2006 is now 20 years ago. Yes, it shocks all of us. In commemoration of the new year, The Official Charts website have published a list of albums that are celebrating their twentieth birthday in 2026, and it contains a fantastic assortment of British classics, and some that are best left forgotten.
Speaking of ones to be forgotten, the feature begins with a list of number one albums from 2006’s charts, and right away we find James Blunt’s ‘Back To Bedlam’. Curiously, the album is slightly older, having initially released in 2004, but it wasn’t until the release of single ‘You’re Beautiful’ in 2005 that it struck the public consciousness and never truly went away. It landed the number one spot for 8 consecutive weeks of 2005, before doing it again in January 2006.
James Blunt’s ‘Back To Bedlam’
The next highlight is Arctic Monkey’s debut ‘Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not’. An old-school slice of working class heroism, frontman Alex Turner made no attempt to hide his Yorkshire accent, and it went on to be one of the biggest international rock albums of the decade, being certified eight-times Platinum by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI). While the Sheffield band’s sound has radically evolved since then, this album still holds its own in 2026.
Staying on the theme of British rock music, Muse’s ‘Black Holes And Revelations’ proved to be the best-remembered release of their careers. Singles ‘Super Massive Blackhole’, ‘Starlight’ and the epic ‘Knights Of Cydonia’ have never left the Devon band’s live setlist since their debuts 20 years ago.
Other standout number ones include Snow Patrol’s ‘Eyes Open’, which spawned their biggest single ‘Chasing Cars’, Corinne Bailey Rae’s self-titled debut which featured her best-known single ‘Put Your Records On’, and Razorlight’s self-titled album containing their hits ‘In The Morning’ and ‘America’. 2006 also marked the return of Take That, whose album ‘Beautiful World’ rocketed straight to number one with several chart-topping singles, while former member Robbie Williams made a far smaller splash with ‘Rudebox’.
As for those that didn’t reach number one, an immediate highlight is Amy Winehouse’s ‘Back To Black’ and indeed its emotional title track, which has become a household staple, particularly following the singer’s tragic death in 2011. In a demonstration of incredible longevity, Iron Maiden released their fourteenth album, ‘A Matter Of Life And Death’ and Pet Shop Boys put their ninth studio album ‘Fundemental’ out.
Elsewhere in the list lies a mixture of international releases also holding a birthday party. Taylor Swift’s aptly-named debut ‘Taylor Swift’, Jack Johnson’s ‘In Between Dreams’, and Scissor Sisters’ ‘Ta-Dah’ all landed big chart performances for their respective artists in the same year. Gnarls Barkley emerged from nowhere with breakout single ‘Crazy’ and album ‘St Elsewhere’, and Prince released his thirty-first album ‘3121’. One final fact that will undoubtedly make the emos amongst us check their hair for any grey, is that My Chemical Romance’s ‘The Black Parade’ marched into the world in October of 2006.
And of course, there are many others on the list that have made it to their twentieth anniversary, but we don’t want to be feeling too old now, do we?
