Best-selling albums in first three months of 2002

1. Stereophonics - Just Enough Education To Perform 2. Enrique Iglesias - Escape 3. Dido - No Angel 4. Nickelback - Silver Side Up 5. Robbie Williams - Swing When You're Winning Source: Official UK Chart Company

The rise comes despite a 5% fall around the world, blamed on internet piracy and CD-copying.

The sales of CD albums in the UK rose by 8% compared with the first quarter of 2001, with all other formats declining and the sales of singles falling by 15%.

But vinyl LPs out-sold cassette albums for the first time since 1985 - although the popularity of both has been on a downward slope for a number of years.

Almost �250m was spent on music in the UK between January and March, compared with �239m for the same time in 2001.

It was the 10th quarter in a row that the figures had increased, according to the figures, from the British Phonographic Industry.

Will Young broke the record for fastest-selling single

But just �28m of the 2002 total came from singles - down from �32m - despite the fact that Will Young and Gareth Gates sold 2.5 million singles between them at the start of the year.

The Pop Idol pair had the best-selling singles of the first quarter, followed by Enrique Iglesias and Shakira.

Stereophonics had the biggest-selling album of the first quarter, with Iglesias, Dido and Nickelback following.

Only the UK and France bucked the worldwide trend of falling sales in 2001.

In major markets like the US, Japan and Germany, sales dipped sharply.

Those in the industry believe that a combination of the world economic downturn, a "massive increase" in domestic and commercial CD piracy, and the availability of unauthorised music on the internet all contributed to the fall.

And that global decline is set to continue for another two years, according to new research.