The Official Top 40 Biggest Albums of 2023

Taylor Swift has claimed the UK's Official biggest new album of 2023 with 1989 (Taylor's Version), Official Charts can confirm.

Boasting total chart units of over 299,000, 1989 (Taylor's Version) is also the most physically-purchased album of 2023 (185,000 chart units) and has accumulated 109,000 equivalent album streams to date.

The re-recording of Taylor's 2014 fifth studio LP, 1989 (Taylor's Version) became the US superstar's 11th UK Number 1 album, and scored the biggest opening-week for any album this year, shifting a massive 184,000 chart units during its first seven days on sale. The longest-running Number 1 album of 2023, topping the Official Albums Chart for three consecutive weeks - 1989 (Taylor's Version) spawned the UK Number 1 single Is It Over Now? (Taylor's Version) and a further two Top 10 hits; Now That We Don't Talk (Taylor's Version) (5) and Slut! (Taylor's Version) (9).

It helped Taylor extend her lead as the female solo artist with the most UK Number 1 albums this century. She's still the female with the second-most Number 1 albums in UK chart history. Only Madonna, with 12, has more.

As Taylor Swift fever gripped the UK in 2023, her 2022 album Midnights ranks at Number 2, with even more Swifty albums dominating the deeper year-end list. Further entries come courtesy of Lover (11), the original 1989 (12), folklore (13), reputation (21) and her first release of 2023, Speak Now (Taylor's Version (24).

The Weeknd lands the biggest album of the year overall with his greatest hits collection The Highlights with chart units in 2023 totalling 391,000, bringing its combined lifetime tally to 891,000. Originally released in 2021, The Highlights ranks as 2023's most-streamed LP, with equivalent album streams of 381,000. The Weeknd may not have released an album this year, but with a headline-grabbing acting debut on HBO's The Idol and soundtrack releases featuring Madonna, Lily-Rose Depp and Jennie from BLACKPINK, Abel Tesfaye continues to be one of the most popular modern-day entertainers.

Big 2023 albums

Released at the tail-end of 2022, SZA's second LP SOS ends 2023 as one of the year's most enduring albums (8). a true commercial breakthrough for Solana Rowe, SOS was accompanied by the UK Top 40 hits Kill Bill (2), Shirt (17), Snooze (18) and Nobody Gets Me (27).

Lewis Capaldi may have had the weight of the world on his shoulders ahead of the release of his second album Broken By Desire To Be Heavenly Sent (14) but he needn't have worried. The album gave Lewis the biggest opening week of his career when it netted 95,000 chart units in its first seven days, and surpassed 210,000 units by the end of the year. Broken By Desire To Be Heavenly Sent also boasted three Number 1 singles; Forget Me, Pointless and Wish You The Best, sending the Scots' chart-topping all-time total to five.

Speaking of great expectations, Olivia Rodrigo's second studio album GUTS (15) also smashed the 200k milestone, racking up 209,000 chart units in 2023, according to Official Charts Company data. GUTS contained a UK Number 1 hit in the form of the dramatic ballad vampire, proving that SOUR was by no means a fluke. Indeed, Olivia's debut album SOUR also benefitted from the singer's 2023 comeback, finishing just one place behind GUTS in the UK's year-end chart at Number 16, and almost matching its tally with 206,000 units.

Most-downloaded album of 2023 - Trustfall - Pink

Other 2023 LPs making an impact on the end-of-year chart include Ed Sheeran's acoustic-led Subtract (23), The Rolling Stones' Hackney Diamonds (27) and Pink secures the UK's most digitally-downloaded album of 2023 with Trustfall (29).

Post Malone also found success with The Diamond Collection, his first greatest hits compilation (34) and finally, Take That's This Life (37) picked up the biggest album opening week of any British act this year. The ninth Number 1 album for Gary Barlow, Mark Owen and Howard Donald shifted 116,000 chart units in its opening week and is also 2023's best seller on CD.

The Official Top 40 biggest albums of 2023

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