The Rolling Stones Bring Multiple Albums Back To The Charts

The Rolling Stones will never not be famous, as people on the internet like to say. The band maintains a constant presence on the charts in the United Kingdom, the country that launched the rockers to superstardom. The group proves its immense popularity to this day by sending not one, but multiple albums back to the weekly rankings, as both projects become bestsellers once more.

Between the group’s two bestselling full-lengths in the U.K. this week, Hackney Diamonds ranks as the top performer. The Rolling Stones’ latest project, which arrived in the fall of 2023, is back on the Official Physical Albums chart at No. 94.

At the same time, Forty Licks reappears on the main list of the most-consumed albums in the country. That compilation, which is regarded as perhaps the biggest and most popular ever from the Rolling Stones, is back at No. 99 on the 100-spot list, which means it narrowly made a home on the ranking.

Hackney Diamonds has previously ruled the Official Physical Albums chart, the list of the top-selling projects across the U.K. on any medium that fans can actually hold, such as CD or vinyl. Oddly, despite being one of the better-selling compilations in the Rolling Stones’ discography, Forty Licks has never had a chance to lead the top albums tally. Instead, it peaked at No. 2 for several frames in late 2002 when it was new.

While it might not have reached No. 1, Forty Licks has lived on the chart it lands on this week for much longer than Hackney Diamonds has managed on its ranking—though that’s partially because it’s enjoyed a several-decade-long head start. Forty Licks is up to 119 weeks on the closely-watched albums list, while the Rolling Stones’ latest studio effort has only earned 35 stays on the Official Physical Albums chart (so far).

Hackney Diamonds is being kept alive, in part, by lead single “Angry,” which is still a hit in the U.K. The cut that introduced the 2023 album keeps on a pair of charts across the pond this week, and it’s still a top 40 hit well over a year after it was first shared with the world.

“Angry” falls precipitously on both of the rankings it appears on at the moment, though it’s still a bestseller. The Rolling Stones’ recent(ish) hit slips from No. 10 to No. 31 on the Official Vinyl Singles chart. It experiences a similar decline on the Official Physical Singles roster, where it steps down from No. 11 to No. 37. The rockers sent “Angry” to No. 1 on both of those lists in the past.