vinyl sales tally of 2010
In recent years some headlines have cast an increase in sales for vinyl LPs — once considered a casualty of the CD era — as something like a beacon of hope for the struggling music industry. The reality isn't all that rosy. Though vinyl sales grew by 14% in 2010, according to Nielsen SoundScan, they still counted for less than one percent of the year's total album sales.
But vinyl has never really gone away. It's just meant different things to different generations. Today, for the most part, that means fans of indie rock. According to that Nielsen end-of-the-year report, here are the top ten vinyl albums of 2010, with sales figures in parentheses:
Abbey Road - The Beatles (35,000)
The Suburbs - Arcade Fire (18,800)
Brothers - The Black Keys (18,400)
Contra - Vampire Weekend (15,000)
Thriller - Michael Jackson (14,200)
High Violet - The National (13,600)
Teen Dream - Beach House (13,000)
Valleys of Neptune - Jimi Hendrix Experience (11,400)
Dark Side of the Moon - Pink Floyd (10,600)
XX - The XX (10,200)