UK Albums Chart February 2026

Posted on by

 

I have recently shared some music from either singles or albums currently in the UK charts, and as these seem to have been well received I thought I’d do it again. But this time with a bit of a difference. The current UK Top 100 Albums Chart contains thirty one compilation ‘best of’ records. I think I could play something from sixteen of these – sorry, Mariah, not you – and I’ve chosen a selection of six for you today. I have probably played most of them before but they are all great, so why not go round again?

My first selection, to get us off to a rousing start, is from the album currently at #14: Time Flies – 1994-2009, which is a collection of the best of Oasis. This is one of my favourites:

Like many compilations – and some regular records – this one has had a long time in our charts. It has enjoyed three weeks at #1 since it was first released in June 2010, and has clocked up (see what I did there?) a total of 650 weeks in the listings, 477 of those in its current run, which has included two of those chart-topping weeks. Some Might Say was originally on their album (What’s The Story) Morning Glory? which was released in October 1995, went to #1 in the UK and several other countries, made #4 in the US, and has sold 22m copies worldwide, 5.5m of those in the US and 5.4m in the UK. This was the first single taken from the album, and it also went to #1 in the UK. That album is also in the current chart, at #22, on a current run of 475 consecutive weeks out of a total of 737. Some records just keep selling!

My next selection is from the current #3:

The album is 50 Years – Don’t Stop, which was released in November 2018 to celebrate fifty years of what began as Peter Green’s Fleetwood Mac. Its current placing equals its highest, though it has also been a regular, with a total of 379 weeks so far: an ever present since it first came out. This is, in its full incarnation, a triple album of fifty tracks, spanning the band’s full career. The Green Manalishi (With The Two Prong Crown) was originally released as a single in May 1970, peaking at #10 in the UK Charts, and was the last release from the band before Peter Green left. I bought the record back then, and delighted in playing it for my Mum – she had bought their dreamy instrumental UK #1 Albatross, and I loved the way the guitars on this made her jump!

This next one is from another album which has taken up residency in out Albums Chart:

Bob Marley, with Three Little Birds, a track on his Legend compilation. Presumably for copyright reasons that video isn’t available in Caribbean countries, so I offer my apologies to anyone from there – but it is such a charming animation that I just had to play it! Legend first entered the charts in May 1984, and has to date amassed stays totalling 1229 weeks, including the current one of 321 weeks. An appropriately named album, I think. Three Little Birds was on Bob’s Exodus album, released in June 1977, which reached #8 in the UK and #20 in the US. This track was released as a single in 1980, and got to #17 in the UK.

The next album hasn’t spent quite as long in the charts as the last one, but is still pretty respectable at 494 weeks. A track from this week’s #39 album:

The Red Hot Chili Peppers, of course, with Californication. The compilation is called simply Greatest Hits, and has been in the Album Charts on and off since it first appeared in November 2003. It hasn’t hit the heights in the way that others have, peaking at #4 in its first week, but has been a steady seller, and is currently enjoying a run of 67 weeks going back to November 2024. This was originally the title track of the band’s seventh album, which was released in and got Ito #1 in both Australia and New Zealand, #2 in several countries including Canada, #3 in the US and #5 in the UK. It sold more than 8m in the US and 1.5m in the UK and is one of their most successful. The compilation has also sold well, with 2m in the US and 2.1m in the UK. I bought both.

I’m dedicating this next tune to my lovely friend Nancy. It is her birthday tomorrow and I’m hoping that her recent hand operation has healed sufficiently to permit her to raise a celebratory glass or two. She loves this band, and this one was written by her favourite band member. This is the reworked version, from the Love album, which lives up to that title:

The Beatles released the double album compilation 1967-1970 (aka The Blue Album) in April 1973, peaking at #1 in the US and #2 in the UK. It was re-released on CD in September 1993, and sadly the UK Official Charts Company only details that release, giving it a total of 150 weeks and a peak of #2 in November 2023. It has returned with a vengeance, though, and is currently at #45: if it is still in the chart next week it will have completed a full year this time around. In total, it has sold 8.5m in the US and 1.2m in the UK. As I’m sure you know the song was first on another double album, The Beatles (aka The White Album), which was released in November 1968, just in time for my parents to buy it for me as a Christmas present. It has sold more than 12m in the US, 800,000 in Canada and 600,000 in the UK.

I’m closing today with another of my favourites, both the song and the video, and this is a return appearance for both:

The Killers first released Read My Mind on Sam’s Town, their second album, in September 2006, and it actually outsold the US here: 1.5m in the UK against 1.3m in the US. One of my daughters saw them in concert at the Royal Albert Hall a little later and said they were fantastic – sadly I never saw them. The song has featured on all four of their compilation albums including the most recent, Rebel Diamonds, which came out in December 2023 and reached #1 here in the UK. It has spent a total of 86 weeks in our Albums Chart, and is currently hanging on in there at #84, but this was a fun way to round off today’s tunes – as indeed it was the last time I played it!

I hope you’ve enjoyed this dip into the compilations in this week’s UK Albums Charts. “Some Might Say” that older music is better than the current stuff – who am I to comment, but the longevity of many of these albums speaks volumes, doesn’t it.

See you again for Song Lyric Sunday, I trust 🎶

37 thoughts on “UK Albums Chart February 2026”

  1. Some good choices, Clive…Oasis is growing on me my youngest son played them non stop at the highest volume and never wanted listen to them again when he moved out…lol…Sadly I agree  with“Some Might Say” that older music is better than the current stuff – but the longevity of many of these albums speaks volumes although there are some great new singers and bands most are nowhere near or as talented as those I grew up listening to and still do xx

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • Thank you, Carol, I’m pleased you liked them.

      This was a bit of a cheat as a chart music post, but there were so many good compilations in the chart (and some bloody awful ones) that I couldn’t resist it! xx

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  2. I think my favorite was the Killers’ song. To me it is a bit odd though that the same song would appear on more than one compilation album. Your daughter is lucky to have seen them – they are on my bucket list.

    I also enjoyed the Bob Marley song and the video that goes with it.

    and when are you going to play some real Fleetwood Mac material 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • Presumably there are only so many songs to go round, and the record companies can make more money from repackaging them for a newer audience. I played a Nick Drake cover on Tuesday: he made just three albums before he died but there have been loads of compilations since then! Katy said The Killers were great – her then boyfriend, now husband, was a fan and she became one too after that.

      Play some real Fleetwood Mac? I just did 🤣

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  3. I feel out of touch with the charts, so haven’t looked at them in years. So Imagine my surprise to see these featured. I never took to the brothers who formed Oasis, and any enjoyment of their music was clouded by my intense dislike of the individuals at the time. However, I think ‘Wonderwall’ and ‘Don’t Look Back In Anger’ are amazing songs. Great to see Fleetwood Mac in there, and I still have a CD single (somewhere) of ‘Under The Bridge’, by the RHCP. Thanks for this, Clive.

    Best wishes, Pete.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • I don’t usually look at the charts either, but this has been a fun series to do. As 31% of the chart was compilations it gave me a chance to play some old favourites. The Gallagher brothers were pretty awful people but they made some good music.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  4. Clive, thanks for including the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ “Californication” and The Beatles’ “While my guitar gently weeps.” I love the guitar sounds in both, especially the latter with Eric Clapton joining in with George Harrison. What’s also nice about the latter is the piano music accent. Keith

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • I’m glad you liked the choices, Keith. All you say about the latter is true – of the original version. This take is the one used for the Love mashup album, which is based on a George demo from the Anthology series with added strings by George Martin.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  5. Well done as usual, Clive. 5 winners out of 6 today for me. I’ve never been a big Bob Marley fan. If pressed, I would say my two favorites are The Beatles and The Red Chili Peppers. I don’t always like the latter’s music, but this is one I’ve always enjoyed.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  6. “Some might say” includes moi, Clive! Big thumbs ups for F. Mac, Marley, and those four revolutionaries from Liverpool. Re Oasis, who were huge where you reside – and continuing our UK vs US music comparisons – I don’t think they ever clicked here in the states.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • Glad you liked some of these, Pete. They were a cross section across the decades, so I wasn’t relying entirely on the Sixties and Seventies!

      Interesting point about Oasis. I looked up their discography while I was putting this together. They had very little success there with singles but all seven studio albums charted: three in the top ten, one in the top twenty, two in the top thirty and their first just missed the top fifty. Clearly seen as an albums band over there!

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  12. I love this post! Wow, so see so many compilations on the charts…really says something about the lack of quality in current music, which means there will NOT be a lot of compilations in the future because today’s music has virtually NO lasting power…and so many artists have 2-3 songs before vanishing under the wave of the next mediocre bunch…there are some great talents today to be sure, but fewer and father between than we are used to!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • Thank you! I agree, though to be fair some of the compilations I’d never play are more recent. Music began for me around 1961 and tailed off in general around 1975. Plenty of good stuff still around, but most of it gets nowhere near the charts.

      Like

      Reply

  14. Another great lineup today, Clive. Thank you for the beautiful surprise birthday present! I do love that song, especially this version, and I really enjoyed hearing today. Thanks for asking about my hand; it will be a slow recuperation, but I hope a steady one. Cheers to you, my friend. 🥂

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • I’m so sorry for the late response, but this was in my spam folder! I’m glad you liked the tunes and I was happy to do a little something for your birthday – I hope you had a lovely day. That was the obvious choice to play for you, and I love that version and video too. I hope the recuperation goes well 🤞

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

Please leave a reply, I'd like to know what you think