US vinyl sales by year, from the peak to the revival
The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) has tracked US record sales since 1973, and the long-run picture is a U shape [1][4]:
| Year | Vinyl LP/EP units (US) | What was happening |
|---|---|---|
| 1977 | 344 million | All-time peak, the era of Rumours and the disco soundtracks [4] |
| 1978 | 341.3 million | Second-best year on record [4] |
| 1992 | 2.3 million | Close to the low point, as Americans bought 407.5 million CDs [4] |
| 2023 | About 43 million | Vinyl outsells CDs in units for the second year running [2] |
| 2024 | 43.4 million | Shipments, RIAA wholesale basis [3] |
| 2025 | 46.8 million | 19th consecutive year of revenue growth [3] |
The Lemonly chart above shows the same pattern year by year: a peak in the late 1970s, a slide through the 1980s as cassettes and then CDs took over, near zero through the 1990s and early 2000s, then a steady climb from about 2007 that sharpened after 2020 [1]. Unit sales today are still only about a seventh of the 1977 peak (our arithmetic), but they are the highest in decades.
How big is the vinyl market now?
In 2025 US vinyl revenue passed $1 billion at wholesale value for the first time, up 9.3% to $1,042.9 million on 46.8 million units, according to the RIAA [3]. It was the 19th year of growth in a row, and the RIAA says the US now accounts for nearly half of global vinyl revenue [3].
Vinyl made up about 9% of total US recorded music revenue in 2025 ($1,042.9 million out of $11,535.3 million, our arithmetic from the RIAA table) [3]. That is up from the 8% on the infographic for 2023 [1][2]. The figures are not directly comparable with older reports, because from 2025 the RIAA switched from estimated retail value to wholesale value. On the old retail basis, 2023 vinyl revenue was $1.4 billion, up 10%, and made up 71% of all physical format revenue [2][3].
Vinyl is now far ahead of the CD. In 2025 the RIAA counted 46.8 million vinyl units shipped against 29.5 million CDs, and vinyl brought in more than three times the CD’s revenue ($1,042.9 million against $312.4 million) [3]. Vinyl first outsold CDs in units again in 2022, for the first time since 1987 [5].
Who sells the most vinyl?
Taylor Swift has dominated vinyl sales in the 2020s. In 2023 she sold 3.484 million vinyl albums in the US, more than five times Lana Del Rey in second place (646,000), followed by Tyler, the Creator (552,000), Travis Scott (474,000) and Olivia Rodrigo (408,000) [1]. Based on Luminate’s count of 49.61 million vinyl albums sold that year, Swift accounted for about 7%, or 1 in every 15 records [5][6]. The infographic says 1 in 12, which matches dividing her sales by the RIAA’s smaller count of about 43 million units shipped, a different measure [1][2].
Her lead has kept growing. The bestselling vinyl album of each year in the US has been a Taylor Swift record since 2022: Midnights (945,000 in 2022), 1989 (Taylor’s Version) (1,014,000 in 2023), The Tortured Poets Department (1,489,000 in 2024) and The Life of a Showgirl (1,601,000 in 2025), according to Luminate figures [5]. For comparison, the bestselling vinyl album of 2015, Adele’s 25, sold 116,000 [5].
Why vinyl sales keep growing
- Something to own. Records are large, physical and collectable, with bigger artwork and extras such as posters and coloured or limited editions, which streaming cannot offer [5].
- Streaming drives discovery. The rise in vinyl tracks the rise of streaming: many people buy a favourite album on record after finding it on Spotify or Apple Music [5].
- The sound and the ritual. CDs reproduce sound more accurately, but many listeners prefer the warmth and imperfections of records and the experience of playing a whole album [5].
- Record Store Day. Founded in 2007, the same year the revival began, it puts exclusive vinyl releases in independent shops every April [5].
- Superstar releases. Artists now release multiple vinyl variants of the same album, which boosts unit sales among collectors [5].
Not every buyer plays them. Billboard reported that Luminate found only about half of vinyl buyers own a record player, and the industry has struggled at times with limited pressing plant capacity, which slowed growth in 2022 [7].
Questions about vinyl sales
Are vinyl sales still increasing?
Yes. US vinyl revenue grew for the 19th year in a row in 2025, up 9.3% to just over $1 billion at wholesale value, with units up 7.9% to 46.8 million [3].
When were vinyl sales at their highest?
In 1977, when 344 million vinyl LPs and EPs were sold in the US, just ahead of 341.3 million in 1978 [4].
What percentage of music sales is vinyl?
About 9% of US recorded music revenue in 2025, by our arithmetic from the RIAA’s wholesale figures, and about 8% in 2023 on the older retail basis [2][3]. Streaming makes up most of the rest.
Who sold the most vinyl records in 2023?
Taylor Swift, with 3.484 million vinyl albums in the US, about 1 in every 15 sold [1][6].
Does vinyl outsell CDs?
Yes, in the US vinyl has outsold CDs in units since 2022. In 2025 it was 46.8 million vinyl units against 29.5 million CDs [3][5].
Sources
- Lemonly, The Vinyl Revival Rages On, the infographic on this page (sources RIAA and Billboard). lemonly.com.
- RIAA, Year-End 2023 RIAA Revenue Statistics (PDF).
- RIAA, Year-End 2025 Recorded Music Revenue Report (PDF, wholesale values).
- Billboard, Vinyl Prices Might Seem High Today, But They Were Worse in 1978.
- Wikipedia, Vinyl revival.
- Us Weekly, Taylor Swift Sold 1 in Every 15 Vinyl Albums in the U.S. in 2023, 17 January 2024, reporting Billboard and Luminate figures.
- Billboard, Vinyl Record Sales Are Slowing, But Is That Bad?
Last reviewed 2 November 2026
