UK vinyl sales at 25-year high, rise of 53% on previous year

Vinyl sales surpassed the three million mark for the first time since 1991.

The BPI has released its annual UK recorded music market report that shows more than 3.2 million vinyl records were sold in 2016, a 53% rise on the previous year.

As the BBC reports, sales haven’t peaked this high since 1991, when Simply Red’s Stars was the year’s biggest-selling record.

Last year, David Bowie’s Blackstar was the most popular vinyl album, selling more than double the number of copies of 2015’s best-seller, Adele’s 25.

The BPI also notes that UK acts accounted for seven of the year’s top-10 best-selling artist albums – see the top 10 vinyl albums of 2016 below.

Elsewhere, streaming services enjoyed a record year, with around 45 billion audio streams being counted in the UK for 2016, while in December more than a billion streams were served in just one week for the first time ever.

Top ten vinyl albums of 2016

01. David Bowie Blackstar
02. Amy Winehouse Back To Black
03. Various Artists Guardians of the Galaxy Mix 1
04. Radiohead A Moon Shaped Pool
05. Fleetwood Mac Rumours
06. The Stone Roses Stone Roses
07. Bob Marley Legend
08. The Beatles Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band
09. Prince Purple Rain
10. NirvanaNevermind