Billboard Year to Date Vinyl Chart (top 60)

[Guest Admin]

I was recently forwarded the billboard charts and for the first time, I checked out the year to date vinyl chart. Understand that as much as I would love to post the numbers next to each title, Soundscan doesn't look to kindly upon sites that publish their numbers. We'll see if we can get any flack for posting the numbers for #1 and #60. I figured you could fill in the gaps from there.

A few things I find interesting are a. The Beatles are #1, one can only hope that EMI/Capital recognizes that if they price Beatles' vinyl at reasonable retail prices, they can sell a bunch of them. Abbey Road is the only LP priced at a reasonable retail price; b. that of the bands that come from "our scene" only a few made it on this list which makes you wonder if having colored variants helps or hurts overall vinyl numbers, and c. that beach house has charted so high. What stands out to you?

1 CAP BEATLES ABBEY ROAD 13,728 copies sold

2 XLXL VAMPIRE WEEKEND CONTRA

3 SUBP BEACH HOUSE TEEN DREAM

4 LEGC JIMI HENDRIX EXPERIENCE VALLEYS OF NEPTUNE

5 4AD NATIONAL HIGH VIOLET

6 EPIC JACKSON*MICHAEL THRILLER

7 MERG SHE & HIM VOL. 2

8 WAR DEAD WEATHER SEA OF COWARDS

9 MERG SPOON TRANSFERENCE

10 WAR BLACK KEYS BROTHERS

11 XLXL XX,THE XX

12 COL BROKEN BELLS BROKEN BELLS

13 COL MGMT CONGRATULATIONS

14 DPTN JONES*SHARON & THE DAP-KINGS I LEARNED THE HARD WAY

15 DRGC NEWSOM*JOANNA HAVE ONE ON ME

16 CAP PINK FLOYD DARK SIDE OF THE MOON

17 TRPC BRAND NEW DEVIL & GOD ARE RAGING INSIDE

18 JAGJ BON IVER FOR EMMA FOREVER AGO

19 UNIV ROLLING STONES EXILE ON MAIN STREET

20 WAR WHITE STRIPES*THE UNDER GREAT WHITE NORTHERN

21 SSCR YEASAYER ODD BLOOD

22 DEF CASH*JOHNNY AMERICAN VI:AIN'T NO

23 SUBP FLEET FOXES FLEET FOXES

24 TBDR RADIOHEAD IN RAINBOWS

25 DGCI THEM CROOKED VULTURE THEM CROOKED VULTURE

26 WAR FLAMING LIPS/STARDEATH/WHITE D FLAMING LIPS & STARDEATH & WHI

27 XLXL VAMPIRE WEEKEND VAMPIRE WEEKEND

28 GLSN PHOENIX WOLFGANG AMADEUS PHOENIX

29 EPIC MODEST MOUSE MOON & ANTARCTICA

30 LEGC JIMI HENDRIX EXPERIENCE HENDRIX EXP-LIVE CLA

31 INT LADY GAGA FAME

32 ANT DR. DOG SHAME SHAME

33 MERG NEUTRAL MILK HOTEL IN THE AEROPLANE OVER THE SEA

34 COL BAND OF HORSES INFINITE ARMS

35 XLXL JONSI GO

36 DOMI ANIMAL COLLECTIVE FALL BE KIND EP

37 LEGC HENDRIX*JIMI ARE YOU EXPERIENCED

38 GEFN GUNS N'ROSES APPETITE FOR DESTRUCTION

39 MERG ARCADE FIRE FUNERAL

40 KANR SURFER BLOOD ASTRO COAST

41 WAR FLAMING LIPS*THE EMBRYONIC

42 CAP RADIOHEAD O.K. COMPUTER

43 LEGC HENDRIX*JIMI ELECTRIC LADYLAND

44 EPIT ALKALINE TRIO THIS ADDICTION

45 OLE PAVEMENT CROOKED RAIN CROOKED RAIN

46 ATLG CIRCA SURVIVE BLUE SKY NOISE

47 COL MGMT ORACULAR SPECTACULAR

48 WAR AGAINST ME! WHITE CROSSES

49 OLE PAVEMENT QUARANTINE THE PAST: GREATEST

50 OLE NEW PORNOGRAPHERS TOGETHER

51 LEGC HENDRIX*JIMI AXIS: BOLD AS LOVE

52 VRGN SMASHING PUMPKINS SIAMESE DREAM

52 ASK STEVENS*SUFJAN ILLINOIS

54 INT LADY GAGA FAME MONSTER (8 TRK)

55 DOMI ANIMAL COLLECTIVE MERRIWEATHER POST PAVILION

56 MERG SHE & HIM VOLUME ONE

57 SDR GASLIGHT ANTHEM AMERICAN SLANG

58 XLXL SCOTT-HERON*GIL I'M NEW HERE

59 TNHR GIRLS ALBUM

60 VGRT HOLD STEADY HEAVEN IS WHENEVER 2,112 copies sold

[gmoney]

5 4AD NATIONAL HIGH VIOLET

Amazing.

[Snaggle Von Swift]

Against Me hasn't even been out a month and is #48, nice.

[aarondanger]

over 2K HS LP's I thought it would be much more than that

[respect21]

I'm surprised to see Beach House so high on the list.

It's a great album.

[burntwolf]

a lot of vinyl sales don't show up on soundscan tho, isn't that right?

[caitlinryan]

5 4AD NATIONAL HIGH VIOLET

Amazing.

I'm surprised to see Beach House so high on the list.

It's a great album.

Agreed x2

Virgil, I also don't understand why the Beatles represses are so expensive. You can find originals (or original represses at least) of most of them in excellent condition for cheaper than the newest pressings.

It also always surprises me what a popular album In the Aeroplane Over the Sea is. I sell the shit out of it around here, on CD and LP. Don't get me wrong, it's obviously a great album and critically acclaimed and all that, but it still surprises me.

[Guest Admin]

5 4AD NATIONAL HIGH VIOLET

Amazing.

I'm surprised to see Beach House so high on the list.

It's a great album.

Agreed x2

Virgil, I also don't understand why the Beatles represses are so expensive. You can find originals (or original represses at least) of most of them in excellent condition for cheaper than the newest pressings.

It also always surprises me what a popular album In the Aeroplane Over the Sea is. I sell the shit out of it around here, on CD and LP. Don't get me wrong, it's obviously a great album and critically acclaimed and all that, but it still surprises me.

I think the thing that I find odd is that someone agreed to allow Abbey Road to have a decent retail price, they see that it is selling really well, and still they don't lower the retail prices of the other records.

I love Neutral Milk Hotel, but the thing I find odd about those numbers is that with the repress, the retail price on that LP is so much more expensive. The original pressing retailed at like $12.99, not it is $20

[Guest Admin]

a lot of vinyl sales don't show up on soundscan tho, isn't that right?

that is very true. We used to report our sales to soundscan and actually contributed to the gaslight numbers you see above, but I am pretty sure folks like No Idea don't (so Gaslight could have had an even higher number). Lots of smaller mom and pops don't report to soundscan either.

[jpietrafesa]

i'm excited to see spoon that high on the list, thanks for the info... always interested in numbers

[thousandjulys]

very cool to see this list.

i own a good chunk of those

[scottheisel]

I've purchased the following off that list this year:

14 DPTN JONES*SHARON & THE DAP-KINGS I LEARNED THE HARD WAY

17 TRPC BRAND NEW DEVIL & GOD ARE RAGING INSIDE

29 EPIC MODEST MOUSE MOON & ANTARCTICA

44 EPIT ALKALINE TRIO THIS ADDICTION

46 ATLG CIRCA SURVIVE BLUE SKY NOISE

57 SDR GASLIGHT ANTHEM AMERICAN SLANG

60 VGRT HOLD STEADY HEAVEN IS WHENEVER

Really surprised to see both Lady Gaga releases on there.

[jcamps]

how is enema of the state not on this....

[manicdogbert]

how is enema of the state not on this....

because the places that sold them probably didn't soundscan the numbers.

[oakland]

Couple things surprised me.

A) Fleet Foxes being up so high considering that record came out last year. It was in my top 5 last year, but that's 2009.

Pavement's best-of record came in lower than "Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain." I guess I would expect people to get the new thing rather than a record that's been out for 15 years. I didn't buy it, but I've already got all of Pavement's records.

And why "CR, CR?" It's hardly their best work. I'm just vexed by that whole situation.

3) Not really surprising, more of an observation. Better than half of these albums are crazy old. Considering the fact that punk kids never STOPPED buying records, I'm (not really) surprised that the older crowd can come in and buy so much reissued pap so as to sway the charts that much.

From the list I have:

23 SUBP FLEET FOXES FLEET FOXES

17 TRPC BRAND NEW DEVIL & GOD ARE RAGING INSIDE

44 EPIT ALKALINE TRIO THIS ADDICTION

46 ATLG CIRCA SURVIVE BLUE SKY NOISE

60 VGRT HOLD STEADY HEAVEN IS WHENEVER

[deafmx]

man, hipsters buy a lot of vinyl

i only own the Circa Survive LP, i'm shocked it even made this list. pretty cool.

[One Hundred Fifty-Two]

Looking at that list it seems like vinyl is huge in the hipster community.

[konk]

NMH always surprises me. My mom got me that 1000 recordings before you die book, and it wasn't in there. Stupid book. Does Soundscan still multiply selected stores sales to make up for all stores?

[Guest Admin]

NMH always surprises me. My mom got me that 1000 recordings before you die book, and it wasn't in there. Stupid book. Does Soundscan still multiply selected stores sales to make up for all stores?

yes, certain stores are weighted higher than others to make up for a lack of stores in an area. Lou's for example I think is a times 3 or a times 4 store.

[Guest Admin]

how is enema of the state not on this....

I think the bulk of these sold through the label's pre-order and my guess is they don't report to soundscan. Dude ranch is on there (at like #75), but it is the Geffen version, not the MTS version.

[caitlinryan]

Couple things surprised me.

Pavement's best-of record came in lower than "Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain." I guess I would expect people to get the new thing rather than a record that's been out for 15 years. I didn't buy it, but I've already got all of Pavement's records.

And why "CR, CR?" It's hardly their best work. I'm just vexed by that whole situation.

Matador put out low price LP reissues of most of the Pavement albums in conjunction with the release of QtP, but you're right, it still seems kind of random that CR, CR is the one with the highest sales and more than QtP.

So direct label sales are not included in soundscan? It seems like there are quite a bit of releases that would skew this list if direct label sales were included.

[scotterson]

CR, CR was my first exposure to Pavement. Not really sure why, but it seems to be pushed the most in promotion, etc.

[flood]

list is, much as soundscan is... total bullshit. Its not based on actual sales figures, just weighted estimates.... also as noted most indie labels don't actually report... and places like no idea, bridge 9, deatwish, asian man etc are probably moving more units than just about any vinyl labels out there

[harryq]

so is there a reason some labels don't report? I assume there's a cost that they believe outweighs the benefit...?

[gabpower]

I would like to see a top 100 list of how many records were actually pressed instead of sold.