With a solid discography, Alex Turner’s band achieved its peak of popularity when they released their album AM in 2013. After that, later works from the Arctic Monkeys were a shift in style that is not always appreciated.
*Based on total streaming data from December 7th, 2020.
Arctic Monkeys released Live at the Royal Albert Hall, their first live album in their entire discography. In this chart, we can see how this record did on its first days on the streaming service Spotify and also we can check the popularity of every of their studio albums.
Arctic Monkey´s most popular albums
The first position is no surprise at all: we all expected their 2013 release AM to be their most popular one. Something to note is the big difference between this album’s popularity and the rest of the Arctic Monkey‘s output. AM has nearly 50% of the band’s whole streaming volume, fueled by the hit singles R U Mine, Do I Wanna Know and Snap Out Of It. So sure, this is Arctic Monkeys’ biggest album, as it has three times more listens than their second and third most popular ones.
In the second place, we have their popular and memorable second album, Favourite Worst Nightmare (2007), which features Fluorescent Adolescent and Brainstorm, songs that make it into their top 10 cuts, which we can see below. Their acclaimed debut album, Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not (2006) is also popular with the audience and has spawned the singles I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor and When The Sun Goes Down.
Here comes the dramatic loss in terms of streaming performance: Suck it and See (2011) is way far behind the three forementioned records. It is in fact a good album with fresh pop ideas, but it did not attract much attention.
In fifth place, we have a surprise, as we find Tranquility Base Hotel + Casino from 2018, their most recent studio album. On this album, Arctic Monkeys made a major shift in their sound, dividing fans and critics about its quality. Many people didn’t know what to make of the album, but everyone agreed on one thing: nobody expected this kind of album from them.
Now we are checking out their least popular album, Humbug from 2009. This record appears as their most overlooked. For the production of this album, Arctic Monkeys decided to bring in producer Josh Homme, widely known for being the leader of Queens of the Stone Age. As a result of this collaboration, the album incorporated elements of stoner rock, hard rock, and experimental pop music.
To round up: the fact is that Humbug, Suck it and See, and Tranquility Base Hotel + Casino are good records. Arctic Monkeys has proven to be able to stay creative as a band while retaining their trademark sound. Even their least popular albums helped them maintain their fanbase and keep reaching the number 1 charts in their home UK. But we have to admit that these albums have not spawned songs as successful as their most famous albums did.
The more experimental album Humbug was a key effort before their big break with AM. Added to this, Tranquility Base Hotel + Casino was also a good way to broaden their sound and output.
Now, their most recent live album has been received well by the fans, who are indeed expecting new music any time soon.
Top 10 Arctic Monkeys songs in Spotify
As we mentioned earlier, AM is the most popular album of the Arctic Monkeys:
- Do I Wanna Know? (AM) 923,420,807
- R U Mine? (AM) 449,247,493
- Why’d You Only Call Me When You’re High? (AM) 433,571,387
- Fluorescent Adolescent (Favourite Worst Nightmare) 382,626,611
- Arabella (AM) 257,488,196
- I Wanna Be Yours (AM) 217,677,305
- Snap Out Of It (AM) 216,240,790
- I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor (Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not) 209,277,631
- 505 (Favourite Worst Nightmare) 206,616,402
- When The Sun Goes Down (Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not) 195,912,427