In 2022, UK vinyl sales outstripped CDs for the first time in 35 years.
Contemporary artists Taylor Swift, Harry Styles, and Arctic Monkeys made up the top three. The top 40, though, was rounded off by classic albums from the likes of Fleetwood Mac, Pink Floyd, and the Beatles.
Whether hunting in the attic to dust off an old collection or heading to a local record store to get your hands on the latest reissue, 2023 looks set to be another great year for vinyl.
It’s also a great year for these 10 classic albums, which all turn 50 this year.
1. Pink Floyd, Dark Side of the Moon (1 March 1973)
Pink Floyd’s eighth studio album proved to be the pinnacle of their commercial success. It has nearly 25 million certified sales worldwide, making it one of the best-selling albums of all time.
The progressive rock group’s iconic concept album deals with themes of conflict, greed, and death, while also focusing on the mental health struggles of former band member Syd Barret.
Lead single ‘Money’ became the band’s first US hit, while the album itself is equally admired for its striking cover art, courtesy of Storm Thorgerson.
2. David Bowie, Aladdin Sane (20 April 1973)
In 1972, David Bowie went glam rock when he introduced a new stage persona on the album The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars.
A year later, Bowie released the album he would describe as “Ziggy goes to America”, Aladdin Sane.
The album features the singles ‘The Jean Genie’ and ‘Drive-in Saturday’ and would become his biggest-selling album to that point in his career.
Influenced by his time in the US, and homegrown talent like the Rolling Stones – the album features a cover of ‘Let’s Spend the Night Together’ – the album remains one of Bowie’s best.
3. Mike Oldfield, Tubular Bells (25 May 1973)
Mike Oldfield – who plays almost all the instruments on his debut album Tubular Bells – was just 19 when it was released.
While the album achieved only modest sales initially, in December 1973 its opening track was used as the theme for one of the year’s biggest and most controversial films.
The Exorcist, and its haunting theme, would enter popular culture and Oldfield would go on to release three Tubular Bells sequels.
4. Queen, Queen (13 July 1973)
Queen would go on to have a glittering career, including a string of hits, and best-selling albums. The first volume of the band’s Greatest Hits was 21 on the list of most-bought vinyl records for 2022.
It all started with their eponymous debut that featured the singles ‘Keep Yourself Alive’ and an instrumental version of ‘Seven Seas of Rhye’, which would later reappear on Queen II.
5. Lynyrd Skynyrd, Pronounced ‘Leh-‘nerd ‘Skin-‘nerd (13 August 1973)
Pronounced ‘Leh-‘nerd ‘Skin-‘nerd was Lynyrd Skynyrd’s debut album but it was the fourth single from the record that cemented their fame.
‘Free Bird’ is a 14-minute epic when played live and was the final song on countless tours for the band.
One of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll, the album it closes is a classic in its own right.
6. Lou Reed, Berlin (5 October 1973)
Following 1972’s Transformer – a landmark of the era – was always going to be tough. Reed, former vocalist with the Velvet Underground, opted to release Berlin, a rock opera based around a doomed couple’s struggles with drug addiction.
While it polarised critics upon its release – Rolling Stone considered it “a disaster” – it has since been re-evaluated and hailed a classic.
7. Elton John, Goodbye Yellow Brick Road (5 October 1973)
Elton John’s 1973 double LP Goodbye Yellow Brick Road has sold more than 20 million copies worldwide.
The album spawned four hit singles, starting with ‘Saturday Night’s Alright for Fighting’ and followed by ‘Goodbye Yellow Brick Road’, ‘Bennie and the Jets’ and ‘Candle in the Wind’. The latter, originally a tribute to Marilyn Monroe, was re-released as ‘Candle in the Wind 1997’ to mark the passing of Princess Diana.
8. Genesis, Selling England by the Pound (13 October 1973)
Formed in 1967, Genesis were considered one of the pioneers of progressive rock long before they released Selling England by the Pound.
Part of a commercially successful run of 70s albums in which their original ranks – Tony Banks, Mike Rutherford, and Phil Collins – were swelled by Steve Hackett and Peter Gabriel, the album reached number three in the UK.
The lead single, ‘I Know What I Like (In Your Wardrobe)’ became the band’s first top-30 hit when it was released in February 1974.
9. John Lennon, Mind Games (29 October 1973)
The official news of the Beatles’ break-up arrived in April 1970. By October 1973 John Lennon was releasing his fourth post-Beatles album, Mind Games.
Producing the album himself (Phil Spector had produced his previous solo releases), Lennon opened the record with the eponymous track and lead single.
The song peaked at number 26 on the UK charts.
10. Black Sabbath, Sabbath Bloody Sabbath (3 December 1973)
Sabbath Bloody Sabbath is the fifth album by British rock legends and heavy metal pioneers Black Sabbath.
The album followed Black Sabbath (1970), Paranoid (1970), Master of Reality (1971), and Vol. 4 (1972). The release of the latter had seen the band experiment with their sound and this continued on Sabbath Bloody Sabbath.
The use of synthesizers, strings, keyboards and complex arrangements helped to create what Ozzy Osbourne later called the band’s “last truly great album.”
