Nirvana, Oasis, Pink Floyd, Joy Division among artists with the best-selling vinyl albums of the 21st century released between 1970 and 1999

By
published

The biggest selling vinyl albums released in the '70s, '80s, and '90s have been revealed: how many do you own?

Best selling vinyl albums, UK
(Image credit: Various)

Fleetwood Mac, Pink Floyd, Nirvana, Oasis and Queen are the artists who've released the best-selling vinyl albums of the 21st century released between 1970 and 1999 in the UK, according to a new report by the Official Charts Company.

Fleetwood Mac's mega-hit Rumours tops the list, announced today, May 2. The other albums rounding out the top five spots are Pink Floyd's The Dark Side Of The Moon, Nirvana's Nevermind, (What's The Story) Morning Glory by Oasis, and Queen compilation Greatest Hits.  

Rumours has sold just under 280,000 copes on vinyl in this millennium alone.

Other classic albums in the top 20 include Oasis' Definitely Maybe (8), David Bowie's The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust (9), The Queen Is Dead (13) by The Smiths, Pink Floyd's Wish You Were Here (14), the soundtrack to Pulp Fiction (16), Joy Division's Unknown Pleasures (18), Radiohead's OK Computer (19) and Abba's Gold compilation (20).

ABBA Gold remains the longest-charting album of all-time in the UK, spending 1,147 weeks on the Official Albums Chart, and, alongside Fleetwood Mac, the Swedish superstars are the only band with female members included in the Top 20.

For the full Top 40, go here.

According to the Official Charts Company, the UK recently had its biggest week for vinyl sales in three decades. The week spanned Record Store Day, and saw 269,134 vinyl albums and 37,656 vinyl singles sold, a total of 306,791 units.

Paul Brannigan
Paul Brannigan
Contributing Editor, Louder

A music writer since 1993, formerly Editor of Kerrang! and Planet Rock magazine (RIP), Paul Brannigan is a Contributing Editor to Louder. Having previously written books on Lemmy, Dave Grohl (the Sunday Times best-seller This Is A Call) and Metallica (Birth School Metallica Death, co-authored with Ian Winwood), his Eddie Van Halen biography (Eruption in the UK, Unchained in the US) emerged in 2021. He has written for Rolling Stone, Mojo and Q, hung out with Fugazi at Dischord House, flown on Ozzy Osbourne's private jet, played Angus Young's Gibson SG, and interviewed everyone from Aerosmith and Beastie Boys to Young Gods and ZZ Top. Born in the North of Ireland, Brannigan lives in North London and supports The Arsenal.