Thread: Most downloaded album of '09? Guess who...

Most downloaded album of '09? Kings of Leon's 'Only by the Night' - but hard copies another story

In an era ruled by pop and R&B acts, a scrappy rock band just racked up the most downloaded CD of the year.


"Only By The Night" from Kings of Leon has earned the title of top selling digital album of the year so far, according to iTunes, enjoying sales of just under 400,000 units. (Apple doesn't release exact figures for its downloads, but SoundScan Nielsen does, and the overwhelming majority of those come from iTunes).


Shock dance queen Lady GaGa took the No. 2 spot on iTunes' list, followed by another edgy rock album, the "Twilight" soundtrack. Each enjoyed sales in the 330,000 to 350,000 range. (The two works switched positions on SoundScan's list, which demonstrates the narrow margin between general downloading figures and iTunes' own).


Though sales of physical CDs have sky-dived over the last few years, they still tower over their digital equivalents.


The top physical seller so far this year is Taylor Swift's "Fearless," with a figure of 2,398,203, according to SoundScan/Nielsen. Swift managed to beat Michael Jackson's hits set, "Number Ones," which has pushed 2,155,007 copies so far.



Kings of Leon's album ranked down at No. 8 in physical sales (with 1,254,486 sold).



In the realm of digital singles, R&B and pop held their lead over rock, as The Black Eyes Peas' "Boom Boom Pow" became the No. 1 seller, with roughly 430,000 copies moved. Also figuring big in singles-land were songs by Flo Rida, Lady Gaga, and Miley Cyrus.




Top Ten most downloaded Albums on iTunes:
1) Kings of Leon, "Only By The Night"
2) "Twilight" soundtrack
3) Lady GaGa, "The Fame"
4) Taylor Swift, "Fearless"
5) Dave Matthews Band, "Big Whiskey and The GrooGrux King"
6) Michael Jackson, "The Essential Michael Jackson"
7) The Fray, "The Fray"
8) Jay-Z, "Blueprint 3"
9) Eminem, "Relapse"
10) Black Eyed Peas, "The E.N.D. (The Energy Never Dies)"


Top Ten most downloaded albums of the year overall (according to SoundScan/Nielsen):
1) Kings of Leon, "Only By The Night" 397,000
2) Lady Gaga, "The Fame" 352,000
3) "Twilight" sountrack 332,000
4) Taylor Swift, "Fearless" 300,000
5) Jay-Z, "Blueprint 3" 277,000
6) Dave Matthews Band, "Big Whiskey & The Groogrox King" 276,000
7) Black Eyes Peas, "The E.N.D. (Energy Never Dies)" 270,000
8) U2, "No Line On The Horizon" 257,000
9) Michael Jackson, "Essential Michael Jackson" 251,500
10) The Fray, "Fray" 251,100


Top Ten Most Downloaded Singles on iTunes:
1) Black Eyed Peas, "Boom Boom Pow"
2) Flo Rida featuring Ke, "Right Round"
3) Lady GaGa, "Poker Face"
4) Black Eyed Peas, "I Gotta Feeling"
5) All American Rejects, "Gives You Hell"
6) Lady Gaga and Colby O'Donis, "Just Dance"
7) Miley Cyrus, "Party in the U.S.A."
8) Miley Cyrus, "The Climb"
9) T.I. featuring Justin Timberlake, "Dead and Gone"
10) Kings of Leon, "Use Somebody"


Top Ten Most Downloaded singles overall (according to SoundScan/Nielsen):
1) Black Eyed Peas, "Boom Boom Pow" 436,000
2) Flo Rida featuring Ke, "Right Round" 393,000
3) Lady Gaga, "Poker Face" 390,000
4) Black Eyed Peas, "I Gotta Feeling" 384,000
5) Lady Gaga, "Just Dance" 278,900
6) Miley Cyrus, "Party In the U.S.A." 278,700
7) Miley Cyrus, "Climb" 251,000
8) Kings of Leon, "Use Somebody" 247,000
9) Soulja Boy Tellem, "Kiss Me Through The Phone" 233,000
10) Sean Jay featuring Lil' Wayne, "Down" 229,000


Top Ten Physical CDs (according to SoundScan/Nielsen):
1) Taylor Swift, "Fearless" 2,298,000
2) Michael Jackson ,"Number Ones" 2,155,000
3) Hanna Montana, "Soundtrack" 1,689,000
4) Lady Gaga, "The Fame" 1,659,000
5) Eminem, "Relapse" 1,533,000
6) Black Eyed Peas, "The E.N.D. (Energy Never Dies)" 1,440,000
7) Jay Z, "Blueprint 3" 1,337,000
8) Kings of Leon, "Only By The Night" 1,254,000
9) Nickelback, "Dark Horse" 1,253,000
10) "Twilight" soundtrack 1,201,000

jfarber@nydailynews.com

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Thanks, Min0 ^