13. Madonna: The Immaculate Collection

Year: 1990

First week sales: 340,000

Madonna’s first, but by no means last, singles compilation featured 13 previously released singles as well as two new tracks - Justify My Love and Rescue Me - but strangely missed out several of her number one hits (True Blue and Who’s That Girl?). Until April 2011 Madonna’s nine-week spell at the top of the UK album charts with The Immaculate Collection was the longest by a female artist - a record broken by Adele’s 21. However, it remains the best-selling album by a female artist in British chart history, while its 30 million global sales make it the joint 21st best-selling album in the world.