Madonna Albums Discography

The albums discography of American singer-songwriter Madonna consists of 12 studio albums, six compilation albums, three soundtrack albums, three live albums, 11 extended plays, three remix albums and 21 box sets. In 1982 Madonna signed a recording contract with Sire Records, a label owned by Warner Bros. Records. After the success of her first two singles "Everybody" and "Burning Up", she signed an albums deal in 1983. The first LP album released by her under the label was the self-titled debut album, Madonna. The album peaked at number eight on the Billboard 200 and was certified five times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). She followed the debut album with the sophomore release titled Like a Virgin (1984). The album topped the chart in several countries and was certified diamond by the RIAA. True Blue was released as her third studio album in 1986 and sold 25 million copies worldwide. In 1987, she released two albums that reached platinum status in the United States: the Who's That Girl soundtrack and her first remix compilation You Can Dance. The soundtrack contains tracks by other recording artists but is considered a "Madonna" album by the Billboard 200 and Warner Bros. Records. Madonna's fourth studio album Like a Prayer (1989) became her third number-one album on the Billboard 200.

Madonna entered the 1990s with the release of the album I'm Breathless (1990), which contained songs inspired by the 1990 film Dick Tracy. She also released her first greatest hits compilation, The Immaculate Collection, in the same year. The album has sold more than 30 million copies, becoming the best-selling compilation album by a solo artist in history. It also became the second best-selling album by a female artist in the United Kingdom and her second diamond album in the United States. In 1991, she signed a new $60 million recording contract and business deal with Warner Bros. and Time Warner. As part of this, she founded Maverick Records, which became her main record company, with Sire and Warner Bros. distributing. The first release under Maverick was her fifth studio album Erotica (1992), which was certified two times platinum in the United States and sold 5 million copies worldwide. In 1994, Madonna released her sixth studio album Bedtime Stories, which was certified three times platinum by the RIAA. Something to Remember, a collection of Madonna ballads was released in 1995 and reached the top ten in many countries while selling nine million copies worldwide. That same year she was no longer affiliated with Sire Records, her label solely being Maverick, with Warner Bros. distributing. Her third soundtrack album, from the musical Evita, was released in 1996. The double-disc endeavor was certified five times platinum by the RIAA, recognizing 2.5 million shipments throughout the United States (because the soundtrack is a double album and exceeds 100 minutes in length, the RIAA counts each unit sale twice). Madonna's seventh studio album Ray of Light was released in 1998 and sold over 20 million units worldwide.

In the beginning of the 2000s, Music became Madonna's fourth number-one album on the Billboard 200; it was her first number-one in 11 years, since Like a Prayer. It also topped the album charts of several European countries. American Life became Madonna's fifth Billboard 200 number-one album. However, it did not achieve multi-platinum status and became Madonna's lowest-selling studio album. In 2004, she sold her shares and interest in Maverick to Warner Music Group, after a lawsuit between both companies. Her deal with Warner Bros. was retained under a separate agreement. Confessions on a Dance Floor, released in 2005, was heralded as her comeback album, opening at number one in United States and in all major music markets. In 2007, Madonna signed a $120 million, 10-year business and recording 360 deal with Live Nation. Her remaining contract with Warner Bros. ended with her eleventh studio album Hard Candy (2008), which became her seventh number-one album on the Billboard 200, and Celebration (2009), her third greatest hits compilation. In 2011, Madonna announced she had signed a three-album deal with Interscope Records, who will distribute new recordings in partnership with Live Nation. Madonna has sold more than 300 million records worldwide and is recognized as the world's top-selling female recording artist of all time by the Guinness World Records. She is ranked by the RIAA as the best-selling female rock artist of the 20th century and second top-selling female artist in the United States, with 64 million certified albums. In the United Kingdom, she has become the most successful solo artist with a total of 12 number-one albums.

Famous quotes containing the word madonna:

    In our minds lives the madonna image—the all-embracing, all- giving tranquil mother of a Raphael painting, one child at her breast, another at her feet; a woman fulfilled, one who asks nothing more than to nurture and nourish. This creature of fantasy, this myth, is the model—the unattainable ideal against which women measure, not only their performance, but their feelings about being mothers.
    Lillian Breslow Rubin (20th century)