Record sale counters Nielsen Soundscan have confirmed CD sales rose by 2.4% in the US last year - the first rise in four years.
This rise was despite the increasing popularity of legal download sales.
The figures show that the CD format still accounts for 98% of the
666 million albums sold in the US in 2004 - 140 million digital tracks were legally downloaded last year which, they reckon, is equivalent to 14 million albums.
Needless to say, Usher was the biggest selling artist of the year shifting eight million units of his album 'Confessions'. Other top sellers included Norah Jones, Eminem and country stars Kenny Chesney and Gretchen Wilson.