Albums from Destiny's Child, REM and Shaggy helped lift British album sales 12 per cent this year, but singles slumped and music fans continued to snub cassettes, music industry figures showed.
The British Phonographic Industry (BPI) said a record 46 million albums were sold in the traditionally quiet second quarter, driving an 18 per cent jump in revenues and giving a 12 per cent rise for the first half of the year.
The industry recorded a 14 per cent rise in sales to just over £254 million sterling, but singles sales drooped another 10 per cent, cassettes collapsed by 70 per cent and minidisc sales all but vanished, falling 70 per cent.
The overall trade value of the British music market in the year to June rose 6 per cent to £1.2 billion, with the five big music groups - EMI, Warner, Universal, Sony and BMG - dominating sales.
Latest figures from market research company Soundscan showed that album volumes had fallen more than 5 per cent in the United States, the world's biggest music market.
New releases from Stereophonics, Travis and compilations such as Now 48, Bridget Jones's Diary and best-ofs from Billy Joel and Eddy Grant also helped drive albums sales in Britain, with CDs making up almost 98 per cent of the total.
"Clearly sales to younger buyers and in-car listeners are being rapidly replaced by CD purchases," the BPI said.