We've had our feet up and rested our arms from lifting / moving / shipping somewhere in the region of 30,000+ records in the last 12 months! Like all good record geeks, we want to know which titles graced the most VU customer turntables for our efforts.

Shout out to all our customers and friends around the world, new and old, for all your support in 2025, we can't do it without you! Also the artists, DJs, distributors, labels etc who keep the scene vibrant. Thank you.

You can find the full Top 100 list below, but first a few notes and other stats...

VU customers bought 4,200+ different titles from the website, not including Discogs/2nd hand sales. So the span of musical styles was eclectic to say the least, but given you got it from VU, your first line of defence for underground music, it was all good s##t. 

There were a large number of incredible records, new and reissue, coming from more specialist areas such as Jazz (we could mention loads of incredible records), Tech House (still burning hot) and Experimental / Leftfield / Ambient (special mention to Mammo / Puddle Runner / Short Span etc). These often fly out in smaller quantities, and sometimes that makes them even more special. 

When it came to the music makers themselves there were few surprises, with many favourite, well established names taking the top spots. While quality was mainly still super high for these producers, the quantity of output from these names surely helps keep them at the top, where some new/younger upcomers don't yet have the catalog or label opportunities to move as many units. While we hope for more greatness from the greats in 2026, we'd love to see more diversity on the list giving these guys a run for their money.

Here's to more great music, we're ready for it!

So the Top 5 artists by units sold were:

1. Ron Trent | 'of course'

2. Joe Claussell | 'raw spiritual tones' 

3. Abacus | 'pure quality all the way, with 5 releases in our Top 100'

4. Glenn Underground | 'watch out for those huge 2026 represses'

5. Louie Vega | 'the Master still at work'

Then a top class mix of established and (relatively) new artists rounded out the Top 20 with names we were very happy to see in the mix; Alex Kassian, Pete Blaker, Vick Lavender, GE-OLOGY, Stefan Ringer, Patrice Scott, Rick Wade, DJ Nature, Kerri Chandler, Larry Heard, Payfone, Coflo, Peven Everett, Kuniyuki, Quiet Village.

The bestselling labels of course reflected the bestselling artists and records. Shout out to a few of our favourites that top the list A-Z; Axis, Cataleya Music, Dolfin Records, Dream Dancing, FWM Entertainment, Hot Biscuit Recordings, Just What The World Needs, Love Universal Music, Metroplex, Neroli, Phonogramme, Rush Hour, Sacred Medicine, Sistrum Recordings, Test Pressing Recordings, Upstairs Asylum Recordings, Wah Wah Wino.

A few of Honourable Mentions from Aidy and the VU team that didn't make the final list, out of the 100s that could have... Scroll back through our Instagram for loads more records we loved; 

Aric | I Love Your Love (Inc Pete Blaker Dub) | Running Back |  'a bit of a sleeper for us, ends up a subtle building Loft favourite'

Al Bradley | Little Treasures | 3am | 'dubbed out grooves that stayed on the decks'

Byron The Aquarius | One Of A Kind (Love Affair) | Hard Times | 'late entry, simple straight deep house record of the year'

Embassy | 7 Days Entertainment | 'great to have the 7 days crew from Detroit back with a bang, this is a super strong package'

Huerta | Instant Driver | Leizure | 'progressive and menacing tech house business'

Jon E | Smoke | Natural Element | 'really strong EP with West London meets Detroit vibes, proper music'

Jovonn | Syndicate Deep EP | Nu Groove | 'still got it, this one bangs'

LCD Soundsystem | Home (Tom Sharkett Edit) | DFA | 'end of the year crossover anthem thats been mesmerizing dancefloors'

Miles J Paralysis | Turf Step EP | Crying Outkast | 'slept on, dubbed out monster for warehouses'

Trent Voyage /  Elena Moroder | All Your Love & Blues | Quirk | 'soulful, leftfield and clubby house moves, a fine sonic cocktail'

The Ullulators | Simply Conscious Dub | Spiritual World | 'the best vinyl reissue of a dub cassette from the 1980s all year'

 

Right, we're finally going in...

VU's Top 100 Bestselling Records of 2025:

1 Soul II Soul | A Dream’s A Dream (Ron Trent Remix) | Funki Dred Records | 'from the moment Aidy first heard this, he knew it would be big, but it was REALLY BIG'

2 Glenn Underground | Mother Tongue X Neroli | MT X Neroli | 'pure house vibes, top collab of the year'

3 Pure Science | Sunset | Gems | 'this legendary tech houser is apparently never being pressed again, so if you got it this time round, respect'

4 DJ Nature | Grand Rising | Love Universal Music | 'strong year for Nature and this breaky one on a different tip had us all hooked'

5 Patrice Scott | Solitude | Sistrum Recordings | 'there really only needed to be one Sistrum release because this is that good. Patrice keeping the quality as high as ever. Check out our interview with the man himself if you haven't already.'

6 WINO-E | WINO-E | Wah Wah Wino | 'quality lofi techno wonkiness, but we preferred the Omid below. The WINO hype did not stop in 25' 

7 Alex Kassian X Spooky | Orange Coloured Liquid | Test Pressing Recordings | 'absolutely beautiful widescreen breakbeat house remake of Spooky. Seems to be no stopping Kassian'

8 GE-OLOGY | Nomadic Discorientation | Love Universal Music | 'this was the heads down one, serious grooves'

9 Various | Juan Atkins Presents The Future Sound EP | Metroplex | 'legendary record from 1993 still sounding like the future'

10 UR | The Final Frontier | Underground Resistance | 'top 10 for second year in a row, one of the labels that helped build VU'

11 Alex Kassian | Body Singer | Pinchy & Friends

12 Blueless | Door To The Floor | Dream Dancing - 'warm and unique house music for the deep connoisseurs. Watch out for more from the Blueless and DD team up in 2026'

13 Antonio Ocasio | Meant To Be | Tribal Winds - 'La Fiebre is still firmly in our boxes, watch the heads turn and the dance start when this catches ears'

14 Peven Everett & Tony Touch | No Wonder | Funkbox Records

15 Ron Trent | Sensual | Sacred Medicine | 'artwork matches the quality of the music, Sacred Medicine killing the sleeve game' 

16 Abacus | Analog Stories Vol.3 | Phonogramme - 'the orange one, all killer, no filler'

17 Omid Geadizadeh | Like The Sea Knows Blue | Wah Wah Wino - 'highly addictive Persian Dub cuts we had on repeat. We almost came to blows if the B-side is 33 or 45...'

18 Mark E | E-Versions # 9 | Merc | 'all time VU fave Call Me with a timely repress and fresh flip'

19 Norman Connors | Take It To The Limit (Joe Claussell Edit) | Arista

20 Pete Blaker | Untitled III | Just What The World Needs | 'big year for Mr. Blaker with this and that lovely Aric mix, plus the promos for his brilliant LP, Swimming Limbs, set for full release in a few weeks'

21 Quiet Village & Vanessa Daou | Naked Hunger | The Quiet Village - 'the most beautiful journey of the year, another quality over quantity act, we can't wait to hear whats next from QV'

22 Wulf N'bear | Raptures Of The Deep | 20/20 Vision | '

23 Abacus / Haf S / Din-Dunya | Analogue Stories Vol 4 | Re:Think

24 Deon Jamar | Heavennnnnn | Smoke & Mirrors - 'the catchiest hook of the year'

25 Various Artists | Musek 03 | Musek - 'big, emotional and essential'

26 Vick Lavender | Superhero | Love Universal Music - 'the title says it all, a stand out from Vick'

27 Payfone | Volt To Volt | Otis 

28 Loleatta Holloway | Can't Let You Go (Louie Vega Remixes) | Vega Records - 'when 11 minutes of groove just still isn't enough... this is in the pocket for real'

29 Lovehandles | Reworks | Oswego Music - 'that Judie Tsuke rework, oh lord a mercy'

30 Payfone | Lunch | Otis Records - 'soundtracked our sunsets'

31 Ron Obvious | Basically | Ghost Recs - 'good to have Ron back and killing it, we want more Ron'

32 Voices From The Lake | II | Spazio Disponibile - 'LP of the year, Dozzy and Neel cement their status even further, repress coming soon we hope'

33 Millsart | Star Child | Axis - 'such a strong year for Mr Mills, this one is special'

34 Moodymann | Black Mahogani | Peacefrog - 'stunning represses as part of Peacefrog 35 year anniversary, lots of goodies coming in 2026'

35 Reel By Real | Surkit Remixed & Remastered | EPMmusic - 'legendary Techno record / that Bukem sample, essential and influential whichever way you swing'

36 Stefan Ringer / Takuro Higuchi | R We There Yet? | Dotei - 'direct from our man in Japan, stunning music and the most quality packaged 12 of the year too. Check out the label, Dotei...'

37 Abacus | Lost Stories Vol.2 | D3 Elements

38 Arp Frique & The Perpetual Singers | Another Taste Reworks | Space Grapes | 'another super year for what is currently the best disco/boogie/funk label around. Another Taste new LP on the way too'

39 Shakespears Sister | Black Sky | London Records - 'the RSD sleeper record, one of the best reissues of the year'

40 ART007 | All Over The World / Be The Dancer | Gallery

41 Coastal Commission | Rhodes Through Space / Straight No Chaser | Pacific Coast House | 'magic reissues golden west coast era, more to come, watch this space' 

42 Magic Source | Voodoo Ray / Interplanetary Bounce | Favorite Recordings

43 Abacus | Erotic Illusions (Reissue) | Phonogramme

44 Dwig | Beyond Cry And Smile | Nextprophets | 'lovely to see the return of Dwig in 2025, thanks for looking after us'

45 First Choice | Let No Man Put Asunder (Ron Hardy Edit) | Salsoul

46 KSmooth Da Programma | Higher Self | Love Universal Music | 'this was really great, new LP on the way soon which we're excited for, VU will have exclusive promos so watch out'

47 Loftsoul | Reunion | Loftsoul Recordings

48 Rick Wade | Disko Dust | Upstairs Asylum Recordings | 'Norm Talley and the UA crew keeping the Detroit heat alive, so many good releases on this label, and of course a big one from VU favourite Mr Wade'

49 GE-OLOGY | Circuitry | Love Universal Music

50 Letta Mbulu | Nomalizo / Kilimanjaro Take Us Higher | South Street International - 'sooooo good to have this on 12"'

51 Nad | Doble Amor - | Musica De Baleares

52 The Hayden Andre Project / Kingdom Come | Tribal Life / Groovy Baby | Clone Classic Cuts

53 Wildplanet | Vocoder | Under The Radar | 'such a quality record, we never thought those remixes would be released'

54 Abacus | Analog Stories Vol.5 | Phonogramme | 'the beige one, all killer, no filler'

55 Benedict | Can't Stop / Won't Stop | Benedict | 'good to see some OG productions on hand stamped white labels, house music all night long'

56 Bitter End | Adjustment->Love | Bitter End Records

57 Ex_Libris (A Made Up Sound) | 002 | Ex_Libris

58 Kenny Dope Ft. Daniel Rojo | Que Se Sepa Pt 1 & 2 | Kay-Dee Records | 'we waited and waited for this to drop, as did our customers, hopefully a repress in the works soon'

59 Rip ‘n’ It | One Step | Rip ‘n’ It | 'rare and slamming garage house rarity doing the business'

60 UFOs | UFO | Smugglers Way - 'addictive Marmite'

61 Uknowho | Missy X Badoo | White Label - 'one VU customer had been waiting years for this Fred Everything boot to repress, they bought 5 copies, then so did everyone else, repress incoming, don't sleep...'

62 Bar:Low | #1 | Bar:Low

63 Eddie Palmieri | Mi Congo Te Lllama (Sacred Rhythm 12'' Rmx's) | Sacred Rhythm

64 Elements Of Life | Maria Fumaca / Giant Steps (Tito Puente Tribute) | Vega Records

65 Laseech | Astral Destiny | Cosada | 'a quality 2025 for the Croatian producer, 2026 could be a big year'

66 Shokazulu | Navigate Your Soul | 2000black | 'Dego and crew with another stellar year, masters of their craft'

67 Various | Good Vibrations, Vol. 2 (Inc Glenn Underground Rmx) | Good Vibrations Music

68 Alvar | Moon Ritual | Junction Forest | 'new Alvar album just dropped end of 2025 and it's quality, super emotional and the absolutely the right side of prog/trance for us, serious music'

69 Budino / Amor Fati / Der Sexa | Untitled II | Just What The World Needs

70 Donald Byrd | Stepping Into Tomorrow | Blue Note | 'suprisingly never reissued on vinyl since its 1975 release, every home should have one'

71 Fingers N Flowers | Fingers N Flowers | Alleviated | 'we loved this one from Larry, felt a bit slept on, but as always with Larry it will keep steadily rollin' through soundsystems for years to come'

72 Jambonne | Jam On | Space Grapes

73 Louie Vega / Various Artists | Vega Records 5 Pack Unreleased VI | Vega Records | 'strong one from the ADE packs, repress incoming due to demand'

74 Mamacita Ft. Persona Rs | Tu Amor | Mr Bongo | 'Luke Una championed and edited version of 'Your Love' in Spanish was huge'

75 Miles J. Paralysis | Folktronic | Crying Outcast | 'one of our tips of 2025'

76 Octave One | Octivation | 430 West | 'Detroit OGs, nuff said'

77 Psyance | Motion | Emotions Electric | 'a piece of essential Techno history finally repressed'

78 Roberta | NMR014 | Night Moves Records

79 Rude Futures | Acid Reaction | Rush Hour | 'MCDE back in action at year end, strong one for VU regulars'

80 Solid Gold Playaz | Minds Beneath Atlantis | Still Music | 'thankfully repressed, deep house on a different tip'

81 Zopelar | Just Like Heaven Inc Patrice Scott Mix | D3 Elements

82 Gerd | Palm Leaves Remixes (Inc Larry Heard Rmx) | Clone Royal Oak | 'came and went, huge record, hopefully another press for 2026, please...

83 Grand Paris | Piste Une | Grand Paris

84 Illegal Detroit | Surrender Your Love (Illegal Remixes) | Illegal Detroit | 'cheeky white label press of these essential Sade boots'

85 Lars Bartkuhn | See The Light | Rush Hour

86 Mad Professor | Avianca Dubs Vol 1 | Avianca Dubs

87 Marvin Gaye | Music (K2 Remix) | Tamla 

88 Moton Records Inc | Linkwood Edits | Moton Records Inc

89 Vick Lavender | A Space Of My Own | Sophisticado Recordings

90 Blacksalsoul/Joaquin Joe Claussell | Black Salsoul | Black Salsoul | 'vibes music'

91 Ex_Libris (A Made Up Sound) | 001 | Ex_Libris

92 Jeroboam | Night Away / Dive Into Darkness | Space Grapes

93 Moodymann | Silence In The Secret Garden | Peacefrog

94 Paul Mac | Native EP | A.R.T.Less | 'one of our favourites, unreal UK techno, previously unreleased except for few test presses, truly incredible music'

95 Pete Blaker | Pete Blaker Edits | Razor-N-Tape

96 Ron Trent | Lift Off Part One & Part Two | Rush Hour

97 Tranquil Elephantizer | Space Program Ep | Te Records

98 Willie Colon & Ruben Blades | Siembra (Joe Claussell Remix) | Fania 

99 CS + Kreme | CS + Kreme | Total Stasis | 'ambient /leftfield standout from 2017 back in the crates'

100 ERP | Microcentric | Syncrophone Records | 'no list should be complete without a Gerard Hanson record onm it'