Stray Kids Lead Physical Retail as Funkadelic’s Maggot Brain Drives Indie Vinyl

K-pop titan Stray Kids led physical retail overall this week, while a newly remastered reissue of Funkadelic’s Maggot Brain drove traffic at independent record stores.

This week’s No. 1s

No. 1 · All physical retail

THIS & THAT

Stray Kids · STRAY KIDS/JYP

Physical sales

22,252

On CD

92.7%

In stores

89.9%

No. 1 · Independent stores

Maggot Brain

Funkadelic · Org Music

Indie sales

6,494

Indie vinyl

5,333

All retail

7,549

Stray Kids’ THIS & THAT was the No. 1 physical album of the week with 22,252 copies. CD collectibles did the heavy lifting: 20,639 of those copies (92.7%) were CDs, and brick-and-mortar stores accounted for 89.9% of the album’s physical sales.

Funkadelic’s Maggot Brain topped independent record stores with 6,494 copies. Powered by a newly remastered reissue, the funk classic moved 5,333 vinyl copies through indie shops alone, 87.3% of its 6,106 total vinyl sales.

Ariana Grande’s petal returned to No. 1 on the overall vinyl chart with 7,038 copies, driven by direct-to-consumer and online orders (5,576 sold online). International acts continued to dominate CDs: ENHYPEN’s THE SIN: BLISS (9,472 CDs) and KATSEYE’s WILD (8,427 CDs) rounded out the week’s top CD sellers.

Steady vinyl gains offset CD softness

Physical album sales reached 1,302,025 in the week ending Sept. 17, down 4.0% from the same week last year. Year-over-year gains in vinyl and at independent stores helped cushion a broader dip in CD volume.

CDs pulled back. CD album sales totaled 558,197, down 10.9% year over year. Even so, collectible CD packaging from top K-pop and pop releases continues to give physical stores a dependable base.

Vinyl kept growing. Vinyl album sales reached 734,843, up 1.8% year over year, driven by a healthy mix of direct-to-consumer pop releases and high-profile catalog remasters.

Indie stores held up. Independent record stores sold a modeled 410,861 physical albums, up 1.0%, as exclusive pressings and catalog reissues kept drawing shoppers. Raw sales at stores reporting in both years rose 12.0% to 134,694.

Standout artists and weekly movers

Contemporary indie projects and perennial catalog favorites both moved this week. Phoebe Bridgers’ The Lost Weekend sold 3,228 vinyl copies, 2,205 of them at independent record stores, making it one of the biggest drivers for indie shops.

Sylvan Esso’s Ow had a strong physical debut with 2,641 vinyl sales, 1,488 of them from independent stores. Local record stores also accounted for 1,181 of the 3,204 vinyl copies of Brian Fallon’s NOT BAD FOR NEW JERSEY.

Classic rock and R&B catalog titles continue to show staying power. Michael Jackson’s Thriller sold 6,809 vinyl copies (1,555 at indie stores), and Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours moved 3,088 vinyl copies overall as stores kept restocking catalog.

Remastered classics drive foot traffic

Independent record stores sold a modeled 410,861 physical albums this week, up 1.0% from a year ago, while raw same-store sales climbed 12.0% to 134,694. The remastered reissue of Funkadelic’s Maggot Brain led the way, with 5,333 vinyl sales at indie stores alone.

Mass market and e-commerce lead growth

Through Sept. 17, vinyl album sales reached 30,554,942 year to date, up 3.0% from 29,742,238 in the same period of 2025. Independent record stores remain the single largest vinyl channel, with 12,071,316 sales YTD and 39.5% of all vinyl volume.

Direct-to-consumer artist webstores grew 2.5% to 3,910,000 vinyl albums YTD (from 3,811,791 in 2025). Mass-market retailers rose the greatest up 20.5% to 7,230,000, or 24.0% of all U.S. vinyl sales, and e-commerce generated 6,590,000 vinyl sales (up 6.8%), 21.6% of the total.

Two things worth knowing

Source: Luminate. Weekly figures cover the tracking week Sept. 11–17, 2026, compared with the same week last year. Year-to-date figures run through Sept. 17, 2026. Independent-store totals are modeled; same-store figures are raw sales from stores reporting in both years.