Rock dominates Billboard albums chart

Source: Music Week

 

For the first time since October 2003, the top five albums in America are all new entries, and the top three are all by rock acts, writes Alan Jones.

 

Pride of place among the new intake goes to Godsmack's IV, which earns the Boston-based alt-metal band its second number one, on sales of 211,019.

 

More high octane, high profile stuff from Taking Back Sunday earns the band from Amityville, a new career peak, with Louder Now entering at number two on sales of 157,650.

 

Bruce Springsteen completes rock's notional clean sweep of the top three with We Shall Overcome taking the bronze medal on sales of 149,445, though of course the set reprises songs associated with folk legend Pete Seeger, and is somewhat less 'full on' than most Springsteen albums.

 

The top five is rounded off by R&B, with the smooth soul of Avant's Director earning him a number four debut on sales of 123,333, while Barbadian beauty Rihanna sold 115,126 copies of Girl Like Me to take fifth place. It's Rihanna's second album - her first, Music Of The Sun, reached number 10 last year, and has thus far sold 455,493 copies. She had an even better week on the Hot 100, where her S.O.S. single rockets 34-1, as first week downloads of 169,570 supplement fast increasing airplay. S.O.S. thus becomes the second biggest climber to number one in Hot 100 history, trailing only Kelly Clarkson's A Moment Like This, which exploded 52-1 in October 2002.

 

The avalanche of new entries pushes country trio Rascal Flatts' three week chart topper Me And My Gang down 1-6, on sales of 111,035. It also relegates top Brit James Blunt's Back To Bedlam to 15th place on sales of 53,573 - barely down on the 53,783 copies it sold to take seventh slot a week ago.

 

Meanwhile, the teaming of Mark Knopfler and Emmylou Harris reaps dividends for both, with All The Roadrunning debuting at number 17 on sales of 47,479 earning Harris her second highest charting album in a career spanning more than 30 years, and Knopfler his highest charting album ever outside of Dire Straits.

 

The only other UK artist to land a debut this week is The Streets, who enters at number 68 with The Hardest Way To Make An Easy Living on sales of 13,056. The Streets' first album, Original Pirate Material, failed to make the Top 200, while follow-up, A Grand Don't Come For Free peaked at number 82, and has sold 137,090 copies to date.

 

 

US Top30 sinlges with video links available here http://www.buzzjack.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=5135

 

Top 50 with sales from Chart refugees

 

01 GODSMACK - IV 211,019 999 247 211,271

02 TAKING BACK SUNDAY - LOUDER NOW 157,650 999 198 158,078

03 BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN - WE SHALL OVERCOME: SEEGER SESS 149,445 999 268 149,713

04 AVANT - DIRECTOR 123,333 999 371 123,709

05 RIHANNA - GIRL LIKE ME 115,126 999 227 115,356

06 RASCAL FLATTS - ME AND MY GANG 111,035 -23 143,422 1,321,316

07 HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL - SOUNDTRACK 106,085 -9 116,169 1,788,455

08 VARIOUS - NOW 21 98,521 -24 129,699 855,653

09 GOO GOO DOLLS - LET LOVE IN 82,762 999 121 82,887

10 ANDREA BOCELLI - AMORE 73,673 208 23,934 809,081

11 T.I. - KING 66,686 -22 85,934 996,388

12 TOBY KEITH - WHITE TRASH WITH MONEY 66,658 -39 109,459 505,948

13 MERCYME - COMING UP TO BREATHE 58,460 999 499 28,343

14 SHAKIRA - ORAL FIXATION V2 56,994 9 52,103 833,648

15 JAMES BLUNT - BACK TO BEDLAM 53,573 -0 53,783 1,583,207

16 TIM MCGRAW - VOL. 2-GREATEST HITS 50,301 -15 59,363 595,474

17 KNOPFLER/HARRIS - ALL THE ROADRUNNING 47,479 999 103 47,583

18 DANIEL POWTER - DANIEL POWTER 37,722 -20 47,321 201,216

19 ALAN JACKSON - PRECIOUS MEMORIES 34,935 -10 38,603 499,660

20 NICKELBACK - ALL THE RIGHT REASONS 34,549 -0 34,683 2,714,684

21 NE-YO - IN MY OWN WORDS 32,060 -16 38,289 785,372

22 CARRIE UNDERWOOD - SOME HEARTS 31,539 -7 33,954 2,731,212

23 SEAN PAUL - TRINITY 30,064 -6 31,832 916,382

24 CHAMILLIONAIRE - SOUND OF REVENGE 29,484 4 28,449 730,751

25 L.L. COOL J - TODD SMITH 29,214 -31 42,072 187,326

26 PINK - I'M NOT DEAD 28,685 -32 42,087 286,805

27 PANIC! AT THE DISCO - FEVER YOU CAN'T SWEAT OUT 28,129 -11 31,780 528,747

28 KELLY CLARKSON - BREAKAWAY 27,882 -2 28,467 5,173,152

29 JOHNNY CASH - LEGEND OF JOHNNY CASH 27,278 -6 28,986 1,646,339

30 PUSSYCAT DOLLS - PCD 27,081 -1 27,291 1,433,535

31 KEITH URBAN - BE HERE 25,658 -4 26,729 2,883,901

32 DISNEYMANIA - DISNEYMANIA 4 25,118 -4 26,298 146,710

33 MARY J. BLIGE - BREAKTHROUGH 23,285 -9 25,596 2,200,281

34 FRAY - HOW TO SAVE A LIFE 22,499 0 22,424 273,735

35 JACK JOHNSON & FRIENDS - CURIOUS GEORGE 21,965 -6 23,421 757,566

36 MICHAEL BUBLE - IT'S TIME 20,682 11 18,680 1,688,269

37 BARRY MANILOW - GREATEST SONGS OF THE FIFTIES 20,191 -9 22,093 846,115

38 ROB ZOMBIE - EDUCATED HORSES 20,162 -12 22,947 231,293

39 ALL-AMERICAN REJECTS - MOVE ALONG 20,097 -8 21,901 1,048,265

40 RASCAL FLATTS - FEELS LIKE TODAY 19,865 -3 20,517 4,115,751

41 EMINEM - CURTAIN CALL 19,203 -14 22,402 2,328,632

42 KEYSHIA COLE - WAY IT IS 19,034 -14 22,069 1,194,153

43 BLACK EYED PEAS - MONKEY BUSINESS 18,950 -10 21,061 3,728,352

44 WALK THE LINE - SOUNDTRACK 18,434 -15 21,780 839,205

45 FALL OUT BOY - FROM UNDER THE CORK TREE 18,352 -15 21,703 2,227,546

46 JOSH TURNER - YOUR MAN 17,472 -10 19,416 598,469

47 BUBBA SPARXXX - CHARM 17,390 -17 21,072 120,005

48 CHRIS BROWN - CHRIS BROWN 17,175 -13 19,777 1,303,768

49 NATASHA BEDINGFIELD - UNWRITTEN 17,040 -3 17,510 508,434

50 TRACE ADKINS - SONGS ABOUT ME 16,975 -9 18,598 1,381,247

 

2006 US no.1 album sales

 

07-01 727,163 1 Mary J Blige - The Breakthrough

14-01 199,640 2 Jamie Foxx - Unpredictable

21-01 131,482 3 Jamie Foxx - Unpredictable

28-01 118,022 4 Mary J Blige - The Breakthrough

04-02 97,233 5 Jamie Foxx - Unpredictable

11-02 156,407 1 Il Divo - Ancora

18-02 155,630 1 Barry Manilow - The Greatest Songs Of The 50's

25-02 162,907 1 Jack Johnson - Curious George [OST]

04-03 152,101 1 Jaheim - Ghetto Classics

11-03 100,967 7 Soundtrack - High School Musical

18-03 301,005 1 Ne-Yo - In My Own Words

25-03 174,359 1 Juvenile - Reality Check

01-04 142,272 10 Soundtrack - High School Musical

08-04 183,436 1 Prince - 3121

15-04 521,702 1 T.I. - King

22-04 721,747 1 Rascal Flatts - Me & My Gang

29-04 344,594 2 Rascal Flatts - Me & My Gang

06-05 143,422 3 Rascal Flatts - Me & My Gang

13-05 211,019 1 Godsmack - IV