February's vinyl chart told two stories at once. On one side, a wave of new releases from Charli XCX, Kylie Minogue, a video game soundtrack, and a De La Soul comeback. On the other, the same records that have been selling on vinyl for decades: Fleetwood Mac, Oasis, Radiohead, Arctic Monkeys. The new records came and went. The old ones just sat there, unmovable, like someone had bolted them to the chart.
Here are the albums that defined February on vinyl in the UK, based on the Official Vinyl Albums Chart.
Charli XCX takes the number one spot
Wuthering Heights debuted at number one on the vinyl chart in its release week, making it Charli XCX's third UK number one album and her first vinyl chart-topper. The album is a full soundtrack to Emerald Fennell's film adaptation of the Brontë novel, starring Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi. It's a significant departure from Brat, swapping neon dance-pop for gothic strings and atmosphere, created mostly with longtime collaborator Finn Keane while she was still touring Brat throughout 2025. It sold 21,000 units in its opening week and topped the Album Sales Chart the same week. On vinyl specifically, it was comfortably the biggest new release of the month.
Olivia Dean: the album that won't leave
The Art of Loving has been in the vinyl top 10 for over twenty consecutive weeks now. Twenty. That's five months of sustained vinyl sales for an album that came out in September 2025. Dean won a Grammy earlier in 2025, became the first British woman since Adele to land three simultaneous UK Top 10 singles, and the vinyl momentum from all of that hasn't slowed. She spent stretches at number one across January and February, and barely dipped below the top three all month. For context, that kind of consistency on the vinyl chart is usually reserved for records released in the 1970s.
The immortals: Rumours, Morning Glory, AM, OK Computer
Every month, the same albums appear on the UK vinyl chart. They've been there for years. In some cases, decades. February was no different.
Rumours by Fleetwood Mac has now spent 592 weeks on the vinyl chart. That's over eleven years. It bounced between the top four and top ten throughout February, never dropping far. Oasis's (What's the Story) Morning Glory? has been charting for 503 weeks. Arctic Monkeys' AM has hit 471 weeks. OK Computer is at 121 weeks and climbing steadily, having surged back up the chart in recent months.
These aren't nostalgia purchases. These are records people buy as foundational pieces of a collection, the way you'd buy a decent bookshelf before filling it. If you're starting a vinyl collection in 2026, there's a reasonable chance at least one of these ends up in your first ten purchases.
The video game soundtrack that outsold almost everything
The most unexpected number one of the month came from Lorien Testard's soundtrack to Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. A video game OST topping the vinyl chart would have been unthinkable five years ago. It held the top spot for the week of 13 February, beating established chart fixtures and major label releases alike. The orchestral score clearly connected with collectors who value vinyl as a listening experience rather than just a format. It's also a reminder that the vinyl audience is broader than "people who grew up in the 1990s," no matter what the rest of the chart might suggest.
Joji, Ist Ist, DJO, and the indie surge
The middle of February saw a cluster of alternative and indie releases breaking into the top ten. Joji's Piss In The Wind debuted at number two. Ist Ist's Dagger, the Manchester post-punk band's third album, landed at four. DJO, the musical project of actor Joe Keery from Stranger Things, placed The Crux Deluxe at five.
None of these held their positions for long, which is the nature of vinyl chart new entries. But their presence matters. It shows that the vinyl buying audience isn't limited to classic rock fans and pop collectors. Post-punk, lo-fi, and indie all have audiences willing to pay £25 or more for a physical record.
De La Soul return on vinyl
De La Soul's Cabin In The Sky entered the chart at number eight in mid-February. After years of their classic catalogue being tied up in sample clearance disputes, seeing De La Soul back on vinyl at all feels significant. The trio, now continuing as a duo following the passing of Trugoy the Dove in 2023, released the album to strong critical reception. For hip-hop vinyl collectors, this was one of February's essential pickups.
Hayley Williams, Lily Allen, and the solo returns
Hayley Williams' Ego Death At The Bachelorette Party charted at nine in mid-February. It's her third solo release outside of Paramore, and the vinyl pressing attracted a dedicated fanbase that tends to buy physical copies on release week. Lily Allen's West End Girl also appeared at eleven, her first album in several years. Both entries reflect a pattern in the vinyl chart: established artists with loyal fanbases can still debut strongly on vinyl even when their streaming numbers don't dominate.
The full top 20
Based on the Official Vinyl Albums Chart across February 2026. Albums are ranked by their highest chart position during the month, with consistency across multiple weeks taken into account.
| # | Album | Artist |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wuthering Heights | Charli XCX |
| 2 | The Art of Loving | Olivia Dean |
| 3 | Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 OST | Lorien Testard |
| 4 | Rumours | Fleetwood Mac |
| 5 | (What's the Story) Morning Glory? | Oasis |
| 6 | Tension Tour: Live 2025 | Kylie Minogue |
| 7 | AM | Arctic Monkeys |
| 8 | OK Computer | Radiohead |
| 9 | Piss In The Wind | Joji |
| 10 | Getting Killed | Geese |
| 11 | Dagger | Ist Ist |
| 12 | The Crux Deluxe | DJO |
| 13 | Man's Best Friend | Sabrina Carpenter |
| 14 | Cabin In The Sky | De La Soul |
| 15 | Ego Death At The Bachelorette Party | Hayley Williams |
| 16 | West End Girl | Lily Allen |
| 17 | Debi Tirar Más Fotos | Bad Bunny |
| 18 | Hills End | DMA's |
| 19 | Blue Neighbourhood | Troye Sivan |
| 20 | Toothpaste | Crystal Tides |
What's worth noting for collectors
February's chart reinforced something that's been true for a while now: the vinyl market has two speeds. New releases spike hard in their first week and usually drop out of the top twenty within a fortnight. Catalogue titles, the Fleetwood Macs and Oasis albums, grind away week after week, rarely making headlines but always selling.
If you're buying any of these records, it's worth comparing prices across UK retailers before you commit. A difference of £3 to £5 between shops is common, especially on new releases in their first few weeks when retailers compete for the initial rush. The evergreen titles tend to have more stable pricing, but coloured vinyl variants can carry a premium that varies wildly depending on where you look.
Chart data: Official Charts Company, February 2026. Rankings reflect the Official Vinyl Albums Chart compiled weekly across the month.