How many number one albums does Bob Dylan have?
Few artists could claim to cover as much ground as Bob Dylan over the course of his career. From his work as one of the defining voices of the counterculture to his creative reinventions across his time in music, Dylan was never one to rest on his laurels for too long, constantly evolving to the next phase of his poetic identity. Although Dylan may have multiple classics under his name, how often has the public agreed with him?
Throughout his time in the spotlight, Dylan has enjoyed many chart successes, with his singles becoming anthems around the world like ‘The Times They Are A-Changin’ and ‘Like A Rolling Stone’. When it comes to the whole album experience, though, Dylan has reached nearly double digits when breaking down his core line of studio albums.
His first brush with the top of the charts came from his sophomore release, The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan. Being a scathing dissection of the world, the album would be a fixture of the folk-rock movement, becoming a favourite among The Beatles when they wrote their first handful of compositions on albums like A Hard Day’s Night.
Though Dylan would be playing second fiddle to the Fab Four on the charts most of the time, his next chart-topper would come with Bringing It All Back Home, taking the sounds of electric guitars and turning them into bold reinventions of the folk tradition on songs like ‘It’s All Over Now Baby Blue’. While many music fans would consider the following few albums to be the pinnacle of Dylan’s career, it wouldn’t be until John Wesley Harding that he scored his following number one, featuring the first recorded version of ‘All Along the Watchtower’.
While Dylan would get two more number one albums with the country-spun sounds of Nashville Skyline and New Morning, one of his most divisive records also saw the top of the hit parade. Despite being number one on the charts, Self Portrait was treated with mixed feelings by fans both then and now, with many wondering what compelled the songwriter to go in strange directions, like covering songs by Simon and Garfunkel.
Despite fantastic music coming from later albums like Blood on the Tracks, the top of the album charts would elude Dylan for decades, not scoring another major strike on the charts until Together Through Life. By then, Dylan had gone through a drastic change in his vocal delivery as well. No longer was this the world-wise smartass from before; in his place, a world-weary journeyman still trying to figure out what made him want to get up in the morning.
In his older age, Dylan’s album would see another resurgence on the charts, reaching the top again with the traditional jazz album Shadows in the Night before scoring his last one in 2020 with his portrait Rough and Rowdy Ways. That amasses to nine separate number one albums Dylan has accumulated over seven decades of recorded output.
While many artists would be grateful to be in the good graces of the public for that long, Dylan has never looked at his star power in that way. Rather than chase the spotlight, Dylan is still just chasing his muse, looking to write the next good song that sparks something in him when he plays it.
Bob Dylan’s number one albums:
- The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan
- Bringing It All Back Home
- John Wesley Harding
- Nashville Skyline
- Self Portrait
- New Morning
- Together Through Life
- Shadows in the Night
- Rough and Rowdy Ways
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