More than HALF of 2019’s top 20 selling albums are OLD as LP sales continue to plummet 

More than HALF of last year’s top 20 selling albums are OLD – including a Queen compilation from 2000 – as LP sales continue to plummet

  • Official chart, released yesterday, revealed bulk were in fact from 2017 and 2018
  • It is thought to be first year the chart has not been dominated by fresh releases
  • The oldest was Queen’s The Platinum Collection originally released in 2000

More than half of 2019’s top 20 selling albums were releases from previous years as LP sales continue to plummet.

The official chart, which was released yesterday, revealed that the bulk of popular albums were in fact from 2017 and 2018.

It even included albums from artists including Fleetwood Mac, Queen and Rod Stewart.

The official chart, which was released yesterday, revealed that the bulk of popular albums were in fact from 2017 and 2018 and even included compilation albums from artists including Fleetwood Mac (pictured)

It is thought to be the first year that the annual chart has not been dominated by fresh releases and indicates that albums are becoming increasingly less popular with music consumers. 

Lewis Capaldi and Ed Sheeran took the top two spots with their 2019 releases of Divinely Uninspired… and No. 6 Collaborations Project respectively. 

But the oldest in the batch by far was The Platinum Collection by Queen which was originally released in 2000.

Lewis Capaldi

Ed Sheeran

More than half of 2019’s top 20 selling albums were releases from previous years despite Lewis Capaldi (left) and Ed Sheeran (right) bagging the two top spots

Soundtracks from popular musicals also found their way into the official chart including that from Bohemian Rhapsody and The Greatest Showman. 

This year there were only nine fresh albums that reached the top 20 which is significantly lower than in previous years – with 14 in 2018 and 15 in 2017.

The drop in the number of new albums being recognised is thought to be down to the way that listeners now access music.

The industry is now dominated by streaming – with fans listening to a record 114 billion songs last year – in a trend that started in 2013. 

Soundtracks from popular musicals also found their way into the official chart including that from Bohemian Rhapsody (2018) and The Greatest Showman (2017)

Soundtracks from popular musicals also found their way into the official chart including that from Bohemian Rhapsody (2018) and The Greatest Showman (2017)

It has resulted in the proportion of music bought as albums in either physical or digital format dropping to just 24 per cent, according to figures from the BPI.

But albums are still being produced because of artists’ own preferences to release substantial bodies of work despite the waning appetite for it. 

Iain McNay, the chief executive and founder of Cherry Red Records, said that for artists albums were like a ‘snapshot into their lives,’ according to The Times. 

He added: ‘For them it is something that they put a lot of time and creative energy into. 

‘For artists like Adele and Taylor Swift, its biographical.’

Interestingly, sales of vinyl had increased by 100,000 to reach around 4.3million units in 12 months.

But CD sales had seen much more drastic turn in fortunes as they fell by 8.5million to 23.5million. 

Top 20 albums of 2019 

1. Lewis Capaldi Divinely Uninspired… (2019)

2. Ed Sheeran No. 6 Collaborations Project (2019)

3. Motion Picture Cast The Greatest Showman (2017)

4. Billie Eilish When We All Fall Asleep… (2019)

5. George Ezra Staying At Tamara’s (2018)

6. Queen Bohemian Rhapsody Original Soundtrack (2018)

7. Ariana Grande Thank U, Next (2018)

8. Tom Walker What A Time To Be Alive (2019)

9. Motion Picture Cast A Star Is Born (2018)

10. Rod Stewart You’re In My Heart (2019)

11.  Ed Sheeran Divide (2017)

12. Robbie Williams The Christmas Present (2019)

13. Fleetwood Mac 50 years – Don’t Stop (2018)

14. Coldplay Everyday Life (2019)

15. Elton John Diamonds (2017)

16. Jess Glynne Always in Between (2018)  

17. Queen The Platinum Collection (2000)

18. Billie Eilish Don’t Smile at Me (2017)

19. Dua Lipa Dua Lipa (2017)

20. Post Malone Hollywood’s Bleeding (2019)

Read more at DailyMail.co.uk