LOS ANGELES- Latin album sales in the United States slid for the second year in a row in 2008, posting one of the worst declines among all musical genres last year, according to Nielsen SoundScan data.

Sales fell 21.1% to 25.1 million units; the decline from 2006 to 2007 was 15.6 percent.

Only country and classical albums suffered steeper drops last year, falling 24% and 26%, respectively. For the second year in a row all 12 genres dropped, as total album sales fell for the seventh time in eight years.

The Latin genre was the eighth-biggest last year. Rock (139.7 million, down 6.5 percent) and alternative (80.9 million, down 8.7 percent) led the field.