Taylor Swift’s The Life of a Showgirl closed 2025 as the most popular album of the year in the United States, according to year-end data released today (Jan. 14) by music data tracking company Luminate. It’s the fourth time Swift has taken the crown, following The Tortured Poets Department (in 2024), 1989 (2014) and Fearless (2009).
The most-streamed song by on-demand audio streams was Alex Warren’s “Ordinary,” while the most-heard song on the radio was Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars’ “Die With a Smile.”
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Total music consumption in the U.S. — as measured in audio equivalent album units — increased by 4.8%. (View Luminate’s 2025 Year-End Music Report.)
See Luminate’s year-end top 10 albums, along with other year-end rankings and industry volume numbers, below.
But first, the fine print:
Equivalent album units – for album titles and chart rankings cited below (but not industry volume numbers) – comprise traditional album sales, track equivalent albums (TEA) and streaming equivalent albums (SEA). Each unit equals one album sale, or 10 individual tracks sold from an album, or 3,750 ad-supported on-demand official audio and video streams generated by songs from an album, or 1,250 paid/subscription on-demand official audio and video streams generated by songs from an album. Album titles and album chart rankings by equivalent album units do not include user-generated content (UGC) streams, but UGC streams are included in Luminate’s industry volume numbers. (UGC streams are not factored into any of Billboard’s weekly charts.)
For the sake of clarity, equivalent album units do not include listening to music on broadcast radio or digital radio broadcasts – including programmed streams – operating under Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) regulations. All numbers cited in this story are rounded, and reflect U.S. consumption only.
Luminate’s equivalent album unit totals include SEA and TEA for an album’s songs registered before an album’s release, but during the tracking period of Jan. 3, 2025, through Jan. 1, 2026.
Luminate began tracking music sales in 1991 when the company was known as SoundScan. Luminate’s sales, streaming and airplay data is used to compile Billboard’s weekly charts. Luminate’s 2025 tracking year ran from Jan. 3, 2025, through Jan. 1, 2026.
Luminate’s 2025 tracking year contained 52 weeks, while the 2024 tracking year contained 53 weeks. So, for 2025 volume comparisons to 2024, a corresponding 52-week period was used by Luminate for 2024: Jan. 5, 2024, through Jan. 2, 2025.
Highlights from Luminate’s 2025 year-end data:
- Taylor Swift’s The Life of a Showgirl was Luminate’s top album of 2025 in the U.S. It’s the fourth time Swift has captured Luminate’s year-end No. 1 album, and her second-consecutive title. She also had the year-end No. 1 album in 2024 with The Tortured Poets Department, in 2014 with 1989 and in 2009 with Fearless.
- Swift continues to be the only artist in Luminate history (1991-present) to have at least three different albums be a year-end No. 1.
- The Life of a Showgirl was also 2025’s top-selling album (by pure album sales – purchases of physical and digital download albums), as well as the top-seller on CD, vinyl, cassette and digital download.
- For the first time since Luminate began tabulating the year’s top albums by equivalent album units in 2014, two albums exceeded 5 million units earned in a calendar year: The Life of a Showgirl (5.607 million) and Morgan Wallen’s I’m the Problem (5.125 million).
- The KPop Demon Hunters soundtrack closed the year at No. 4 on Luminate’s year-end list — the highest-ranking soundtrack on the yearly list since 2018.
- Total U.S. audio album consumption increased 4.8% in 2025.
- On-demand audio streams drove 85% of all U.S. audio album consumption in 2025. Pure album sales (purchases of physical and digital download albums) totaled 14% of consumption and track sales accounted for 1%.
- U.S. on-demand audio streams increased 4.6% in 2025.
- Alex Warren’s “Ordinary” was the most-streamed song in the U.S. in 2025 by on-demand audio streams: 746.2 million.
- One in four on-demand audio streams were R&B/hip-hop songs.
- U.S. vinyl album sales increased for the 19th consecutive year, growing by 8.6% in to 47.9 million copies sold in 2025.
- Half of all albums sold in the U.S. were vinyl (47.9 million of 95.8 million).
- More than four in 10 vinyl albums were sold at indie record stores.
- One in three CD albums were purchased through e-commerce sites.
- Digital track sales declined for a 13th year in a row in the U.S. in 2025.
- Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars’ “Die With a Smile” was the biggest song at U.S. radio in 2025: 3.054 billion audience impressions.
Swift’s The Life of a Showgirl debuted at No. 1 on the weekly Billboard 200 chart dated Oct. 18, 2025 with a record-breaking 4.002 million units earned. It has spent 12 nonconsecutive weeks atop the tally through its most recent week at No. 1, on the chart dated Jan. 10, 2026.
The Life of a Showgirl is the fourth Swift album to be named Luminate’s year-end No. 1 album, following The Tortured Poets Department (2024), 1989 (2014) and Fearless (2009). In both 2014 and 2009, the year-end list was based solely on pure album sales. In 2015, the year-end ranking started being based on equivalent album units.
With The Life of a Showgirl and The Tortured Poets Department going back-to-back as the year-end No. 1, it’s the first time an artist has had the year-end Luminate No. 1 album two years in a row with a different album. Only one other act, since Luminate began tracking data in 1991, has had the year-end No. 1 album two years in a row, but it was with the same album – Adele’s 25 did it in 2015 and 2016.
The Life of a Showgirl earned 5.607 million equivalent album units in 2025 in the U.S., according to Luminate. The runner-up album, Morgan Wallen’s I’m the Problem, closed the year with 5.125 million. That marks the first time, since Luminate began tracking by equivalent album units, where two albums cleared 5 million units in a calendar year.
Just over 71% of The Life of a Showgirl’s 2025 units (3.985 million of 5.607 million) were generated by pure album sales (purchases of physical and digital download albums). Streaming equivalent album (SEA) units comprise 1.603 million and track equivalent album (TEA) units comprise 19,000. The Life of a Showgirl was the No. 9 most-streamed album of 2025, by total on-demand official streams generated by its songs, with 2.093 billion streams. The year’s most-streamed set was I’m the Problem with 6.295 billion streams of its songs.
Elsewhere in the top 10, the KPop Demon Hunters soundtrack is ranked at No. 4 — the highest-ranked soundtrack on the yearly list since 2018, when The Greatest Showman closed the year at No. 3.
TOP 10 ALBUMS OF 2025 IN U.S., BY TOTAL EQUIVALENT ALBUM UNITS
1. Taylor Swift, The Life of a Showgirl (5.607 million)
2. Morgan Wallen, I’m the Problem (5.125 million)
3. SZA, SOS (2.599 million)
4. Soundtrack, KPop Demon Hunters (2.422 million)
5. Bad Bunny, DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS (2.393 million)
6. Kendrick Lamar, GNX (2.216 million)
7. Sabrina Carpenter, Short n’ Sweet (2.046 million)
8. Morgan Wallen, One Thing at a Time (1.949 million)
9. PARTYNEXTDOOR & Drake, $ome $exy $ongs 4 U (1.766 million)
10. Tate McRae, So Close To What (1.630 million)
Source: Luminate, for the tracking period Jan. 3, 2025, through Jan. 1, 2026. UGC streams are not included in this chart, but are included in Luminate’s on-demand streaming charts (below).
TOTAL U.S. AUDIO ALBUM CONSUMPTION INCREASES 4.8%: Audio equivalent album units increased by 4.8% in 2025, to 1.138 billion. Audio equivalent album units comprise traditional album sales, track equivalent albums (TEA) and streaming equivalent albums (SEA, excluding video streams). Each unit equals one album sale, or 10 individual tracks sold from an album, or 3,750 ad-supported on-demand official audio streams generated by songs from an album, or 1,250 paid/subscription on-demand official audio streams generated by songs from an album.
In 2025, 85% of total audio equivalent album units were driven by on-demand audio streams, while pure album sales (purchases of physical and digital download albums) yielded 14%, with the remaining 1% generated by digital track purchases.
‘SHOWGIRL’ IS 2025’S TOP-SELLING ALBUM: The Life of a Showgirl is far and away the top-selling album of 2025 by pure album sales (purchases of physical and digital copies of the album). It sold 3.985 million copies – making it the top-selling album of any calendar year in a decade, since Adele’s 25 sold 7.441 million in 2015.
The Life of a Showgirl’s sales were so large, it sold more than the Nos. 2-10 year-end best sellers, combined.
See the top 10-selling albums, below.
TOP 10-SELLING ALBUMS OF 2025 IN U.S. (PHYSICAL & DIGITAL SALES COMBINED)
1. Taylor Swift, The Life of a Showgirl (3.985 million)
2. Stray Kids, KARMA (585,000)
3. The Weeknd, Hurry Up Tomorrow (543,000)
4. Stray Kids, DO IT (460,000)
5. Sabrina Carpenter, Man’s Best Friend (431,000)
6. Sabrina Carpenter, Short n’ Sweet (413,000)
7. Kendrick Lamar, GNX (399,000)
8. Soundtrack, KPop Demon Hunters (366,000)
9. Morgan Wallen, I’m the Problem (329,000)
10. Lady Gaga, MAYHEM (292,000)
Source: Luminate, for the tracking period Jan. 3, 2025, through Jan. 1, 2026.
Swift has had the year’s top-selling album nine times in Luminate history. She’s had the top-seller in the last four years straight, along with six of the last seven years. In the span of 2019 through 2025, Swift only missed in 2021, when Adele’s 30 was tops. Swift also had the top seller in 2017 (reputation), 2014 (1989) and in 2009 (Fearless).
The Life of a Showgirl was also 2025’s top-selling album on CD (1.957 million), vinyl (1.601 million), digital download (401,000) and cassette (27,000).
ALBUM SALES RISE: Total album sales (physical and digital download purchases) grew by 2.6% to 95.8 million in 2025. Digital album sales dropped by 15.9% in 2025 to 13.6 million. Purchases of physical albums (CD, vinyl, cassette, etc.) increased in 2025 by 6.5% to 82.2 million.
VINYL ALBUM SALES INCREASE 8.6%: Vinyl album sales jumped by 8.6% to 47.9 million – half of the industry’s overall album sales (95.8 million). 2025 marked the 19th consecutive year of growth for the vinyl album format.
Luminate additionally reports that more than four in 10 vinyl albums were sold at indie record stores.
TOP 10-SELLING VINYL ALBUMS OF 2025 IN U.S.
1. Taylor Swift, The Life of a Showgirl (1.601 million)
2. Sabrina Carpenter, The Life of a Showgirl (292,000)
3. Kendrick Lamar, GNX (279,000)
4. Sabrina Carpenter, Short n’ Sweet (262,000)
5. Billie Eilish, HIT ME HARD AND SOFT (192,000)
6. Fleetwood Mac, Rumours (190,000)
7. Michael Jackson, Thriller (182,000)
8. The Weeknd, Hurry Up Tomorrow (178,000)
9. Taylor Swift, Lover (Live From Paris) (166,000)
10. Tyler, The Creator, IGOR (166,000)
Source: Luminate, for the tracking period Jan. 3, 2025, through Jan. 1, 2026.
The Life of a Showgirl was the top-selling vinyl LP of 2025, with 1.601 million sold. That marks the most vinyl copies sold of an album in a calendar year in the modern era (since 1991, when Luminate began tracking sales). It beats the 1.489 million sold in 2024 of Swift’s own The Tortured Poets Department. There are just three albums that have sold a million copies on vinyl in a calendar year in the modern era, and all are by Swift. Showgirl in 2025, Poets in 2024 and 1989 (Taylor’s Version) in 2023 (1.014 million).
Showgirl scored the single-largest sales week for a vinyl album in the modern era (since Luminate began tracking data in 1991) with its opening week of 1.334 million.
TOP 10-SELLING CD ALBUMS OF 2025 IN U.S.
1. Taylor Swift, The Life of a Showgirl (1,957,000)
2. Stray Kids, KARMA (524,000)
3. Stray Kids, DO IT (456,000)
4. ENHYPEN, DESIRE : UNLEASH (261,000)
5. ATEEZ, GOLDEN HOUR : Part.3 (223,000)
6. STRAY KIDS, HOP (223,000)
7. KATSEYE, BEAUTIFUL CHAOS (186,000)
8. The Weeknd, Hurry Up Tomorrow (176,000)
9. JACKBOYS & Travis Scott, JACKBOYS 2 (170,000)
10. TOMORROW X TOGETHER, The Star Chapter: TOGETHER (168,000)
Source: Luminate, for the tracking period Jan. 3, 2025, through Jan. 1, 2026.
ON-DEMAND AUDIO STREAMS GAIN 4.6%: Total U.S. on-demand audio streams (inclusive of UGC streams) grew 4.6% in 2025 to 1.4 trillion. (Note: UGC streams are included in Luminate’s industry streaming on-demand volume numbers and its year-end streaming song charts. UGC streams are not factored into any of Billboard’s weekly charts.)
In addition, Luminate reports that one in four on-demand audio streams were of the R&B/hip-hop genre (349.9 billion of 1.4 trillion). The rock and pop genre were in second and third place, with 260.5 billion and 167.2 billion streams, respectively.
TOP 10 MOST STREAMED SONGS OF 2025 IN U.S., ON-DEMAND AUDIO
1. Alex Warren, “Ordinary” (746.2 million)
2. Kendrick Lamar & SZA, “luther” (714.4 million)
3. HUNTR/X: EJAE, Audrey Nuna & REI AMI, “Golden” (656.1 million)
4. Lady Gaga & Bruno Mars, “Die With a Smile” (611.8 million)
5. Morgan Wallen, “I’m the Problem” (578.4 million)
6. Teddy Swims, “Lose Control” (558.1 million)
7. Shaboozey, “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” (527.2 million)
8. Kendrick Lamar, “Not Like Us” (524.0 million)
9. The Marías, “No One Noticed” (516.8 million)
10. Billie Eilish, “BIRDS OF A FEATHER” (511.8 million)
Source: Luminate, for the tracking period Jan. 3, 2025, through Jan. 1, 2026. Includes UGC streams.
DIGITAL TRACK SALES DROP FOR 13TH STRAIGHT YEAR: Digital track sales fell for a 13th consecutive year, dropping 11.4% to 10.4 million in 2025 (down from 11.7 million in the comparable 52-week period of 2024).
The top-selling digital song of 2025 was Alex Warren’s “Ordinary,” with 238,000 sold. That marks the lowest-selling digital song of a calendar year since 2004, when Hoobastank’s “The Reason” was the top-selling digital song of the year, with 380,000 sold. (2004 was also the first full year of Apple’s iTunes Store, which launched in mid-2003.)
2025 marks the fourth year in a row that no song sold at least a half-million downloads, and the fourth year in a row that no song sold at least 1 million downloads.
TOP 10-SELLING DIGITAL SONGS OF 2025 IN U.S.
1. Alex Warren, “Ordinary” (238,000)
2. Chappell Roan, “Pink Pony Club” (173,000)
3. HUNTR/X: EJAE, Audrey Nuna & REI AMI, “Golden” (147,000)
4. Shaboozey, “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” (126,000)
5. Taylor Swift, “The Fate of Ophelia” (126,000)
6. Lady Gaga & Bruno Mars, “Die With a Smile” (126,000)
7. Brandon Lake, “Hard Fought Hallelujah” (125,000)
8. Benson Boone, “Beautiful Things” (124,000)
9. ROSÉ & Bruno Mars, “APT” (118,000)
10. Kendrick Lamar, “Not Like Us” (118,000)
Source: Luminate, for the tracking period Jan. 3, 2025, through Jan. 1, 2026.
‘DIE WITH A SMILE’ RULED RADIO: Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars’ “Die With a Smile” was the most popular song on radio in 2025, with 3.054 billion audience impressions earned across all monitored radio stations in the U.S. Audience impressions are measured by cross-referencing plays with audience data – i.e., a play of a song on a top-rated New York station at 8 a.m. on a Monday has more listeners (audience) than an overnight weekend play in a smaller city.
TOP 10 RADIO SONGS OF 2024 IN U.S. (BASED ON AUDIENCE IMPRESSIONS)
1. Lady Gaga & Bruno Mars, “Die With a Smile” (3.054 billion)
2. Alex Warren, “Ordinary” (2.769 billion)
3. Shaboozey, “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” (2.709 billion)
4. Kendrick Lamar & SZA, “luther” (2.538 billion)
5. Sabrina Carpenter, “Espresso” (2.313 billion)
6. Myles Smith, “Stargazing” (2.297 billion)
7. Leon Thomas, “Mutt” (2.162 billion)
8. Billie Eilish, “BIRDS OF A FEATHER” (2.148 billion)
9. Teddy Swims, “Lose Control” (2.101 billion)
10. Benson Boone, “Beautiful Things” (2.031 billion)
Source: Mediabase, Luminate Metro Radio Streaming, for the tracking period Jan. 3, 2025, through Jan. 1, 2026.