Port Washington, N.Y. - Apple's (NASD: AAPL) iTunes Store retained its position as the op U.S. music retailer during the first half of 2008, followed by Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT), Best Buy (NYSE: BBY), Amazon (NASD: AMZN) and Target (NYSE: TGT), according to a report from market research firm NPD Group. Apple overtook Amazon for third place in the first quarter of 2007, then hurdled Best Buy and Target in February of this year before toppling Wal-Mart to enter the lead in April.

For its sales tally, NPD combined sales of physical products like CDs with a la carte digital downloads, where 12 single-track downloads is equal to one CD, and excluded subscription services like eMusic and Rhapsody.

"We expect Apple will consolidate its lead in the retail music market, as CD sales continue to slow," said NPD Group entertainment analyst Russ Crupnick.

NPD said Amazon's rise from fifth place to fourth in the first half of 2008 can be credited to the launch of its MP3 download store last year, and the smaller decline in CD sales seen at online stores as compared with brick-and-mortar retailers.

"Amazon's CD buyers tend to be older, so they haven't abandoned the CD format to the extent seen in the average music buyer. Plus Amazon's successful introduction of its digital download store will help the company improve its position in the future," added Crupnick.

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