The last two weeks have featured a noticeable lack of new albums within the 200, debuting only three new records to the public (Led Zeppelin rereleases don't count). The last week of tracking reversed the trend in a big way however, bringing six new titles to the market.
Lana Del Rey is at the top of the newcomers, having sold 182,000 copies of her new LP Ultraviolence. The vocalist's last album, Born to Die, debuted at no. 2 during 2012, but only sold 77,000 copies, so this is a huge boost to her sales count. Sam Smith came in at no. 2 with his own In The Lonely Hour, which sold 166,000 copies. This was the Brit's first ever release, marking the highest sales total for a solo performer's debut since Phillip Phillips dropped his first album during 2012.
Billboard brought up an interesting point when comparing the sales of this week's two highest performers. Del Rey did almost no publicity for her album, doing a series of print interviews and no television appearances, Smith on the other hand did three television performances and a number of radio stops.
A third new album rounds out the Top 3, as Linkin Park's The Hunting Party sold 110,000 copies. That's no small number, to be sure, but its a huge drop off from Living Things, which sold 223,000 copies during its first week in 2012. The Hunting Party is the first Linkin Park album to not debut at no. 1 since Hybrid Theory, the band's first album.
A familiar face is in place at the no. 4 spot, where the Frozen soundtrack sold 42,000 copies. This is the album's 26th week in a row within the Top 5. The record for such a run is held by Adele's 21, which spent 29 weeks in the slot. The record could easily change hands within the next month.
Willie Nelson is the first of two country acts holding the nos. 5 and 6 spots in the Top 10. The performer's Band of Brothers debuted with 37,000 copies sold. It's another example of the QVC network's strength within the genre. Dolly Parton saw a strong debut earlier this year thanks to exposure on the channel, and it also promoted Nelson's last Top 10 effort To All The Girls. Miranda Lambert doesn't need any TV-hawking, as her Platinum sold another 34,000 copies during its third week.
Jack White and Lazaretto saw a significant drop during its second week on the charts, although it dealt with some strong competition. The album sold 34,000 while dropping to no. 7. The last returning album in the Top 10, Brantley Gilbert's Just As I Am, took the last spot on this week's list, selling 26,000 units during its fifth week.
Nos. 8 and 9 go to the final new albums on the chart, respectively. Jennifer Lopez saw her lowest debut ever with A.K.A., which sold 33,000 copies during its first week. That's even fewer than her 2007 Spanish language album. Deadmau5 took the final spot with the excellently titled while (1<2), which moved 30,000 copies.
