATEST HITS	BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN	1
31	LEGACY	DAVID BOWIE	7
32	QUESTION MARK	XXXTENTACION	2
33	LEGEND	BOB MARLEY & THE WAILERS	8
34	AFTER HOURS	WEEKND	1
35	HOZIER	HOZIER	1
36	RARE	SELENA GOMEZ	4
37	BELIEVE	ANDREA BOCELLI	3
38	1	BEATLES	1
39	POSITIONS	ARIANA GRANDE	1
40	THANK U NEXT	ARIANA GRANDE	1
41	U218 SINGLES	U2	1
42	TAKE ME HOME	ONE DIRECTION	1
43	TIME FLIES - 1994-2009	OASIS	3
44	CHROMATICA	LADY GAGA	1
45	WHAT'S THE STORY MORNING GLORY	OASIS	11
46	PSYCHODRAMA	DAVE	6
47	BEERBONGS & BENTLEYS	POST MALONE	1
48	HARRY STYLES	HARRY STYLES	1
49	X	ED SHEERAN	1
50	BACK TO BLACK	AMY WINEHOUSE	1