Katherine Jenkins has officially sold the most classical albums this century

1 January 2020, 22:04 | Updated: 2 January 2020, 11:49

By Sian Moore

The Classic FM Chart of the Century also revealed Russell Watson’s ‘The Voice’ is the single biggest-selling classical album of the last 20 years.

Katherine Jenkins has been revealed as the classical artist who’s sold the most albums this century so far, at over 2.6 million.

In The Classic FM Chart of the Century, which counted down the best-selling classical releases since 2000, Jenkins saw a total of seven of her recordings chart, with three – Living a Dream, Second Nature and Serenade – inside the Top 10.

Russell Watson’s album, The Voice, was named the single best-selling classical record of the past 20 years.

The album, which was released in September 2000, has taken the coveted No.1 spot – just ahead of another release from Watson – his album Encore, which takes the second position in the chart.

The third most-sold album of the century so far is Pure by New Zealand singer Hayley Westenra, which made its debut in September 2003.

Jenkins swipes the final two spots in the top five, sitting at No. 4 and No. 5 with Living a Dream and Second Nature respectively.

The remaining positions in the top ten are held by the Fron Male Voice Choir, The Priests, André Rieu and Bryn Terfel.

Our countdown of twenty years of classical music sales highlighted some of the biggest classical artists from the past two decades, including Classic FM Presenter Aled Jones who holds three of the biggest selling albums, André Rieu who has seven entries in the chart, and Andrea Bocelli who also holds an impressive ten positions.

The chart also showcased the film soundtracks that have captivated audiences since the beginning of the century, including Howard Shore’s three soundtracks to the Lord of The Rings trilogy, Han Zimmer’s stunning soundtrack to Gladiator and the iconic sounds of Harry Potter & The Philosopher's Stone by John Williams.

You can find the full list of the best-selling classical albums of the past two decades below – and if you missed the countdown on New Year's Day, you can listen to it here.

The Classic FM Chart of the Century – full list.

1. The Voice – Russell Watson

2. Encore – Russell Watson

3. Pure – Hayley Westenra

4. Living a Dream – Katherine Jenkins

5. Second Nature – Katherine Jenkins

6. Voices of the Valley – Fron Male Voice Choir

7. Moonlight Serenade – André Rieu

8. The Priests – Priests

9. Serenade – Katherine Jenkins

10. Bryn – Bryn Terfel

11. Forever Vienna – André Rieu

12. Gladiator – Hans Zimmer & Lisa Gerrard

13. Sentimento – Andrea Bocelli

14. The Classical Chillout Album – Various Artists

15. Magic of the Movies – André Rieu

16. The Number One Classical Album 2004 – Various Artists

17. The Voice – The Ultimate Collectioon – Russell Watson

18. Viaggio Italiano – Andrea Bocelli

19. Reprise – Russell Watson

20. The Ultimate Collection – Katherine Jenkins

21. Classics 2002 – Various Artists

22. The Lord of the Rings – Howard Shore

23. The Number One Classical Album 2006 – Various Artists

24. Classical Chillout Gold – Various Artists

25. Sacred Arias – Katherine Jenkins

26. The Classical Album 2005 – Various Artists

27. Spirit of Glen – Royal Scots Dragoon Guards

28. And the Waltz Goes On – André Rieu

29. Si – Andrea Bocelli

30. All Angels – All Angels

31. Voices of the Valley – Encore – Fron Male Voice Choir

32. The Choirboys – Choirboys

33. Islands – Essential Einaudi – Ludovico Einaudi

34. The Classical Album 2001 – Various Artists

35. Premiere – Katherine Jenkins

36. Simple Gifts – Bryn Terfel

37. The Armed Man – A Mass for Peace – Karl Jenkins

38. Love in Venice - André Rieu

39. Heroes – Coldstream Guards Band

40. Time to Relax – Various Artists

41. Classic FM – Smooth Classics – Various Artists

42. Relax More

43. Voices of the Valley – Home – Fron Male Voice Choir

44. A Year of Songs – Alexander Armstrong

45. Pavarotti/Domingo/Carreras – Pavarotti/Domingo/Carreras

46. The Opera Album 2002 – Various Artists

47. Aria – The Opera Album

48. Sacred Arias – Andrea Bocelli

49. Pieces in a Modern Style – William Orbit

50. Smooth Classics – Do Not Disturb – Various Artists

51. Concerto – One Night in Central Park – Andrea Bocelli

52. Aled – Aled Jones

53. Cinema – Andrea Bocelli

54. Together – Salvation Army

55. La Voce – Russell Watson

56. The Number One Classical Album 2008 – Various Artists

57. Chant – Music for Paradise – Cistercian Monks

58. The Christmas Album – Aled Jones

59. The Opera Band – Amici Forever

60. The Very Best of Classical Chillout Gold – Various Artists

61. Lord of the Rings – Return of the King – Howard Shore

62. The Classical Album 2007 – Various Artists

63. Dream a Dream – Charlotte Church

64. Lord of the Rings – The Two Towers – Howard Shore

65. Harmony – Priests

66. Now That’s What I Call Classical (2011) – Various Artists

67. Classical Voices – Various Artists

68. Classic FM – Relax & Escape – Various Artists

69. Spirit of the Glen – Journey – Royal Scots Dragoon Guards

70. Higher – Aled Jones

71. Verdi – Andrea Bocelli

72. Harry Potter & The Philosopher’s Stone – John Williams

73. The 50 Greatest Pieces of Classical – LPO/Parry

74. Echoes – The Collection – Ludovico Einaudi

75. We’ll Keep a Welcome – Bryn Terfel

76. The Lord of the Rings – Trilogy – Howard Shore

77. The Very Best of Relaxing Classics – Various Artists

78. Amore – André Rieu

79. Incanto – Andrea Bocelli

80. The Ultimate Collection – Luciano Pavarotti

81. Faryl – Faryl

82. Popular Music from TV, Film & Opera – Maria Callas

83. Classics 2003 – Various Artists

84. This is Christmas – Katherine Jenkins

85. Roman Holiday – André Rieu

86. Blake – Blake

87. The Very Best of – John Rutter

88. Opera – Andrea Bocelli

89. Classic FM – At the Movies – Various Artists

90. Ti Adoro – Luciano Pavarotti

91. Classic FM Hall of Hame – Various Artists

92. Odyssey (version 2) – Hayley Westenra

93. Odyssey (version 1) – Hayley Westenra

94. Classic FM – Hall of Fame – Gold – Various Artists

95. Braveheart – LSO/Horner

96. Pure – Hayley Westenra

97. In Harmony – Aled Jones & Russell Watson

98. The Classical Album – Various Artists

99. Essential Carols – King’s College Choir/Willcocks

100. Only Classical Album You’ll Ever Need – Various Artists

To hear the The Classic FM Chart of the Century in full, listen back to the twelve-hour countdown on Listen Again, or on the Global Player app.