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It’s a vinyl world — we’re just spinning in it.
Over the last few years, artists from Taylor Swift to Beyoncé to Billie Eilish have released exclusive editions of their studio albums, giving music fans another reason to collect their favorites on vinyl.
Vinyl records have continued to explode in popularity, recently even outselling those little circular things called CDs. According to the Recording Industry Association of America (a.k.a. the RIAA), music fans scored over 41 million vinyl LPs in 2022 alone. The bottom line: Those stacks of wax aren’t going anywhere.
In May, Google revealed its list of the “most searched albums on vinyl of all time,” in the Google Trends newsletter, featuring stats dating back to 2004. From classic LPs from the Seventies to chart-topping releases beloved by Swifties, here’s Google’s list of the most popular vinyl records ever (and where you can buy them online).
Taylor Swift ‘Folklore’
Vinyl LP
$28.97
$32.99
12% off
Buy On Amazon
$24.99
Buy on Target
The most-searched vinyl of all time, according to Google, is Taylor Swift’s Grammy-winning Folklore. “OnFolklore, she dreams up a host of characters to keep her company, and stepping into their lives brings out her deepest wit, compassion, and empathy. And it sounds like for Taylor Swift, her best is yet to come,” Rolling Stone wrote in the Folklore album review.
Taylor Swift ‘1989’
Vinyl LP
$38.97
Buy On Amazon
$39.99
Buy on Target
Swift also took the second spot on the list with her 2014 project, which she released with new tracks in 2023 as 1989 (Taylor’s Version).
“1989 is the album that changed everything for Swift,” wrote Rolling Stone‘s Angie Martoccio in the (Taylor’s Version) review, “but also for us. After 1989, everyone became a Swiftie, whether it was the 65-year-old neighbor who offers to mow your lawn or the three-year-old you babysit who likes ‘Shake It Off’ because of Sing. The album marked Swift’s official abandonment of country music to become a full-fledged pop star.”
Frank Ocean ‘Blonde’
Vinyl LP
$65
Buy on Blonded.co
$Various Prices
Buy on Ebay
The follow-up to Channel Orange, Frank Ocean’s classic LP Blonde earned a spot in the Top 3 most popular vinyl albums ever, according to Google. Ocean has only released the album on vinyl a couple times on his site, and it’s notoriously difficult to find in record stores.
“On Blonde, dizziness is a common sensation,” Rolling Stone described the LP in our Blonde review in 2016. “The album is by turns oblique, smolderingly direct, forlorn, funny, dissonant and gorgeous: a vertiginous marvel of digital-age psychedelic pop.”
The Beatles ‘The White Album’
Vinyl LP
$39.98
Buy On Amazon
The Beatles’ 1968 masterpiece The White Album is the fourth most popular vinyl album, with tracks like “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” and “Blackbird.” It also earned the No. 29 spot on our list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.
Taylor Swift ‘Midnights’
Vinyl LP
Buy on Target $29.99
$29.99
Buy On Amazon
Taking home yet another Album of the Year Grammy, Swift released Midnights in 2022, along with several vinyl albums that, when combined, created a clock with the back covers’ artwork.
“The album and its expanded 3am Edition are both essential, adding up to another classic from a pop auteur who can’t resist overdoing it and never rests on her laurels,” Rob Sheffield wrote of Midnights.
Taylor Swift ‘Reputation’
Vinyl LP
$37.97
Buy on Walmart
After 1989, Swift entered her Reputation era. The 2017 LP featured hits like “Look What You Made Me Do,” and fan-favorite deep cuts like “Call It What You Want” and “New Year’s Day.” It’s her sixth studio album — and even earned the sixth spot on Google’s list.
Pink Floyd ‘Dark Side of the Moon’
Vinyl LP
$29.99
$32.98
9% off
Buy On Amazon
Few vinyl collections are without a copy of Pink Floyd‘s 1973 album Dark Side of the Moon. The band recorded the LP at Abbey Road Studios, and from there, the rest is rock & roll history.
“Dark Side is one of the best-produced rock albums ever,” Rolling Stone wrote in our list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, “and ‘Money’ may be rock’s only Top 20 hit in 7/4 time.”
Michael Jackson ‘Thriller’
Vinyl LP
$21.17
Buy On Amazon
Featuring hits including “Beat It,” “Billie Jean,” “Human Nature,” and the title track, Michael Jackson’s 1982 effort Thriller is the eighth most popular vinyl album.
“It is hard now to separate Thriller from its commercial stature (Number One for 37 weeks, 33 million copies sold), the nightmarish tabloid celebrity that led to Jackson’s death, and the horrific revelations about him that have surfaced in recent years,” we wrote of Thriller. “But there was a time when we only knew Jackson as the King of Pop. This is it.”
Tyler, the Creator ‘Call Me if You Get Lost’
Vinyl LP
$27.62
$29.98
8% off
Buy On Amazon
In the Rolling Stone album review, Jeff Ihaza wrote: “The rapper’s signature self-awareness has matured into some of the more compelling rap music being made today, and as such Call Me If You Get Lost proves to be Tyler’s best effort to date.”
Taylor Swift ‘Speak Now’
Vinyl LP
$42.97
$45.99
7% off
Buy On Amazon
$48.99
Buy on Target
Swift’s third album Speak Now, originally released in 2010 and released as Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) in 2023, rounds out the Top 10 of Google’s vinyl list. “She channels the original’s LP exuberance, does a little revising, and brings along some pop-punk pals,” Rolling Stone wrote in the 2023 review.
Want more album recommendations? Check out our guide to the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.
