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 10 of the UK Albums Chart during 2003, as well as albums which peaked in 2002 and 2004 but were in the top 10 in 2003. The entry date is when the album appeared in the top 10 for the first time (week ending, as published by the Official Charts Company, which is six days after the chart is announced).
One-hundred and twenty-two albums were in the top ten this year. Sixteen albums from 2002 remained in the top 10 for several weeks at the beginning of the year, while Elephunk by The Black Eyed Peas and Twentysomething by Jamie Cullum were both released in 2003 but did not reach their peak until 2004. Come Away with Me by Norah Jones, Justified by Justin Timberlake, Let Go by Avril Lavigne and Missundaztood by Pink were the albums from 2002 to reach their peak in 2003. Eleven artists scored multiple entries in the top 10 in 2003. 50 Cent, Busted, Girls Aloud, Michael Bublé and Sean Paul were among the many artists who achieved their first UK charting top 10 album in 2003.
The first number-one album of the year was Let Go by Avril Lavigne. Overall, twenty-five different albums peaked at number-one in 2003, with twenty-five unique artists hitting that position.
One-hundred and twenty-two albums charted in the top 10 in 2003, with one-hundred and eight albums reaching their peak this year (including and The Very Best of Cat Stevens, which both charted in previous years but reached a peak on their latest chart run).
Eleven artists scored multiple entries in the top 10 in 2003. Blue, Busted, Elvis Presley, Pink, Rachel Stevens, Red Hot Chili Peppers, R. Kelly, Robbie Williams, Sugababes and Westlife were the acts who had two top 10 albums this year. Busted and R. Kelly's two entries were both released this year.
Twenty-nine artists achieved their first top 10 album in 2003 as a lead artist. Busted and R. Kelly both had one more entry in their breakthrough year.
The following table (collapsed on desktop site) 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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daniel Bedingfield | 1 | Gotta Get Thru This | 2 | - | |
| Busted | 2 | Busted | 2 | A Present for Everyone (2) | |
| Christina Aguilera | 1 | Stripped | 2 | - | |
| 50 Cent | 1 | Get Rich or Die Tryin' | 2 | - | |
| Appleton | 1 | Everything's Eventual | 9 | - | |
| Turin Brakes | 1 | Ether Song | 4 | - | |
| 1 | Elephant | 1 | - | ||
| David Sneddon | 1 | Seven Years – Ten Weeks | 5 | - | |
| Evanescence | 1 | Fallen | 1 | - | |
| R. Kelly | 2 | Chocolate Factory | 10 | The R. in R&B Collection, Vol. 1 (4) | |
| Big Brovaz | 1 | Nu-Flow | 6 | - | |
| Deftones | 1 | Deftones | 7 | - | |
| Girls Aloud | 1 | Sound of the Underground | 2 | - | |
| Delta Goodrem | 1 | Innocent Eyes | 2 | - | |
| 1 | So Much for the City | 3 | - | ||
| Electric Six | 1 | Fire | 7 | - | |
| 1 | Permission to Land | 1 | - | ||
| Kings of Leon | 1 | Youth & Young Manhood | 3 | - | |
| Sean Paul | 1 | Dutty Rock | 2 | - | |
| Elbow | 1 | Cast of Thousands | 7 | - | |
| Black Rebel Motorcycle Club | 1 | Take Them On, On Your Own | 3 | - | |
| 1 | Kick Up the Fire, and Let the Flames Break Loose | 5 | - | ||
| DMX | 1 | Grand Champ | 6 | - | |
| Hayley Westenra | 1 | Pure | 7 | - | |
| 1 | Elephunk | 3 | - | ||
| Michael Bublé | 1 | Michael Bublé | 6 | - | |
| Jamie Cullum | 1 | Twentysomething | 3 | - | |
| Bryn Terfel | 1 | Bryn | 6 | - | |
| Alex Parks | 1 | Introduction | 5 | - |
Ex Hear'Say singer Kym Marsh peaked at number 9 with her first and only solo album Standing Tall. Rachel Stevens broke out on her own after S Club went on hiatus and she made the top 10 with Funky Dory, her debut album.
Dido had the best-selling album of the year with Life for Rent. The album spent 21 weeks in the top 10 (including ten weeks at number one), sold over 2.168 million copies and was certified 6× platinum by the BPI. Justified by Justin Timberlake came in second place. Christina Aguilera's Stripped, Gotta Get Thru This from Daniel Bedingfield and Come Away with Me by Norah Jones made up the top five. Albums by The Darkness, Coldplay, Michael Jackson, Busted and R.E.M. were also in the top ten best-selling albums of the year.
| Symbol | Meaning | |
|---|---|---|
| bgcolor=lightblue | ‡ | Album peaked in 2002 but still in chart in 2003. |
| ♦ | Album released in 2003 but peaked in 2004. | |
| (#) | Year-end top-ten album position and rank | |
| Entered | The date that the album first appeared in the chart. | |
| Peak | Highest position that the album reached in the UK Albums Chart. |
The following table shows artists who achieved two or more top 10 entries in 2003, including albums that reached their peak in 2002. 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 2003 is also shown.
| Entries | Artist | Weeks | Albums |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 7 | Guilty, One Love | |
| Busted | 22 | A Present for Everyone, Busted | |
| 3 | , ELVIIS: 2nd to None | ||
| 7 | Missundaztood, Try This | ||
| 5 | , Funky Dory | ||
| 20 | By the Way, Greatest Hits | ||
| R. Kelly | 10 | Chocolate Factory, The R. in R&B Collection, Vol. 1 | |
| 13 | Escapology, Live at Knebworth | ||
| 7 | Angels with Dirty Faces, Three | ||
| 7 | Turnaround, | ||
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