The UK Albums Chart is one of many music charts compiled by the Official Charts Company that calculates the best-selling albums of the week in the United Kingdom.[1] [2] [3] Before 2004, the chart was only based on the sales of physical albums. This list shows albums that peaked in the Top 5 of the UK Albums Chart during 1957, as well as albums which peaked in 1956 but were in the top 5 in 1957. The entry date is when the album appeared in the top 5 for the first time (week ending, as published by the Official Charts Company, which is six days after the chart is announced).
Nineteen albums were in the top five this year. High Society credited to Various artists was released in 1956 but did not reach its peak until 1957. Three artists scored multiple entries in the top 5 in 1957 (excluding albums by Various artists). Nat King Cole and Tommy Steele were the artists who achieved their first UK charting top 5 album in 1957.
The 1956 Christmas number-one album, The King and I credited to Various artists, remained at number one for the first eight weeks of 1957. The first new number-one album of the year was High Society credited to Various artists. Six different albums peaked at number-one in 1957, with Frank Sinatra and albums credited to Various artists (2) having the most albums hit that position.
Nineteen albums charted in the top 5 in 1957, with thirteen albums reaching their peak this year.
Three artists scored multiple entries in the top 5 in 1957. Frank Sinatra scored five top-ten albums, Elvis Presley entered the top 10 on four occasions and Billy Haley and the Comets secured two spots.
Two artists achieved their first top 5 album in 1957 as a lead artist.
The following table (collapsed on desktop site) does not include does not include acts who had previously charted as part of a group and secured their first top 10 solo album, or featured appearances on compilations or other artists recordings.
| Artist | Number of top 10s | First entry | Chart position | Other entries | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tommy Steele | 1 | Tommy Steele Stage Show | 5 | - | |
| Nat King Cole | 1 | Love Is the Thing | 1 | - |
The cast recording from The Tommy Steele Story reached the top five in 1957, peaking at number one.
| Symbol | Meaning | |
|---|---|---|
| bgcolor=lightblue | ‡ | Album peaked in 1956 but still in chart in 1957. |
| (#) | Year-end top ten album position and rank | |
| Entered | The date that the album first appeared in the chart. | |
| Peak | Highest position that the song reached in the UK Albums Chart. |
| Entered (week ending) | data-sort-type="number" | Weeks in top 10 | Single | Artist | data-sort-type="number" | Peak | Peak reached (week ending) | data-sort-type="number" | Weeks at peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Albums in 1956 | |||||||||
| 13 | Songs for Swingin' Lovers ‡ | Frank Sinatra | 1 | 3 | |||||
| 25 | Rodgers and Hammerstein's Carousel: Original Soundtrack ‡ | Various artists | 1 | 6 | |||||
| 67 | Rodgers and Hammerstein's Oklahoma!: Original Soundtrack ‡ | Various artists | 1 | 3 | |||||
| 19 | Rock Around the Clock ‡ | Bill Haley & His Comets | 2 | 2 | |||||
| 94 | The King and I: Original Soundtrack ‡ | Various artists | 1 | 48 | |||||
| 22 | Lonnie Donegan Showcase ‡ | Lonnie Donegan | 2 | 7 | |||||
| 26 | High Society: Original Soundtrack | Various artists | 1 | 1 | |||||
| Albums in 1957 | |||||||||
| 13 | This Is Sinatra! | Frank Sinatra | 1 | 4 | |||||
| 1 | Rock the Joint | Bill Haley & His Comets | 4 | 1 | |||||
| 1 | Tommy Steele Stage Show | Tommy Steele | 5 | 1 | |||||
| 3 | Rock 'N' Roll No. 2 | Elvis Presley | 3 | 1 | |||||
| 14 | Love Is the Thing | Nat King Cole | 1 | 1 | |||||
| 9 | Close to You | Frank Sinatra | 2 | 1 | |||||
| 21 | The Tommy Steele Story: Original Soundtrack | Various artists | 1 | 4 | |||||
| 7 | Frankie | Frank Sinatra | 3 | 2 | |||||
| 25 | Loving You | Elvis Presley | 1 | 3 | |||||
| 20 | A Swingin' Affair! | Frank Sinatra | 1 | 7 | |||||
| 7 | The Best of Elvis | Elvis Presley | 3 | 1 | |||||
| 6 | Elvis' Christmas Album | Elvis Presley | 2 | 2 | |||||
The following table shows artists who achieved two or more top 5 entries in 1957, including albums that reached their peak in 1956. The figures only include main artists, with featured artists and appearances on compilation albums not counted individually for each artist. The total number of weeks an artist spent in the top ten in 1957 is also shown.
| Entries | Artist | Weeks | Albums | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | 47 | A Swingin' Affair!, Close to You, Frankie, Songs for Swingin' Lovers, This Is Sinatra! | ||
| 4 | Elvis Presley | 21 | Elvis' Christmas Album, Loving You, Rock 'N' Roll No. 2, The Best of Elvis | |
| 2 | 4 | Rock Around the Clock, Rock the Joint |
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