Billboard 200 1/17/15: Taylor Swift #1: 244k: 8 weeks at #1

[areyoureadytojump]

www.billboard.com/articles/columns/chart-beat/6429573/taylor-swift-1989-eighth-week-no-1-billboard-200

Taylor Swift's '1989' Earns Eighth Week at No. 1 on Billboard 200 Chart
By Keith Caulfield | January 07, 2015

Taylor Swift's 1989 rings in the new year at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart, spending an eighth non-consecutive week at the top. It is now her longest-running No. 1 album since her second release, Fearless, racked up 13 nonconsecutive No. 1 frames in 2008 and 2009. She also topped the list with Speak Now (six weeks in 2010 and 2011) and Red (seven weeks in 2012 and 2013).

1989 sold 244,000 equivalent units (down 43 percent) in the week ending Jan. 4, according to Nielsen Music. (The Billboard 200 chart measures multi-metric consumption, which includes traditional album sales, track equivalent albums [TEA] and streaming equivalent albums [SEA].)

Swift's 1989 also leads the Top Album Sales chart, selling 172,000 copies (down 47 percent). It's ahead of the Sales chart's runner-up set, the soundtrack to Guardians of the Galaxy, by more than 100,000 copies. (More on that in a moment.)

Back on the Billboard 200, there's a bit of movement in the top 10, as the chart gets shaken up now that the Christmas shopping season is fully behind us. While Nicki Minaj's The Pinkprint holds steady at No. 2 (84,000 units; down 46 percent, with 51,000 in album sales; down 52 percent), Ed Sheeran's x vaults 7-3 with 83,000 units (down 26 percent). It is the album's highest rank since its second week on the chart (dated July 19, 2014) when it fell 1-2.

While Sheeran's album is down by 26 percent, as the latest chart week tracks the first full sales frame after Christmas, it's actually an achievement for an album to have a relatively moderate decline. Thus, it rises up the chart as it erodes comparably less than other titles around it. (Overall album sales, for example, were down by 47 percent.)

On the Top Album Sales chart, x rises 11-7 with 39,000 (down 38 percent). More than half of his album's overall unit total on the Billboard 200 is comprised of SEA and TEA (mostly TEA, where his track equivalent total is 37,000 for the week).

Sam Smith's In the Lonely Hour climbs 5-4 on the Billboard 200 with 82,000 units (down 33 percent). It sold 48,000 albums (down 40 percent; rising 7-5 on Top Album Sales).

The Guardians of the Galaxy soundtrack zooms 9-5 on the Billboard 200 with 70,000 units (down just 13 percent) -- with its entire total derived from pure album sales. On the Top Album Sales chart, the all-oldies set flies 6-2.

Soundtracks tend to make headway on the album charts in early January each year, especially those from music-heavy films like Guardians of the Galaxy. It's generally believed that consumers who receive gift cards for Christmas (for the iTunes Store and other digital retailers) tend to redeem them for familiar titles, oftentimes soundtracks. As Guardians of the Galaxy is the highest-grossing film of 2014 ($333 million in the U.S. and Canada, according to Box Office Mojo), and it was released to DVD and blu-ray on Dec. 9, it makes sense that it would be a natural choice for gift card redeemers. (Also helping matters: Guardians was discounted at multiple digital retailers during the tracking week.)

Hozier's self-titled set climbs 8-6 on the Billboard 200 with 60,000 units (down 31 percent). It also steps 19-12 on Top Album Sales with 25,000 sold (down 33 percent). Like Sheeran's x, Hozier is bolstered by TEA and SEA units (30,000 and 5,000; respectively).

J. Cole's former No. 1, 2014 Forest Hills Drive, slips 6-7 on the Billboard 200 with 59,000 units (down 51 percent). On Top Album Sales, it moves 4-6 with 47,000 copies (down 54 percent).

Walt Disney Records' Into the Woods soundtrack charges 19-8 with 57,000 units (up 9 percent). It tallies the only gain in the top 50 of the chart. The soundtrack's rise is spurred by the musical's successful theatrical release on Dec. 25. It has earned $92 million at the U.S. and Canada box office through Jan. 5. On the Top Album Sales chart, Into the Woods rises 14-3 with 51,000 copies sold (up 7 percent). On the pure album sales tally, Into the Woods logs the only sales gain in the top 40.

Back on the Billboard 200, One Direction's Four descends 4-9 (55,000 units; down 58 percent) and Ariana Grande's My Everything is steady at No. 10 (43,000 units; down 45 percent). Over on the Top Album Sales chart, Four shifts 5-8 with 33,000 copies sold (down 67 percent) while Grande's album is a non-mover at No. 26 (11,000 sold; down 65 percent). Among the top 10 titles on the Billboard 200, My Everything is the most obvious beneficiary of the chart's recently revised methodology (including TEA and SEA). (Had the new math not been in place, My Everything would have ranked at No. 26 on the Billboard 200.)

[Gary]

Billboard 200 1/17/15: Taylow Swift #1: 244k: 8 weeks at #1

Is the "Taylow" reference in the title due to sales dips? ;)

[ctquartzsongbird]

that means with stream and track equivalent albums included 1989 has sold 3.905.000 in 10 weeks of release

[YourFaveIsAFlop]

Ok this

The Guardians of the Galaxy soundtrack zooms 9-5 on the Billboard 200 with 70,000 units (down just 13 percent) -- with its entire total derived from pure album sales. On the Top Album Sales chart, the all-oldies set flies 6-2.

If tracks are assigned to the highest charting release they are featured on, shouldn't there be at least a few units from SEA/TEA? Not enough to even make a reportable difference in the number since they round, but to say that it was entirely pure album sales seems to imply that it gets no benefit from selling individual tracks or streams.

[Rhythm Nation]

Jan 7, 2015 11:27:30 GMT -5 ctquartzsongbird said:

that means with stream and track equivalent albums included 1989 has sold 3.905.000 in 10 weeks of release

That can't be right, she's at over 3.8m in just pure album sales right?


Also the article says Fearless was no1 13 weeeks, think they mean 11?

[badrobot]

Jan 7, 2015 11:45:10 GMT -5 YourFaveIsAFlop said:

Ok this

The Guardians of the Galaxy soundtrack zooms 9-5 on the Billboard 200 with 70,000 units (down just 13 percent) -- with its entire total derived from pure album sales. On the Top Album Sales chart, the all-oldies set flies 6-2.

If tracks are assigned to the highest charting release they are featured on, shouldn't there be at least a few units from SEA/TEA? Not enough to even make a reportable difference in the number since they round, but to say that it was entirely pure album sales seems to imply that it gets no benefit from selling individual tracks or streams.

I'm going to guess that albums only include SEA/TEA points from songs that are new to that album.

So, a greatest hits would only get SEA/TEA points from new songs on it. Or something like Iggy Azalea's Reclassified is probably only getting points for SEA/TEA from the new songs on it.

Since GOTG has zero new songs they're not being counted toward the album.

Mind you I'm guessing here, but it's the only logical explanation I see.

[Enigma.]

That is also the logical explanation why Reclassified is not doing better on chart

[YourFaveIsAFlop]

Jan 7, 2015 13:42:54 GMT -5 Enigma. said:

That is also the logical explanation why Reclassified is not doing better on chart

I thought this was already explained that the the only week Reclassified got a SEA/TEA boost from Fancy/Black Widow etc was the first week when it sold more actual albums than The New Classic.

I really think that's the case and just nobody is buying Reclassified. Beg For It flopped (in comparison to Fancy & Black Widow), and there was no demand for a new release from her so soon. Plus the botched rollout without even a video for the lead single and a craptastic debut on SNL.

[areyoureadytojump]

www.hiphopdx.com/index/news/id.32026/title.hip-hop-album-sales-nicki-minaj-j-cole-iggy-azalea

Top 10 Billboard Top 200 Rap & R&B Albums For The Week Ending 01/04/2015

Note: The figures below represent this week’s “total activity,” an intersection of album sales, single sales, and streams. A pure album sales figure is available in parenthesis and information about each album's streaming count is available in brackets.

#2. Nicki Minaj - The Pinkprint - 82,599 (50,949) [13,341,401]

#7. J. Cole - 2014 Forest Hills Drive - 59,484 (47,625) [8,966,914]

#16. Iggy Azalea - Reclassified - 29,461 (5,242) [5,279,888]

#20. Fabolous - The Young OG Project - 25,044 (21,399) [25,019]

#26. Pitbull - Globalization - 20,941 (5,970) [2,746,957]

#30. Beyonce - Beyonce - 18,680 (7,754) [4,151,510]

#32. D’Angelo & The Vanguard - Black Messiah - 17,763 (16,179) [ 1,549,693]

#39. Eminem - Shady XV - 14,133 (10,922) [1,252,795]

#46. Chris Brown – X – 13,524 (5,492) [4,176,128]

#51. Eminem - Curtain Call - 12,766 (5,208) [2,790,102]

[YourFaveIsAFlop]

So HDD had Iggy at 19k with SEA/TEA (#30) with The New Classic.

Billboard has her at 29k with SEA/TEA (#16) with Reclassified.

Somebody is wrong.

[areyoureadytojump]

^HDD.

SoundScan is always official.

[Gary]

Billboard 200

This Week Last Week Two Weeks Ago Weeks Title, Artist Peak
1 1 1 10 #1 8 wks 1989, Taylor Swift 1
2 2 2 3 The Pinkprint, Nicki Minaj 2
3 7 8 28 x, Ed Sheeran 1
4 5 6 29 In The Lonely Hour, Sam Smith 2
5 9 16 23 Guardians Of The Galaxy: Awesome Mix Vol. 1, Soundtrack 1
6 8 14 13 Hozier, Hozier 2
7 6 4 4 2014 Forest Hills Drive, J. Cole 1
8 19 27 3 Into The Woods, Soundtrack 8
9 4 7 7 FOUR, One Direction 1
10 10 20 19 My Everything, Ariana Grande 1
11 11 19 58 Frozen, Soundtrack 1
12 29 63 6 Annie, Soundtrack 12
13 27 32 73 Crash My Party, Luke Bryan 1
14 15 24 18 V, Maroon 5 1
15 16 12 4 Greatest Hits: Decade #1, Carrie Underwood 4
16 67 92 6 GG Reclassified, Iggy Azalea 16
17 14 18 13 Old Boots, New Dirt, Jason Aldean 1
18 23 21 10 NOW 52, Various Artists 2
19 32 47 10 Montevallo, Sam Hunt 3
20 12 – 2 The Young OG Project, Fabolous 12
21 24 35 17 Title (EP), Meghan Trainor 15
22 18 13 3 LIVESOS, 5 Seconds Of Summer 13
23 20 25 12 Anything Goes, Florida Georgia Line 1
24 28 43 8 Nick Jonas, Nick Jonas 6
25 47 68 93 Native, OneRepublic 4
26 42 67 6 Globalization, Pitbull 18
27 34 50 7 The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part I, Soundtrack 18
28 41 66 122 Night Visions, Imagine Dragons 2
29 44 81 17 Dream Your Life Away, Vance Joy 17
30 35 49 56 Beyonce, Beyonce 1
31 39 52 6 For You, Selena Gomez 24
32 25 5 3 Black Messiah, D'Angelo And The Vanguard 5
33 17 10 5 Rock Or Bust, AC/DC 3
34 45 115 36 Talk Dirty, Jason Derulo 4
35 77 97 9 Motion, Calvin Harris 5
36 63 73 47 The Outsiders, Eric Church 1
37 59 82 66 Pure Heroine, Lorde 3
38 36 53 24 5 Seconds Of Summer, 5 Seconds Of Summer 1
39 51 54 6 ShadyXV, Various Artists 3
40 26 70 69 AM, Arctic Monkeys 6
41 46 36 7 No Fixed Address, Nickelback 4
42 65 103 62 PRISM, Katy Perry 1
43 81 142 70 Bad Blood, Bastille 11
44 13 9 8 Man Against Machine, Garth Brooks 4
45 43 29 4 Anybody Wanna Buy A Heart?, K. Michelle 6
46 54 77 16 X, Chris Brown 2
47 149 144 6 Listen, David Guetta 22
48 48 44 14 BRINGING BACK THE SUNSHINE, Blake Shelton 1
49 3 3 11 That's Christmas To Me, Pentatonix 2
50 55 76 109 Here's To The Good Times, Florida Georgia Line 4
51 60 153 222 Curtain Call: The Hits, Eminem 1
52 62 125 20 Blacc Hollywood, Wiz Khalifa 1
53 33 31 8 Sonic Highways (Soundtrack), Foo Fighters 2
54 96 – 4 Prayer, Robin Schulz 54
55 56 124 89 Save Rock And Roll, Fall Out Boy 1
56 68 28 3 Sucker, Charli XCX 28
57 118 133 11 Sadnecessary, Milky Chance 17
58 91 183 25 These Things Happen, G-Eazy 3
59 50 46 5 The London Sessions, Mary J. Blige 9
60 109 139 68 Love In The Future, John Legend 4
61 80 131 14 Queen Of The Clouds, Tove Lo 14
62 70 86 125 +, Ed Sheeran 5
63 89 94 33 Ghost Stories, Coldplay 1
64 108 106 5 TALKING IS HARD, WALK THE MOON 26
65 69 72 8 Lost On The River, The New Basement Tapes 23
66 22 15 16 Partners, Barbra Streisand 1
67 124 151 42 G I R L, Pharrell Williams 2
68 53 60 16 Sundown Heaven Town, Tim McGraw 3
69 90 121 90 Red, Taylor Swift 1
70 82 165 57 Midnight Memories, One Direction 1
71 71 100 153 Born To Die, Lana Del Rey 2
72 83 148 3 I LOVE MAKONNEN (EP), I LOVE MAKONNEN 72
73 113 162 159 Back In Black, AC/DC 4
74 74 145 61 The Marshall Mathers LP 2, Eminem 1
75 64 45 10 Sweet Talker, Jessie J 10
76 88 120 345 Legend: The Best Of Bob Marley And The Wailers, Bob Marley And The Wailers 5
77 104 112 11 Paperwork, T.I. 2
78 73 74 8 Greatest Hits So Far..., Zac Brown Band 20
79 100 – 231 Thriller, Michael Jackson 1
80 38 30 8 The Endless River, Pink Floyd 3
81 94 146 337 Journey's Greatest Hits, Journey 10
82 78 89 33 Just As I Am, Brantley Gilbert 2
83 87 109 29 Ultraviolence, Lana Del Rey 1
84 110 113 66 Greatest Hits, Fleetwood Mac 14
85 86 135 56 The 1975, The 1975 28
86 79 – 61 The Black Parade, My Chemical Romance 2
87 177 – 15 Don't Kill The Magic, MAGIC! 6
88 121 174 64 Nothing Was The Same, Drake 1
89 85 123 17 I Dont Dance, Lee Brice 5
90 84 127 27 Trigga, Trey Songz 1
91 99 – 29 Vessel, Twenty One Pilots 58
92 31 22 15 Cheek To Cheek, Tony Bennett & Lady Gaga 1
93 127 107 6 Hood Billionaire, Rick Ross 6
94 143 – 23 1000 Forms Of Fear, Sia 1
95 66 65 31 Platinum, Miranda Lambert 1
96 57 57 15 The Big Revival, Kenny Chesney 2
97 49 37 16 The Cowboy Rides Away: Live From AT&T Stadium, George Strait 4
98 126 160 114 good kid, m.A.A.d city, Kendrick Lamar 2
99 128 – 255 Greatest Hits, Queen 11
100 115 108 15 This Is All Yours, alt-J 4
101 40 23 14 Frozen: The Songs, Soundtrack 16
102 116 200 53 Because The Internet, Childish Gambino 7
103 107 114 93 Based On A True Story ..., Blake Shelton 3
104 114 38 3 Luca Brasi 2: A Gangsta Grillz Special Edition, Kevin Gates 38
105 123 – 106 American Idiot, Green Day 1
106 117 – 8 Under Pressure, Logic 4
107 132 159 44 Cole Swindell, Cole Swindell 3
108 97 101 279 Led Zeppelin IV, Led Zeppelin 2
109 105 102 101 Unorthodox Jukebox, Bruno Mars 1
110 133 172 207 Doo-Wops & Hooligans, Bruno Mars 3
111 98 96 11 .5: The Gray Chapter, Slipknot 1
112 186 – 4 Black Star Elephant, Nico & Vinz 45
113 146 – 37 Oxymoron, ScHoolboy Q 1
114 72 80 15 PTX: Vol. III (EP), Pentatonix 5
115 112 128 199 The Legend Of Johnny Cash, Johnny Cash 5
116 140 140 202 21, Adele 1
117 0 Re-Entry 24 The Essential Billy Joel, Billy Joel 15
118 139 – 68 A Fever You Can't Sweat Out, Panic! At The Disco 13
119 92 78 14 747, Lady Antebellum 2
120 120 171 196 Number Ones, Michael Jackson 13
121 164 – 297 Greatest Hits, Guns N' Roses 3
122 153 – 58 An Awesome Wave, alt-J 80
123 144 179 42 Riser, Dierks Bentley 6
124 136 – 4 Shmurda She Wrote (EP), Bobby Shmurda 79
125 134 – 20 All-Time Greatest Hits, Neil Diamond 15
126 161 – 17 Lost In The Dream, The War On Drugs 26
127 129 197 18 Ignite The Night, Chase Rice 3
128 76 40 9 It's The Girls!, Bette Midler 3
129 58 33 38 Disney Karaoke Series: Frozen (EP), Various Artists 17
130 151 – 71 Paramore, Paramore 1
131 130 – 24 The Best Of Nickelback: Volume 1, Nickelback 21
132 196 – 63 Greatest Hits, Bon Jovi 5
133 165 – 33 Testimony, August Alsina 2
134 163 158 30 PS Turn Blue, The Black Keys 1
135 142 111 11 Pain Killer, Little Big Town 7
136 171 – 44 Trilogy, The Weeknd 4
137 154 195 185 1, The Beatles 1
138 194 – 96 Take Care, Drake 1
139 179 – 189 Rumours, Fleetwood Mac 1
140 185 – 11 The Very Best Of, Frankie Valli And The Four Seasons 33
141 152 194 80 Greatest Hits, Foo Fighters 11
142 0 Re-Entry 3 Game Changer, Johnny Gill 56
143 166 – 8 Melophobia, Cage The Elephant 15
144 0 Re-Entry 35 Sex And Love, Enrique Iglesias 8
145 141 – 39 Too Weird To Live, Too Rare To Die!, Panic! At The Disco 2
146 162 – 48 The Wrong Side Of Heaven...Volume 1, Five Finger Death Punch 2
147 131 132 17 Anomaly, Lecrae 1
148 0 Re-Entry 9 Bring You Back, Brett Eldredge 11
149 0 Re-Entry 47 Bangerz, Miley Cyrus 1
150 180 191 893 The Dark Side Of The Moon, Pink Floyd 1
151 157 – 171 Recovery, Eminem 1
152 0 Re-Entry 192 Teenage Dream, Katy Perry 1
153 37 141 37 The New Classic, Iggy Azalea 3
154 0 Re-Entry 7 The Very Best Of... Sting & The Police, Sting & The Police 46
155 176 – 15 Talking Dreams, Echosmith 109
156 95 56 14 WOW Hits 2015, Various Artists 23
157 173 – 60 Greatest Hits, Red Hot Chili Peppers 18
158 195 – 102 Up All Night, One Direction 1
159 0 Re-Entry 35 It Goes Like This, Thomas Rhett 6
160 0 Re-Entry 10 Gypsy Heart, Colbie Caillat 17
161 160 – 224 Fearless, Taylor Swift 1
162 190 – 70 Take Me Home, One Direction 1
163 170 – 284 Nevermind, Nirvana 1
164 184 – 196 The Eminem Show, Eminem 1
165 0 Re-Entry 10 Strange Desire, Bleachers 11
166 0 Re-Entry 246 Hot Rocks 1964-1971, The Rolling Stones 4
167 0 Re-Entry 49 The 20/20 Experience (2 Of 2), Justin Timberlake 1
168 0 Re-Entry 75 Halcyon, Ellie Goulding 9
169 198 – 330 Metallica, Metallica 1
170 0 Re-Entry 18 A.M., Chris Young 3
171 150 83 3 The Hobbit: The Battle Of The Five Armies, Soundtrack 83
172 0 Re-Entry 45 Global Warming, Pitbull 14
173 0 Re-Entry 29 Lunatic, KONGOS 39
174 183 – 8 The Shawn Mendes EP, Shawn Mendes 5
175 119 87 25 Kidz Bop 26, Kidz Bop Kids 4
176 0 Re-Entry 79 RIOT!, Paramore 15
177 0 Re-Entry 94 Greatest Hits... So Far!!!, P!nk 5
178 0 Re-Entry 19 Settle, Disclosure 36
179 0 Re-Entry 70 Rocket Man: Number Ones, Elton John 9
180 0 Re-Entry 31 Sinatra: Best Of The Best, Frank Sinatra 23
181 191 – 3 Meet The Vamps, The Vamps 40
182 159 149 142 Red River Blue, Blake Shelton 1
183 0 Re-Entry 193 Greatest Hits, Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers 5
184 0 Re-Entry 31 Greatest Hits, Al Green 127
185 0 Re-Entry 23 The Fault In Our Stars, Soundtrack 5
186 0 Re-Entry 40 TRUE, Avicii 5
187 0 Re-Entry 87 The Heist, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis 2
188 125 71 48 Thrive, Casting Crowns 6
189 0 Re-Entry 8 Goddess, Banks 12
190 0 Re-Entry 130 Songs About Jane, Maroon 5 6
191 0 Re-Entry 49 Demi, Demi Lovato 3
192 155 190 173 Tailgates & Tanlines, Luke Bryan 2
193 0 Re-Entry 8 Metamodern Sounds In Country Music, Sturgill Simpson 59
194 0 Re-Entry 5 People Keep Talking, Hoodie Allen 8
195 0 Re-Entry 100 Pitch Perfect, Soundtrack 3
196 0 Re-Entry 209 Chronicle The 20 Greatest Hits, Creedence Clearwater Revival 22
197 122 91 22 NOW 51, Various Artists 2
198 0 Re-Entry 36 Days Of Gold, Jake Owen 15
199 0 Re-Entry 127 Speak Now, Taylor Swift 1
200 0 Re-Entry 50 Juke Box Heroes, Foreigner 108

[Gary]

Catalog 1/17

This Week Last Week Two Weeks Ago Weeks Title, Artist Peak
1 3 10 9 #1 1 wk Night Visions, Imagine Dragons 1
2 18 30 14 Red, Taylor Swift 2
3 4 44 10 Save Rock And Roll, Fall Out Boy 3
4 6 26 1144 Legend: The Best Of Bob Marley And The Wailers, Bob Marley And The Wailers 1
5 22 43 840 Back In Black, AC/DC 1
6 12 – 2 Vessel, Twenty One Pilots 6
7 13 – 310 Thriller, Michael Jackson 1
8 5 15 249 Led Zeppelin IV, Led Zeppelin 1
9 10 – 3 The Black Parade, My Chemical Romance 9
10 19 – 18 American Idiot, Green Day 10
11 21 31 504 Greatest Hits, Fleetwood Mac 1
12 11 23 47 +, Ed Sheeran 1
13 16 – 987 Journey's Greatest Hits, Journey 1
14 28 – 201 Curtain Call: The Hits, Eminem 2
15 32 – 121 Rumours, Fleetwood Mac 1
16 14 35 16 Born To Die, Lana Del Rey 3
17 33 – 1136 The Dark Side Of The Moon, Pink Floyd 1
18 30 – 2 A Fever You Can't Sweat Out, Panic! At The Disco 18
19 35 – 4 An Awesome Wave, alt-J 11
20 7 12 6 Here's To The Good Times, Florida Georgia Line 5
21 20 24 123 The Legend Of Johnny Cash, Johnny Cash 1
22 31 39 56 21, Adele 1
23 0 Re-Entry 590 Greatest Hits, Queen 2
24 29 49 16 Houses Of The Holy, Led Zeppelin 2
25 0 Re-Entry 53 RIOT!, Paramore 3
26 36 – 61 Greatest Hits, Foo Fighters 3
27 0 Re-Entry 9 The Very Best Of, Frankie Valli And The Four Seasons 1
28 0 Re-Entry 29 good kid, m.A.A.d city, Kendrick Lamar 3
29 24 – 280 Number Ones, Michael Jackson 1
30 46 – 453 1, The Beatles 1
31 15 8 73 The Ultimate Hits, Garth Brooks 1
32 41 – 84 Led Zeppelin II, Led Zeppelin 2
33 44 – 3 Paramore, Paramore 27
34 0 Re-Entry 691 Metallica, Metallica 1
35 0 Re-Entry 191 Greatest Hits, Al Green 12
36 37 – 291 Abbey Road, The Beatles 1
37 25 27 6 Unorthodox Jukebox, Bruno Mars 15
38 50 – 65 Led Zeppelin, Led Zeppelin 3
39 34 32 8 Based On A True Story ..., Blake Shelton 19
40 0 Re-Entry 134 The Eminem Show, Eminem 2
41 0 Re-Entry 332 Greatest Hits, Guns N' Roses 1
42 43 34 73 Red River Blue, Blake Shelton 2
43 0 Re-Entry 69 Dookie, Green Day 10
44 27 46 7 PTX: Volume 1, Pentatonix 16
45 0 Re-Entry 111 Fearless, Taylor Swift 3
46 45 – 250 Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, The Beatles 1
47 0 Re-Entry 398 Their Greatest Hits 1971-1975, Eagles 1
48 0 Re-Entry 14 Sinatra: Best Of The Best, Frank Sinatra 3
49 0 Re-Entry 3 The Very Best Of... Sting & The Police, Sting & The Police 43
50 0 Re-Entry 530 Greatest Hits, Tom Petty And The Heartbreakers 1

[Gary]

Digital Albums



This Week Last Week Two Weeks Ago Weeks Title, Artist Peak
1 1 4 10 #1 5 wks 1989, Taylor Swift 1
2 5 7 22 Guardians Of The Galaxy: Awesome Mix Vol. 1, Soundtrack 1
3 11 15 3 GG Into The Woods, Soundtrack 3
4 3 3 4 2014 Forest Hills Drive, J. Cole 1
5 10 12 29 In The Lonely Hour, Sam Smith 1
6 4 1 3 The Pinkprint, Nicki Minaj 1
7 9 8 27 x, Ed Sheeran 1
8 2 – 2 The Young OG Project, Fabolous 2
9 8 18 56 Frozen, Soundtrack 1
10 14 24 3 Annie, Soundtrack 10
11 13 10 13 Hozier, Hozier 2
12 7 19 6 FOUR, One Direction 1
13 0 Re-Entry 43 Crash My Party, Luke Bryan 1
14 22 – 5 NOW 52, Various Artists 3
15 19 20 10 Montevallo, Sam Hunt 2
16 25 25 10 Old Boots, New Dirt, Jason Aldean 1
17 23 – 4 Dream Your Life Away, Vance Joy 9
18 0 Re-Entry 13 The Outsiders, Eric Church 1
19 15 2 3 Black Messiah, D'Angelo And The Vanguard 2
20 0 Re-Entry 36 Native, OneRepublic 3
21 0 Re-Entry 93 Night Visions, Imagine Dragons 1
22 17 – 14 5 Seconds Of Summer, 5 Seconds Of Summer 1
23 0 Re-Entry 3 No Fixed Address, Nickelback 4
24 20 – 8 My Everything, Ariana Grande 1
25 0 Re-Entry 3 Motion, Calvin Harris 2

[Gary]

Vinyl

This Week Last Week Two Weeks Ago Weeks Title, Artist Peak
1 3 2 60 #1 4 wks AM, Arctic Monkeys 1
2 2 1 4 1989, Taylor Swift 1
3 0 New 1 Hozier, Hozier 3
4 0 Re-Entry 11 In The Lonely Hour, Sam Smith 4
5 6 4 10 Led Zeppelin IV, Led Zeppelin 1
6 1 8 34 Legend: The Best Of Bob Marley And The Wailers, Bob Marley And The Wailers 1
7 0 Re-Entry 27 The Dark Side Of The Moon, Pink Floyd 3
8 14 – 84 For Emma, Forever Ago, Bon Iver 2
9 5 3 29 Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, The Beatles 1
10 16 19 6 The 1975, The 1975 10
11 0 Re-Entry 11 Guardians Of The Galaxy: Awesome Mix Vol. 1, Soundtrack 1
12 8 13 13 Revolver, The Beatles 3
13 24 – 4 xx, The xx 13
14 23 – 30 Modern Vampires Of The City, Vampire Weekend 1
15 7 9 8 Sonic Highways (Soundtrack), Foo Fighters 1
16 0 Re-Entry 13 In The Aeroplane Over The Sea, Neutral Milk Hotel 12
17 0 Re-Entry 2 An Awesome Wave, alt-J 15
18 17 23 4 Rumours, Fleetwood Mac 15
19 15 – 11 Led Zeppelin II, Led Zeppelin 2
20 18 21 28 Lazaretto, Jack White 1
21 4 6 48 Born To Die, Lana Del Rey 1
22 25 25 3 Bleach, Nirvana 22
23 20 22 6 Houses Of The Holy, Led Zeppelin 2
24 22 – 16 Ultraviolence, Lana Del Rey 2
25 0 Re-Entry 2 Thriller, Michael Jackson 13

[Gary]

TCA

This Week Last Week Two Weeks Ago Weeks Title, Artist Peak
1 1 1 10 #1 8 wks 1989, Taylor Swift 1
2 6 13 23 Guardians Of The Galaxy: Awesome Mix Vol. 1, Soundtrack 1
3 14 21 3 GG Into The Woods, Soundtrack 3
4 3 3 3 The Pinkprint, Nicki Minaj 3
5 7 8 29 In The Lonely Hour, Sam Smith 2
6 4 4 4 2014 Forest Hills Drive, J. Cole 1
7 11 14 28 x, Ed Sheeran 1
8 5 6 7 FOUR, One Direction 1
9 27 50 7 Annie, Soundtrack 9
10 9 18 58 Frozen, Soundtrack 1
11 16 17 10 NOW 52, Various Artists 2
12 19 23 13 Hozier, Hozier 2
13 8 – 2 The Young OG Project, Fabolous 8
14 13 16 13 Old Boots, New Dirt, Jason Aldean 1
15 35 35 73 Crash My Party, Luke Bryan 1
16 17 11 4 Greatest Hits: Decade #1, Carrie Underwood 4
17 12 9 5 Rock Or Bust, AC/DC 3
18 20 5 3 Black Messiah, D'Angelo And The Vanguard 5
19 38 51 10 Montevallo, Sam Hunt 3
20 18 10 3 LIVESOS, 5 Seconds Of Summer 10
21 10 7 8 Man Against Machine, Garth Brooks 4
22 21 22 12 Anything Goes, Florida Georgia Line 1
23 32 32 7 No Fixed Address, Nickelback 4
24 33 25 4 Anybody Wanna Buy A Heart?, K. Michelle 6
25 28 28 18 V, Maroon 5 1
26 25 30 19 My Everything, Ariana Grande 1
27 26 26 8 Sonic Highways (Soundtrack), Foo Fighters 2
28 2 2 11 That's Christmas To Me, Pentatonix 2
29 39 44 6 ShadyXV, Various Artists 3
30 31 42 24 5 Seconds Of Summer, 5 Seconds Of Summer 1
31 15 12 16 Partners, Barbra Streisand 1
32 34 38 5 The London Sessions, Mary J. Blige 8
33 52 98 17 Dream Your Life Away, Vance Joy 17
34 64 66 47 The Outsiders, Eric Church 1
35 24 57 69 AM, Arctic Monkeys 6
36 54 73 93 Native, OneRepublic 4
37 44 53 8 Lost On The River, The New Basement Tapes 22
38 29 24 8 The Endless River, Pink Floyd 3
39 22 19 15 Cheek To Cheek, Tony Bennett & Lady Gaga 1
40 30 20 14 Frozen: The Songs, Soundtrack 14
41 41 52 56 Beyonce, Beyonce 1
42 42 41 14 BRINGING BACK THE SUNSHINE, Blake Shelton 1
43 53 72 66 Pure Heroine, Lorde 3
44 36 31 16 The Cowboy Rides Away: Live From AT&T Stadium, George Strait 4
45 75 82 6 Hood Billionaire, Rick Ross 6
46 81 100 5 TALKING IS HARD, WALK THE MOON 23
47 0 Re-Entry 7 Motion, Calvin Harris 5
48 49 65 8 Nick Jonas, Nick Jonas 6
49 59 84 29 Ultraviolence, Lana Del Rey 1
50 43 33 9 It's The Girls!, Bette Midler 3
51 86 – 27 These Things Happen, G-Eazy 3
52 37 27 38 Disney Karaoke Series: Frozen (EP), Various Artists 17
53 68 80 33 Ghost Stories, Coldplay 1
54 58 68 33 Just As I Am, Brantley Gilbert 2
55 0 Re-Entry 4 Listen, David Guetta 30
56 80 – 69 Bad Blood, Bastille 11
57 57 71 11 .5: The Gray Chapter, Slipknot 1
58 63 70 6 Globalization, Pitbull 17
59 70 86 15 This Is All Yours, alt-J 4
60 85 – 31 Lost In The Dream, The War On Drugs 26
61 46 56 15 PTX: Vol. III (EP), Pentatonix 5
62 100 76 4 Game Changer, Johnny Gill 39
63 48 40 14 WOW Hits 2015, Various Artists 23
64 69 – 63 The 1975, The 1975 28
65 78 – 10 Under Pressure, Logic 4
66 66 88 16 X, Chris Brown 2
67 47 48 31 Platinum, Miranda Lambert 1
68 74 29 3 Sucker, Charli XCX 29
69 73 – 25 All-Time Greatest Hits, Neil Diamond 15
70 0 Re-Entry 4 Reclassified, Iggy Azalea 54
71 90 97 34 Turn Blue, The Black Keys 1
72 88 – 19 Blacc Hollywood, Wiz Khalifa 1
73 0 Re-Entry 9 Sadnecessary, Milky Chance 17
74 76 81 6 For You, Selena Gomez 42
75 77 91 7 The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part I, Soundtrack 17
76 45 45 15 The Big Revival, Kenny Chesney 2
77 71 89 37 The New Classic, Iggy Azalea 3
78 62 61 25 Kidz Bop 26, Kidz Bop Kids 4
79 0 Re-Entry 9 Paperwork, T.I. 2
80 61 64 22 NOW 51, Various Artists 2
81 50 54 16 Sundown Heaven Town, Tim McGraw 3
82 99 – 55 Because The Internet, Childish Gambino 7
83 67 63 8 Greatest Hits So Far..., Zac Brown Band 19
84 0 Re-Entry 20 Metamodern Sounds In Country Music, Sturgill Simpson 58
85 79 92 17 Anomaly, Lecrae 1
86 82 62 4 The Hobbit: The Battle Of The Five Armies, Soundtrack 62
87 65 46 49 Thrive, Casting Crowns 6
88 97 36 3 Luca Brasi 2: A Gangsta Grillz Special Edition, Kevin Gates 36
89 60 58 14 747, Lady Antebellum 2
90 0 Re-Entry 14 Melophobia, Cage The Elephant 15
91 87 99 35 NOW 50, Various Artists 1
92 95 85 11 Pain Killer, Little Big Town 7
93 93 – 57 Midnight Memories, One Direction 1
94 0 Re-Entry 14 Strange Desire, Bleachers 11
95 0 Re-Entry 11 Royal Blood, Royal Blood 29
96 96 – 62 PRISM, Katy Perry 1
97 0 Hot Shot Debut 1 Fascinating Gershwin: Landmark Performances From The Gershwin Songbook, Various Artists 97
98 89 74 10 Love Ran Red, Chris Tomlin 7
99 0 Re-Entry 5 Black Widow, In This Moment 8
100 98 – 18 Promise To Love: Album IV, Kem 3

[Gary]

TAS 1/17



This Week Last Week Two Weeks Ago Weeks Title, Artist Peak
1 1 1 10 #1 8 wks 1989, Taylor Swift 1
2 6 14 23 Guardians Of The Galaxy: Awesome Mix Vol. 1, Soundtrack 1
3 14 22 3 Into The Woods, Soundtrack 3
4 3 3 3 The Pinkprint, Nicki Minaj 3
5 7 8 29 In The Lonely Hour, Sam Smith 2
6 4 4 4 2014 Forest Hills Drive, J. Cole 1
7 11 15 28 x, Ed Sheeran 1
8 5 6 7 FOUR, One Direction 1
9 28 53 5 Annie, Soundtrack 9
10 9 19 58 Frozen, Soundtrack 1
11 16 18 10 NOW 52, Various Artists 2
12 19 24 13 Hozier, Hozier 2
13 8 – 2 The Young OG Project, Fabolous 8
14 13 17 13 Old Boots, New Dirt, Jason Aldean 1
15 36 37 73 Crash My Party, Luke Bryan 1
16 17 11 4 Greatest Hits: Decade #1, Carrie Underwood 4
17 12 9 5 Rock Or Bust, AC/DC 3
18 20 5 3 Black Messiah, D'Angelo And The Vanguard 5
19 39 55 10 Montevallo, Sam Hunt 3
20 18 10 3 LIVESOS, 5 Seconds Of Summer 10
21 10 7 8 Man Against Machine, Garth Brooks 4
22 22 23 12 Anything Goes, Florida Georgia Line 1
23 33 33 7 No Fixed Address, Nickelback 4
24 34 26 4 Anybody Wanna Buy A Heart?, K. Michelle 6
25 29 29 18 V, Maroon 5 1
26 26 31 19 My Everything, Ariana Grande 1
27 27 27 8 Sonic Highways (Soundtrack), Foo Fighters 2
28 2 2 11 That's Christmas To Me, Pentatonix 2
29 41 47 6 ShadyXV, Various Artists 3
30 32 45 24 5 Seconds Of Summer, 5 Seconds Of Summer 1
31 15 13 16 Partners, Barbra Streisand 1
32 35 40 5 The London Sessions, Mary J. Blige 9
33 55 – 13 Dream Your Life Away, Vance Joy 17
34 73 75 46 The Outsiders, Eric Church 1
35 25 64 69 AM, Arctic Monkeys 6
36 58 88 92 Native, OneRepublic 4
37 46 59 8 Lost On The River, The New Basement Tapes 23
38 48 76 120 Night Visions, Imagine Dragons 2
39 30 25 8 The Endless River, Pink Floyd 3
40 23 20 15 Cheek To Cheek, Tony Bennett & Lady Gaga 1
41 31 21 14 Frozen: The Songs, Soundtrack 15
42 43 56 56 Beyonce, Beyonce 1
43 44 44 14 BRINGING BACK THE SUNSHINE, Blake Shelton 1
44 57 87 65 Pure Heroine, Lorde 3
45 37 32 16 The Cowboy Rides Away: Live From AT&T Stadium, George Strait 4
46 92 98 6 Hood Billionaire, Rick Ross 6
47 96 – 86 Red, Taylor Swift 1
48 0 Re-Entry 2 TALKING IS HARD, WALK THE MOON 26
49 0 Re-Entry 4 Motion, Calvin Harris 5
50 56 – 86 Save Rock And Roll, Fall Out Boy 1
51 66 – 240 Legend: The Best Of Bob Marley And The Wailers, Bob Marley And The Wailers 5
52 52 74 8 Nick Jonas, Nick Jonas 6
53 0 Re-Entry 62 Back In Black, AC/DC 53
54 63 – 26 Ultraviolence, Lana Del Rey 1
55 45 34 9 It's The Girls!, Bette Midler 3
56 0 Re-Entry 20 These Things Happen, G-Eazy 3
57 38 28 38 Disney Karaoke Series: Frozen (EP), Various Artists 17
58 79 – 29 Vessel, Twenty One Pilots 58
59 82 – 110 Thriller, Michael Jackson 52
60 64 86 9 Led Zeppelin IV, Led Zeppelin 7
61 80 96 30 Ghost Stories, Coldplay 1
62 62 79 32 Just As I Am, Brantley Gilbert 2
63 0 Re-Entry 3 Listen, David Guetta 31
64 74 – 61 The Black Parade, My Chemical Romance 2
65 0 Re-Entry 66 Bad Blood, Bastille 11
66 61 85 11 .5: The Gray Chapter, Slipknot 1
67 69 84 6 Globalization, Pitbull 18
68 84 – 11 This Is All Yours, alt-J 4
69 97 – 106 American Idiot, Green Day 1
70 0 Re-Entry 16 Lost In The Dream, The War On Drugs 26
71 49 63 15 PTX: Vol. III (EP), Pentatonix 5
72 0 Re-Entry 3 Game Changer, Johnny Gill 43
73 100 – 36 Greatest Hits, Fleetwood Mac 29
74 51 43 14 WOW Hits 2015, Various Artists 23
75 78 – 121 +, Ed Sheeran 5
76 81 – 52 The 1975, The 1975 28
77 95 – 7 Under Pressure, Logic 4
78 76 – 15 X, Chris Brown 2
79 50 51 31 Platinum, Miranda Lambert 1
80 91 30 3 Sucker, Charli XCX 30
81 89 – 242 Journey's Greatest Hits, Journey 18
82 88 – 20 All-Time Greatest Hits, Neil Diamond 15
83 0 Re-Entry 2 Reclassified, Iggy Azalea 58
84 0 Re-Entry 220 Curtain Call: The Hits, Eminem 1
85 0 Re-Entry 28 Turn Blue, The Black Keys 1
86 0 Re-Entry 15 Blacc Hollywood, Wiz Khalifa 1
87 0 Re-Entry 54 Rumours, Fleetwood Mac 11
88 0 Re-Entry 6 Sadnecessary, Milky Chance 17
89 93 97 4 For You, Selena Gomez 45
90 94 – 5 The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Part I, Soundtrack 18
91 83 – 149 Born To Die, Lana Del Rey 2
92 0 Re-Entry 151 The Dark Side Of The Moon, Pink Floyd 10
93 47 48 15 The Big Revival, Kenny Chesney 2
94 85 – 34 The New Classic, Iggy Azalea 3
95 0 Re-Entry 67 A Fever You Can't Sweat Out, Panic! At The Disco 13
96 68 68 24 Kidz Bop 26, Kidz Bop Kids 4
97 0 Re-Entry 8 Paperwork, T.I. 2
98 0 Re-Entry 57 An Awesome Wave, alt-J 80
99 70 80 107 Here's To The Good Times, Florida Georgia Line 4
100 67 72 22 NOW 51, Various Artists 2

[Daryl the Beryl]

Jan 8, 2015 7:41:58 GMT -5 Gary said:

TCA
95 0 Re-Entry 11 Royal Blood, Royal Blood 29
98 89 74 10 Love Ran Red, Chris Tomlin 7
99 0 Re-Entry 5 Black Widow, In This Moment 8
100 98 – 18 Promise To Love: Album IV, Kem 3

These poor albums snubbed by the new Billboard 200 rule :(

[Enigma.]

Soooo Reclassified is #16 and TNC is #153 now. Basically all the TAS and streaming counted for Reclassified then..

[cause_for_celebration]

Jan 8, 2015 8:52:06 GMT -5 Enigma. said:

Soooo Reclassified is #16 and TNC is #153 now. Basically all the TAS and streaming counted for Reclassified then..

Yeah, since 'Reclassified' had higher "pure album sales," the streams and sales of Fancy/Black Widow etc. were assigned to 'Reclassified' instead of 'The New Classic.'

[WotUNeed]

Jan 7, 2015 12:38:33 GMT -5 badrobot said:

I'm going to guess that albums only include SEA/TEA points from songs that are new to that album.

Don't know if it has to be new to the album in all cases (like two albums by an artist containing the same song), but Billboard did explain how it treats compilation albums in this article: "Compilation albums only earn units from TEA and SEA if the set's songs are unavailable elsewhere." That's how some of the charting Now albums have managed to get points from TEA/SEA: by containing songs that haven't yet been released on the artists' own albums. It appears that, once the artist's album is out containing the song, the TEA/SEA points shift to that.

[YourFaveIsAFlop]

Jan 8, 2015 8:57:39 GMT -5 cause_for_celebration said:

Jan 8, 2015 8:52:06 GMT -5 Enigma. said:

Soooo Reclassified is #16 and TNC is #153 now. Basically all the TAS and streaming counted for Reclassified then..

Yeah, since 'Reclassified' had higher "pure album sales," the streams and sales of Fancy/Black Widow etc. were assigned to 'Reclassified' instead of 'The New Classic.'

So they could potentially just keep flip flopping which one is higher if their pure sales are about equal. That's messy, but artists typically aren't putting out 2 separate releases with the same songs on them at the same time.

[HolidayGuy]

The Streisand and Bennett titles took a tumble on the Billboard 200 this week.

RE Top Album Sales- any ideas where the number of weeks is coming from for older titles?

[Gary]

The 'weeks on' carried over from the old BB200

[HolidayGuy]

^But, look at Fleetwood Mac's Rumours- just 54 weeks on Top Album Sales, compared to the much higher count on the BB 200. With Thriller, 110 weeks on Top Album Sales, vs. 231 on the BB 200, etc. etc. At first I thought maybe it was just weeks in the top 100 on the BB 200, but Rumours logged 31 weeks at No. 1, and Thriller 37, so can' be that. lol And look at the peaks listed for those two titles.

[ListenToItTwice]

Jan 8, 2015 14:01:07 GMT -5 HolidayGuy said:

^But, look at Fleetwood Mac's Rumours- just 54 weeks on Top Album Sales, compared to the much higher count on the BB 200. With Thriller, 110 weeks on Top Album Sales, vs. 231 on the BB 200, etc. etc. At first I thought maybe it was just weeks in the top 100 on the BB 200, but Rumours logged 31 weeks at No. 1, and Thriller 37, so can' be that. lol And look at the peaks listed for those two titles.

Is consecutive weeks a possibility? Like, only its current consecutive chart run counts as a chart run?

[areyoureadytojump]

Country album sales:

roughstock.com/news/2015/01/31909-country-album-chart-report-january-8-2015/

docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1olQ5bXhz7Ca_JSD9Y0MlBWtbI3Asv46bAlTeFrLCBHk/edit#gid=0

Top 10 Country Albums With Notables
CNTRY Artist Album Week Total Scans Last week

1 Jason Aldean Old Boots, New Dirt 20,000 772,000 49,000
2 Luke Bryan Crash My Party 19,000 2,340,000 22,000
3 Carrie Underwood Greatest Hits: Decade #1 19,000 220,000 41,000
4 Sam Hunt Montevallo 16,000 228,000 20,000
5 Garth Brooks Man Against Machine 14,000 532,000 64,000
6 Florida Georgia Line Anything Goes 13,000 516,000 35,000
7 Eric Church The Outsiders 10,000 821,000 11,000
8 Blake Shelton Bringing Back The Sunshine 7,000 290,000 18,000
9 George Strait The Cowboy Rides Away 7,000 285,000 22,000
10 Taylor Swift RED 7,000 4,133,000 10,000
11 Brantley Gilbert Just As I Am 6,000 713,000 12,000
12 Miranda Lambert Platinum 5,000 606,000 15,000
13 Kenny Chesney The Big Revival 5,000 321,000 16,000
14 Florida Georgia Line Heres To The Good Times 5,000 2,142,000 12,000
15 Tim McGraw Sundown Heaven Town 4,500 217,000 14,000
-- Zac Brown Band Greatest Hits...So Far 4,300 91,000 11,000
-- Sturgill Simpson MetaModern Sounds... 4,300 81,900 6,300
-- Lady Antebellum 747 4,000 226,000 12,100
-- Little Big Town Pain Killer 4,000 122,100 8,100
-- Garth Brooks Ultimate Hits 3,900 110,800 10,100
-- Cole Swindell Cole Swindell 3,600 309,000 6,600
-- Chase Rice Ignite The Night 3,500 148,400 7,600
-- Lee Brice I Don't Dance 3,200 132,800 7,400
-- Dierks Bentley RISER 2,600 284,600 5,300
-- Brantley Gilbert Halfway To Heaven 1,400 1,081,200 2,200
-- Keith Urban FUSE 1,200 426,500 3,900
Randy Houser How Country Feels 1,200 227,600 3,200

[bruno]

Congratulations to Disney Music Group for having 3 soundtracks on the top 10!

[areyoureadytojump]

www.billboard.com/articles/columns/chart-beat/6436456/billboard-200-ed-sheeran-x-top-three

Billboard 200 Chart Moves: Ed Sheeran Bounds Back Into Top Three
By Keith Caulfield | January 09, 2015

-- Ed Sheeran, x - No. 3 -- Ed Sheeran's x vaults 7-3 with 83,000 units (down 26 percent). It is the album's highest rank since its second week on the chart (dated July 19, 2014) when it fell 1-2. More than half of his album's overall unit total is comprised of SEA and TEA (mostly TEA, where his track equivalent total is 37,000 for the week).

-- Selena Gomez, For You - No. 31 -- Sixty percent of the greatest hits album's overall units (18,000; up 39-31 on the chart) are from TEA, thanks to the strong digital sales of its single "The Heart Wants What It Wants" (86,000 for the week).

-- David Guetta, Listen - No. 47 -- New Year's Eve was very good for the superstar DJ, as consumers were clearly moved by his party-ready tunes. His album is the only title in the top 150 to earn gains in album sales, TEA and SEA. The album shifted 14,000 units, rising 149-47, with the greatest percentage gain on the tally.

-- Tony Bennett & Lady Gaga, Cheek to Cheek - No. 92 -- The duets album surpassed 500,000 in sales during the week ending Dec. 28, making it Bennett's seventh album to hit a half-million since Nielsen began tracking data in 1991. It's Gaga's fifth half-million-seller.

-- Billy Joel, The Essential Billy Joel – No. 117 -- PBS' Jan. 2 airing of the all-star salute Billy Joel: The Library of Congress Gershwin Prize helps pump up the Piano Man's best-of by 82 percent (7,000 units) and a re-entry on the list.

-- Various Artists, Disney Karaoke Series: Frozen – No. 129 -- Three Frozen-related albums finished among 2014's top 100 sellers: the original Frozen soundtrack (No. 2 for the year; 3.5 million), this karaoke set (No. 64; 288,000) and Frozen: The Songs (No. 68; 277,000). (The original Frozen soundtrack included both the songs and score from the film, while the later Frozen: The Songs featured -- as advertised in its title -- only the movie's songs.)

-- Sting & The Police, The Very Best of Sting & The Police – No. 154 -- After more than a year away from the Billboard 200, Sting returns to the chart, fueled in part by his receipt of the Kennedy Center Honors. The rock icon's 1997 greatest hits package The Very Best of Sting & The Police re-enters at No. 154 (6,000 units; up 88 percent in the week ending Jan. 4, according to Nielsen Music). The 2014 Kennedy Center Honors were broadcast as a star-studded two-hour CBS TV special on Dec. 30, celebrating Sting and fellow honorees Al Green, Tom Hanks, Patricia McBride and Lily Tomlin. Sting's performance-fueled tribute included Bruno Mars, Lady Gaga, Esperanza Spaulding, Herbie Hancock, Bruce Springsteen and the cast of the Broadway musical The Last Ship (Sting wrote its music and lyrics).

The Very Best of Sting & The Police sold 3,000 copies -- up 85 percent -- and also re-enters at No. 49 on Top Pop Catalog Albums.

Sting was last on the Billboard 200 with his studio album The Last Ship, which spent six weeks on the tally (Oct. 12-Nov. 13, 2013).

[swim]

Are we not going to get sales comparisons to last year until it's been a full calendar year of this new chart nonsense? Even if sales tumble further, as expected, I'm sort of interested to see where this year goes with a higher number of Q1 releases than expected.