| Rank | Artist | Title |
|---|
| 1 | Billy T. James | The Comic Genius of Billy T James{{ref>reference_name_NZ|‡|‡}} |
| 2 | Kings of Leon | Only by the Night |
| 3 | Mamma Mia cast | Mamma Mia! The Movie Soundtrack |
| 4 | Duffy | Rockferry |
| 5 | Amy Winehouse | Back to Black |
| 6 | Coldplay | Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends |
| 7 | Metallica | Death Magnetic |
| 8 | Pink | Funhouse |
| 9 | Tiki Taane | Past, Present, Future{{ref>reference_name_NZ|‡|‡}} |
| 10 | The Feelers | The Best: '98-'08{{ref>reference_name_NZ|‡|‡}} |
| 11 | Flight of the Conchords | Flight of the Conchords{{ref>reference_name_NZ|‡|‡}} |
| 12 | AC/DC | Black Ice |
| 13 | Chris Brown | Exclusive |
| 14 | Miley Cyrus | Breakout |
| 15 | Opshop | Second Hand Planet{{ref>reference_name_NZ|‡|‡}} |
| 16 | The Priests | The Priests |
| 17 | High School Musical cast | High School Musical 3: Senior Year |
| 18 | Disturbed | Indestructible |
| 19 | Rob Guest | Rob Guest: 1950 - 2008{{ref>reference_name_NZ|‡|‡}} |
| 20 | Lady Gaga | The Fame |
| 21 | Leona Lewis | Spirit |
| 22 | Rihanna | Reloaded |
| 23 | Phil Collins | ...Hits |
| 24 | Jack Johnson | Sleep Through the Static |
| 25 | Guns N' Roses | Chinese Democracy |
| 26 | Enya | And Winter Came… |
| 27 | André Rieu | Waltzing Matilda: New Zealand Edition |
| 28 | The Black Seeds | Solid Ground{{ref>reference_name_NZ|‡|‡}} |
| 29 | Westlife | Unbreakable: The Greatest Hits Volume 1 (2008 NZ Tour Edition) |
| 30 | Geoff Sewell | Believe{{ref>reference_name_NZ|‡|‡}} |
| 31 | OneRepublic | Dreaming Out Loud |
| 32 | Josh Groban | A Collection |
| 33 | Herbs | Lights of the Pacific: The Very Best of Herbs{{ref>reference_name_NZ|‡|‡}} |
| 34 | Shihad | Beautiful Machine{{ref>reference_name_NZ|‡|‡}} |
| 35 | Kora | Kora{{ref>reference_name_NZ|‡|‡}} |
| 36 | Britney Spears | Circus |
| 37 | The Killers | Day & Age |
| 38 | Neil Diamond | Home Before Dark |
| 39 | Miley Cyrus | Meet Miley Cyrus |
| 40 | Robert Plant and Alison Krauss | Raising Sand |
| 41 | The Veronicas | Hook Me Up |
| 42 | Nickelback | Dark Horse |
| 43 | The Black Seeds | Into the Dojo{{ref>reference_name_NZ|‡|‡}} |
| 44 | Anika Moa | In Swings the Tide{{ref>reference_name_NZ|‡|‡}} |
| 45 | Camp Rock cast | Camp Rock |
| 46 | ABBA | Gold |
| 47 | Rod Stewart | The Story So Far: The Very Best of Rod Stewart |
| 48 | Slipknot | All Hope Is Gone |
| 49 | Bob Marley | Legend: The Best of Bob Marley |
| 50 | T.I. | Paper Trail |
|
1. ^{{cite web|title=END OF YEAR CHARTS 2008|url=http://nztop40.co.nz/chart/albums?chart=2089|work=Official NZ Music Charts|publisher=Recorded Music NZ|accessdate=14 January 2014}}