The Carpenters discography

The discography of the American pop group the Carpenters consists of 14 studio albums, two Christmas albums, two live albums, 49 singles, and numerous compilation albums. The duo was made up of siblings Karen (lead vocals and drums) and Richard Carpenter (keyboards and vocals).

The siblings started their musical career together in the latter half of the 1960s. In October 1969, six months after they signed a contract with A&M Records, the Carpenters released their debut album Offering (its title was later changed to Ticket to Ride). Within a year, they rose to prominence with their chart-topping single "(They Long to Be) Close to You", a Burt Bacharach and Hal David composition that had not been commercially successful when it was recorded by television star Richard Chamberlain in 1963.

The Carpenters garnered worldwide commercial success, scoring big hits mainly in the first half of the 1970s. RIAA-certified sales of their records (albums, singles and videos) have been estimated at around 34.6 million units. In the United Kingdom, they are ranked as the seventh top-selling albums artist on the official record chart of the 1970s. During their career, the duo scored 1 number one album and another 4 Top 10 albums on Billboard 200, 3 number ones singles, 12 top 10 singles and 20 top 40 hits on Billboard Hot 100. They have also been the third-best-selling international music act in the Japanese market, only behind Mariah Carey and the Beatles. By 2005, they had reportedly sold more than 100 million copies of records worldwide.

Studio albums
Throughout their career, the Carpenters released 14 original albums, including two Christmas offerings. Most recently they released As Time Goes By in 2001 in Japan, and 2004 internationally.

Live albums
There are two live albums that the Carpenters have released officially, though neither of them were issued in their homeland.

Compilations
Following releases are "greatest-hits" albums of the Carpenters released in the United States, Canada, and/or the United Kingdom. I Album only downloadable in the UK.

"—" denotes releases that did not chart.

Limited releases

 * Golden Prize (Japan only)
 * Released: September 10, 1971
 * Label: A&M/King
 * Format: LP, cassette
 * Chart position(s): #3 (JPN)


 * Golden Double Deluxe (Japan only)
 * Released: February 10, 1972
 * Label: A&M/King
 * Format: LP
 * Chart position(s): #10 (JPN)


 * Great Hits of the Carpenters (Australia)
 * Released: 1972
 * Label: A&M/King
 * Format: LP
 * Chart position(s): #3 (AUS)


 * GEM I (Japan only)
 * Released: October 10, 1972
 * Label: A&M/King
 * Format: LP
 * Chart position(s): #13 (JPN)


 * MAX 20 (Japan only)
 * Released: March 10, 1973
 * Label: A&M/King
 * Format: LP
 * Chart position(s): #26 (JPN)


 * GEM II (Japan only)
 * Released: October 25, 1973
 * Label: A&M/King
 * Format(s): LP
 * Chart position(s): #3 (JPN)


 * Great Hits of the Carpenters Volume 2 (Australia)
 * Released: 1972
 * Label: A&M/King
 * Format: LP
 * Chart position(s): #24 (AUS)


 * Golden Prize Volume II (Japan only)
 * Released: April 10, 1974
 * Label: A&M/King
 * Format(s): LP, cassette
 * Chart position(s): #1 (JPN)


 * Big Star (Japan only)
 * Released: June 1, 1974
 * Label: A&M/King
 * Format(s): Cassette
 * Chart position(s): #20 (JPN)


 * Special Series (Japan only)
 * Released: November 1, 1976
 * Label: A&M/King
 * Format(s): Cassette
 * Chart position(s): #36 (JPN)


 * Ketteiban (The Definitive) (Japan only)
 * Released: June 21, 1982
 * Label: A&M/Alfa
 * Format(s): Cassette
 * Chart position(s): #61 (JPN)


 * The Very Best of the Carpenters (Australia and New Zealand only)
 * Released: 1982
 * Label: A&M/Festival
 * Format(s): LP
 * Chart position(s): #1 (AUS), #2 (NZ)


 * Only Yesterday (a.k.a. Their Greatest Hits)
 * Released: March 1990
 * Label: A&M
 * Format(s): LP, cassette, CD, digital download
 * Chart position(s): #1 (UK), #8 (NOR), #9 (AUS), #25 (JPN), #25 (NZ)
 * Certification(s): 5× Platinum (BPI), Platinum (RIAJ), Platinum (ARIA)


 * Seishun no Kagayaki: The Best of (22 Hits of the Carpenters) (Japan only)
 * Released: November 10, 1995
 * Label: A&M / Polydor Japan
 * Format(s): CD, MD, cassette
 * Chart position(s): #3 (JPN)
 * Certification(s): 12× Platinum (RIAJ)


 * Yesterday Once More: De Nederlandse Singles Collectie (Netherlands only)
 * Released: 2001
 * Label: A&M / Universal
 * Format(s): CD
 * Chart position(s): #22 (NVPI)

Music videos

 * "Dancing in the Street" (1968)
 * "Ticket to Ride" (1969)
 * "(They Long to Be) Close to You" (1970)
 * "We've Only Just Begun" (1970)
 * "For All We Know" (1971)
 * "Rainy Days and Mondays" (1971)
 * "Superstar" (1971)
 * "Hurting Each Other" (1972)
 * "Top of the World" (1973)
 * "Yesterday Once More" (1973)
 * "Jambalaya (On the Bayou)" (1974)
 * "Sing" (1974)
 * "Please Mr. Postman" (1974)
 * "Only Yesterday" (1975)
 * "There's a Kind of Hush" (1976)
 * "I Need to Be in Love" (1976)
 * "Goofus" (1976)
 * "All You Get from Love Is a Love Song" (1977)
 * "Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft" (1977)
 * "Sweet, Sweet Smile" (1978)
 * "Little Girl Blue" (1979)
 * "When I Fall in Love (1980)
 * "Touch Me When We're Dancing" (1981)
 * "(Want You) Back in My Life Again" (1981)
 * "Those Good Old Dreams" (1981)
 * "Beechwood 4-5789" (1982)
 * "Now" (1983)

Holiday 100 chart entries
Since many radio stations in the US adopt a format change to Christmas music each December, many holiday hits have an annual spike in popularity during the last few weeks of the year and are retired once the season is over. In December 2011, Billboard began a Holiday Songs chart with 50 positions that monitors the last five weeks of each year to "rank the top holiday hits of all eras using the same methodology as the Hot 100, blending streaming, airplay, and sales data", and in 2013 the number of positions on the chart was doubled, resulting in the Holiday 100. A handful of Carpenters recordings have made appearances on the Holiday 100 and are noted below according to the holiday season in which they charted there.