Billboard and Nielsen Soundscan have released the list of 2012’s Best Selling Albums, and, for the first time ever, five of those ten were Country music albums.
The No. 2 spot was taken by Taylor Swift for her latest release, Red. With 3.11 million albums sold, this marks Taylor’s fourth time in the top 3 of album sales.
Carrie Underwood came in No. 7 with Blown Away. The album sold 1.2 million copies since its May 1 release. With slightly less sales at 1.10 million, No. 8 is Luke Bryan’s tailgates & tanlines. Lionel Richie’s Tuskegee came in No. 9, after selling a total of 1.07 million. Rounding out the top 10 was Jason Aldean’s Night Train at 1.02 million.
The number of Country albums sold in 2012 is a record for the genre. No more than four spots on the top ten have ever been claimed by Country artists.
Other albums included in the top ten include Justin Bieber’s Believe, Mumford & Sons’ Babel, One Direction’s Up All Night, and Adele’s 21. This is the second year that 21 has been No. 1, which has never happened since Soundscan started tracking album sales in 1991.
