To celebrate National Album Day 2025, the Official Charts have revealed the Top 40 biggest rock and metal studio albums released in the UK this century. Taking the coveted Number 1 spot is Green Day’s politically charged punk opera, American Idiot.
Released in 2004, the masterpiece has amassed over 2.6 million UK chart units through combined sales and streams. The album, featuring Top 10 hits like ‘American Idiot’ and ‘Wake Me Up When September Ends,’ was a fiery reaction to the post-9/11 political climate in the US. However, as Official Charts Chief Executive Martin Talbot notes, its message of generational disillusionment and discontent remains strikingly relevant today, two decades later.
Just behind Green Day, Linkin Park’s landmark debut, [Hybrid Theory], lands at Number 2 with over 2 million chart units, marking a defining moment in the rise of nu-metal. The highest-placed British release is The Darkness’ glam-rock revival debut, Permission to Land (1.45 million units), which takes the Number 3 spot. This is closely followed by Evanescence’s gothic-tinged Fallen at Number 4. Completing the Top 5 is Muse’s expansive 2006 album, Black Holes & Revelations.
The list showcases strong staying power from several heavy hitters. Muse and Foo Fighters each claim four albums in the Top 40, while Nickelback places three. Meanwhile, My Chemical Romance—who placed The Black Parade at Number 6—are heading out on a UK tour in 2026 to celebrate the album's 20th anniversary, underscoring the enduring popularity of these 21st-century rock giants.
National Album Day 2025 shines a spotlight on rock, with four major acts—Wolf Alice, Iron Maiden, Nova Twins, and Architects—acting as Album Champions for the year.
