While beloved jam quartet Phish isn’t typically known for its Billboard chart success, the Vermont-native outfit finds itself in the top spot on the latest Vinyl Albums chart thanks to a recent reissue of 2002’s Round Room, which hit stores on February 2nd.
Phish’s Round Room reissue at #1 marks the only new arrival in the top five slots the February 17th, 2024 edition of the Billboard Vinyl Albums chart, which tallies the bestselling titles on that format in the U.S. The rest of the top five is rounded out by four different Taylor Swift LPs: Lover at #2, 1989 (Taylor’s Version) at #3, folklore at #4, and Midnights at #5. The new reissue also landed Phish at #6 on the new Top Album Sales chart, which tracks purchases (read: streaming excluded) on CD, digital, and vinyl; and #55 on the Artist 100, which ranks combined performance across various Billboard charts.
Per Forbes, this marks the fourth time a Phish release has topped the Vinyl Albums chart. The band’s first time atop the rankings came by way of 2014’s Fuego, followed by LP On LP 01: Recorded Live, July 14, 2019, Alpine Music Valley Theatre in 2021 and a special reissue of Farmhouse in 2023.
Related: Phish To Revisit Famed ’97 Fall Tour With Six-CD ‘The Spectrum ’97’ Box Set [Listen]
Round Room, originally released in late 2002, initially attained a measure of mainstream success, peaking at #46 on the Billboard 200 albums chart. It was recorded at The Barn in Vermont by Bryce Goggin during four days over two weekends in October 2002. The Round Room sessions were initially intended as rehearsals for the band’s upcoming end-of-hiatus New Year’s Eve Show at Madison Square Garden, giving the recording a loose, live feel with several extended tracks like “Pebbles And Marbles”, “Seven Below”, “Walls Of The Cave”, and “Waves”. Purchase your copy of Round Room by Phish on vinyl here.
Phish will get back in action with the band’s first shows of 2024 next week in Riviera Maya, MX. For a complete list of upcoming Phish tour dates, head here.
In other unlikely/heady Billboard chart news, the Grateful Dead recently broke the record for most albums in the Top 40 by any act in history thanks to the continued success of the band’s archival Dave’s Picks series.
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