Adele tops charts on vinyl, as well
Canada’s charts of top-selling records a curious mix of new, recent and decades old
Founded in 2001, beloved Toronto record shop Sonic Boom had its best year ever in 2015 at a time when the public’s appetite for actually purchasing music is supposed to be dying out.
“Things are great,” said owner Jeff Barber. “It was the busiest year we’ve ever had and the busiest Christmas. I’m very fortunate in that literally we have never in14 years in Toronto had a ‘down’ year, but there was a huge spike this year. . . . I’m still so amazed.”
Sonic Boom’s continued success on Spadina Ave. has absolutely everything to do with the recent upsurge in the popularity of vinyl LPs, says Barber. Vinyl sales were up 28 per cent at the shop last year, with new releases and newly reissued classics moving out the door at the same speed.
The following were the 10 LPs that moved the most vinyl at Sonic Boom in 2015. Topping the chart was Adele’s behemoth 25, which sold 391 copies at the store last year (and another 19 so far in 2016). 1. Adele, 25 2. Sufjan Stevens, Carrie & Lowell 3. Father John Misty, I Love You, Honeybear 4. Alvvays, Alvvays 5. Miles Davis, Kind of Blue 6. Fleetwood Mac, Rumours 7. The War on Drugs, Lost in the Dream 8. Leon Bridges, Coming Home 9. Courtney Barnett, Sometimes I Sit and Think and Sometimes I Just Sit 10. D’Angelo, Black Messiah
Not surprisingly, Adele also leads Canada’s national list of top-selling vinyl LPs for the week ending Dec. 31, 2015, according to Music Canada and Nielsen Canada SoundScan. It’s a chart that includes a curious mix of new, recent and decades old. 1. Adele, 25 2. Halsey, Badlands 3. Arctic Monkeys, AM 4. One Direction, Made in the A.M. 5. Sam Smith, In the Lonely Hour 6. Ryan Adams, 1989 7. Vance Joy, Dream Your Life Away 8. The Beatles, Abbey Road 9. Nirvana, Nevermind 10. Bon Iver, For Emma, Forever Ago 11. Bob Marley and the Wailers, Legend 12. City and Colour, If I Should Go Before You 13. Adele, 25 (Import Version) 14. J. Cole, 2014 Forest Hills Drive 15. Lana Del Rey, Born to Die 16. The Beatles, 1 17. Ellie Goulding, Delirium 18. Lana Del Rey, Honeymoon 19. Hozier, Hozier 20. Grimes, Art Angels