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] Since 2004 the chart has been based on the sales of both physical albums and digital downloads. This list shows albums that peaked in the Top 10 of the UK Albums Chart during 2004, as well as albums which peaked in 2003 and 2005 but were in the top 10 in 2004. 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 thirty-four albums were in the top ten this year. Thirteen albums from 2003 remained in the top 10 for several weeks at the beginning of the year, while Hot Fuss by The Killers and by Phil Collins were both released in 2004 but did not reach their peak until 2005. Elephunk by The Black Eyed Peas and Twentysomething by Jamie Cullum were the albums from 2003 to reach their peak in 2004. Eight artists scored multiple entries in the top 10 in 2004. Dizzee Rascal, Franz Ferdinand, The Killers, McFly and Scissor Sisters were among the many artists who achieved their first UK charting top 10 album in 2004.
The 2003 Christmas number-one album, Life for Rent by Dido, remained at the top spot for the first week of 2004. Friday's Child by Will Young returned for a second week as a chart topper after scaling the chart in December 2003, with Life for Rent subsequently replacing Friday's Child for another two weeks on top. The first new number-one album of the year was Call Off the Search by Katie Melua. Overall, twenty-nine different albums peaked at number-one in 2004, with twenty-nine unique artists hitting that position.
One-hundred and thirty-four albums charted in the top 10 in 2004, with one-hundred and twenty-two albums reaching their peak this year (including , Greatest, No Angel, Original Pirate Material, The Stone Roses and Tears Roll Down (Greatest Hits 82–92), which all charted in previous years but reached a peak on their latest chart run).
Eight artists scored multiple entries in the top 10 in 2004. Daniel O'Donnell, Dido, Joss Stone, Phil Collins, R.E.M., Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Streets and Westlife were the acts who had two top 10 albums this year. Daniel O'Donnell, Joss Stone and Phil Collin's two entries were both released this year, with Original Pirate Material by The Streets returning after missing the top 10 when it was first released in 2002.
Thirty-three artists achieved their first top 10 album in 2004 as a lead artist. Joss Stone and The Streets 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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Katie Melua | 1 | Call Off the Search | 1 | - | |
| Joss Stone | 2 | The Soul Sessions | 4 | Mind Body & Soul (1) | |
| Snow Patrol | 1 | Final Straw | 3 | - | |
| Lostprophets | 1 | Start Something | 4 | - | |
| Incubus | 1 | A Crow Left of the Murder... | 6 | - | |
| Franz Ferdinand | 1 | Franz Ferdinand | 3 | - | |
| Michelle | 1 | The Meaning of Love | 3 | - | |
| Zero 7 | 1 | When It Falls | 3 | - | |
| Jamelia | 1 | Thank You | 4 | - | |
| N.E.R.D | 1 | Fly or Die | 4 | - | |
| 1 | Scissor Sisters | 1 | - | ||
| Diana Krall | 1 | The Girl in the Other Room | 4 | - | |
| Maroon 5 | 1 | Songs About Jane | 1 | - | |
| 1 | Dead Letters | 10 | - | ||
| Eamon | 1 | I Don't Want You Back | 6 | - | |
| Keane | 1 | Hopes and Fears | 1 | - | |
| 2 | A Grand Don't Come for Free | 1 | Original Pirate Material (10) | ||
| Mario Winans | 1 | Hurt No More | 3 | - | |
| 1 | Two | 9 | - | ||
| 1 | Hot Fuss | 1 | - | ||
| Razorlight | 1 | Up All Night | 3 | - | |
| McFly | 1 | Room on the 3rd Floor | 1 | - | |
| Damien Rice | 1 | O | 8 | - | |
| 1 | Everyone Is Here | 8 | - | ||
| 1 | The Libertines | 1 | - | ||
| 1 | High | 10 | - | ||
| Natasha Bedingfield | 1 | Unwritten | 1 | - | |
| Kasabian | 1 | Kasabian | 4 | - | |
| Dizzee Rascal | 1 | Showtime | 8 | - | |
| Goldie Lookin Chain | 1 | Greatest Hits | 5 | - | |
| Good Charlotte | 1 | The Chronicles of Life and Death | 8 | - | |
| Il Divo | 1 | Il Divo | 1 | - | |
| Lemar | 1 | Time to Grow | 8 | - |
Scissor Sisters had the best-selling album of the year with Scissor Sisters. The album spent 41 weeks in the top 10 (including four weeks at number one), sold over 1.594 million copies and was certified 5× platinum by the BPI. Hopes and Fears by Keane came in second place. Robbie Williams' Greatest Hits, Songs About Jane from Maroon 5 and Call Off the Search by Katie Melua made up the top five. Albums by Anastacia, Usher, Norah Jones, Snow Patrol and Il Divo were also in the top ten best-selling albums of the year.
| Symbol | Meaning | |
|---|---|---|
| bgcolor=lightblue | ‡ | Album peaked in 2003 but still in chart in 2004. |
| ♦ | Album released in 2004 but peaked in 2005. | |
| (#) | 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 2004, including albums that reached their peak in 2003 or 2005. 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 | Daniel O'Donnell | 5 | The Jukebox Years, Welcome to My World |
| 12 | Life for Rent, No Angel | ||
| Joss Stone | 17 | Mind Body & Soul, The Soul Sessions | |
| 2 | , The Platinum Collection | ||
| 7 | Around the Sun, | ||
| 8 | Greatest Hits, Live in Hyde Park | ||
| 18 | A Grand Don't Come for Free, Original Pirate Material | ||
| 4 | ...Allow Us to Be Frank, Turnaround |
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