In a year in which vinyl again outsold CDs by a sizable margin — this first happened in 2020, but the trend has continued since as the age-old format surges in retro interest and the more recent one declines in popularity — some surprising albums made up the best-selling vinyl of the year in hip-hop (pop star Taylor Swift blew everybody out of the water, though). According to Billboard, while Tyler The Creator’s recent records Igor and Call Me If You Get Lost did brisk business, selling 172,000 and 211,000 copies, respectively, the best-selling hip-hop record of the year went to Kendrick Lamar.
However, it wasn’t his new album, Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers, that racked up all the sales. Instead, it was the 10th-anniversary reissue of his 2012 debut album Good Kid, MAAD City that propelled him to being one of the best vinyl-selling artists of the year with 254,000 copies sold. According to Billboard’s data collection service Luminate, Good Kid, MAAD City was the fourth best-selling vinyl record of 2022, while Tyler’s Call Me If You Get Lost and Igor in the 6 and 8 spots, respectively. Billboard also notes Kendrick had the second-most titles among the year’s top 40-selling vinyl LPs, tied with Harry Styles at three each. In January, Good Kid, MAAD City became the first hip-hop album to spend 10 years on the Billboard 200 albums chart.