Swift has year's top album; music sales up 2.1 pct

(AP) — Susan Boyle put up a strong challenge, but Taylor Swift ended 2009 with the year's best-selling album.

Nielsen SoundScan, which tracks the nation's album sales, says Swift's "Fearless" sold 3.2 million copies last year. It was released in late 2008. Boyle's "I Dreamed a Dream" sold 3.1 million copies — and it only came out in late November.

Michael Jackson's "Number Ones" was No. 3 with 2.3 million sold. "The Fame" by Lady Gaga was No. 4 with 2.2 million copies and Andrea Bocelli's "My Christmas" also sold about 2.2 million copies to come in at No. 5.

Jackson was the year's top-selling artist, selling 8.2 million records to Swift's 4.6 million.

Music sales overall were up 2.1 percent from 2008, but album sales continued their decline, down 12.7 percent.