Vinyl record sales continue to soar. According to Billboard, the week leading up to Christmas this year, sales hit a "modern era" record of 2.11 million albums sold. Half of all albums were vinyl and for the 23rd week in a row, vinyl sales have surpassed CDs.
To wrap up 2021, I thought it'd be fun to list out the five best selling records in 2021 on Vinyl Deals. In looking over the list, this year seems to match up with similar albums in previous years. All of these are rock albums (admittedly, much of what's on Vinyl Deals is rock). 2 of these were first released before 1983 and none of them is from the past 20 years. What does this say about trends on Vinyl Deals?
For starters, what often happens is a record will go on sale for a brief period of time and drive significant interest. Due to the limited nature of vinyl records, these may not be available any more on retailers such as Amazon. I've included links to the albums on Discogs to make sure we're supporting indie stores when possible.
Perhaps folks use the sales oppotunities to fill in gaps in their collections or maybe they already have an older copy but are looking to get another version remastered in the past 10 years.
Whatever the reason, vinyl continues to thrive. Personally, I just want to say a huge Thank You to all of you who come back to the site day after day and newcomers as well. As you know, the links here point to Amazon and by buying through those links, you're supporting the site to keep it running. Here's to a great 2022!
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#5: Pearl Jam - Ten
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Pearl Jam's debut album, first released on August 27, 1991. Ten continues to be a perennial favorite. This version is the 2017 remastered version, on one 180g LP.
View on Discogs
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#4: Foo Fighters - Foo Fighters
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Dave Grohl dropped this one on July 4th, 1995 with a swirl of secrecy around his new project. He wrote and recorded the entire album by himself. For generations, the songs "This is a Call", "Big Me", "I'll Stick Around" have permeated the airwaves and spun millions of times on turntables worldwide. This version is a reissue from 2011 and includes a digital download.
View on Discogs
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#3: Red Hot Chili Peppers - By the Way
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Their 8th studio album first released on July 9, 2002. Plenty of familiar singles came from this album, including "Can't Stop" which peaked at #1 on the US Alternative Airplay chart. Other tracks include "By the Way", "The Zephyr Song", "Universally Speaking", and "Dosed". This is a 2 LP imported version from Warner Music Europe.
View on Discogs
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#1 - Van Halen - Diver Down
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First released on April 12, 1982. The album art is a flag that is used when a diver is below the surface of the water. Diver Down is certified 4x Platinum. It's two biggest hits are covers of "Pretty Woman" and "Dancing in the Street". This version is the 2015 remaster on 180g.
View on Discogs
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