Photo: Ray Hill
Arctic Monkeys, Jack White and Pink Floyd are among the artists who have helped vinyl sales pass the 1 million mark for the first time in nearly 20 years.
Official Charts data reveals that this weekend saw annual vinyl sales reach 1.2 million units - the highest since 1996, when 1,083,206 LPs were purchased.
The best-selling vinyl album of the year is AM by Arctic Monkeys, followed by Lazaretto by Jack White, The Endless River by Pink Floyd and Royal Blood's self-titled debut. Led Zeppelin have three entries in the top 10. See the full chart below.
Official Charts Chief Executive, Martin Talbot sais: "In scoring the biggest opening week for a vinyl album this millennium, Pink Floyd’s The Endless River illustrates the British public’s renewed love for this format, which is on course to become a £20million business this year – an incredible turnaround from barely £3m just five years ago. This resurgence also underlines music fans’ continuing fascination with the album."
However, vinyl still accounts for just 2% of the UK's recorded music market, while streaming stands at 10%. Still, we're pretty happy with the news.
"We have entered an exciting best-of-all-worlds era where there is space and scope for all kinds of music to be discovered and enjoyed in every type of way, including on vinyl once again," added the BPI's Gennaro Castaldo. "Many of us assumed it had become an obsolete format, but while the flame may have flickered, it never quite went out, and we are now seeing a burgeoning resurgence in demand led by exciting new acts such as Royal Blood that is likely to keep vinyl on our high streets for many more years to come."
The top 10 best-selling vinyl albums of the year are below:
1. AM - ARCTIC MONKEYS
2. LAZARETTO - JACK WHITE
3. THE ENDLESS RIVER - PINK FLOYD
4. ROYAL BLOOD - ROYAL BLOOD
5. DEFINITELY MAYBE - OASIS
6. THE STONE ROSES - STONE ROSES
7. THE DARK SIDE OF THE MOON - PINK FLOYD
8. LED ZEPPELIN - LED ZEPPELIN
9. LED ZEPPELIN - 3 LED ZEPPELIN
10. LED ZEPPELIN - 2 LED ZEPPELIN
