Taylor Swift's "The Life of a Showgirl" — the biggest album release in music history — sold 1.6 million vinyl copies in the U.S. last year, representing over 3% of all units sold, per industry data firm Luminate.
Why it matters: Swift helped as U.S. vinyl sales rose for the 19th straight year in 2025.
Sales climbed 9% to nearly 48 million units, according to Luminate's Year-End Music Report.
Reality check: The year's next top-selling vinyl albums, Sabrina Carpenter's "Man's Best Friend" (292,000 units) and Kendrick Lamar's "GNX" (279,000 units), weren't even close to Swift's tally.
State of play: As vinyl becomes more mainstream, helped by younger listeners leaning into offline activities and physical media, its audience is diversifying, per the report.
Black, Asian, Hispanic and other nonwhite consumers made up roughly half of all vinyl buyers, up 18 percentage points from the previous year.
Follow the money: Around 2 in 5 vinyl records were sold at indie stores, per the report.
Millennials posted the biggest increase in vinyl purchases over the past year.
What's next:Record Store Day returns April 18, bringing special releases to indie shops, including titles from Pink Floyd, Bruce Springsteen, Charli XCX, Bruno Mars and the "KPop Demon Hunters" soundtrack.