Brit Award for British Album of the Year

The Brit Award for British Album of the Year is given annually by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI), which represents record companies and artists in the United Kingdom.^[1] The accolade is presented at the Brit Awards, an annual celebration of British and international music.^[2] Winners and nominees are determined by the Brit Awards voting academy, which has over one thousand members: record labels, publishers, managers, agents, and media, as well as prior winners and nominees.^[3] The award was first presented in 1977 as British Album of the Year. In 1983 and 1984, the award was non-competitive and determined by highest album sales. Album of the Year is generally seen as the Brit Awards' most prestigious honour.

Brit Award for British Album of the Year
2025 winner: Charli XCX
Awarded for	Achievement in excellence British album
Country	United Kingdom (UK)
Presented by	British Phonographic Industry (BPI)
First award	1977
Currently held by	Charli XCX – Brat (2025)
Most awards	Adele Arctic Monkeys Coldplay (3 each)
Most nominations	Coldplay (6)
Website	www.brits.co.uk

The inaugural recipients of the award were The Beatles in 1977 for Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. The first solo artist to win the award competitively was Phil Collins, who won in 1986 for his third studio album, No Jacket Required, with Annie Lennox becoming the first solo female artist to win in 1993. Adele, Arctic Monkeys, and Coldplay hold the record for most wins in the category with three, with two-time winners Manic Street Preachers being the only other act to win more than once. Radiohead hold the record for most nominations without a win, with five. The current holder of the award is Charli XCX, who won it in 2025 for her album Brat.

Achievements

Coldplay (2001, 2003, 2006), Arctic Monkeys (2007, 2008, 2014), and Adele (2012, 2016, 2022) are the biggest winners in this category with three wins. They are followed by Manic Street Preachers (1997, 1999) with two victories. Ed Sheeran leads solo performers, with four nods. Among female artists, Adele leads with three nominations, winning each time she was nominated. Damon Albarn has the most nominations of any individual, with six, owing to his membership of both Blur and Gorillaz. Albarn ties with Coldplay for most nominations in the category.

Arctic Monkeys won in 2007 and 2008 for Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not and Favourite Worst Nightmare, making them the only consecutive winners.

In 1983, Barbra Streisand became the first woman to receive the award for Memories, which she did non-competitively for the year's best-selling album. Memories holds a unique distinction as the only compilation rather than a studio album to ever win the award. In 1993, Annie Lennox became the first female solo artist to win the competitive award for Diva. Adele is the first female artist and solo act to win the award multiple times, for 21, 25, and 30.^[4]

The youngest artist to win in the category is Dave who was 21 when he won for his debut album Psychodrama, released in 2020.

Only two non-UK artists have received the award: Barbra Streisand in 1983 for Memories and Michael Jackson in 1984 for Thriller, which was the only time the award was given to the winner without any other nominees. Those albums are notable as the only non-competitive winners in the award's history, with the award both times given directly to the year's highest-selling album.

To date, 15 artists have won Album of the Year with their debut albums: Sade, Fairground Attraction, Seal, Coldplay, Dido, The Darkness, Keane, Arctic Monkeys, Duffy, Florence and the Machine, Mumford & Sons, Emeli Sandé, Stormzy, Dave, and Raye. Technically, Annie Lennox also won for her debut solo album, though she had already released eight albums as a member of Eurythmics, including two that were nominated in this category.

Recipients

1970s

Inaugural recipients The Beatles

Year	Album	Artist(s)
1977 (1st)
	Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band	The Beatles
	The Dark Side of the Moon	Pink Floyd
	Goodbye Yellow Brick Road	Elton John
	Tubular Bells	Mike Oldfield

1980s

Sade received the award in 1985

1988 winner Sting

Year	Album	Artist(s)
1982 (2nd)
	Kings of the Wild Frontier	Adam and the Ants
	Dare	The Human League
	Greatest Hits	Queen
1983 (3rd)
	Memories	Barbra Streisand
	Complete Madness	Madness
	The Kids from "Fame"	The Kids from "Fame"
1984 (4th)
	Thriller	Michael Jackson
1985 (5th)
	Diamond Life	Sade
	Human Racing	Nik Kershaw
	The Unforgettable Fire	U2
	Welcome to the Pleasuredome	Frankie Goes to Hollywood
	The Works	Queen
1986 (6th)
	No Jacket Required	Phil Collins
	Be Yourself Tonight	Eurythmics
	Brothers in Arms	Dire Straits
	Hounds of Love	Kate Bush
	Songs from the Big Chair	Tears for Fears
1987 (7th)
	Brothers in Arms	Dire Straits
	London 0 Hull 4	The Housemartins
	Picture Book	Simply Red
	Silk & Steel	Five Star
	So	Peter Gabriel
1988 (8th)
	...Nothing Like the Sun	Sting
	Actually	Pet Shop Boys
	Bridge of Spies	T'Pau
	Faith	George Michael
	It's Better to Travel	Swing Out Sister
1989 (9th)
	The First of a Million Kisses	Fairground Attraction
	Introspective	Pet Shop Boys
	Love	Aztec Camera
	Roll with It	Steve Winwood
	To Whom It May Concern	The Pasadenas

1990s

1991 winner George Michael

Seal won for his eponymous debut album

Annie Lennox received the award in 1993 for her iconic album Diva

Oasis won for their sophomore album (What's the Story) Morning Glory?

Manic Street Preachers were the first artists to win the award twice

Year	Album	Artist(s)
1990 (10th)
	The Raw and the Cooked	Fine Young Cannibals
	Club Classics Vol. One	Soul II Soul
	A New Flame	Simply Red
	The Seeds of Love	Tears for Fears
	We Too Are One	Eurythmics
1991 (11th)
	Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1	George Michael
	Affection	Lisa Stansfield
	Choke	The Beautiful South
	Enlightenment	Van Morrison
	Jordan: The Comeback	Prefab Sprout
	Sleeping with the Past	Elton John
1992 (12th)
	Seal	Seal
	Beverley Craven	Beverley Craven
	Blue Lines	Massive Attack
	Stars	Simply Red
	The White Room	The KLF
1993 (13th)
	Diva	Annie Lennox
	Hormonally Yours	Shakespears Sister
	The One	Elton John
	U.F.Orb	The Orb
	Up	Right Said Fred
	We Can't Dance	Genesis
1994 (14th)
	Connected	Stereo MC's
	Emergency on Planet Earth	Jamiroquai
	So Close	Dina Carroll
	Suede	Suede
	Ten Summoner's Tales	Sting
1995 (15th)
	Parklife	Blur
	Always & Forever	Eternal
	Definitely Maybe	Oasis
	The Division Bell	Pink Floyd
	Protection	Massive Attack
1996 (16th)
	(What's the Story) Morning Glory?	Oasis
	The Bends	Radiohead
	Different Class	Pulp
	The Great Escape	Blur
	Stanley Road	Paul Weller
1997 (17th)
	Everything Must Go	Manic Street Preachers
	K	Kula Shaker
	Moseley Shoals	Ocean Colour Scene
	Ocean Drive	Lighthouse Family
	Older	George Michael
1998 (18th)
	Urban Hymns	The Verve
	Be Here Now	Oasis
	The Fat of the Land	The Prodigy
	OK Computer	Radiohead
	White on Blonde	Texas
1999 (19th)
	This Is My Truth Tell Me Yours	Manic Street Preachers
	Bring It On	Gomez
	I've Been Expecting You	Robbie Williams
	International Velvet	Catatonia
	Mezzanine	Massive Attack

2000s

2000 winners Travis

Three-time winners Coldplay

Dido received the award in 2002 for her album No Angel

Arctic Monkeys have won the award three times

2009 recipient Duffy won for Rockferry

Year	Album	Artist(s)
2000 (20th)	The Man Who	Travis
	Liquid Skin	Gomez
	Performance and Cocktails	Stereophonics
	Remedy	Basement Jaxx
	Surrender	The Chemical Brothers
2001 (21st)	Parachutes	Coldplay
	Born to Do It	Craig David
	Kid A	Radiohead
	Lost Songs 95–98	David Gray
	Sing When You're Winning	Robbie Williams
2002 (22nd)	No Angel	Dido
	Born to Do It	Craig David
	Gorillaz	Gorillaz
	The Invisible Band	Travis
	Kid A	Radiohead
2003 (23rd)	A Rush of Blood to the Head	Coldplay
	Angels with Dirty Faces	Sugababes
	The Coral	The Coral
	A Little Deeper	Ms. Dynamite
	Original Pirate Material	The Streets
2004 (24th)	Permission to Land	The Darkness
	Gotta Get thru This	Daniel Bedingfield
	Life for Rent	Dido
	Magic and Medicine	The Coral
	Think Tank	Blur
2005 (25th)	Hopes and Fears	Keane
	Absolution	Muse
	Final Straw	Snow Patrol
	Franz Ferdinand	Franz Ferdinand
	A Grand Don't Come for Free	The Streets
2006 (26th)	X&Y	Coldplay
	Aerial	Kate Bush
	Back to Bedlam	James Blunt
	Demon Days	Gorillaz
	Employment	Kaiser Chiefs
2007 (27th)	Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not	Arctic Monkeys
	Alright, Still	Lily Allen
	Back to Black	Amy Winehouse
	Black Holes and Revelations	Muse
	Eyes Open	Snow Patrol
2008 (28th)	Favourite Worst Nightmare	Arctic Monkeys
	Beautiful World	Take That
	Life in Cartoon Motion	Mika
	Spirit	Leona Lewis
	Version	Mark Ronson
2009 (29th)	Rockferry	Duffy
	In Rainbows	Radiohead
	The Seldom Seen Kid	Elbow
	Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends	Coldplay
	We Started Nothing	The Ting Tings

2010s

Florence + the Machine won for their debut album Lungs

2011 recipients Mumford & Sons

Adele is the only solo artist to have won the award more than once and is one of three three-time winners

2017 recipient David Bowie won for his final album Blackstar

2018 winner Stormzy

Year	Album	Artist(s)
2010 (30th)
	Lungs	Florence and the Machine
	It's Not Me, It's You	Lily Allen
	Sunny Side Up	Paolo Nutini
	Tongue n' Cheek	Dizzee Rascal
	West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum	Kasabian
2011 (31st)
	Sigh No More	Mumford & Sons
	The Defamation of Strickland Banks	Plan B
	Disc-Overy	Tinie Tempah
	Progress	Take That
	xx	The xx
2012 (32nd)
	21	Adele
	Ceremonials	Florence and the Machine
	Let England Shake	PJ Harvey
	Mylo Xyloto	Coldplay
	+	Ed Sheeran
2013 (33rd)
	Our Version of Events	Emeli Sandé
	An Awesome Wave	alt-J
	Babel	Mumford & Sons
	Fall to Grace	Paloma Faith
	Ill Manors	Plan B
2014 (34th)
	AM	Arctic Monkeys
	Bad Blood	Bastille
	Home	Rudimental
	The Next Day	David Bowie
	Settle	Disclosure
2015 (35th)
	x	Ed Sheeran
	In the Lonely Hour	Sam Smith
	Royal Blood	Royal Blood
	This Is All Yours	alt-J
	Wanted on Voyage	George Ezra
2016 (36th)
	25	Adele
	Chaos and the Calm	James Bay
	A Head Full of Dreams	Coldplay
	How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful	Florence and the Machine
	In Colour	Jamie xx
2017 (37th)
	Blackstar	David Bowie
	I Like It When You Sleep, for You Are So Beautiful yet So Unaware of It	The 1975
	Konnichiwa	Skepta
	Love & Hate	Michael Kiwanuka
	Made in the Manor	Kano
2018 (38th)
	Gang Signs & Prayer	Stormzy
	Common Sense	J Hus
	÷	Ed Sheeran
	Dua Lipa	Dua Lipa
	Human	Rag'n'Bone Man
2019 (39th)
	A Brief Inquiry into Online Relationships	The 1975
	High as Hope	Florence and the Machine
	Lost & Found	Jorja Smith
	Speak Your Mind	Anne-Marie
	Staying at Tamara's	George Ezra

2020s

Dua Lipa won the award in 2021 for Future Nostalgia

2023 winner Harry Styles.

2024 recipient Raye.

Year	Album	Artist(s)
2020 (40th)
	Psychodrama	Dave
	Divinely Uninspired to a Hellish Extent	Lewis Capaldi
	Fine Line	Harry Styles
	Heavy Is the Head	Stormzy
	Kiwanuka	Michael Kiwanuka
2021 (41st)
	Future Nostalgia	Dua Lipa
	Big Conspiracy	J Hus
	Collapsed in Sunbeams	Arlo Parks
	Not Your Muse	Celeste
	What's Your Pleasure?	Jessie Ware
2022 (42nd)
	30	Adele
	=	Ed Sheeran
	Seventeen Going Under	Sam Fender
	Sometimes I Might Be Introvert	Little Simz
	We're All Alone in This Together	Dave
2023 (43rd)
	Harry's House	Harry Styles
	Actual Life 3 (January 1 – September 9 2022)	Fred Again
	Being Funny in a Foreign Language	The 1975
	This Is What I Mean	Stormzy
	Wet Leg	Wet Leg
2024 (44th)
	My 21st Century Blues	Raye
	The Ballad of Darren	Blur
	Beautiful and Brutal Yard	J Hus
	Heavy Heavy	Young Fathers
	No Thank You	Little Simz
2025 (45th)
	Brat	Charli XCX
	Songs of a Lost World	The Cure
	Radical Optimism	Dua Lipa
	Dance, No One's Watching	Ezra Collective
	Prelude to Ecstasy	The Last Dinner Party

Artists with multiple wins

Artists that received multiple awards

Awards	Artist
3	Adele
	Arctic Monkeys
	Coldplay
2
	Manic Street Preachers

Artists with multiple nominations

6 nominations

• Coldplay
• Damon Albarn^[a]

5 nominations

• Radiohead

4 nominations

• Blur
• Florence and the Machine
• Ed Sheeran

3 nominations

• The 1975
• Adele
• Arctic Monkeys
• Dua Lipa
• J Hus
• Elton John
• Annie Lennox^[b]
• Massive Attack
• George Michael
• Oasis
• Simply Red
• Stormzy

2 nominations

• Lily Allen
• alt-J
• David Bowie
• Kate Bush
• The Coral
• Dave
• Craig David
• Dido
• Dire Straits
• Eurythmics
• George Ezra
• Gomez
• Gorillaz
• Michael Kiwanuka
• Little Simz
• Manic Street Preachers
• Mumford & Sons
• Muse
• Pet Shop Boys
• Pink Floyd
• Plan B
• Queen
• Snow Patrol
• Sting
• The Streets
• Harry Styles
• Take That
• Tears for Fears
• Travis
• Robbie Williams

Notes

1. Including three as a member of Blur and two as a member of Gorillaz.
2. Including two as a member of Eurythmics.

Notes

• Brothers in Arms (1986–1987), Born to Do It (2001–2002), Kid A (2001–2002) Double Nominated
• (What's the Story) Morning Glory? (2010) also won Brit Award for British Album of Thirty Year