The Billboard 200 allows pop stars such as Taylor Swift and Ed Sheeran to camp out near the top for months thanks to singles and streams, but new albums took to the top of the Albums Chart this week, as James Taylor, Adam Lambert and Hillary Duff occupy the Top 3 spots on this week's list.
Taylor made headlines for topping the Billboard 200 as well with his new album Before This World, which sold 95,000 actual copies and became the first album from the performer in his 45-year career to top the charts. It easily held off the no. 2 album of the week, Original High from Lambert, as well as the no. 3 entry, Breathe In, Breathe Out from Duff. Those albums sold 41,000 and 33,000 copies, respectively.
That leaves room for the first returnee this week, as the aforementioned Swift continues her 30-plus week run in the Top 10. Her sales smash 1989 took the no. 4 spot this week by moving another 29,000 copies. One more new entry rounds out the first five, as fun. frontman Nate Ruess debuts at no. 5 with his solo premiere, Grand Romantic, which sold 27,500 copies.
A pair of albums that have spent more than a month on the charts come in next. Mumford & Sons and Wilder Mind take the no. 6 spot, selling 22,500 copies and rising from no. 11 last week. The Zac Brown Band fall one place to no. 7 with Jekyll + Hyde, which sold 22,000 copies.
One more new record cracked the Top 10 on the Albums Chart after failing to do so on the Billboard 200, as Third Eye Blind's Dopamine opens with 21,000 in sales, taking the no. 8 spot.
The aforementioned Sheeran managed to climb back into the Top 10 this week on the back of his album x, which sold another 19,500 copies and took no. 9. The final spot this week goes to last week's no. 1 album, Drones by Muse, which sold a further 18,000 copies.
