Album 15

[polar_bear]

According to the NME it's currently number 9 in the biggest selling albums on vinyl of 2025...

These are the best-selling vinyl albums and singles of 2025 so far

And Let The Light Return is sneaking into the singles at number 7!

[everlasting]

That's really good I haven't heard of that song, was that only available on vinyl with one of the many versions of the album?

[savemejebus]

Originally Posted by everlasting

That's really good I haven't heard of that song, was that only available on vinyl with one of the many versions of the album?

it's not really though, because it's not any sort of indication of popularity. It's just stat manipulation based on the pavlovian reactions of hardcore fans.

Like you surmised it was the only way to get the songs legitimately so it means nothing except the band sqeezed another few quid out of diehard fans to pay for their mates to hang around in their studio slash clubhouse.

[Tish]

You could buy the single on its own from the website for about a fiver, which is what I (and seemingly lots of others) did. You don’t have to buy 10 different versions of the album if you don’t want to, only a tiny handful of people actually do that. Maybe other bands should go back to releasing tracks only on physical formats instead of earning pennies from Spotify.

I think that album chart is amazing, and doesn’t vinyl sell more than CDs these days? So when it comes to actually buying music, rather than just listening to it for free, the Manics are up there with the UKs biggest solo star, 5 of the worlds biggest pop stars, the biggest rock band of the last 5 years, one of the worlds biggest rappers and one of the best selling albums of all time! That’s not bad going for your 15th album (and I know it’s only April and they’ll be lucky to be still be in the top 100 by December, but still. You’ve got to take the wins while you can.)

[UEF]

I wonder how many of those acts, if any, just released one version of their vinyl as opposed to multiples to game the system?

[Tish]

Fontains had a bunch of different colour vinyls of Romance available, and they also released 7” vinyl singles. And the NME article says the Taylor Swift one was boosted by a heart shaped picture disc. It seems pretty standard practice these days, even for artists who you wouldn’t think need to.

[Porco]

Originally Posted by savemejebus

stat manipulation based on the pavlovian reactions of hardcore fans.

Also known as ‘the charts’

[polar_bear]

Chappel Roan has several variants of her album too.

[Marconi Delorian]

Not like they didn't release CDs1/2/tape/7" during the glory days either.

[savemejebus]

Originally Posted by Marconi Delorian

Not like they didn't release CDs1/2/tape/7" during the glory days either.

When they were releasing like that though you'd get CD1 and 2 for £1.99 each and the casette for £0.99. So you'd get the single and a bunch of b-sides for a fiver. That was decent value.

[Marconi Delorian]

Agreed but everything has increased far beyond inflation now. Singles on vinyl now cost the same as an album. Just pointing out that they have always played the chart game, and they don't do it half as much as many now.

[Son of Stopped]

But then one way about getting around Spotify is to release every single track off Critical Thinking. Absolutely flood the singles chart. Then bring out a compilation of CT singles. This should probably go in the other thread.
9th in sales is great. We might just see it reach Silver or Gold. Even though those things could have been phased out.

[Scarecrow]

Revisited the album today to see if anything had grown on me.

The guitar work on Being Baptised and the second half of OneManMilitia stood out more to me. I wish the latter had a bit more space between the verses and chorus and a proper intro, having both James and Nicky giving some energy behind the chorus before the guitar volume increases near the end could have made it sound amazing.

Other tracks went down in my estimations. People Ruin Paintings, Hiding in Plain Sight and My Brave Friend are so dull and flat, I may as well be listening to Coldplay. I really dislike Decline and Fall and Dear Stephen, just awful.

Opinions of the other songs remain unchanged, ranging from completely average to uninspired. Critical Thinking could well be sliding down to the prestigious title of my least favourite album they have made to date, past even Resistance Is Futile. Could quite happily never hear the album again and it would make no difference to me.

[IntlDebris]

Originally Posted by Tish

doesn’t vinyl sell more than CDs these days?

Nope, there have been reports about it but they all talk about the revenue rather than actual sales figures, and as vinyl is generally 2-3 times as expensive than CD for new releases, and dramatically moreso for back catalogue where CDs are regularly a fiver, it's not remotely representative. In actual figures, in 2024, there were 10.5 million CDs sold compared to 6.7 million vinyl albums. Physical sales are a tiny, tiny niche that make up a tiny percentage of listeners.

Originally Posted by Tish

So when it comes to actually buying music, rather than just listening to it for free, the Manics are up there with the UKs biggest solo star, 5 of the worlds biggest pop stars, the biggest rock band of the last 5 years, one of the worlds biggest rappers and one of the best selling albums of all time! That’s not bad going for your 15th album

Yeah, but most of those artists don't have fanbases who buy much music in general. All that's really saying is they have a reasonable sized loyal older fanbase who still buy physical copies. That they're being outsold by artists whose fanbase consists almost entirely of people who only stream music, Chappell Roan's several year old record, and an album which has sold so many millions of copies in the last 48 years that almost every home must own one, yet still manages to outsell the Manics in the last three months isn't actually much of a compliment. I mean it's great that it's in the top 10 so far, it's very nice to see, but it's also really not much to get excited about.

[Europa Gluten Free]

Originally Posted by Scarecrow

Critical Thinking could well be sliding down to the prestigious title of my least favourite album they have made to date, past even Resistance Is Futile. Could quire happily never hear the album again and it would make no difference to me.

Scarecrow you are the biggest moaner on here! But this is ridiculous! Ha! But we still love you!