Contents
- Physical album sales statistics: German CD and vinyl album units, 2016–2025
- Physical album sales statistics: U.S. reported vinyl and CD format units in 2024–2025
- Physical album sales statistics: IFPI global vinyl album sales chart, 2025
- UK physical album sales statistics: 2025 vinyl album chart and leading titles
- UK physical album sales statistics: 2025 vinyl and CD revenue indicators
- Sources
Physical album sales statistics: German CD and vinyl album units, 2016–2025
Germany’s album-unit series provides a decade view of CD albums and vinyl LPs. Figure 7 in Musikindustrie in Zahlen 2025 reports quantities in millions of pieces. It counts a double album as 1 product; audiobooks are included in the CD album row through 2017 and excluded from 2018 onward. Those definitions matter when reading the transition between the first 2 years and later observations. Source: Musikindustrie in Zahlen 2025, Figure 7
| Year | CD albums (millions) | Vinyl LPs (millions) |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 73.8 | 3.1 |
| 2017 | 62.8 | 3.3 |
| 2018 | 46.2 | 3.1 |
| 2019 | 40.0 | 3.4 |
| 2020 | 32.2 | 4.2 |
| 2021 | 25.1 | 4.5 |
| 2022 | 19.4 | 4.3 |
| 2023 | 16.2 | 4.6 |
| 2024 | 12.4 | 4.6 |
| 2025 | 10.6 | 4.5 |
The CD row descends in every displayed year, from 73.8 million in 2016 to 10.6 million in 2025. Because audiobooks are counted through 2017 but not in subsequent years, the 2017-to-2018 comparison has a scope change in addition to the change in reported quantity. From 2018 through 2025, the series remains defined without audiobooks. The observations are album-product counts, not a count of discs: a double album still contributes 1 product.
Vinyl LP quantities occupy a much narrower range in this series. The reported amount is 3.1 million in 2016, reaches 4.5 million in 2021, and is 4.5 million again in 2025. Its highest displayed value is 4.6 million, recorded in both 2023 and 2024. The series therefore shows an overall higher level in the later years than at its 2016 start, with small year-to-year differences around the 2021–2025 values. It does not show a fresh increase in 2025: the entry is 4.5 million, after 4.6 million in each of the prior 2 years.
These German observations are album rows from one national market series. They should not be directly compared with the U.S. RIAA format counts below, which are reported on a wholesale basis and are not specified as album-only, or with the UK revenue figures later in the article. Source: Musikindustrie in Zahlen 2025, Figure 7
Physical album sales statistics: U.S. reported vinyl and CD format units in 2024–2025
The RIAA year-end report presents U.S. wholesale-reported format units in millions, net after returns. Its page 2 table labels the measure “Units,” and separately shows value. The following figures are format-level units: the table does not identify them as album-only. It also notes that some figures are adjusted due to rounding. Source: RIAA Year-End Recorded Music Revenue Report 2025, page 2
| Format | 2024 units (millions) | 2025 units (millions) | Reported unit change, 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vinyl | 43.4 | 46.8 | +7.9% |
| CD | 33.3 | 29.5 | −11.6% |
The reported directions differ by format. Vinyl units rise from 43.4 million in 2024 to 46.8 million in 2025, with the report listing a 7.9% increase. CD units move from 33.3 million to 29.5 million, with an 11.6% decrease. The figures describe wholesale-reported U.S. units, not consumer retail album purchases, and the format labels do not establish that every counted unit is an album. Source: RIAA Year-End Recorded Music Revenue Report 2025, page 2
Physical album sales statistics: IFPI global vinyl album sales chart, 2025
IFPI’s Global Vinyl Album Chart is explicitly an album chart and reports vinyl album units. The top 10 combines new releases and catalog titles: Taylor Swift’s The Life of a Showgirl leads, while IGOR, Rumours and Thriller also appear. Displayed chart quantities use “k,” meaning the values are presented in thousands of units. Source: IFPI Global Charts
| Rank | Artist | Album | Displayed units |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Taylor Swift | The Life of a Showgirl | 2,336k |
| 2 | Sabrina Carpenter | Man’s Best Friend | 539k |
| 3 | Kendrick Lamar | GNX | 504k |
| 4 | Sabrina Carpenter | Short n’ Sweet | 441k |
| 5 | Billie Eilish | HIT ME HARD AND SOFT | 428k |
| 6 | Lady Gaga | MAYHEM | 367k |
| 7 | The Weeknd | Hurry Up Tomorrow | 319k |
| 8 | Tyler, The Creator | IGOR | 296k |
| 9 | Fleetwood Mac | Rumours | 296k |
| 10 | Michael Jackson | Thriller | 277k |
The lead title’s displayed 2,336k units stand apart from the next entry at 539k. The chart then places GNX third at 504k, followed by Sabrina Carpenter’s earlier album Short n’ Sweet at 441k. The lower half of the top 10 ranges from 428k to 277k, with IGOR and Rumours both displayed at 296k. These are the chart’s reported values and ordering; no additional totals or market shares are inferred here.
The chart is specifically for vinyl albums. IFPI also publishes a separate Global Album Sales Chart that includes physical album sales and full album downloads; that broader measure is not interchangeable with this vinyl-only ranking. The table above therefore describes the 2025 vinyl album chart alone. Source: IFPI Global Charts
UK physical album sales statistics: 2025 vinyl album chart and leading titles
Official Charts’ UK year-end vinyl album list ranks titles for 2025 and supplies selected sales counts in its accompanying article. Taylor Swift’s The Life of a Showgirl was the biggest vinyl album of the year, with 147,000 copies sold since its October 2025 release; 125,000 of those sales occurred in its opening week. The figures refer to UK vinyl copies of that album, not all formats. Source: Official Charts, best-selling vinyl albums and singles of 2025
| Rank | Album | Artist | Reported UK vinyl sales |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Life of a Showgirl | Taylor Swift | 147,000 |
| 2 | People Watching | Sam Fender | 73,000 |
| 3 | (What’s the Story) Morning Glory? | Oasis | 55,000 |
| 4 | Lover (Live from Paris) | Taylor Swift | 47,000 |
| 5 | Man’s Best Friend | Sabrina Carpenter | 46,000 |
| 6 | The Art of Loving | Olivia Dean | 45,000 |
| 7 | Rumours | Fleetwood Mac | 38,500 |
| 8 | Romance | — | — |
| 9 | Short ’n Sweet | Sabrina Carpenter | — |
| 10 | Definitely Maybe | Oasis | 30,000 |
The list’s positions and the article’s selected sales counts do not provide a count for every title, so the table leaves unreported entries blank rather than implying zero sales. People Watching had 73,000 vinyl sales since its February release, including 43,000 in its first week. Oasis’s (What’s the Story) Morning Glory? ranked third with 55,000 sales, while Definitely Maybe placed tenth with 30,000. Sabrina Carpenter appears twice in the top 10, at fifth with Man’s Best Friend and ninth with Short ’n Sweet; Oasis also appears twice, at third and tenth.
Other reported title counts include 47,000 for Taylor Swift’s Lover (Live from Paris) at fourth, 46,000 for Sabrina Carpenter’s Man’s Best Friend at fifth, 45,000 for Olivia Dean’s The Art of Loving at sixth, and 38,500 for Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours at seventh. The order of all 10 titles is The Life of a Showgirl, People Watching, (What’s the Story) Morning Glory?, Lover (Live from Paris), Man’s Best Friend, The Art of Loving, Rumours, Romance, Short ’n Sweet and Definitely Maybe. Source: Official Charts, best-selling vinyl albums and singles of 2025
UK physical album sales statistics: 2025 vinyl and CD revenue indicators
The BPI’s UK figures provide revenue context for physical formats rather than album-unit counts. Physical music sales revenue increased 12.8% to £278.0 million in 2025, exceeding £250 million for the first time in 8 years, according to the article. Vinyl revenue reached £174.7 million, up 19.9% year on year. These are monetary measures and cannot be read as the number of albums sold. Source: BPI, UK recorded music market revenue in 2025
| UK physical music measure | 2025 reported figure | Comparison stated |
|---|---|---|
| Physical sales revenue | £278.0 million | Up 12.8% year on year |
| Vinyl revenue | £174.7 million | Up 19.9% year on year |
| Vinyl share of physical music sales | 62.9% | 59.1% in 2024 |
| CD revenue | £99.6 million | Up 3.1% year on year |
The vinyl share is a share of physical music sales as described by the BPI, not a share of album units. It rose from 59.1% in 2024 to 62.9% in 2025. CD revenue also returned to growth in this reporting period, increasing 3.1% to £99.6 million, while vinyl revenue grew 19.9% to £174.7 million. Read alongside the unit tables, this distinction is useful: the German, U.S. and chart data measure products or format units, while these UK indicators measure revenue and revenue share. Source: BPI, UK recorded music market revenue in 2025