The State Of Discogs 2018

Another year has passed and another set of records have been broken. Our annual year-end report is a deep dive into the numbers, trends, and music sales that made 2018 unique. So put on your favorite $27,000 Prince record, pull up a chair, and dig into the year that was 2018. Here are a few quick tidbits:

• As the Database becomes more complete, growth in total submissions have slowed, only rising by 0.42% in 2018. Popular genres and formats have showed this slowdown, but more obscure genres and formats have experienced serious growth, such as the Brass & Military genre (+40.46%) and digital format submissions (+14.16%).
• We continued to see rampant growth in cassette sales for 2018, up 24.08% compared to 2017 and a whopping 54.92% compared to 2016.
• Unsurprisingly, Pink Floyd topped the list of catalog album sales in 2018 — but surprisingly, the album wasn’t The Dark Side Of The Moon. It was Wish You Were Here.
• While new album sales featured two legacy acts (Led Zeppelin and David Bowie), current artists made up the bulk of the top 10, with Sleep and Nu Guinea topping the list.

View the Discogs 2018 Year-End Highlights and Analysis Below:

Most Expensive Items Sold

• 
  Prince – The Black Album$27,500 | LP
• 
  Sex Pistols – God Save The Queen$15,822 | 7″, Single
• 
  Pink Floyd – Ummagumma$13,953 | 2xLP, Promo, Red
• 
  The Beatles – Love Me Do$10,553 | 7″, Promo
• 
  Pet Shop Boys – Yes$7,337 | 11×12″, Box, Limited, Numbered
• 
  Led Zeppelin – Led Zeppelin$6,250 | 4×12″, Single-Sided
• 
  Gorilla Biscuits – Gorilla Biscuits$6,143 | 7″, Limited, Yellow
• 
  LaRom André Baker – You’re The Best$6,000 | 7″, Single-Sided
• 
  Judge – Chung King Can Suck It$5,832 | LP, Album, Numbered, White
• 
  Bruce Springsteen – Born To Run$5,500 | LP, Promo

Most Collected Master Releases

• 
  Pink FloydThe Dark Side Of The Moon
• 
  The BeatlesSgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band
• 
  Pink FloydWish You Were Here
• 
  Michael JacksonThriller
• 
  Pink FloydThe Wall
• 
  The BeatlesAbbey Road
• 
  Led ZeppelinUntitled
• 
  Fleetwood MacRumours
• 
  The BeatlesThe Beatles
• 
  Led ZeppelinLed Zeppelin II

Want the full song and dance? Download the Discogs 2018 Year-End Report.