The Official Americana Albums Chart is a weekly music chart based on physical sales of albums in the United Kingdom.[1] It is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC) on behalf of the Americana Music Association UK. The launch of the chart came at a time when Americana music was growing in popularity in the UK.[2] In 2017, it was reported that sales of Americana albums in the UK had increased by 35 percent year-on-year.[3]
The first chart was announced on 28 January 2016 on the Bob Harris Country show on BBC Radio 2. As part of the launch, the best selling Americana album of 2015 was also announced. This went to Swedish duo First Aid Kit with their album Stay Gold[4]
First Aid Kit had the best-selling Americana album of 2015 and their album Ruins spent six weeks at number one in 2018. Their follow-up Palomino also reached number one in 2022.Love Stuff, the debut album by Elle King, was the chart's first ever number one. The album reached the top spot for a total of nine weeks in 2016.Teddy Thompson was the first UK artist to reach number one on the chart with Little Windows, his duets album with American singer Kelly Jones. His sixth album, Heartbreaker Please, also hit the top spot in 2020.Van Morrison's 2016 album Keep Me Singing and 2019 album Three Chords & the Truth were the best-selling Americana albums by a UK artist in their respective years.Glen Campbell spent eleven consecutive weeks at number one with his final album Adiós, which was released just two months before his death.Imelda May had the best-selling UK album of 2017 with Life Love Flesh Blood.Mark Knopfler spent eight weeks at number one in 2018 with Down the Road Wherever.Western Stars by Bruce Springsteen spent a combined total of eighteen weeks at number one in 2019 and was the best-selling Americana album of the year. His 2020 album Letter to You was also the best-selling Americana album in the UK that year.[5]Bob Dylan spent the most weeks at number one in 2020, with Rough and Rowdy Ways reaching the top spot for ten non-consecutive weeks.Song for Our Daughter by Laura Marling was the best-selling UK Americana album of 2020. Marling's album spent a total of six weeks at number one that year. Her previous album, Semper Femina, spent two weeks at number one in 2017.Jason Isbell's 2020 album Reunions was the 100th album to top the Official Americana Albums Chart.Neil Young has charted eight number one albums on the chart since its inception, including four different albums reaching the top spot in 2021.Barry Gibb's collaborative Greenfields project was the best-selling UK Americana album of 2021.Taylor Swift had the best-selling Americana album of both 2021 and 2022 with her ninth release Evermore.Billy Bragg has reached number one twice, and his career retrospective The Roaring Forty was the best-selling UK Americana album in 2023.
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nth album to top the Official Americana Albums Chart
Each January, the Official Charts Company releases a summary of the previous year on the Official Americana Albums Chart, listing the top ten best-selling albums of that year, including the best-selling album overall and the best-selling album by a homegrown artist.
