10 Top-Selling Albums…So Far…in 2010

Posted October 21, 2010 by J Matthew Cobb in Features

The third quarter reports from Nielsen Soundscan are in…and we have the list of the top 10 best-selling CDs of 2010 so far.

It’s been a ‘hard knock life’ for music sales.

It’s being reported after the third quarter in this year that U.S. digital track sales fell in their numbers and could show a greater concern for its future. 2010 could become the first year since Nielsen Soundscan began tracking digital sales where digital track sales post a year-on-year decline. CD sales countine to suffer, even with the surge in demand for Michael Jackson’s back catalog albums and the re-issue of digitally-remastered Beatles albums. Those big events helped the compact disc from an eventual extinction, but the number still don’t look favorable for our shiny friend. CD sales, according to Ed Christian of Billboard Magazine, plunged 20.6 percent during the first three quarters of 2010 to 157.2 million units from 198 million units during the same period last year.

But there’s some good news coming out of the financial report. Blockbusters titles are doing much better this year compared to the sales of last year’s best-sellers. Not one album sold more than 2 million when the third quarter rolled around in 2009. This year, we’ve seen two albums hit the mark. So far, the top 10 album releases this year shows a 8.5% hike compared to last year’s top 10 hits. And for our vinyl audiophiles, sales are up 1 million units compared to last year’s figures; a staggering 10.7% increase.

So you won’t have to guess your brain to a merciless death, we decided to reveal the top ten best-selling albums…so far in 2010. And the leaders in the pack are:

1. Eminem

Recovery
(Shady/Aftermath/Interscope)
YTD Sales: 2.72 million

2. Lady Antebellum

Need You Now
(Capitol Nashville)
YTD Sales: 2.66 million

3. Justin Bieber

My World 2.0
(SchoolBoy/Island)
YTD: 1.8 million

4. Lady Gaga

The Fame
(Streamline/KonLive/Interscope)
YTD: 1.4 million

5. Sade

Soldier of Love
(Epic/Sony)
YTD: 1.3 million

6. Drake

Thank Me Later
(Young Money/Cash Money/Universal Motown)
YTD: 1.1 million

7. Usher

Raymond v. Raymond
(LaFace)
YTD: 1.1 million

8. Black Eyed Peas

The E.N.D.
(Interscope)
YTD: 1.0 million

9. Ke$ha

Animal
(RCA)
YTD: 0.96 million

10. Zac Brown Band

The Foundation
(ROAR/Atlantic)
YTD: 0.84 million

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For more details on the Nielsen Soundscan Q3 report, check out ‘Slipped Disc: With One Quarter to Go in 2010, Digital Accounts for Nearly Half of U.S.’ music sales in Billboard magazine (October 16, 2010). Order back copy by clicking here.