The albums discography of American country singer-songwriter Dolly Parton includes 49 studio albums, four collaborative albums, nine live albums, six soundtrack albums, one extended play and approximately 222 compilation albums globally. Popularly referred as the "Queen of Country" by the media, she is also widely recognized as the most honored woman in country music history.[1] She has charted 25 Number One songs (a record for a female country artist), 41 Top 10 country albums (a record for any artist) and has sold more than 100 million records worldwide, making her one of the best selling female country artists in history.[1] As of January 2022, Parton's catalog has amassed more than 3 billion global streams.[2]
Dolly Parton made her album debut in 1967 (she had previously achieved success as a songwriter for others), with her album Hello, I'm Dolly. With steady success during the remainder of the 1960s (both as a solo artist and with a series of duet albums with Porter Wagoner), her sales and chart peak came during the 1970s and continued into the 1980s; Parton's subsequent albums in the later part of the 1990s were lower in sales. At this time, country pop ruled the country albums and singles chart. However, in the new millennium, Parton achieved commercial success again. She has released albums on independent labels since 2000, including albums on her own label, Dolly Records.
Studio albums
1960s
List of studio albums, with selected chart positions
There have been over 200 compilation albums of Parton's material released over the years. The table below presents notable compilation albums. To be considered notable the album must contain some previously unreleased material, have appeared on a music chart, or have received a certification.
List of notable compilation albums, with selected chart positions and certifications
Parton has contributed to over 100 other albums throughout her career. These contributions range from solo recordings and duets to providing backing and harmony vocals for other artists. This additional work spans Parton's entire career, beginning in 1966 when she provided uncredited harmony vocals on Bill Phillips' recording of her composition "Put It Off Until Tomorrow" through her most recent collaboration with Positive Vibrations in 2022, a reggae version of her 1978 hit "Two Doors Down".
Notes
^This album is a recording of a radio broadcast from April 23, 1977 of Parton performing at the Boarding House in San Francisco, California. The concert does not survive in its entirety, as all releases of this concert are missing the last four songs from the set list.[31]
^This album features Parton's January 18, 2001 performance on Austin City Limits (which aired on March 24, 2001), with bonus tracks performed by various other country artists[32]
^This album was recorded May 14, 1977, at the Bottom Line in New York City, during Parton's final night of a three-night engagement. It was broadcast as a part of the Live at the Bottom Line radio series.[33]
^Parton does not perform on this album, but she composed all of the music and lyrics
^Parton appears on three tracks on this album, in addition to composing all of the music and lyrics
^Budget album containing six Parton tracks: "It Wasn't God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels", "Making Believe", "Letter to Heaven", "Release Me", "Two Little Orphans", and "Little Blossom"
^Compilation of unused material from Parton's time with Monument Records
^Contains two new recordings: "Mule Skinner Blues (Blue Yodel No. 8)" and "How Great Thou Art"
^Compilation album featuring reworked versions of songs that Parton recorded during her time with Monument Records
^Contains remixed/alternate versions of "Think About Love", "She Don't Love You (Like I Love You)", "We Had It All", "Do I Ever Cross Your Mind", and "I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch)"
^Contains Parton's Monument era recording of "Everything's Beautiful (In Its Own Way)" and alternate versions of "I'm Not Worth the Tears", "Why, Why, Why", "The Giving and the Taking", and "I Don't Want You Around Me Anymore"[60]
^Contains two previously unreleased tracks: "To Daddy" and Parton's solo version of "Real Love"
^Contains six previously unreleased live tracks: "Baby, I'm Burnin'", "Two Doors Down", "The Grass Is Blue", "Jolene", "9 to 5", and "Hello God"; and five new studio recordings: "Coat of Many Colors", "These Old Bones", "Little Sparrow", God's Coloring Book", and "I Will Always Love You"
^Contains seven previously unreleased tracks: "Gonna Hurry (As Slow as I Can)", "Nobody But You", "I've Known You All My Life", "Everything's Beautiful (In Its Own Way)", "God's Coloring Book", "Eugene, Oregon", and "What Will Baby Be")
^Contains seven previously unreleased track from Parton's time with Monument Records: "Send Me No Roses", "Wanted", "I Keep Intending to Tell You", "You Made a Woman of Me Too Soon", "Only Me and My Hairdresser Know", "Not from My World", and "You Never Took the Time"[63]
^Compilation album featuring 20 alternate takes and unreleased tracks
Top 100 (Kent Music Report) peaks from 1970 to June 12, 1988: Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 230. ISBN0-646-11917-6. N.B. The Kent Report chart was licensed by ARIA between mid-1983 and June 12, 1988.
Top 100 (ARIA) peaks from January 1990 to December 2010: Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (PDF ed.). Mt. Martha, VIC, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 213.
ARIA-era (June 13, 1988 onward) peaks to April 29, 2019: "Dolly Parton ARIA chart history, received April 29, 2019". ARIA. Retrieved April 1, 2020 – via Imgur.com. N.B. The High Point number in the NAT column represents the release's peak on the national chart.
