At the risk of sounding like a broken record, vinyl broke another modern-day record last year, moving the most units since 1991. Nearly 42 million LPs were purchased, an increase of more than 51% vs. 2020. Overall physical albums increased by 22%, with vinyl being the primary driver. CDs also increased in sales to 40.6m, up 1%. Digital albums continued their decline, cratering 24% from the previous year.
Adele tops the vinyl best-seller list of 2021 with 319k, an average of 53k for each of the album’s six weeks in release.