I love this top three :wub: Breaking Benjamin get their first #1 album nearly six years after their previous album was released. Dark Before Dawn claims 141K units and 135K sales, narrowly beating their previous best of 133K from a #2 album in 2006. Wonderful! Also very impressed to see Tori Kelly at #2 without a real hit to her name yet! And Kacey Musgraves at #3, surpassing the 42K opening of her debut album although that one entered higher at #2. Hopefully none of these plummet next week, at least not to the extent of Adam Lambert and Nate Ruess (scroll way down!).

 

01 NE 01 Breaking Benjamin, Dark Before Dawn (141,000 (135,000 | 5,000 SEA/TEA))

02 NE 01 Tori Kelly, Unbreakable Smile (75,000 (65,000 | 10,000 SEA/TEA))

03 NE 01 Kacey Musgraves, Pageant Material (60,000 (55,000 | 5,000 SEA/TEA))

04 02 35 Taylor Swift, 1989 (54,000)

05 01 02 James Taylor, Before This World (50,000)

06 NE 01 Leon Bridges, Coming Home (42,000)

07 04 53 Ed Sheeran, x (35,000)

08 06 35 Sam Hunt, Montevallo (30,000)

09 09 43 Maroon 5, V (27,000)

10 NE 01 Soundtrack, Teen Beach 2 (24,000)

11 08 24 Meghan Trainor, Title

12 16 20 Drake, If You're Reading This It's Too Late

13 15 54 Sam Smith, In The Lonely Hour

14 11 09 Zac Brown Band, Jekyll + Hyde

15 14 06 twenty one pilots, Blurryface

16 21 36 Little Big Town, Pain Killer

17 17 20 Soundtrack, Fifty Shades Of Grey

18 12 05 A$AP Rocky, At.Long.Last.A$AP

19 22 23 Fall Out Boy, American Beauty / American Psycho

20 25 28 Nicki Minaj, The Pinkprint

21 36 147 Imagine Dragons, Night Visions

22 20 15 Soundtrack, Furious 7

23 RE 46 Trey Songz, Trigga

24 34 04 Major Lazer, Peace Is The Mission

25 26 30 WALK THE MOON, TALKING IS HARD

26 28 07 Rachel Platten, Fight Song (EP)

27 18 04 Florence + The Machine, How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful

28 10 08 Mumford & Sons, Wilder Mind

29 NE 01 Canaan Smith, Bronco

30 27 21 Andy Grammer, Magazines Or Novels

31 49 19 Imagine Dragons, Smoke + Mirrors

32 44 11 Shawn Mendes, Handwritten

33 38 21 Fifth Harmony, Reflection

34 29 38 Hozier, Hozier

35 33 72 Eric Church, The Outsiders

36 23 07 Soundtrack, Pitch Perfect 2

37 55 18 Big Sean, Dark Sky Paradise

38 03 02 Adam Lambert, The Original High

39 40 39 Tove Lo, Queen Of The Clouds

40 41 18 Skrillex & Diplo, Skrillex & Diplo Present Jack U

41 19 03 Muse, Drones

42 43 29 J. Cole, 2014 Forest Hills Drive

43 39 04 Jason Derulo, Everything Is 4

44 46 30 David Guetta, Listen

45 37 15 Kendrick Lamar, To Pimp A Butterfly

46 42 58 Brantley Gilbert, Just As I Am

47 48 48 Sia, 1000 Forms Of Fear

48 45 37 Florida Georgia Line, Anything Goes

49 53 31 Pitbull, Globalization

50 24 03 Various Artists, NOW That's What I Call Country, Volume 8

51 54 38 Jason Aldean, Old Boots, New Dirt

52 61 44 Ariana Grande, My Everything

53 56 08 Various Artists, NOW 54

54 32 09 Josh Groban, Stages

55 63 25 Rae Sremmurd, SremmLife

56 59 29 Carrie Underwood, Greatest Hits: Decade #1

57 74 12 Flo Rida, My House (EP)

58 58 24 Mark Ronson, Uptown Special

59 64 39 Blake Shelton, Bringing Back The Sunshine

60 67 22 George Ezra, Wanted On Voyage

61 57 48 Soundtrack, Guardians Of The Galaxy: Awesome Mix Vol. 1

62 65 98 Luke Bryan, Crash My Party

63 35 03 Of Monsters And Men, Beneath The Skin

64 51 10 Alabama Shakes, Sound & Color

65 05 02 Hilary Duff, Breathe In. Breathe Out.

66 31 65 The Rolling Stones, Sticky Fingers

67 52 04 Willie Nelson / Merle Haggard, Django And Jimmie

68 NE 01 King Los, God, Money, War

69 07 02 Nate Ruess, Grand Romantic

70 60 370 Bob Marley And The Wailers, Legend: The Best Of Bob Marley And The Wailers

71 70 38 Echosmith, Talking Dreams

72 185 135 Michael Jackson, The Essential Michael Jackson

73 47 02 Tim McGraw, 35 Biggest Hits

74 108 09 Elle King, Love Stuff

75 76 134 Florida Georgia Line, Here's To The Good Times

76 66 362 Journey, Journey's Greatest Hits

77 78 100 2Pac, Greatest Hits

78 88 06 Kelsea Ballerini, The First Time

79 68 05 Boosie BadAzz, Touch Down 2 Cause Hell

80 84 150 Ed Sheeran, +

81 77 45 twenty one pilots, Vessel

82 NE 01 Richard Thompson, Still

83 79 178 Lana Del Rey, Born To Die

84 95 91 Fleetwood Mac, Greatest Hits

85 91 69 The Weeknd, Trilogy

86 83 33 Zac Brown Band, Greatest Hits So Far...

87 93 232 Bruno Mars, Doo-Wops & Hooligans

88 82 05 Hillsong UNITED, Empires

89 85 222 Mumford & Sons, Sigh No More

90 NE 01 Wolf Alice, My Love Is Cool

91 90 14 James Bay, Chaos And The Calm

92 100 69 Cole Swindell, Cole Swindell

93 89 06 Zedd, True Colors

94 104 50 G-Eazy, These Things Happen

95 69 03 A Thousand Horses, Southernality

96 107 139 Kendrick Lamar, good kid, m.A.A.d city

97 87 16 Soundtrack, Empire: Original Soundtrack From Season 1

98 111 32 One Direction, Four

99 105 221 Eminem, The Eminem Show

100 92 40 Kenny Chesney, The Big Revival

101 86 16 Luke Bryan, Spring Break... Checkin' Out

102 96 10 YelaWolf, Love Story

103 114 34 Calvin Harris, Motion

104 127 89 Drake, Nothing Was The Same

105 99 33 Nick Jonas, Nick Jonas

106 102 43 Chase Rice, Ignite The Night

107 132 247 Eminem, Curtain Call: The Hits

108 112 48 Queen, Greatest Hits: We Will Rock You

109 98 42 Vance Joy, Dream Your Life Away

110 123 114 Fall Out Boy, Save Rock And Roll

111 97 08 Tech N9ne, Special Effects

112 80 04 Billy Currington, Summer Forever

113 124 12 AWOLNATION, Run

114 139 195 Luke Bryan, Tailgates & Tanlines

115 106 108 Mumford & Sons, Babel

116 81 10 Frank Sinatra, Ultimate Sinatra

117 NE 01 Lyfe Jennings, Tree Of Lyfe

118 126 89 Metallica, Master Of Puppets

119 138 108 Green Day, American Idiot

120 136 81 Beyoncé, Beyoncé

121 170 119 Michael Jackson, Bad

122 13 02 Third Eye Blind, Dopamine

123 134 227 Adele, 21

124 119 118 OneRepublic, Native

125 75 319 Guns N' Roses, Greatest Hits

126 140 115 Taylor Swift, Red

127 122 121 Drake, Take Care

128 118 13 Wale, The Album About Nothing

129 125 40 Tim McGraw, Sundown Heaven Town

130 120 203 Led Zeppelin, Mothership

131 148 87 Metallica, ...And Justice For All

132 NE 01 Citizen, Everybody Is Going To Heaven

133 144 83 Soundtrack, Frozen

134 189 67 Dierks Bentley, Riser

135 152 14 Kidz Bop Kids, Kidz Bop 28

136 147 19 Omarion, Sex Playlist

137 155 86 Eminem, The Marshall Mathers LP 2

138 115 98 Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band, Ultimate Hits

139 141 147 Eagles, The Very Best Of The Eagles

140 167 18 Chris Brown & Tyga, Fan Of A Fan: The Album

141 161 21 Kid Ink, Full Speed

142 151 150 Eric Church, Chief

143 156 98 Foo Fighters, Greatest Hits

144 NE 01 Lindemann, Skills In Pills

145 149 87 Katy Perry, Prism

146 129 21 Various Artists, NOW 53

147 153 234 Creedence Clearwater Revival, Chronicle The 20 Greatest Hits

148 116 04 Jamie xx, In Colour

149 150 45 Wiz Khalifa, Blacc Hollywood

150 RE 86 Bastille, Bad Blood

151 113 123 Soundtrack, Pitch Perfect

152 154 118 Blake Shelton, Based On A True Story ...

153 184 02 Charlie Puth, Some Type Of Love EP

154 163 94 Arctic Monkeys, AM

155 135 13 Darius Rucker, Southern Style

156 RE 31 Jessie J, Sweet Talker

157 175 37 Lynyrd Skynyrd, Family

158 166 126 Bruno Mars, Unorthodox Jukebox

159 NE 01 Don Trip, Godspeed

160 NE 01 Desaparecidos, Payola

161 178 17 Kelly Clarkson, Piece By Piece

162 142 03 Galantis, Pharmacy

163 176 56 Miranda Lambert, Platinum

164 NE 01 Rickie Lee Jones, the other side of DESIRE

165 187 217 Katy Perry, Teenage Dream

166 RE 352 Metallica, Metallica

167 173 105 Kenny Chesney, Greatest Hits II

168 121 02 Hank Williams Jr., 35 Biggest Hits

169 162 67 The 1975, The 1975

170 131 129 The Beach Boys, The Very Best Of The Beach Boys: Sounds Of Summer

171 182 48 5 Seconds Of Summer, 5 Seconds Of Summer

172 192 15 Kid Rock, First Kiss

173 168 184 AC/DC, Back In Black

174 158 52 Lana Del Rey, Ultraviolence

175 137 09 Tyler Farr, Suffer In Peace

176 179 73 Five Finger Death Punch, The Wrong Side Of Heaven...Volume 1

177 NE 01 Glass Animals, Zaba

178 94 02 Various Artists, 2015 Warped Tour Compilation

179 180 160 Blake Shelton, Red River Blue

180 101 908 Pink Floyd, The Dark Side Of The Moon

181 RE 38 The Notorious B.I.G., Greatest Hits

182 RE 72 Kacey Musgraves, Same Trailer Different Park

183 194 41 Chris Brown, X

184 RE 89 Nirvana, MTV Unplugged In New York

185 200 91 Lorde, Pure Heroine

186 172 78 Childish Gambino, Because The Internet

187 RE 235 Taylor Swift, Fearless

188 RE 07 ODESZA, In Return

189 177 27 Iggy Azalea, Reclassified

190 197 51 Panic! At The Disco, Too Weird To Live, Too Rare To Die!

191 146 06 Jamie Foxx, Hollywood: A Story Of A Dozen Roses

192 RE 30 Lady Antebellum, 747

193 RE 197 The Beatles, 1

194 193 51 Aerosmith, Aerosmith's Greatest Hits

195 RE 256 The Rolling Stones, Hot Rocks 1964-1971

196 183 79 Alabama Shakes, Boys & Girls

197 RE 195 Eminem, Recovery

198 RE 47 The Beach Boys, Pet Sounds

199 RE 86 Elton John, Greatest Hits 1970-2002

200 RE 60 Jason Derulo, Talk Dirty

Breaking Benjamin Earns Its First No. 1 Album on the Billboard 200 Chart

By Keith Caulfield | July 01, 2015

 

Rock band Breaking Benjamin celebrates its first No. 1 album on the Billboard 200 chart -- and their best sales week ever -- as Dark Before Dawn arrives in the top slot. The set moved 141,000 equivalent album units in the week ending June 28, according to Nielsen Music. Of that sum, 135,000 were pure album sales -- the group’s best week ever.

 

The Billboard 200 chart ranks the most popular albums of the week based on multi-metric consumption, which includes traditional album sales, track equivalent albums (TEA) and streaming equivalent albums (SEA).

 

Previously, Breaking Benjamin’s best sales frame came when its last studio effort, 2009’s Dear Agony, bowed at No. 4 with 134,000. That wasn’t their highest charting album, however, as that honor had fallen to 2006’s No. 2-peaking Phobia (though it started with a smaller sum: 125,000).

 

Dark Before Dawn is Breaking Benjamin’s first studio album in nearly six years, and first with an almost all-new lineup. Now a quintet, only its namesake lead singer, Benjamin Burnley, remains from its previous incarnation as a quartet. (Two members of the band departed in 2010 after legal and contractual disputes, while another member left in 2013 due to creative differences.)

 

In May, Dark Before Dawn’s lead single, “Failure,” became the act’s third No. 1 on Mainstream Rock Songs. The track is currently in its eighth week atop that airplay list -- the group’s longest chart-topping run (surpassing the seven weeks at No. 1 for 2007’s “Breath”).

 

In addition, Breaking Benjamin becomes the first rock act on Hollywood Records to score a No. 1 album. The label – which is part of the Disney Music Group – is likely best known for its soundtracks and albums from pop stars like Miley Cyrus and Demi Lovato. Still, Hollywood has been home to a number of rock acts, ranging from Plain White T’s and Queen to Atreyu and Fastball.

 

In total, Dark Before Dawn is Hollywood Records’ 12th No. 1 album. (While Breaking Benjamin is the first rock act on Hollywood with a No. 1 album, Dark Before Dawn is the label’s second rock album to hit the top. It follows last year’s rockin’ No. 1 soundtrack, Guardians of the Galaxy, Awesome Mix Vol. 1.)

 

Breaking Benjamin leads a busy new top 10, as four more albums debut in the region.

 

Singer Tori Kelly sees her first full-length album, Unbreakable, bow in the No. 2 slot with 75,000 units (of which 65,000 are traditional album sales). The album was preceded by the singles “Nobody Love” (which reached No. 16 on the Pop Songs airplay chart) and “Should’ve Been Us” (which climbs 32-26 on the latest chart). Kelly previously reached the Billboard 200 with the EP Forward, which debuted and peaked at No. 16 in 2013.

 

Country star Kacey Musgraves is up next on the Billboard 200, as her second album, Pageant Material, debuts at No. 3 with 60,000 units (including 55,000 in pure album sales -- her best sales frame yet). Her 2013 debut Same Trailer Different Park launched at No. 2 with 43,000 -- her previous largest sales week. The new album’s current single, “Biscuits,” has so far peaked at No. 41 on the Country Airplay chart.

 

Taylor Swift’s 1989 dips 2-4 in its 35th week on the chart (54,000 units; down 6 percent) and last week’s No. 1, James Taylor’s Before This World, falls 1-5 with 50,000 (down 49 percent).

 

R&B newcomer Leon Bridges debuts at No. 6 with his first album Coming Home, as it enters with 42,000 units. It also starts at No. 1 on both Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums and R&B Albums. The set’s breakout single, “Coming Home,” peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard + Twitter Emerging Artists chart in April. During the album’s release week, Bridges played NBC’s The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon (June 22) and garnered coverage on National Public Radio’s Fresh Air (June 25).

 

Ed Sheeran’s x descends 4-7 with 35,000 units (down 10 percent), Sam Hunt’s Montevallo moves 6-8 with 30,000 units (down 6 percent) and Maroon 5’s V is steady at No. 9 with 27,000 units (down 1 percent).

 

Rounding out the top 10 is a new entry at No. 10: Walt Disney Records’ Teen Beach 2 TV soundtrack, which sails in with 24,000 units. It follows 2013’s Teen Beach Movie soundtrack, which debuted at No. 8 and later peaked at No. 3.

 

Taylor Swift's '1989' and Mark Ronson's 'Uptown Funk!' Top Nielsen's Mid-Year Charts

By Keith Caulfield

 

Taylor Swift’s 1989 and Mark Ronson's “Uptown Funk!” featuring Bruno Mars lead Nielsen Music’s 2015 U.S. mid-year charts, as the blockbuster releases have dominated the first half of the year.

 

For the tracking period of Dec. 29, 2014 through June 28, 2015, Swift’s mega-selling 1989 is both the top selling album and the most consumed set (when considering equivalent album units). The effort has sold 1.33 million in pure album sales in 2015, while it has earned just over 2 million in overall equivalent album units (2.01 million).

 

Equivalent album units are comprised of traditional album sales, track equivalent albums (TEA) and streaming equivalent albums (SEA).

 

Nielsen reports that on-demand streaming is up 92 percent over the same point a year ago (135.2 billion versus 70.3 billion), with video on-demand streaming leading the way (up 109 percent to 76.6 billion) and audio on-demand streaming also up significantly (up 74 percent to 58.6 billion).

 

1989 also dominates as the year’s biggest vinyl album (34,000 sold) while it’s the second-biggest selling digital effort (645,000) behind Drake’s If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late (895,000).

 

2015’s Mid-Year Top 10 Albums (Based on Overall Equivalent Album Units)

 

1. Taylor Swift, 1989 (2,011,000 units)

2. Drake, If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late (1,431,000)

3. Ed Sheeran, X (1,428,000)

4. Soundtrack, Fifty Shades of Grey (1,402,000)

5. Sam Smith, In the Lonely Hour (1,296,000)

6. Meghan Trainor, Title (1,209,000)

7. Soundtrack, Furious 7 (971,000)

8. Maroon 5, V (966,000)

9. Nicki Minaj, The Pinkprint (825,000)

10. Fall Out Boy, American Beauty / American Psycho (813,000)

 

2015’s Mid-Year Top 10 Selling Albums

 

1. Taylor Swift, 1989 (1,328,000 sold)

2. Drake, If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late (965,000)

3. Sam Smith, In the Lonely Hour (788,000)

4. Ed Sheeran, X (763,000)

5. Soundtrack, Fifty Shades of Grey (763,000)

6. Meghan Trainor, Title (727,000)

7. Kendrick Lamar, To Pimp a Butterfly (627,000)

8. Fall Out Boy, American Beauty / American Psycho (478,000)

9. Various Artists, Now 53 (451,000)

10. Josh Groban, Stages (420,000)

 

Overall album sales are down by 4 percent compared to a year ago (116.1 million versus 120.9 million), as are CD album sales (down 10 percent to 56.6 million) and download album sales (down less than 1 percent to 53.7 million). Vinyl album sales continue to be a bright spot in a generally bleak sales picture, as the format grew by 38.4 percent to 5.6 million, year to date.

 

That said, seven albums have sold more than 600,000 copies in 2015 -- up from only four at this point a year ago.

Overall album sales are down by 4 percent compared to a year ago (116.1 million versus 120.9 million), as are CD album sales (down 10 percent to 56.6 million) and download album sales (down less than 1 percent to 53.7 million). Vinyl album sales continue to be a bright spot in a generally bleak sales picture, as the format grew by 38.4 percent to 5.6 million, year to date.

 

Do they include TEA/SEA in this year's figures for what they count as 'album sales'? If not, that figure isn't too bleak.

 

Poor Hilary Duff thought I suppose going Top 5 in the first place was a massive coup.

Edited July 3, 201510 yr by Rob

WOW at Tori :o I never expected her album to sell so well, Nobody Love never made that huge an impact after all! Delighted to see her doing well though, and Kacey's album in the top 3 also :wub: