Taylor Swift is for the second year in a row the artist with the best-selling album of the year. ‘The Life of a Showgirl’ is number 1 in Mediatraffic’s annual count – which has been making an estimate for decades that is quite similar to what is then officially published by the IFPI. Its global sales are estimated at 7,586,000 equivalent units, an astonishing figure if we take into account that the album was published in October. It will soon surpass the total sales of ‘The Tortured Poets Department’, which are estimated at around 11 million copies and only needed half of that figure – 5.6 million – to become the best-selling album of 2024.
What’s more, ‘The Tortured Poets Department’ has been, according to the Mediatraffic list, the 14th best-selling album of 2025, adding 2,559,000 units this year. Taylor places three other albums on the chart: ‘Lover’ at 34 with 1,737,000 units in 2025, ‘Folklore’ at 36 with 1,707,000 “copies”, and ‘1989’ (the original version) at 38 with 1,667,000 units. That is, Swift signs 5 albums among the most successful of 2025.
The list, which counts from January 11, 2025 to January 3, 2026, ranks in second place an album released in 2022, almost 2023, ‘SOS’ by SZA. ‘SOS’ has “sold” 4,887,000 equivalent units in 2025, surpassing ‘Debí Tirar Más Fotos’ by Bad Bunny, an album published in January 2025, which is in third place, with 4,377,000 units. SZA’s total is at 13 million copies, no less.
The top 5 is completed by an album from 2025, by Morgan Wallen, and one from 2024, by Sabrina Carpenter. Yes, ‘Short n’ Sweet’ has sold more in 2025 than ‘Man’s Best Friend’, although it is true that the former has been on the streets for more than a year, and the latter for just a few months.
The top 40 leaves news such as the comeback of ‘The Fame (Monster)’ by Lady Gaga, which appears in 19th place, probably dragged by the ‘Mayhem’ effect (10th place), and also the consolidation in global lists of Tate McRae, Alex Warren, Charli xcx (‘brat’ appears on the list for the second consecutive year) or Latin music, not only of Bad Bunny, but also of Fuerza Regida or Neton Vega. K-pop is also experiencing a golden age and not only because of ‘K-Pop Demon Hunters’ (7th place), since both Stray Kids and Jennie or Rosé are climbing positions.
The best-selling albums of 2025
1.- Taylor Swift / The Life of a Showgiel
2.- SZA / SOS
3.- Bad Bunny / I should have taken more photos
4.- Morgan Wallen / I’m the Problem
5.- Sabrina Carpenter / Short n’ Sweet
6.- Billie Eilish / Hit Me Hard and Soft
7.- K-Pop Demon Hunters (OST)
8.- Kendrick Lamar / GNX
9.- Alex Warren / You’ll Be Alright, Kid
10.- Lady Gaga / Mayhem
11.- Ariana Grande / eternal sunshine (deluxe edition)
12.- Tate McRae / So Close To What
13.- The Weeknd / Hurry Up Tomorrow
14.- Taylor Swift / The Tortured Poets Department
15.- Gracie Abrams / The Secret Of Us
16.- Bad Bunny / A Summer Without You
17.- Chappell Roan / The Rise And Fall Of A Midwest Princess
18.- Teddy Swims / I’ve Tried Everything But Therapy (Part 1)
19.- Lady Gaga / The Fame (Monster)
20.- Stray Kids / Karma
