David Bowie Reaches A Milestone That Few — If Any — Artists Ever Have

For most musicians, landing even one charting album is a career-defining win. Scoring multiple successes is the kind of thing only the biggest stars manage. Then there’s David Bowie, one of the most celebrated and prolific icons in British music history. Years after his passing, the rocker continues to debut new projects on various rankings in that nation, and this week, he hits a milestone so massive that very few artists have even come close.

David Bowie’s Ready Set Go Arrives

Bowie returns to the charts in the United Kingdom this week with Ready Set Go – Live Riverside Studios, a live album recorded decades ago and only now made available for the first time. The set was issued as an exclusive Record Store Day release and clearly struck a chord with longtime collectors. It quickly sold enough copies to debut inside the top 10 on a trio of tallies, helping the late legend make history once again.

David Bowie Has Charted 100 Albums

Ready Set Go opens at No. 8 on the Official Physical Albums chart, a ranking that includes only CDs, vinyl, cassettes, and other tangible formats. That debut isn’t just another win for Bowie — it’s his one hundredth placement on that specific list. That huge figure includes everything from full-length studio efforts to live recordings, reissues, compilations, and other unique projects. Few — if any — other musicians have reached triple digits on this particular roster.

Dozens of David Bowie Albums Have Cracked the Top 10

Throughout his unparalleled career, Bowie racked up an enormous number of top 10s on the Official Physical Albums chart. In total, 33 of his titles have broken into that uppermost tier.

He first landed on the tally in 1994 with The Ultimate Singles Collection, and just months later, he doubled his presence with Santa Monica ’72. Since then, the floodgates have remained open. Bowie and his estate have kept up a steady stream of new releases, reissues, and special editions, which all became bestsellers, especially on physical formats. Ready Set Go is the first of his projects to reach the list in 2025, but he claimed two additional top 10s in 2024.

David Bowie is Living on Multiple Rankings

Ready Set Go doesn’t only debut on the Official Physical Albums chart. It also launches at No. 8 on the Official Albums Sales list, which ranks bestselling projects across all physical and digital formats. The limited-edition release also opens at No. 10 on the Official Vinyl Albums tally.

While it makes a solid showing across genre- and format-specific rankings, Ready Set Go barely misses the top 40 on the Official Albums chart, the U.K.’s main consumption-based tally. It starts off at No. 44 this frame. Bowie has appeared on that list 98 times, and it seems only a matter of time before he cracks 100 bestsellers there as well.