These are the Oricon number one albums of 1996, per the Oricon Albums Chart. [1]
| † | Indicates best-selling album of 1996 |
| Issue Date | Album | Artist(s) |
|---|---|---|
| January 1 | Beauty and Harmony | Miwa Yoshida |
| January 15 | Back Beats #1 | Maki Ohguro |
| January 22 | ||
| January 29 | ||
| February 5 | Hey Man | Mr. Big |
| February 12 | Banzai | Ulfuls |
| February 19 | Beat Out! | Glay |
| February 26 | Looking Back | Kazumasa Oda |
| March 4 | The Live 3 | TRF |
| March 11 | King & Queen | Tomoyasu Hotei |
| March 18 | ||
| March 25 | Singles Collection +6 | Wands |
| April 1 | Daiginjō | Miyuki Nakajima |
| April 8 | Globe † | Globe |
| April 15 | Love Unlimited | Dreams Come True |
| April 22 | Globe† | Globe |
| April 29 | ||
| May 6 | Style | Luna Sea |
| May 13 | Globe† | Globe |
| May 20 | ||
| May 27 | ||
| June 3 | Neon Genesis Evangelion III | TV soundtrack |
| June 10 | Fake Star | Kuroyume |
| June 17 | Love Brace | Tomomi Kahala |
| June 24 | Only Good Summer | Tube |
| July 1 | Love Brace | Tomomi Kahala |
| July 8 | Shinkai | Mr. Children |
| July 15 | Red | Nanase Aikawa |
| July 22 | Today Is Another Day | Zard |
| July 29 | Young Love | Southern All Stars |
| August 5 | Sweet 19 Blues | Namie Amuro |
| August 12 | ||
| August 19 | Since 1995: Forever | V6 |
| August 26 | Smap 009 | SMAP |
| September 2 | Singles | T-Bolan |
| September 9 | ||
| September 16 | Psyence | Hide |
| September 23 | By Myself | Hitomi |
| September 30 | Montage | Yen Town Band |
| October 7 | ||
| October 14 | Missing Piece | Kyosuke Himuro |
| October 21 | MTV Unplugged Live | Chage and Aska |
| October 28 | Kyutai no kanaderu ongaku | Kenji Ozawa |
| November 4 | Indigo Chiheisen | Spitz |
| November 11 | ||
| November 18 | Dahlia | X Japan |
| November 25 | Aozora no Tobira | Shōgo Hamada |
| December 2 | Beloved | Glay |
| December 9 | Friends II | B'z |
| December 16 | Greeting | V6 |
| December 23 | Maximum | MAX |
| December 30 | Golden Q | Sharan Q |