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]

Number ones

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 seven 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.
Key
No. nth album to top the Official Americana Albums Chart
re Return of an album to number one
No. Artist[a] Album[a] Record label[b] Reached number one[a] Weeks at
number one[a]
2016
1 Elle King Love Stuff Columbia 29 January 2016 5
2 Bonnie Riatt Dig In Deep Redwing Records 4 March 2016 1
re Elle King Love Stuff Columbia 11 March 2016 1
3 Brian Fallon Painkillers Redwing Records 18 March 2016 1
4 Richmond Fontaine You Can't Go Back If There's Nothing To Go Back To Decor 25 March 2016 1
re Elle King Love Stuff Columbia 1 April 2016 1
5 Teddy Thompson & Kelly Jones Little Windows Cooking Vinyl 8 April 2016 1
6 Lumineers Cleopatra Decca 15 April 2016 4
re Elle King Love Stuff Columbia 13 May 2016 1
7 Foy Vance The Wild Swan Gingerbread Man 20 May 2016 1
8 Mudcrutch 2 Reprise 27 May 2016 1
re Elle King Love Stuff Columbia 3 June 2016 1
9 Whitney Light Upon the Lake Secretly Canadian 10 June 2016 1
10 Kaleo A/B Atlantic 17 June 2016 1
11 case/lang/veirs case/lang/veirs Anti 24 June 2016 1
re Lumineers Cleopatra Decca 1 July 2016 4
12 Bear's Den Red Earth & Pouring Rain Communion 29 July 2016 2
13 Cadillac Three Bury Me In My Boots Big Machine 12 August 2016 1
re Bear's Den Red Earth & Pouring Rain Communion 19 August 2016 2
re Kaleo A/B Atlantic 2 September 2016 1
re Bear's Den Red Earth & Pouring Rain Communion 9 September 2016 1
14 Jack White Acoustic Recordings 1998–2016 XL 16 September 2016 1
15 Seth Lakeman Ballads of the Broken Few Cooking Vinyl 23 September 2016 1
16 Billy Bragg & Joe Henry Shine a Light: Field Recordings from the Great American Railroad Cooking Vinyl 30 September 2016 1
17 Van Morrison Keep Me Singing Caroline 7 October 2016 1
18 Seasick Steve Keepin' the Horse Between Me and the Ground There's A Dead Skunk 14 October 2016 1
19 Blackberry Smoke Like an Arrow Earache 21 October 2016 1
re Van Morrison Keep Me Singing Caroline 28 October 2016 11
2017
re Lumineers Cleopatra Decor 13 January 2017 2
20 Courtney Marie Andrews Honest Life Loose Music 27 January 2017 1
21 Mark Eitzel Hey Mr Ferryman Loose Music 3 February 2017 1
re Van Morrison Keep Me Singing Caroline 10 February 2017 2
22 Ryan Adams Prisoner Blue Note/PAX AM 24 February 2017 2
23 Alison Krauss Windy City Capitol 10 March 2017 1
24 Laura Marling Semper Femina More Alarming 17 March 2017 1
re Alison Krauss Windy City Capitol 24 March 2017 1
re Laura Marling Semper Femina More Alarming 31 March 2017 1
25 Aimee Mann Mental Illness SuperEgo 7 April 2017 1
26 Father John Misty Pure Comedy Bella Union 14 April 2017 1
27 John Mayer The Search for Everything Columbia 21 April 2017 1
27 Imelda May Life Love Flesh Blood Decca 27 April 2017 6
28 Dan Auerbach Waiting on a Song Nonesuch 9 June 2017 1
29 Glen Campbell Adiós UMC 16 June 2017 11
30 The War on Drugs A Deeper Understanding Atlantic 1 September 2017 2
31 Neil Young Hitchhiker Reprise 15 September 2017 1
re Glen Campbell Adiós UMC 22 September 2017 1
32 Van Morrison Roll with the Punches Caroline 29 September 2017 3
33 Robert Plant Carry Fire East West/Rhino 20 October 2017 6
34 Frank Turner Songbook Polydor 1 December 2017 1
35 Neil Young & Promise of the Real The Visitor Reprise 8 December 2017 1
re Robert Plant Carry Fire East West/Rhino 15 December 2017 2
re The War on Drugs A Deeper Understanding Atlantic 29 December 2017 2
2018
re Robert Plant Carry Fire East West/Rhino 19 January 2018 1
36 First Aid Kit Ruins Columbia 26 January 2018 1
37 Beth Hart & Joe Bonamassa Black Coffee Provogue 2 February 2018 1
re First Aid Kit Ruins Columbia 9 February 2018 1
38 Brian Fallon Sleepwalkers EMI 16 February 2018 1
re First Aid Kit Ruins Columbia 23 February 2018 1
39 Vance Joy Nation of Two Atlantic 2 March 2018 1
re First Aid Kit Ruins Columbia 9 March 2018 1
40 Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats Tearing At The Seams Stax 16 March 2018 1
41 The Decemberists I'll Be Your Girl Rough Trade 23 March 2018 1
42 Courtney Marie Andrews May Your Kindness Remain Loose Music 30 March 2018 1
43 Mary Chapin Carpenter Sometimes Just The Sky Lambent Light 6 April 2018 1
44 Blackberry Smoke Find A Light Earache 13 April 2018 1
45 Isaac Gracie Isaac Gracie Virgin 20 April 2018 2
46 Willie Nelson Last Man Standing Legacy Recordings 4 May 2018 1
47 Frank Turner Be More Kind Polydor 11 May 2018 1
48 Ry Cooder The Prodigal Son Fantasy 18 May 2018 1
49 Ray LaMontagne Part of the Light Columbia 25 May 2018 1
re First Aid Kit Ruins Columbia 1 June 2018 1
50 Father John Misty God's Favorite Customer Bella Union 8 June 2018 2
51 Wilko Johnson Blow Your Mind UMC 22 June 2018 2
52 Ray Davies Our Country: Americana Act II Legacy Recordings 6 July 2018 2
53 Cowboy Junkies All That Reckoning Proper 20 July 2018 1
54 Greta Van Fleet From The Fires EMI 27 July 2018 1
55 Israel Nash Lifted Loose Music 3 August 2018 1
re First Aid Kit Ruins Columbia 10 August 2018 1
56 Magpie Salute High Water I Provogue 17 August 2018 2
57 Lucie Silvas E.G.O. Furthest Point 31 August 2018 1
58 Passenger Runaway Black Crow 7 September 2018 2
59 Richard Thompson 13 Rivers Proper 21 September 2018 1
re Passenger Runaway Black Crow 28 September 2018 2
60 Phosphorescent C'est La Vie Dead Oceans 12 October 2018 1
61 John Hiatt The Eclipse Sessions New West 19 October 2018 1
62 Jason Isbell and The 400 Unit Live from the Ryman Southeastern 26 October 2018 1
63 Seth Lakeman The Well Worn Path Cooking Vinyl 2 November 2018 1
64 Pistol Annies Interstate Gospel Sony Music CG 9 November 2018 1
65 Charles Bradley Black Velvet Daptone 16 November 2018 1
66 Mark Knopfler Down the Road Wherever EMI 23 November 2018 8
2019
67 The Delines The Imperial Decor 18 January 2019 2
68 Wandering Hearts Wild Silence Decca 1 February 2019 1
re Mark Knopfler Down the Road Wherever EMI 8 February 2019 1
69 Michael Chapman True North Paradise of Bachelors 15 February 2019 1
68 Tedeschi Trucks Band Signs Spinefarm 22 February 2019 1
69 Julia Jacklin Crushing Transgressive 1 March 2019 1
re Wandering Hearts Wild Silence Decca 8 March 2019 1
70 Yola Walk Through Fire Nonesuch 15 March 2019 1
71 Tom Russell October in the Railroad Earth Proper 22 March 2019 1
72 Jenny Lewis On the Line Warner Bros 29 March 2019 1
73 Steve Earle & The Dukes Guy New West 5 April 2019 1
74 Weyes Blood Titanic Rising Sub Pop 12 April 2019 2
75 Jade Bird Jade Bird Glassnote 26 April 2019 1
76 Kiefer Sutherland Reckless & Me BMG 3 May 2019 2
77 Big Thief U.F.O.F. 4AD 17 May 2019 1
78 Thea Gilmore Small World Turning Shameless 24 May 2019 1
79 Mavis Staples We Get By Anti 31 May 2019 1
re Jade Bird Jade Bird Glassnote 7 June 2019 2
80 Bruce Springsteen Western Stars Columbia 21 June 2019 9
81 Frank Turner No Man's Land Polydor 23 August 2019 1
re Bruce Springsteen Western Stars Columbia 30 August 2019 1
82 Sheryl Crow Threads Big Machine 6 September 2019 2
83 The Lumineers III Decca 20 September 2019 2
84 Beth Hart War in My Mind Provogue 4 October 2019 1
85 Wilco Ode to Joy dBpm 11 October 2019 1
86 Big Thief Two Hands 4AD 18 October 2019 1
re Bruce Springsteen Western Stars Columbia 25 October 2019 1
87 Van Morrison Three Chords & The Truth Exile 1 November 2019 3
re Bruce Springsteen Western Stars Columbia 22 November 2019 9
2020
88 Marcus King El Dorado Fantasy/Snakefarm 24 January 2020 1
89 Bonny Light Horseman Bonny Light Horseman 37d03d 31 January 2020 1
90 Drive-By Truckers The Unraveling ATO Records 7 February 2020 2
91 Nathaniel Rateliff And It's Still Alright Stax Records 21 February 2020 1
92 Courtney Barnett MTV Unplugged (Live in Melbourne) Marathon Artists 28 February 2020 1
93 Robert Cray Band That's What I Heard Nozzle 6 March 2020 1
94 Jonathan Wilson Dixie Blur Bella Union 13 March 2020 1
95 Maria McKee La Vita Nuova American Fire 20 March 2020 1
96 Father John Misty Off-Key in Hamburg Cripple Creek 27 March 2020 1
97 Brian Fallon Local Honey Lesser Known 3 April 2020 2
98 Laura Marling Song for Our Daughter Chrysalis/Partisan 17 April 2020 2
99 Lucinda Williams Good Souls Better Angels Highway 20 1 May 2020 2
re Laura Marling Song for Our Daughter Chrysalis/Partisan 15 May 2020 1
100 Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit Reunions Southeastern 22 May 2020 1
101 Steve Earle & the Dukes Ghosts of West Virginia New West 29 May 2020 1
re Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit Reunions Southeastern 5 June 2020 1
102 Teddy Thompson Heartbreaker Please Chalky Sounds 12 June 2020 1
103 Larkin Poe Self Made Man Tricki-woo 19 June 2020 1
104 Bob Dylan Rough and Rowdy Ways Columbia 26 June 2020 3
re Laura Marling Song for Our Daughter Chrysalis/Partisan 17 July 2020 1
re Bob Dylan Rough and Rowdy Ways Columbia 24 July 2020 4
105 Rumer Nashville Tears Cooking Vinyl 21 August 2020 1
re Bob Dylan Rough and Rowdy Ways Columbia 28 August 2020 1
106 Angel Olsen Whole New Mess Jagjaguwar 4 September 2020 1
107 Emily Barker A Dark Murmuration of Words Everyone Sang 11 September 2020 1
108 Suzanne Vega An Evening of New York Songs and Stories Cooking Vinyl 18 September 2020 1
re Bob Dylan Rough and Rowdy Ways Columbia 25 September 2020 1
re Laura Marling Song for Our Daughter Chrysalis/Partisan 2 October 2020 1
re Bob Dylan Rough and Rowdy Ways Columbia 9 October 2020 1
re Laura Marling Song for Our Daughter Chrysalis/Partisan 16 October 2020 1
109 Kevin Morby Sundowner Dead Oceans 23 October 2020 1
110 Bruce Springsteen Letter to You Columbia 30 October 2020 7
111 Taylor Swift Evermore EMI 18 December 2020 4
2021
112 Barry Gibb Greenfields EMI 15 January 2021 3
Re Taylor Swift Evermore 5 February 2021 1
113 The Staves Good Woman Atlantic 12 February 2021 1
Re Taylor Swift Evermore EMI 19 February 2021 2
114 Neil Young Way Down in the Rust Bucket Reprise Records 5 March 2021 1
Re Taylor Swift Evermore EMI 12 March 2021 3
115 Neil Young Young Shakespeare Reprise 2 April 2021 1
Re Taylor Swift Evermore EMI 9 April 2021 3
116 Kaleo Surface Sounds Atlantic 30 April 2021 1
Re Taylor Swift Evermore EMI 7 May 2021 2
117 The Black Keys Delta Kream Nonesuch 21 May 2021 2
Re Taylor Swift Evermore EMI 4 June 2021 3
118 Joan Armatrading Consequences BMG 25 June 2021 1
Re Taylor Swift Evermore EMI 2 July 2021 4
119 Jackson Browne Downhill from Everywhere Inside Recordings 30 July 2021 1
120 Yola Stand for Myself Easy Eye Sound 6 August 2021 1
121 The Wandering Hearts The Wandering Hearts Cooking Vinyl 13 August 2021 1
122 Jade Bird Different Kinds of Light Glassnote 20 August 2021 1
Re Taylor Swift Evermore EMI 27 August 2021 1
123 Big Red Machine How Long Do You Think It's Gonna Last? Jagjaguwar 3 September 2021 1
124 Gerry Rafferty Rest in Blue Rhino 10 September 2021 1
Re Taylor Swift Evermore EMI 17 September 2021 1
125 Bob Dylan The Bootleg Series Vol. 16: Springtime in New York Sony Music 24 September 2021 1
Re Taylor Swift Evermore EMI 1 October 2021 1
126 Neil Young Carnegie Hall 1970 Reprise 8 October 2021 1
127 Johnny Flynn & Robert Macfarlane Lost in the Cedar Wood Transgressive 15 October 2021 1
Re Taylor Swift Evermore EMI 22 October 2021 2
128 The War on Drugs I Don't Live Here Anymore Atlantic 5 November 2021 2
129 Courtney Barnett Things Take Time, Take Time Marathon Artists 19 November 2021 1
130 Robert Plant & Alison Krauss Raise the Roof East West/Rhino 26 November 2021 3
131 Neil Young & Crazy Horse Barn Reprise 17 December 2021 1
Re Robert Plant & Alison Krauss Raise the Roof East West/Rhino 26 November 2021 3
2022
Re Taylor Swift Evermore EMI 14 January 2022 1
132 Elvis Costello & Elvis Costello & the Imposters The Boy Named If 21 January 2022 1
133 Kiefer Sutherland Bloor Street Cooking Vinyl 28 January 2022
Re Taylor Swift Evermore EMI 4 February 2022 2
134 Frank Turner FTHC Polydor 18 February 2022 2
135 Gang of Youths Angel in Realtime Warner 4 March 2022 1
136 Dolly Parton Run, Rose, Run Butterfly 11 March 2022 2
137 Midlake For the Sake of Bethel Woods Bella Union 25 March 2022 1
Re Taylor Swift Evermore EMI 1 April 2022 2
138 Passenger Birds That Flew And Ships That Sailed Black Crow 15 April 2022 1
139 Kurt Vile Watch My Moves Fiction 22 April 2022 1
140 Taj Mahal & Ry Cooder Get On Board Nonesuch 29 April 2022 1
Re Taylor Swift Evermore EMI 6 May 2022 2
141 The Black Keys Dropout Boogie Nonesuch 20 May 2022 2
Re Taylor Swift Evermore EMI 3 June 2022 1
142 Angel Olsen Big Time Jagjaguwar 10 June 2022 1
Re Taylor Swift Evermore EMI 17 June 2022 2
Re Robert Plant & Alison Krauss Raise the Roof East West/Rhino 1 July 2022 1
Re Taylor Swift Evermore EMI 8 July 2022 1
143 Neil Young & Crazy Horse Toast Reprise 15 July 2022 1
Re Taylor Swift Evermore EMI 22 July 2022 1
144 Jack White Entering Heaven Alive Third Man 29 July 2022 1
Re Taylor Swift Evermore EMI 5 August 2022 7
145 Marcus Mumford Self-Titled Island 23 September 2022 1
Re Taylor Swift Evermore EMI 30 September 2022 6
147 First Aid Kit Palomino Columbia 11 November 2022 1
148 Bruce Springsteen Only the Strong Survive 18 November 2022 9
2023
149 Margo Price Strays Loma Vista 20 January 2023 1
150 Wilco Cruel Country DPBM 27 January 2023 1
Re Bruce Springsteen Only the Strong Survive Columbia 3 February 2023 2
151 Lisa O'Neill All of This Is Chance Rough Trade 17 February 2023 1
Re Bruce Springsteen Only the Strong Survive Columbia 24 February 2023 2
152 Eva Cassidy I Can Only Be Me Blix Street 10 March 2023 1
153 Ward Thomas Music in the Madness WTW Music 17 March 2023 1
Re Eva Cassidy I Can Only Be Me Blix Street 24 March 2023 1
154 Noah Kahan Stick Season Republic Records 31 March 2023 1
155 Boygenius The Record Interscope 7 April 2023 4
156 Skerryvore Tempus Cooking Vinyl 5 May 2023 1
Re Boygenius The Record Interscope 12 May 2023 2
157 Paul Simon Seven Psalms Sony Music 26 May 2023 1
Re Boygenius The Record Interscope 2 June 2023 1
158 Bob Dylan Shadow Kingdom Columbia 9 June 2023 1
Re Noah Kahan Stick Season Republic 16 June 2023 1
159 Far from Saints Far from Saints Ignition 23 June 2023 1
  1. ^ a b c d The artist, album, date of reaching number one and number of weeks at number one are those given by the OCC.[6]
  2. ^ The record labels are those given by the OCC.[7]

Best-selling albums by year

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.

Caption text
Year Best-selling Album Artist Best-selling UK Album Artist Ref.
2015 Stay Gold First Aid Kit N/A
2016 Cleopatra The Lumineers Keep Me Singing Van Morrison [8]
2017 Adiós Glen Campbell Life Love Flesh Blood Imelda May [9]
2018 Not announced
2019 Western Stars Bruce Springsteen Three Chords & the Truth Van Morrison [10]
2020 Letter to You Song for Our Daughter Laura Marling [11]
2021 Evermore Taylor Swift Greenfields Barry Gibb [12]
2022 FTHC Frank Turner [13]

References

  1. ^ "Mumford and Sons fail authenticity test as first UK Americana chart launches". The Independent. Independent News & Media. 29 January 2016. Retrieved 4 February 2018.
  2. ^ "Could the future of Americana be ... British?". The Guardian. Guardian News and Media. 28 September 2016. Retrieved 4 February 2018.
  3. ^ "U.K. Americana Hits America, and Vice Versa, In New Roots Exchange". Billboard. 18 October 2017. Retrieved 4 February 2018.
  4. ^ "The Official Americana Albums Chart". The Americana Music Association UK. 2016. Archived from the original on 3 April 2018. Retrieved 15 February 2023.
  5. ^ https://www.officialcharts.com/chart-news/the-official-top-20-biggest-americana-albums-of-2020__32244/
  6. ^ "Official Americana Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. 2018. Retrieved 4 February 2018.
  7. ^ "Official Americana Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. 2018. Retrieved 4 February 2018.
  8. ^ https://www.officialcharts.com/chart-news/official-americana-albums-chart-turns-1-the-official-top-10-biggest-americana-albums-of-2016-revealed__18044/
  9. ^ https://www.officialcharts.com/chart-news/the-uks-biggest-country-and-americana-albums-of-2017__22068/
  10. ^ https://www.officialcharts.com/chart-news/the-uks-official-top-40-biggest-americana-albums-of-2019-revealed-featuring-bruce-springsteen-van-morrison-jade-bird-and-kiefer-sutherland__28476/
  11. ^ https://www.officialcharts.com/chart-news/the-official-top-20-biggest-americana-albums-of-2020__32244/
  12. ^ https://www.officialcharts.com/chart-news/the-official-top-20-biggest-americana-albums-of-2021__35093/
  13. ^ https://www.officialcharts.com/chart-news/the-official-top-40-biggest-americana-albums-of-2022__38315/
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