Top 10 Biggest Albums of 2008

Here are the top 10 best selling US albums of 2008:

10 - Beyonce - I Am...Sasha Fierce
09 - Jack Johnson - Sleep Through The Static
08 - T.I. - Paper Trail
07 - Metallica - Death Magentic
06 - Taylor Swift - Taylor Swift
05 - ACDC - Black Ice
04 - Kid Rock - Rock N Roll Jesus
03 - Taylor Swift - Fearless
02 - Coldplay - Viva La Vida
01 - Lil Wayne - Tha Carter III

In 2008, there were 428.4 million albums sold, down 14.4% compared to 2007's 500.5 million. Digital downloads of albums accounted for 65.79 million albums this year, or 15.4% of the overall album market. In 2007, digital albums sold 50.01 million and represented 10% of the album market.

Conversely, physical CD albums made up 360.6 million albums this year (84% of the market), compared to 449.18 million last year (90% of overall album sales).

This year also saw a record number of vinyl albums sold, with nearly 1.9 million -- more than any other year since Nielsen SoundScan began tracking data in 1991. It's the first time the industry has sold 1 million vinyl albums in a calendar year since 2004, when 1.2 million were sold. The top selling vinyl set of 2008 was Radiohead's "In Rainbows," with 26,000.

Meanwhile, digital track sales continue to blow up, as 2008 was the first year to see over 1 billion tracks sold. All told, 1.07 billion were sold, up 26.7% compared to 2007's 844 million. The top selling track of the year is Leona Lewis' "Bleeding Love," with 3.37 million.