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, which represents record companies and artists in the United Kingdom. The accolade is presented at the Brit Awards, an annual celebration of British and international music. 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. 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.
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, Arctic Monkeys, and Adele are the biggest winners in this category with three wins. They are followed by Manic Street Preachers 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.
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. Only two other non-British artists have been nominated; The Kids from "Fame" in 1983 for The Kids from "Fame" and Irish band U2 in 1985 for The Unforgettable Fire, the latter also being the only nominee to be neither British nor American.
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
| Year | Album | Artist |
| 1977 | - | - |
| 1977 | Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band | The Beatles |
| 1977 | The Dark Side of the Moon | Pink Floyd |
| 1977 | Goodbye Yellow Brick Road | Elton John |
| 1977 | Tubular Bells | Mike Oldfield |
1980s
1990s
2000s
2010s
2020s
Artists with multiple nominations
;6 nominations;5 nominations
;4 nominations
;3 nominations
- The 1975
- Adele
- Lily Allen
- Arctic Monkeys
- Dave
- Dua Lipa
- J Hus
- Elton John
- Annie Lennox
- Massive Attack
- George Michael
- Oasis
- Simply Red
- Stormzy
- alt-J
- David Bowie
- Kate Bush
- The Coral
- Craig David
- Dido
- Dire Straits
- Eurythmics
- George Ezra
- Sam Fender
- 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