Amazon.com Announces Hottest Books, Music, Videos and DVDs of the Year as Determined by Customer Sales and Editor Picks.

Business/Entertainment Editors

SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 4, 2001

    WHAT: As 2001 winds to a close, Amazon.com (Nasdaq:AMZN), the No.
    1 online retailer, today announced the hottest books, CDs, videos
    and DVDs of the year as determined by customer sales and editor
    picks. An annual tradition, Amazon.com's "Best of" site feature,
    located at www.amazon.com/best-of-2001, includes Amazon.com's 100
    bestselling books, CDs, videos and DVDs of the year, as well as
    the year's top 100 books, CDs, videos and DVDs as selected by
    Amazon.com's expert editors. Amazon.com's Best of 2001 are:

      Amazon.com Best of 2001 Category Bestsellers:

    Book: The Harry Potter Schoolbooks: Quidditch Through the Ages and
    Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, J.K. Rowling

    CD: O Brother, Where Art Thou? soundtrack

    DVD: Star Wars: Episode I, the Phantom Menace

    Video: Living Yoga: A.M./P.M. Yoga for Beginners Set

      Amazon.com Best of 2001 Editors' Picks:

    Book: Peace Like a River, Leif Enger

    CD: "Love and Theft," Bob Dylan

    DVD: The Godfather DVD Collection

    Video: Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon

    2001 TRENDS:

      Books -- Amazon.com Top Sellers:

    Harry Potter is still No. 1: The Harry Potter phenomenon continued
    in 2001 as the young wizard once again captured Amazon.com's No. 1
    bestseller spot. The Harry Potter schoolbooks, Quidditch Through
    the Ages and Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them were
    Amazon.com's bestselling set in 2001. J.K. Rowling's popular
    series claims four of the top 25 spots on the list, including
    Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Book 3) at No. 11; last
    year's No. 1 bestselling book, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
    (Book 4), at No. 9; and the not-yet-published Harry Potter 5 in
    the No. 22 spot on the bestseller list based solely on pre-orders.

      Books -- Editors' Picks:

    Amazon.com editors' top choice for book of the year is an
    ambitious novel about a dysfunctional Midwestern family. No, not
    Jonathan Franzen's The Corrections (which was picked No. 2 by
    Amazon.com editors). Rather, it's Leif Enger's stunning first
    novel, Peace Like a River, which traces the lives of a Minnesota
    family in the early 1960s.

      Music -- Amazon.com Top Sellers:

    Following September 11, consumers looked to music for comfort and
    solace, creating unexpected year-end hits such as Enya's soothing
    melodies in A Day Without Rain, Amazon.com's No. 3 bestselling CD
    of 2001. The musical tribute God Bless America, a compilation of
    patriotic songs, is Amazon.com's No. 5 bestselling CD of the year.

      Music -- Editors' Picks:

    In a year when he turned 60, Bob Dylan proved he was still vital
    musically with the release of his 43rd album, "Love and Theft,"
    which Amazon.com music editors picked as their album of the year.
    A trio of younger artists closely followed Dylan, with Macy Gray's
    The Id in the No. 2 spot on the editors' Music list, The White
    Stripes' White Blood Cells at No. 3 and Bjork's Vespertine at No.
    4.

      Video and DVD -- Amazon.com Top Sellers:

    Health, mind and body titles flex their muscles on top 10 video
    lists. Fitness reigns as related titles claim 5 of the top 10
    bestselling video spots for the year at Amazon.com, including the
    No. 1 and No. 2 positions with Living Yoga: A.M./P.M. Yoga for
    Beginners Set and Pilates Beginning Mat Workout.

    Eagerly anticipated DVDs finish on top: In a battle that pitted
    two of the most frequently requested titles ever released on DVD
    against each other, Star Wars: Episode I, The Phantom Menace
    battled The Godfather DVD Collection for the No. 1 spot on
    Amazon.com's sales chart. Both DVDs made the top 5 bestsellers
    list, with Star Wars coming out at No. 1 and The Godfather DVD
    Collection close behind at No. 4.

      Video and DVD -- Editors' Picks:

    This year, Amazon.com editors recognized classics newly released
    in the DVD format. Among the editors' top 10 DVD picks for 2001
    are Orson Welles' 1941 masterpiece, Citizen Kane (Special
    Edition), at No. 4, Close Encounters of the Third Kind at No. 7
    and the epic biographical adventure Lawrence of Arabia in the No.
    10 spot.

    More obscure titles are also prominent among the editors' top 10
    DVD and video picks. Ultraviolet, the coolly stylish British
    miniseries about vampires, is No. 9 on the Amazon.com editors' DVD
    list and No. 10 on their VHS list, while the highly acclaimed film
    In the Mood for Love, from Hong Kong director Wong Kar-wai, was
    selected for the No. 6 spot on the editors' VHS list.

    WHERE: To view complete music, video, books, DVD and video lists,
    as well as lists in categories including Electronics, Software,
    Tools & Hardware, Kitchen & Housewares and more, log on to
    www.amazon.com/best-of-2001.

    CONTACT: For more information, or to interview an Amazon.com
    editor regarding trends of 2001, contact Carrie Peters,
    Amazon.com, 206/266-7180.