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Taylor Swift dominates Billboard’s Top Album Sales chart (dated Dec. 30), as she holds the entire top four titles. That marks the first time any act has claimed the entire top four at the same time, since the chart bowed in May of 1991. For good measure, Swift has five of the top six titles, and six out of the top 10, as her titles populate Nos. 1-4, 6 and 10. Swift tops the list with 1989 (Taylor’s Version), which rises 2-1 for a third nonconsecutive week on top.
Swift leads a busy Top Album Sales chart, as the latest tally reflects the tracking week of Dec. 15-21 — capturing pre-Christmas Day shopping activity. Many titles see increases thanks to general holiday purchases, retailer promotions and sale pricing. On the 50-position chart, of the 49 non-debuts, a total of 44 titles boast weekly sales gains. Only five titles see weekly declines.
Billboard’s Top Album Sales chart ranks the top-selling albums of the week based only on traditional album sales. The chart’s history dates back to May 25, 1991, the first week Billboard began tabulating charts with electronically monitored piece count information from SoundScan, now Luminate. Pure album sales were the sole measurement utilized by the Billboard 200 albums chart through the list dated Dec. 6, 2014, after which that chart switched to a methodology that blends album sales with track equivalent album units and streaming equivalent album units. For all chart news, follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both Twitter and Instagram.
The Swift parade in the top 10 of the chart is led by 1989 (Taylor’s Version), which climbs 2-1 for its third nonconsecutive week at No. 1 (95,000 copies sold; up 47%). Swift’s Midnights rises 5-2 (43,000; up 79%), Lover ascends 8-3 (30,000; up 55%) and Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) steps 6-4 (29,000; up 32%). The latter three are also former No. 1s.
Swift is also found in the top 10 at No. 6 with her chart-topping Folklore (falling two spots with 25,000; though up 4%) and at No. 10 with former leader Fearless (Taylor’s Version) (up from No. 16 with 19,000; up 70%).
Rounding out the non-Swift titles in the top 10 are these former No. 1s: Olivia Rodrigo’s Guts (9-5 with 26,000; up 37%), Stray Kids’ ROCK-STAR (holding at No. 7 with 24,000; up 20%), ATEEZ’s The World EP.Fin: Will (down 3-8 with 22,000; down 29%) and Dolly Parton’s Rockstar (10-9 with 19,000; up 8%).
In the week ending Dec. 21, there were 3.553 million albums sold in the U.S. (up 15.6% compared to the previous week). Of that sum, physical albums (CDs, vinyl LPs, cassettes, etc.) comprised 3.219 million (up 18.7%) and digital albums comprised 334,000 (down 7.6%).
There were 1.150 million CD albums sold in the week ending Dec. 21 (up 8.7% week-over-week) and 2.055 million vinyl albums sold (up 25.3%). Year-to-date CD album sales stand at 36.072 million (up 2.8% compared to the same time frame a year ago) and year-to-date vinyl album sales total 48.203 million (up 15.1%).
Overall year-to-date album sales total 102.809 million (up 5.6% compared to the same year-to-date time frame a year ago). Year-to-date physical album sales stand at 84.823 million (up 9.4%) and digital album sales total 17.986 million (down 9.3%).
U.S. vinyl album sales surged in the week ending Dec. 21, with 2.054 million copies sold, according to Luminate. That marks the largest week of 2023 for vinyl albums, and the third-largest week in the modern era — since Luminate began electronically tracking sales in 1991. The only two larger weeks registered since 1991 both […]
Taylor Swift once again crowds the top 10 of Billboard’s Top Album Sales chart, as the superstar has five titles lodged in the top 10 of the Dec. 23-dated tally. It’s the fifth time she’s held at least half of the top 10, with three of those weeks happening this month.
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Her most recent release, 1989 (Taylor’s Version), is a non-mover at No. 2 with 65,000 copies sold (up 21%) in the tracking week ending Dec. 14, according to Luminate. Folklore rises 5-4 (24,000; up 17%), Midnights climbs 8-5 (24,000; up 29%), Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) steps 7-6 (22,000; up 15%) and Lover returns to the top 10, ascending 12-8 (20,000; up 50%). The five former No. 1s all experience gains largely due to sales of their vinyl configurations, as retailers continue to promote music on vinyl during the holiday shopping season.
Swift isn’t the only big news in the top 10 of the new Top Album Sales chart, as Nicki Minaj’s Pink Friday 2 debuts at No. 1 with 92,000 copies sold. As earlier reported, that marks the biggest sales week for any rap album by a woman in the 2020s decade and the largest sales week for an R&B/hip-hop album by a woman in 2023. In total, Pink Friday 2 is Minaj’s third No. 1 on Top Album Sales, following Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded in 2012 and Pink Friday in 2011.
Billboard’s Top Album Sales chart ranks the top-selling albums of the week based only on traditional album sales. The chart’s history dates back to May 25, 1991, the first week Billboard began tabulating charts with electronically monitored piece count information from SoundScan, now Luminate. Pure album sales were the sole measurement utilized by the Billboard 200 albums chart through the list dated Dec. 6, 2014, after which that chart switched to a methodology that blends album sales with track equivalent album units and streaming equivalent album units. For all chart news, follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both Twitter and Instagram.
As for the rest of the top 10 on the new Top Album Sales chart, ATEEZ’s The World EP. Fin: Will moves to No. 3 (30,000; down 79%) after debuting on top a week ago, Stray Kids’ former leader ROCK-STAR falls 4-7 (20,000; down 8%), Olivia Rodrigo’s chart-topping Guts rises 11-9 (19,000; up 40%, mostly from vinyl sales) and Dolly Parton’s former No. 1 Rockstar is a non-mover at No. 10 (18,000; down 4%).
In the week ending Dec. 14, there were 3.075 million albums sold in the U.S. (up 13.6% compared to the previous week). Of that sum, physical albums (CDs, vinyl LPs, cassettes, etc.) comprised 2.713 million (up 15.8%) and digital albums comprised 362,000 (up 1.1%).
There were 1.058 million CD albums sold in the week ending Dec. 14 (up 4.7% week-over-week) and 1.640 million vinyl albums sold (up 24.3%). Year-to-date CD album sales stand at 34.921 million (up 3.3% compared to the same time frame a year ago) and year-to-date vinyl album sales total 46.149 million (up 16.4%).
Overall year-to-date album sales total 99.256 million (up 6.2% compared to the same year-to-date time frame a year ago). Year-to-date physical album sales stand at 81.604 million (up 10.3%) and digital album sales total 17.652 million (down 9.2%).
The new charity holiday album A Philly Special Christmas Special scores big across Billboard’s charts (dated Dec. 16), as the star-studded set debuts in the top 10 on Top Album Sales, Independent Albums, Top Current Album Sales, Top Holiday Albums and Vinyl Albums.
The 11-track project, led by Philadelphia Eagles players Jason Kelce, Jordan Mailata and Lane Johnson, features 10 covers and one new original song. Special guests on the project include Patti LaBelle, Travis Kelce (Jason’s Kansas City Chiefs star brother and Taylor Swift’s boyfriend), Amos Lee, Howie Roseman (Eagles’ executive vice president/general manager) and Waxahatchee. All profits from the album will be donated to Philadelphia-area charities, including Children’s Crisis Treatment Center and Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.
A Philly Special Christmas Special sold 28,000 copies in the U.S. in the week ending Dec. 7, according to Luminate, and was available as either a digital download album or a $75 red-colored vinyl LP. It launches at No. 3 on Top Album Sales and Top Current Album Sales and No. 3 on Vinyl Albums (nearly 17,500 sold on vinyl). The set also bows at No. 4 on Independent Albums and No. 8 on Top Holiday Albums, as well as at No. 25 on the Billboard 200
A Philly Special Christmas Special is the sequel to 2022’s seven-track A Philly Special Christmas. A new $125 double-vinyl-only release that combined both albums also makes a notable debut, as A Philly Special Christmas Special (The Deluxe Album 2022 & 2023) sold nearly 20,000 copies and bows at No. 6 on Top Album Sales and Top Current Album Sales, and No. 2 on Vinyl Albums. It also starts at No. 8 on Independent Albums, No. 17 on Top Holiday Albums and No. 55 on the Billboard 200.
Billboard’s Top Album Sales chart ranks the top-selling albums of the week based only on traditional album sales. The chart’s history dates back to May 25, 1991, the first week Billboard began tabulating charts with electronically monitored piece count information from SoundScan, now Luminate. Pure album sales were the sole measurement utilized by the Billboard 200 albums chart through the list dated Dec. 6, 2014, after which that chart switched to a methodology that blends album sales with track equivalent album units and streaming equivalent album units. The new Dec. 16, 2023-dated chart will be posted in full on Billboard‘s website on Dec. 12. For all chart news, follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both X, formerly known as Twitter, and Instagram.
Top Current Album Sales and Vinyl Albums ranks the week’s top selling current albums (excluding older titled, referred to as catalog) and vinyl albums, respectively. Independent Albums and Top Holiday Albums rank the week’s most popular independently released albums and holiday albums, respectively, by equivalent album units.
As the Philly Special team debuts at Nos. 3 and 6 on Top Album Sales, ATEEZ notches its second chart-topper as THE WORLD EP.FIN: WILL bows atop the tally. It sold 146,000 copies in the tracking week – the Korean pop ensemble’s biggest sales week. As is typical for major K-pop releases, THE WORLD EP.FIN: WILL was issued in multiple collectible physical configurations, 33 in total. All have the same 12-song tracklist but have alternative packaging and contain different branded paper merchandise (some randomized, including photocards). Of the 33 editions, 26 are CDs and seven are vinyl. Among the variants are retail exclusives sold through the likes of Barnes & Noble, Target and Walmart.
Taylor Swift’s 1989 (Taylor’s Version) falls to No. 2 on Top Album Sales (54,000; down 38%), while Stray Kids’ ROCK-STAR descends 2-4 (21,000; down 43%) and Swift’s chart-topping Folklore falls 3-5 (21,000; down 41%).
Swift’s former No. 1s Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) and Midnights move 5-7 and 4-8, respectively, selling about 19,000 each (down 33% and 39%, respectively). Cher’s Christmas returns to the top 10, bounding 12-9 with 19,000 sold (up 5%), and Dolly Parton’s former leader Rockstar falls 6-10 with 18,000 (down 26%).
In the week ending Dec. 7, there were 2.708 million albums sold in the U.S. (down 9.7% compared to the previous week). Of that sum, physical albums (CDs, vinyl LPs, cassettes, etc.) comprised 2.342 million (down 13%) and digital albums comprised 366,000 (up 18.9%).
There were 1.010 million CD albums sold in the week ending Dec. 7 (up 8.4% week-over-week) and 1.320 million vinyl albums sold (down 24.5%). Year-to-date CD album sales stand at 33.863 million (up 3.2% compared to the same time frame a year ago) and year-to-date vinyl album sales total 44.508 million (up 16.7%).
Overall year-to-date album sales total 96.182 million (up 6.2% compared to the same year-to-date time frame a year ago). Year-to-date physical album sales stand at 78.891 million (up 10.4%) and digital album sales total 17.290 million (down 9.3%).
Record Store Day’s Black Friday festivities on Nov. 24 yielded big gains for vinyl album sales in the U.S., thanks to hot-selling titles by the likes of Linkin Park, Olivia Rodrigo, The Doors, U2 and Post Malone – all released exclusively for the indie store holiday.
According to Luminate, in the tracking week ending Nov. 30, the top five-selling Record Store Day (RSD) Black Friday album release were Linkin Park’s Lost Demos (on translucent sea blue vinyl), Rodrigo’s four-song Guts: The Secret Tracks (on opaque deep purple vinyl), The Doors’ Live in Bakersfield, California, August 21, 1970 (on double vinyl), U2’s U2 Live: Under a Blood Red Sky (on red vinyl, naturally) and Post Malone’s The Diamond Collection (on clear double vinyl). (See lists below, which are ranked by album sales generated in the week ending Nov. 30.)
The Doors’ Live in Bakersfield set was released on both vinyl and as a two-CD set, and their combined sales across the two configurations make the album the RSD Black Friday top-seller overall for the week.
Typically, many unique and limited-edition titles – both albums and singles – are released for RSD Black Friday celebrations, exclusively sold through independent and small chain music stores. Record Store Day traditionally has its main indie store holiday in the springtime (2023’s edition was held on April 22), followed by a secondary shindig for Black Friday.
In the week ending Nov. 30, U.S. vinyl album sales industry-wide (across all sellers of music, not just indie stores and small chains) grew 67% to 1.748 million sold (up from 1.046 million sold the previous week). Independent store vinyl album sales for the week jumped 149% to 829,000 (up from 333,000 the previous week). 47.4% of all vinyl albums sold in the U.S. in the week ending Nov. 30 were purchased at independent and small chain music stores (829,000 of 1.748 million).
With 1.748 million vinyl albums sold industry-wide, that marks the fifth-largest week for vinyl album sales in the U.S. in the modern era, since Luminate began electronically tracking music sales in 1991. (It’s also the second-largest week of 2023 for vinyl album sales, following the week ending April 27, which captured Record Store Day 2023, with 1.809 million sold). The biggest week since 1991 for vinyl album sales was the week ending Dec. 22, 2022, when 2.232 million vinyl albums were sold.
Top-Selling Record Store Day Black Friday 2023 Exclusive Albums at Independent Record Stores in U.S. (By Configuration)Rank, Artist, Title1. Linkin Park, Lost Demos (translucent sea blue vinyl)2. Olivia Rodrigo, Guts: The Secret Tracks (opaque deep purple vinyl)3. The Doors, Live in Bakersfield, California, August 21, 1970 (double vinyl)4. U2, U2 Live: Under a Blood Red Sky (red vinyl)5. Post Malone, The Diamond Collection (clear double vinyl)6. Rilo Kiley, Under the Blacklight (translucent “blacklight” purple vinyl)7. Noah Kahan, Cape Elizabeth (color marbled vinyl)8. Grateful Dead, Filmore West 1969, March 2nd (five vinyl LP box set)9. Coheed and Cambria, Live at the Starland Ballroom (solar flare colored double vinyl)10. Gram Parsons and The Fallen Angels, The Last Roundup: Live From the Bijou Café in Philadelphia, 3/16/73 (double vinyl)11. Jerry Garcia & John Kahn, Pure Jerry: Marin Veterans Memorial Auditorium San Rafael, California – February, 28, 1986 (double vinyl)12. Joni Mitchell, Court and Spark: Demos (vinyl)13. CZARFACE, CZARtificial Intelligence (translucent Czarbury orange vinyl)14. The Beach Boys, The Beach Boys’ Christmas Album (green vinyl)15. My Morning Jacket, Happy Holiday! (clear vinyl with “white snow splatters”)16. Faces, Had Me a Real Good Time: Live at the BBC, In Session & In Concert 1971-1973 (vinyl)17. Nas, I Am… The Autobiography (double vinyl)18. The English Beat, I Just Can’t Stop It (double vinyl)19. Willie Nelson, Shotgun Willie (double vinyl)20. Bill Evans / Chuck Israels / Larry Bunker, Tales: Live in Copenhagen (1964) (vinyl)21. Various Artists, Jazz Dispensary: At the Movies (purple marble vinyl)22. Kim Petras, Problematique (apple red vinyl)23. Jonas Brothers, The Family Business (clear double vinyl)24. Soundtrack, Asteroid City (orange double vinyl)25. The Flaming Lips, Live at the Paradise Lounge (pink vinyl)
Top-Selling Record Store Day Black Friday 2023 Exclusive Singles at Independent Record Stores in U.S.Rank, Artist, Title1. Prince and The N.P.G, Gett Off (12-inch vinyl)2. Billy Strings featuring Willie Nelson, California Sober (green 12-inch vinyl)3. Turnstile x BADBADNOTGOOD, Mystery / Alien Love Call, featuring Blood Orange / Underwater Boi (12-inch vinyl)4. Motley Crue, Too Young to Fall In Love (Remix) / Knock em’ Dead Kid / Too Fast for Love (orange/black 12-inch vinyl)5. Cypress Hill, Insane In the Brain (2023 Remix) / Hits From the Bong (2023 Remix) (12-inch vinyl)6. Phoenix, Winter Solstice / Winter Solstice (Braxe+Falcon Remix) (7-inch vinyl)7. Aimee Mann, Dead Eyes / Dead Eyes (demo) (7-inch vinyl)8. Jeff Beck, Midnight Walker Lament, featuring Imelda May / Elegy for Dunkirk (Live), featuring Olivia Safe / Goin’ Down (Live) (12-inch vinyl)9. The Hold Steady, The Death of the Punchline / Radar & Leda (random color 12-inch)10. Waterboys, This Is the Sea (Fast) / The Passenger (10-inch vinyl)
Source: Luminate, for the week ending Nov. 30, 2023.
In a world full of albums, only 23 have ever sold a million or more U.S. copies in a single week — and only one has ever done so more than once, much less three times total. At least, that’s what can be gathered since Luminate began electronically counting music sales in 1991, back when […]
Jung Kook’s first solo album, Golden, debuts atop Billboard’s Top Album Sales chart (dated Nov. 18), selling 164,800 copies in the U.S. in the week ending Nov. 9, according to Luminate.
Also in the top 10 of the new Top Album Sales chart, the late Jimmy Buffett’s new studio album Equal Strain On all Parts bows at No. 3, Jason Aldean’s latest effort Highway Desperado starts at No. 6, anniversary reissues of Dave Matthews Band’s Before These Crowded Streets and Coheeed and Cambria’s The Second Stage Turbine Blade prompt their re-entries, while the physical release of Caroline Polachek’s Desire, I Want to Turn Into You pushes the album to a No. 9 debut.
Billboard’s Top Album Sales chart ranks the top-selling albums of the week based only on traditional album sales. The chart’s history dates back to May 25, 1991, the first week Billboard began tabulating charts with electronically monitored piece count information from SoundScan, now Luminate. Pure album sales were the sole measurement utilized by the Billboard 200 albums chart through the list dated Dec. 6, 2014, after which that chart switched to a methodology that blends album sales with track equivalent album units and streaming equivalent album units. For all chart news, follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both Twitter and Instagram.
Of the 164,800 copies sold of Golden, physical sales comprise 128,500 (all CD sales) and digital downloads comprise 36,500. As with many major K-pop releases, Golden was issued in 16 collectible CD editions, all with the same tracklist, but alternative packaging and covers, with different merchandise (some randomized) contained inside. Among the variants were retail-exclusive sold through Barnes & Noble, Target and Walmart. Golden was also available to purchase across nine different digital download editions: a standard version, one with three music videos, a version with a “digitally signed” cover, two alternative cover versions, and four “voice memo” versions (each of the four came with a different short voice memo recorded by the artist as a bonus track).
Taylor Swift’s 1989 (Taylor’s Version) slips to No. 2 with 122,000 copies sold (down 91%) after debuting at No. 1 the week previous.
The late Jimmy Buffett, who died on Sept. 1, debuts at No. 3 on Top Album Sales with the final studio album he completed during his lifetime: Equal Strain On all Parts. It launches with 51,000 copies sold. The set was issued as a standard digital album, a standard CD and in two vinyl editions – a widely available Key West Blue-colored version, and an indie store exclusive Paradise Blue-colored version that contains a poster inside. Of the album’s 51,000 sold, CD sales comprise 26,000, digital album sales comprise 15,000 and vinyl sales comprise 10,000.
SEVENTEEN’s SEVENTEENTH Heaven: 11th Mini Album falls 2-4 on Top Album Sales with 22,000 (down 77%) while The Rolling Stones’ Hackney Diamonds dips 3-5 with 17,000 (down 48%).
Jason Aldean’s new studio album Highway Desperado drives in at No. 6 in its first week, selling 16,500 copies. It’s the 11th top 10, all consecutive, for the country star. He first visited the region with Relentless, hitting No. 4 in 2007.
Dave Matthews Band’s former No. 1, Before These Crowded Streets, re-enters Top Album Sales at No. 7 with nearly 15,000 sold, following a new 25th anniversary pressing on vinyl. (Essentially all of its sales for the week were on vinyl.) It was available in four vinyl variants: a standard black-colored edition, with clear, yellow and red/blue marbled version.
Another anniversary vinyl pressing brings an album back to the chart, as Coheed and Cambria’s The Second Stage Turbine Blade reaches the top 10 for the first time, as it re-enters at No. 8 with 13,000 sold (its best sales week ever). Nearly all of that sum is driven by vinyl sales, as the album garnered a new vinyl pressing for its 20th anniversary. It was available in five color variants: black transparent, yellow opaque, white with black splatter, yellow with white and black splatter and green with white and yellow splatter. Second Stage now marks the ninth top 10-charting effort for the act on Top Album Sales.
Caroline Polachek’s Desire, I Want to Turn Into You, debuts at No. 9 on Top Album Sales with a little over 11,000 copies sold (up from a negligible sum the week previous), following the album’s release on physical formats on Nov. 3. It was available in four vinyl variants, a CD and cassette tape. The album was initially released as a digital download and via streaming services in February.
Rounding out the new top 10 is TOMORROW X TOGETHER’s former leader The Name Chapter: Freefall, which drops 5-10 with 10,000 sold (down 31%).
In the week ending Nov. 9, there were 2.074 million albums sold in the U.S. (down 33.1% compared to the previous week). Of that sum, physical albums (CDs, vinyl LPs, cassettes, etc.) comprised 1.651 million (down 38.6%) and digital albums comprised 423,000 (up 2.5%).
There were 796,000 CD albums sold in the week ending Nov. 9 (down 35.5% week-over-week) and 845,000 vinyl albums sold (down 41%). Year-to-date CD album sales stand at 30.041 million (up 1.3% compared to the same time frame a year ago) and year-to-date vinyl album sales total 39.430 million (up 18.4%).
Overall year-to-date album sales total 85.832 million (up 6% compared to the same year-to-date time frame a year ago). Year-to-date physical album sales stand at 69.947 million (up 10.3%) and digital album sales total 15.885 million (down 9.7%).
No matter how you Style it, Taylor Swift‘s 1989 (Taylor’s Version) is a juggernaut. The re-recorded set debuted with 1.653 million equivalent album units (EAUs) in the United States in the week ending Nov. 2, according to Luminate, making it far and away the biggest debut for an album so far in 2023. To give a sense of just how phenomenal its performance is, we’ve stacked it up against every other No. 1 album on the Billboard 200 so far this year — a list comprising 15 additional titles in all.
It bears reiterating that first-week EAUs for 1989 (Taylor’s Version) dwarfed those of all other No. 1 albums released this year, topping every other debut week by more than double. That includes her own Speak Now (Taylor’s Version), which had the second biggest debut week of the year with 716,000 EAUs in July, as well as the third-place finisher, Morgan Wallen‘s One Thing at a Time, which racked up 501,000 EAUs in its first week. Swift’s top-two placement on the list is a remarkable feat, underlining the fact that in some ways, the megastar’s only real competition these days is herself.
Case in point: In its first week, 1989 (Taylor’s Version)‘s 1.359 million in traditional album sales — a metric that encompasses physical sales (vinyl, CD, cassette) and digital downloads — quickly surpassed 2023’s previous best-seller, Swift’s own Midnights, which dropped in October 2022 and had racked up 791,000 in sales so far this year. Swift also has the third most-sold album of the year with Speak Now (Taylor’s Version), which has racked up sales of 755,000 since its July release. All three got to those numbers due to Swift’s strategy of offering multiple collectible physical formats; in the case of 1989 (Taylor Version), that includes five color vinyl variants, eight CD editions and two cassette editions — not to mention two digital download editions (standard and deluxe).
The strategy of offering multiple physical variants is one that’s also successfully employed by many of today’s top K-pop acts, including three who enjoyed No. 1 albums on the Billboard 200 this year: TOMORROW X TOGETHER, Stray Kids and NewJeans. As a result, like Swift, the majority of those acts’ first-week EAUs consist of traditional album sales. The first-week sales of 1989 (Taylor’s Version) comprise a whopping 82.2% of total EAUs — more than any other No. 1 debut album this year aside from TOMORROW X TOGETHER’s The Name Chapter: Temptation EP (94.41%) and Stray Kids’ 5-Star (94.38%). NewJeans’ Get Up EP had nearly as high of a sales percentage at 80.6%. The only other non-K-pop act to boast a similar first-week sales-to-streams ratio was blink-182‘s One More Time…, whose first-week sales made up 81% of total EAUs thanks to the band’s offering of 11 vinyl variants, as well as a CD, cassette and deluxe boxed set.
In fact, the first-week sales of 1989 (Taylor’s Version) were larger than the next five biggest first-week sales tallies of 2023 combined: Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) (507,000), Travis Scott’s Utopia (252,000), Stray Kids’ 5-Star (235,000), TOMORROW X TOGETHER’s The Name Chapter: Temptation EP (152,000) and Olivia Rodrigo’s Guts (150,000).
Unlike these top-selling K-pop acts, whose first-week streaming units tend to hover in the low-five-digit range, Swift’s streaming game stacks up well against the heaviest hitters on that metric. 1989 (Taylor’s Version) racked up 294,000 streaming units in its first week, third only to Drake’s For All the Dogs and Wallen’s One Thing at a Time, which drew 392,000 and 390,000 streaming units, respectively.
Taylor Swift is the queen of vinyl, as the superstar is by far the top-selling artist in 2023 in the U.S. when it comes to vinyl albums sold. So far this year, through Nov. 2, her catalog of albums have sold 2.484 million copies on vinyl in 2023, according to data tracking firm Luminate. That equates to 6.43% of total vinyl album sales (38.585 million) — or, nearly one out of every 15 vinyl albums sold.
A healthy chunk of Swift’s vinyl sales this year come from her latest release, 1989 (Taylor’s Version), which debuted with 693,000 copies sold in the U.S. in the week ending Nov. 2, following its Oct. 27 release. That sum also broke the record for the single largest sales week for an album on vinyl since Luminate began tracking music sales in 1991. It surpassed the high-water mark previously set by Swift herself, with the debut week of Midnights in 2022, with 575,000 copies sold.
Swift’s impressive vinyl sales figures are bolstered by her catalog generally being made available in multiple collectible variants, including five different versions of 1989 (Taylor’s Version) – each in a different color vinyl with a different cover. (It’s not uncommon for artists to release multiple versions of an album on vinyl — Swift is not alone in this practice.)
2023’s second-biggest-selling artist when it comes to vinyl albums is Lana Del Rey, with 501,000 sold across her assorted albums.
In 2022 and 2021, Swift was the year’s top-selling vinyl albums artist in the U.S. In 2022, she sold 1.69 million (of the market’s total 43.46 million) and in 2021 she sold 1.093 million (of the market’s total of 41.717 million). In total, from January 2021 through Nov. 2, 2023, there were 123.762 million vinyl albums sold. Of that sum, Swift sold 5.273 million vinyl albums – equaling 4.26% of the vinyl market.
So far in 2023, Swift has five of the top 10 biggest-selling albums on vinyl, with four of those among the top five. Her latest release, 1989 (Taylor’s Version), is the year’s biggest on vinyl, with, as noted above, 693,000 sold in its first week. At Nos. 2, 3 and 5, respectively, are Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) (406,000), Midnights (367,000) and Folklore (201,000). Lover is Swift’s fifth title among the year’s top 10-sellers, at No. 9 with 151,000 sold.
Staind returns with its first studio album in more than a decade, as Confessions of the Fallen debuts at No. 4 on Billboard’s Top Album Sales chart (dated Oct. 7), securing the group its sixth top 10 on the tally. The new set sold 11,000 copies in the U.S. in the week ending Sept. 28, according to Luminate.
Also in the top 10 of the new Top Album Sales chart, the latest releases from Kylie Minogue, The Rose, Tom MacDonald & Adam Calhoun and Cannibal Corpse all arrive.
Billboard’s Top Album Sales chart ranks the top-selling albums of the week based only on traditional album sales. The chart’s history dates back to May 25, 1991, the first week Billboard began tabulating charts with electronically monitored piece count information from SoundScan, now Luminate. Pure album sales were the sole measurement utilized by the Billboard 200 albums chart through the list dated Dec. 6, 2014, after which that chart switched to a methodology that blends album sales with track equivalent album units and streaming equivalent album units. For all chart news, follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both Twitter and Instagram.
The Confessions album was preceded by a pair of hits on Billboard’s Mainstream Rock Airplay chart, “Lowest In Me” and “Here and Now.” The former hit No. 1 in August, spending two weeks in charge, and it marked the band’s fifth No. 1 and first leader since 2011’s “Not Again” ruled for seven weeks.
Of Confessions’ first-week sales, physical sales comprise 7,000 (5,000 on CD and 2,000 on vinyl) and digital downloads comprise a little over 4,000.
Confessions marks the first studio release for the group on BMG, after its six studio albums from 1999 through 2011 were all released through either Elektra or Atlantic.
While Staind hasn’t issued a studio set since Sept. 2011, its frontman, Aaron Lewis, has been busy notching hits on Billboard’s since the spring of 2011. Lewis has scored a total of five solo albums on Top Album Sales, including the chart-topping Sinner in 2016. His most recent solo release, Frayed at Both Ends, debuted and peaked at No. 5 last year.
At No. 1 on Top Album Sales, Olivia Rodrigo’s Guts spends a third straight week atop the list with 23,000 copies sold (down 49%).
Kylie Minogue’s new studio album Tension bows at No. 2 with 19,500 sold – her biggest sales week in nearly 20 years. It’s the third top 10-charting effort for Minogue.
V’s Layover falls 2-3 with 12,000 sold (down 45%). The Rose nabs its first top 10-charting set on Top Album Sales as Dual launches at No. 5 (10,500), Tom MacDonald and Adam Calhoun join forces for their second top 10 set as The Brave 2 launches at No. 6 (10,000) and Cannibal Corpse rocks in at No. 7 with Chaos Horrific (8,500; the band’s third top 10).
Rounding out the top 10 of the new Top Album Sales chart is three former No. 1s: Taylor Swift’s Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) (9-8 with 7,500; down 18%), Swift’s Midnights (11-9 with just over 7,000; down 8%) and NewJeans’ 2nd EP ‘Get Up’ (holding at No. 10 with 7,000; down 16%).
In the week ending Sept. 28, there were 1.559 million albums sold in the U.S. (down 6.6% compared to the previous week). Of that sum, physical albums (CDs, vinyl LPs, cassettes, etc.) comprised 1.232 million (down 7.8%) and digital albums comprised 327,000 (down 2.1%).
There were 537,000 CD albums sold in the week ending Sept. 28 (down 6.5% week-over-week) and 686,000 vinyl albums sold (down 8.8%). Year-to-date CD album sales stand at 25.586 million (up 0.6% compared to the same time frame a year ago) and year-to-date vinyl album sales total 34.099 million (up 19.4%).
Overall year-to-date album sales total 73.825 million (up 6.1% compared to the same year-to-date time frame a year ago). Year-to-date physical album sales stand at 60.080 million (up 10.5%) and digital album sales total 13.745 million (down 9.7%).