In news that will surprise few, Taylor Swift has topped the chart of the UK’s best-selling albums of 2024 with The Tortured Poets Department.
The year’s charts were dominated by women, with six of the top 10 entries taken up by solo female acts.
We reckon you may be able to guess at least a couple of them too.
Pop phenomenon Chappel Roan is in there at number six, while Charli XCX’s iconic Brat sits at number eight.
She is also just one of two British acts to make it into the top 10, alongside London’s own stadium-bothering Coldplay.
Here’s the full list:
- 1. Taylor Swift: The Tortured Poets Department
- 2. The Weeknd: The Highlights
- 3. Sabrina Carpenter: Short N’ Sweet
- 4. Noah Kahan: Stick Season
- 5. Billie Eilish: Hit Me Hard and Soft
- 6. Chappell Roan: The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess
- 7. Fleetwood Mac: 50 Years: Don’t Stop
- 8. Charli XCX: Brat
- 9. Coldplay: Moon Music
- 10. Olivia Rodrigo: Guts
The chart was compiled by the British Phonographic Institute, and they have a bunch more stats for us besides.
Physical media sales increased for the first time since 2014, with a not-quite-whopping 1.4% increase.
You can thank the continued popularity of vinyl, while Taylor Swift’s latest album alone contributed a significant chunk of physical sales. The vinyl charts also have a slightly more rocky vibe, for those who mourn the decline of the distorted guitar as a force in pop culture. Here’s that list:
- 1. Taylor Swift: The Tortured Poets Department
- 2. Oasis: Definitely Maybe
- 3. Chappell Roan: The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess
- 4. Sabrina Carpenter: Short N’ Sweet
- 5. Fontaine’s D.C.: Romance
- 6. Billie Eilish: Hit Me Hard and Soft
- 7. Fleetwood Mac: Rumours
- 8. The Cure: Songs of a Lost World
- 9. Coldplay: Moon Music
- 10. Charli XCX: Brat
Streaming saw an 11% rise across the UK, and the streamed chart is the one not dominated by Swift. Instead, its the territory of folk-pop warbler Noah Kahan:
1. Noah Kahan: Stick Season
2. Sabrina Carpenter: Espresso
3. Benson Boone: Beautiful Things
4. Teddy Swims: Lose Control
5. Hozier: Too Sweet
6. Shaboozey: A Bar Song (Tipsy)
7. Billie Eilish: Birds Of A Feather
8. Chappell Roan: Good Luck, Babe!
9. Sabrina Carpenter: Please Please Please
10. Dasha: Austin
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