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Charting the mytunes revolution

It's taken decades of technology breakthroughs to get from 8-tracks to iPods. Digital downloads still represent just a fraction of total music sales, but CD sales have slid steadily since their introduction. Fortune looks at how the way we listen to music has changed over the years.

By Doris Burke

12 of 34

1984 total sales: $8,411.7 million

Bestseller: Thriller

Michael Jackson

	LPs	$3,585.2 million
	8-TRACK TAPES	N/A
	CASSETTE TAPES	$4,626.1 million
	COMPACT DISCS	$200.5 million
	MP3 DOWNLOADS	N/A

Sources: RIAA, Billboard. All figures in 2007 dollars.
Sales for LPs, cassettes, and CDs include singles
Some music formats are omitted

Sony releases the Discman portable CD player.

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