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.
Now loved by music consumers for the collectability, 2021 saw sales of cassettes in the UK rocket by 13% to their highest total since 2003; proving the nation's increasing appetite for artists' work in the physical form. And 2022's been a similarly-successful year for the format, too.
According to Official Charts Company data, London-born rapper Central Cee boasts the best-selling cassette of the year so far with his second mixtape 23. Originally hitting Number 1 on the Official Albums Chart back in March, 23 shifted the most cassette sales in the first quarter.
Central Cee offered fans a now-sold-out, special edition yellow cassette release alongside its standard edition.
MORE: The Official Top 40 biggest songs of 2022 so far
At Number 2 on Official Chart Company's list of biggest-selling cassette albums of the year is Machine Gun Kelly, who managed to sell enough copies of Mainstream Sellout to make the chart in just one week of chart sales. The record recently peaked at Number 2 on the Official Albums Chart.
Avril Lavigne claims the third best-selling cassette of the year so far with her seventh studio LP Love Sux. Again, Avril's sales were counted within one week of release.
The Weeknd lands at Number 4 with his Dawn FM cassette, which is also the biggest new release album of 2022 so far overall.
Elsewhere in the Top 10 are post-punk Leeds lads Yard Act with their debut The Overload (5), plus former Official Charts Number 1 albums Amazing Things by Don Broco (6), Give Me The Future by Bastille (8) and Night Call from Years & Years (9).
MORE: The Official Top 40 biggest albums of 2022 so far
The list of 2022's biggest-selling cassette albums also sees entries from Charli XCX with Official Number 1 album Crash (12), Frank Turner's chart-topping FTHC (13) and Rex Orange County's record Who Cares? (14).
Official Top 40 biggest cassette albums of 2022 so far
| 1 | 23 | CENTRAL CEE |
| 2 | MAINSTREAM SELLOUT | MACHINE GUN KELLY |
| 3 | LOVE SUX | AVRIL LAVIGNE |
| 4 | DAWN FM | WEEKND |
| 5 | THE OVERLOAD | YARD ACT |
| 6 | AMAZING THINGS | DON BROCO |
| 7 | NEVER LET ME GO | PLACEBO |
| 8 | GIVE ME THE FUTURE | BASTILLE |
| 9 | NIGHT CALL | YEARS & YEARS |
| 10 | FIX YOURSELF NOT THE WORLD | WOMBATS |
| 11 | THE NUMBER OF THE BEAST | IRON MAIDEN |
| 12 | CRASH | CHARLI XCX |
| 13 | FTHC | FRANK TURNER |
| 14 | WHO CARES | REX ORANGE COUNTY |
| 15 | BLUE BANISTERS | LANA DEL REY |
| 16 | THE GODS WE CAN TOUCH | AURORA |
| 17 | HOMESICK | SEA GIRLS |
| 18 | WORLD I UNDERSTAND | SHERLOCKS |
| 19 | FEVER DREAMS PTS 1-4 | JOHNNY MARR |
| 20 | THE DREAM | ALT-J |
| 21 | WHO DO YOU PRAY TO | SAM TOMPKINS |
| 22 | NOW OR WHENEVER | SPECTOR |
| 23 | PIER PRESSURE | ARRDEE |
| 24 | THE BOY NAMED IF | ELVIS COSTELLO & THE IMPOSTERS |
| 25 | GREATEST HITS | QUEEN |
| 26 | GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY - AWESOME MIX 1 | ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACK |
| 27 | TORPEDO | FEEDER |
| 28 | GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY - AWESOME MIX 2 | ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACK |
| 29 | HAPPY PLACE | SAINT PHNX |
| 30 | IMPERA | GHOST |
| 31 | MUSIC OF THE SPHERES | COLDPLAY |
| 32 | DISRESPECTFUL | BAD BOY CHILLER CREW |
| 33 | TOY (TOY BOX) | DAVID BOWIE |
| 34 | HITS TO THE HEAD | FRANZ FERDINAND |
| 35 | CHANGE THE SHOW | MILES KANE |
| 36 | ARE WE GONNA BE ALRIGHT | FICKLE FRIENDS |
| 37 | SMALL WORLD | METRONOMY |
| 38 | REELING | MYSTERINES |
| 39 | REASON TO SMILE | KOJEY RADICAL |
| 40 | BETTER WITH YOU | KAWALA |
©2020 Official Charts Company. All rights reserved.
