The 40 best-selling vinyl albums of 2020 revealed

Credit: Blocks

The 10 best-selling vinyl records of 2022

Thu 5 January 2023 16:15, UK

Newly published statistics have confirmed that vinyl record sales hit a 30-year high in 2022. The Official Chart Company has also revealed the top ten records responsible for the uptick in physical copy sales. See the full list below.

Vinyl sales grew for the 15th consecutive year in 2022, rising to 5.5 million units, the highest level since 1990, when …But Seriously by Phil Collins was the year’s biggest-selling studio album. Throughout the 1990s, CDs ousted records as a more versatile and space-saving alternative.

Over the past decade, turntables have arrived in living rooms worldwide as music fans return to the retro listening format. While records aren’t as practical as streaming services, it seems people want to collect some of their favourite albums as a means of identification and enjoy the ritualistic element of popping a record on to spin.

As seen below, 2022’s best-selling album on vinyl was Taylor Swift’s infinitely popular tenth album Midnights, which has spent three weeks at number one on the Official Albums Chart, tying with 2020’s lockdown sensation Folklore as her longest-running number one LP. In 2022, Midnights sold more than 89,000 vinyl copies.

Elsewhere, Sex Pistols’ re-release of their classic punk single, ‘God Save The Queen’, was the biggest-selling single on wax of 2022. The re-release coincided with Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee. It was initially released in 1977 when the late Queen celebrated her Silver Jubilee.

With a selection of old favourites from Queen to David Bowie and scores of new releases from Harry Styles to Wet Leg, we bring you the top ten best-selling vinyl LPs of 2022 below, with information released by the Official Charts Company.