The Official Top 40 best-selling cassette albums of 2022

Arctic Monkeys, BLACKPINK and 5 Seconds of Summer are among the success stories in another strong year for the revived format

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It was the near-obsolete format once destined to gather dust atop charity shop shelves; but the humble audio cassette's experiencing an unprecedented revival.

According to the end-of-year analysis of Official Charts Company data by music industry body the BPI, sales of cassettes continued to grow in 2022. Up 5.2% year-on-year to a total of 195,000 units, the figure demonstrates the collectible appeal of recorded music on physical formats as a complement to streaming.

2022's best-selling cassette album was Arctic Monkeys' seventh studio album The Car, released in October and shifting in excess of 10,000 cassette sales in less than three months.

Harry Styles' Harry's House - 2022's biggest album overall - came in second. Meanwhile, Florence + The Machine's former Number 1 LP Dance Fever placed at Number 3 on the year-end list.

MORE: The Official Top 40 biggest albums of 2022

It was an incredible year for new 2022 releases, with Muse's chart-topping LP Will Of The People landing at Number 4, Central Cee's first-ever Number 1 album 23 placing at Number 5 and Robbie Williams' record-breaking XXV collection making Number 6.

Other Top 10 highlights include 5 Seconds of Summer's 5SOS5 (7), BLACKPINK's Born Pink (8), The 1975's Being Funny In A Foreign Language (9); all chart-topping records in 2022.

The cassette's growth is thanks, in part, to limited edition fan-targeted formats. Both 5 Seconds of Summer and BLACKPINK's most recent releases, for example, were available with exclusive, individual member-specific artwork and colourways.

MORE: The Official Top 40 biggest songs of 2022

Speaking on the success of physical formats, Drew Hill, MD Proper Music Group/VP Distribution, Utopia Music, said: "It's fantastic to see another year where physical sales are driving albums to the top of the Official Charts.

"With 86% of 2022's Number 1 records boasting a majority in physical sales, in their first week at the top, it continues to prove that music fans from across all ages and genres are continuing to desire their favourite music in a tangible form; as something to be cherished and collected as well as played on repeat."

Official Top 40 best-selling cassettes of 2022

POS	TITLE	ARTIST
1	THE CAR	ARCTIC MONKEYS
2	HARRY'S HOUSE	HARRY STYLES
3	DANCE FEVER	FLORENCE & THE MACHINE
4	WILL OF THE PEOPLE	MUSE
5	23	CENTRAL CEE
6	XXV	ROBBIE WILLIAMS
7	5SOS5	5 SECONDS OF SUMMER
8	BORN PINK	BLACKPINK
9	BEING FUNNY IN A FOREIGN LANGUAGE	1975
10	MAINSTREAM SELLOUT	MACHINE GUN KELLY
11	LOVE SUX	AVRIL LAVIGNE
12	THE THEORY OF WHATEVER	JAMIE T
13	ALPHA PLACE	KNUCKS
14	RIBBON AROUND THE BOMB	BLOSSOMS
15	LAST NIGHT IN THE BITTERSWEET	PAOLO NUTINI
16	DAWN FM	WEEKND
17	YUNGBLUD	YUNGBLUD
18	THE OVERLOAD	YARD ACT
19	MIDNIGHTS	TAYLOR SWIFT
20	PATIENT NUMBER 9	OZZY OSBOURNE
21	THE NUMBER OF THE BEAST	IRON MAIDEN
22	CLOSE TO HOME	AITCH
23	AMAZING THINGS	DON BROCO
24	NEVER LET ME GO	PLACEBO
25	FAITH IN THE FUTURE	LOUIS TOMLINSON
26	BEATOPIA	BEABADOOBEE
27	SONDER	DERMOT KENNEDY
28	GIVE ME THE FUTURE	BASTILLE
29	MAYBE IN ANOTHER LIFE	EASY LIFE
30	WE	ARCADE FIRE
31	THERE'S NOTHING BUT SPACE MAN	SAM RYDER
32	HOLD THE GIRL	RINA SAWAYAMA
33	NIGHT CALL	YEARS & YEARS
34	TOGETHER IN VEGAS	MICHAEL BALL & ALFIE BOE
35	NOUGHTY BY NATURE	DIGGA D
36	FIX YOURSELF NOT THE WORLD	WOMBATS
37	THE ALCHEMIST'S EUPHORIA	KASABIAN
38	WET LEG	WET LEG
39	GOLD RUSH KID	GEORGE EZRA
40	LIFE IS YOURS	FOALS