Despite the egregious flipping that is to be expected after Record Store Day, the annual celebration of all things vinyl still turned out to be a successful one, driving record sales numbers for the format.
According to Nielsen Music, the 12th annual Record Store Day on April 13 event saw 827,000 vinyl albums sold in the United States in the week ending April 18, Billboard reports. That number marks a record for the week following RSD, and the third-largest sales week for vinyl albums since Nielsen began tracking sales in 1991.
The aforementioned sales figure eclipses the record number from last year, with 733,000 vinyl albums sold in the week ending April 26, 2018.
Of the 2019 figure, 673,000 vinyl albums were sold at independent record stores, which marks vinyl's biggest week at those retailers in Nielsen's history. The independent sales figure also beats last year's number of 533,000 by 16 percent.
Of course, sales numbers are bound to surge with the crop of exclusive releases pressed up for Record Store Day, the bulk of which can be found through independent stores. Nielsen's numbers show that the top-selling exclusive was the Grateful Dead's live acoustic concert release Warfield: San Francisco, California, October 9th, 1980 / October 10th, 1980. The title — which saw release as both a 2xLP and 2-CD set — sold a combined 10,000 copies on both formats.
You can find a complete list of the Top 25 best-selling exclusives below, and you can find what we thought were the best and worst releases of Record Store Day 2019 over here.
Best-Selling Record Store Day Exclusives of 2019 (Independent Stores):
1. Grateful Dead - Warfield: San Francisco, California, October 9th, 1980 / October 10th, 1980
2. Bob Dylan - Blood on the Tracks: Test Pressing
3. Green Day - Green Day Live! Woodstock 1994
4. Greta Van Fleet - From the Fires
5. Pink Floyd - A Saucerful of Secrets
6. Fleetwood Mac - The Alternate Fleetwood Mac
7. Prince - His Majesty's Pop Life / The Purple Mix Club
8 (TIE). Pearl Jam - Live at Easy Street
8 (TIE). Weezer - Weezer (Teal Album)
10. The Doors - London Fog: May, 1966
11. John Lennon - Imagine: The Raw Studio Mixes
12. Gorillaz - The Fall
13. The Rolling Stones - Big Hits [High Tide and Green Grass] (UK)
14. U2 - The Europa EP
15. David Bowie - Pin Ups
16. Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young - 4 Way Street
17. Sublime - Nugs: The Best of the Box
18. The Rolling Stones - Through the Past, Darkly (Big Hits, Vol. 2) (UK)
19. Sunn O))) - Life Metal
20 (TIE). Elton John with Ray Cooper - Live From Moscow 1979
20 (TIE). Prince - The Versace Experience: Prelude 2 Gold
20 (TIE). Weezer - Dusty Gems & Raw Nuggets
23. Van Morrison - Astral Weeks: Alternative (EP)
24. Grateful Dead - Sage & Spirit
25. Various Artists - Lost In Translation: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
According to Nielsen Music, the 12th annual Record Store Day on April 13 event saw 827,000 vinyl albums sold in the United States in the week ending April 18, Billboard reports. That number marks a record for the week following RSD, and the third-largest sales week for vinyl albums since Nielsen began tracking sales in 1991.
The aforementioned sales figure eclipses the record number from last year, with 733,000 vinyl albums sold in the week ending April 26, 2018.
Of the 2019 figure, 673,000 vinyl albums were sold at independent record stores, which marks vinyl's biggest week at those retailers in Nielsen's history. The independent sales figure also beats last year's number of 533,000 by 16 percent.
Of course, sales numbers are bound to surge with the crop of exclusive releases pressed up for Record Store Day, the bulk of which can be found through independent stores. Nielsen's numbers show that the top-selling exclusive was the Grateful Dead's live acoustic concert release Warfield: San Francisco, California, October 9th, 1980 / October 10th, 1980. The title — which saw release as both a 2xLP and 2-CD set — sold a combined 10,000 copies on both formats.
You can find a complete list of the Top 25 best-selling exclusives below, and you can find what we thought were the best and worst releases of Record Store Day 2019 over here.
Best-Selling Record Store Day Exclusives of 2019 (Independent Stores):
1. Grateful Dead - Warfield: San Francisco, California, October 9th, 1980 / October 10th, 1980
2. Bob Dylan - Blood on the Tracks: Test Pressing
3. Green Day - Green Day Live! Woodstock 1994
4. Greta Van Fleet - From the Fires
5. Pink Floyd - A Saucerful of Secrets
6. Fleetwood Mac - The Alternate Fleetwood Mac
7. Prince - His Majesty's Pop Life / The Purple Mix Club
8 (TIE). Pearl Jam - Live at Easy Street
8 (TIE). Weezer - Weezer (Teal Album)
10. The Doors - London Fog: May, 1966
11. John Lennon - Imagine: The Raw Studio Mixes
12. Gorillaz - The Fall
13. The Rolling Stones - Big Hits [High Tide and Green Grass] (UK)
14. U2 - The Europa EP
15. David Bowie - Pin Ups
16. Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young - 4 Way Street
17. Sublime - Nugs: The Best of the Box
18. The Rolling Stones - Through the Past, Darkly (Big Hits, Vol. 2) (UK)
19. Sunn O))) - Life Metal
20 (TIE). Elton John with Ray Cooper - Live From Moscow 1979
20 (TIE). Prince - The Versace Experience: Prelude 2 Gold
20 (TIE). Weezer - Dusty Gems & Raw Nuggets
23. Van Morrison - Astral Weeks: Alternative (EP)
24. Grateful Dead - Sage & Spirit
25. Various Artists - Lost In Translation: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack
