The Top 40 biggest albums of 2017 on the Official Chart

2017 really was the year of Ed Sheeran, with ÷ finishing as the year’s best-selling album.

Ed’s third studio record finishes 2017 with combined sales of 2.7 million, 672,000 of which were logged in its first week of release in March, making it the fastest-selling ever by a solo male, and the third fastest-selling album of all time behind Adele’s 25 and Oasis’ Be Here Now.

1.7 million physical copies of the LP were picked up on CD and vinyl, while over 428,000 of you downloaded it. The album accumulated 595,000 album equivalent streams across the year, and secured the most first-week streams ever recorded.

And those are not the only accolades that ÷ has to its name: the album features more Top 10 singles on it than any other studio album in UK chart history, had all 16 of its tracks chart concurrently in the Official Singles Chart Top 20, has yet to exit the Top 10 since its release, and achieved 19 non-consecutive weeks at Number 1. ÷ hit the top spot on seven separate occasions, a record among solo male artists.

The success of Ed’s latest album also caused an uplift of his previous collections; second album X is the year’s sixth biggest, while his debut + ranks sixteenth.

MORE: The Top 40 biggest songs of 2017 on the Official Chart

The news comes as the record labels' association, The BPI, revealed overall music consumption rose 9.5% in 2017 compared to the previous year. Streaming now accounts for over 50% of UK music consumption, with a new milestone of 1.5 billion audio streams in a single week being recorded in December 2017.

Another male solo artist secures the year’s second best-seller, Rag’n’Bone Man's Human. Real name Rory Graham, the Sussex-born soul singer has shifted 1 million units of his first LP, which became the fastest-selling debut of the decade by a male soloist in February.

Sam Smith secures 2017's third biggest album with The Thrill Of It All. Despite only being released in November, the singer-songwriter's second record has shifted 502,000 across all formats.

Also making the Top 5 are Little Mix, who claim the year’s fourth biggest album with Glory Days. Released in November 2016, the album has spawned a further two Top 20 hits in 2017, while a Platinum Edition released last November boosted sales even further. Glory Days rounds out 2017 with a combined sales tally of 468,000 (876,000 in total).

While eight British acts feature inside the year-end Top 10, P!nk’s Beautiful Trauma takes the crown as the biggest international artist release of 2017 in the UK, ranking in fifth with sales of 372,000.

Michael Ball and Alfie Boe's second collection as a duo, Together Again, is at 7, and Drake is at Number 8 with his ‘playlist’ album More Life, which peaked at Number 2 in March, making it the biggest album of the year not to hit Number 1 and the second most-streamed record of the year.

Liam Gallagher proudly poses for a selfie after landing his first Number 1 solo album in 2017 with As You Were, setting a new vinyl record in the process.

He told us: "I wanna thank everyone who bought it. I'd like to thank everyone who helped make it. As You Were.”

Liam Gallagher's chart-topping debut solo album As You Were - which claimed the fastest-selling vinyl release of the last 20 years - places ninth, and Stormzy’s Number 1 album Gang Signs & Prayer closes out the Top 10. The record was the first pure Grime album to hit the Official Albums Chart’s top spot.

A big album that missed the Top 5 on the Official Albums Chart is the Original Motion Picture Soundtrack of Moana at Number 12, one slot ahead of Take That’s eighth album Wonderland (13), which scored the highest opening first week sales of any album not to hit Number 1 in 2017, peaking at Number 2 with 113,000 combined sales.

Elsewhere, Paloma Faith's first ever Number 1 album The Architect and Taylor Swift's chart-topping Reputation finish at 14 and 15 respectively, while Harry Styles’ self-titled debut is at 22.

Just over a year after his untimely death, George Michael earns three spots in the year-end Top 40: His Listen Without Prejudice reissue, which returned to Number 1 in October 27 years after its release, is at 17, while retrospectives Twenty Five and Ladies & Gentlemen land at 28 and 30 respectively. 

MORE: The biggest selling singles of all time on the Official Chart

The Top 40 biggest artist albums of 2017 on the Official Chart

©2018 Official Charts Company. All rights reserved.
This chart is compiled combining sales and streaming equivalent sales (AES).

The Top 20 biggest selling artist albums of 2017 on the Official Chart (pure sales)

©2018 Official Charts Company. All rights reserved.

The Top 20 most streamed albums of 2017 on the Official Chart

©2018 Official Charts Company. All rights reserved.