Adele’s “21″ Crowned The 21st Century’s Top Selling UK Album

After scooping up half a dozen Grammy nominations last week, Adele’s 21 has officially been declared the UK’s best-selling album of the 21st century. The soul singer’s compilation has surpassed the late-Amy Winehouse’s Back to Black which reached 3.3 million copies since its 2006 release, while 21 has already topped 3.4 million copies in less than a year.

The magnitude of this feat is exemplified by the large amount of UK artists who released albums in the past 11 years.  Not one of them have reached Adele’s caliber in such a short amount of time despite the big names attached to them. Take Radiohead’s Kid A for example or James Blunt’s Beck to Bedlam in 2004 (think radio fav, “You’re Beautiful”).

Although Adele is currently recovering from throat surgery, 21 looks as if it will be carrying her straight to the hit-making hall of fame. I wouldn’t be surprised if she’ll be joining the ranks of ABBA’s ABBA Gold and Queen’s Greatest Hits. It’s the crème de la crème of music legends, but Adele’s achieved the hard numbers these monumental albums have taken decades to gain.