Vinyl Album Sales Hit Record High in 2017

Vinyl had a renaissance at retail by experiencing sales growth for the 12th consecutive year, comprising 14% of all U.S. physical album sales, an 11 percent increase from 2016, according to Nielsen Music.

The rise of the format can be attributed to promotion from big retailers like Amazon and Barnes & Noble, as well as annual vinyl-oriented celebrations like Record Store Day, and that vinyl LP sales were driven by a wide range of titles. In total, 77 different titles each sold over 20,000 copies on vinyl LP in 2017, compared to 58 titles in 2016.

The top-selling vinyl LP of the year was the re-release of The Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.

Annual vinyl album sales have hit another record high in the Nielsen Music-era (1991-present), as the configuration sold 14.3 million (up nine percent) in 2017. Vinyl LP sales also represented 8.5 percent of all album sales in 2017, a 6.5 percent increase from 2016. Nielsen Music’s 2017 tracking year ran from Dec. 30, 2016 through Dec. 28, 2017.

The top ten best-selling vinyl LPs of 2017 in the U.S. according to Nielsen Music:

1.- The Beatles, Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band / Sales: 72,000
2.- The Beatles, Abbey Road / 66,000
3.- Soundtrack, Guardians of the Galaxy: Awesome Mix Vol. 1 / 62,000
4.- Ed Sheeran, ÷ (Divide) / 62,000
5.- Amy Winehouse, Back to Black / 58,000
6.- Prince and the Revolution, Purple Rain (Soundtrack) / 58,000
7.- Bob Marley and The Wailers, Legend: The Best Of… / 56,000
8.- Pink Floyd, The Dark Side of the Moon / 54,000
9.- Soundtrack, La La Land / 49,000
10.- Michael Jackson, Thriller / 49,000