Billboard 200: Scotty McCreery No. 1- 197K

[HolidayGuy]

Starting with info from Hip Hop DX (Current Albums rankings):

5. J. Cole, Cole World: The Sideline Story: 54,000 (272,000)

6. Lil Wayne, Tha Carter IV: 53,000 (1.506 million)

13. Jay-Z & Kanye West, Watch The Throne: 23,000 (954,000)

19. Beyonce, 4: 15,000 (834,000)

32. Styles P, Master of Ceremonies: 11,000

126. DJ Shadow, The Less You Know The Better: 3,300 (3,400)

134. DJ Khaled, We The Best Forever: 3,200 (129,000)

147. Kanye West, My Beautiful Twisted Dark Fantasy: 3,000 (1.212 million)

177. Dessa, Castor The Twin: 2,500
178. 116 Clique, Man Up: 2,500 (6,600)

[Enigma.]

126. DJ Shadow, The Less You Know The Better: 3,300 (3,400)

Oh dear.. Although he's a bigger star in Europe but still..

[rosemoor]

ikr. brilliant record. I actually like it better than Endtroducing. :(

[Deleted]

'Idol's' Scotty McCreery Makes History at No. 1 on Billboard 200

www.billboard.com/#/news/idol-s-scotty-mccreery-makes-history-at-1005402152.story

"American Idol" winner Scotty McCreery makes history as his debut album, "Clear as Day," bows at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart with 197,000 sold, according to Nielsen SoundScan.

McCreery is the first country act to debut at No. 1 with their first studio album, and at 18-years old, the youngest man to open at the top of the chart with their debut release.

Previously, the youngest male to bow at No. 1 with their premiere album was Omarion, who was 20 when "O" started at No. 1 in 2005

Surprisingly, McCreery, who turned 18 on Sunday (Oct. 9), is also the first "Idol" winner since 2003 to hit No. 1 with their first studio set.

Ruben Studdard was the last "Idol" champ to start their career with a No. 1 album, when his "Soulful" entered the tally dated Dec. 27, 2003, with 417,000 sold. Kelly Clarkson, the original "Idol" champ, also bowed at No. 1, with "Thankful" on May 3, 2003 (297,000).

"Clear as Day" also marks the biggest debut sales week of any "Idol" winner's first album since 2008, when David Cook's self-titled set started with 280,000 at No. 3. Kris Allen saw his eponymous 2009 debut launch with 80,000 (No. 11) and in 2010, Lee DeWyze's "Live It Up" arrived with 39,000 (No. 19).

Next week, watch for 2011 "Idol" second-place finisher, Lauren Alaina, to arrive on the Billboard 200 with her debut, "Wildflower."

Back on this week's chart, Adele's "21" moves up a notch to No. 2 (112,000; down 5%), Tony Bennett's "Duets II" rises one slot to No. 3 (71,000; down 22%) and Lady Antebellum's "Own the Night" moves up two rungs to No. 4 (58,000; down 23%). Last week's No. 1, J. Cole's "Cole World: the Sideline Story," drops to No. 5 (54,000; down 75%) and Lil Wayne's "Tha Carter IV" moves up one to No. 6 (53,000; down 22%). Blink-182's "Neighborhoods," which arrived at No. 2 last week, descends to No. 10 with 31,000 (down a whopping 80%).

In addition to McCreery's "Clear as Day," three more albums take a bow in the top 10 this week: Feist's "Metals" at No. 7, Rodney Atkins' "Take a Back Road" at No. 8 and Jack's Mannequin's "People and Things" at No. 9.

With a 38,000 start for Feist's "Metals," its the singer's best sales week and her first top 10. Previously, her biggest sales frame came when "The Reminder" moved 36,000 over Christmas week of 2007. That album also claimed her former chart high, when it debuted and peaked at No. 16.

Atkins' "Road" (35,000) is his first top 10 since 2006's "If You're Going Through Hell" topped out at No. 3 in its first week. Jack's Mannequin's "People" (31,000) is the act's second top 10 effort after 2008's "The Glass Passenger" (No. 8).

Moving over to the Digital Songs chart, it's a little low-key, as the top two titles are stationary, and nothing debuts in the top 10. Adele's "Someone Like You" holds at No. 1 (218,000; down 2%) while Maroon 5's "Moves Like Jagger" (featuring Christina Aguilera) is also a non-mover at No. 2 (186,000; down 6%).

LMFAO's "Sexy and I Know It" jumps two spots to No. 3 (182,000; up 13%), Foster the People's "Pumped Up Kicks" is steady at No. 4 (176,000; down 1%) and Rihanna's "We Found Love" (featuring Calvin Harris) is up one to No. 5 (144,000; down 2%).

Gym Class Heroes' "Stereo Hearts" (featuring Adam Levine) also rises a rung to No. 6 (133,000; down 5%), David Guetta's "Without You" (featuring Usher) climbs 8-7 (121,000; down 3%) and LMFAO's "Party Rock Anthem" (featuring Lauren Bennett and GoonRock) is up one to No. 8 (104,000; down 16%).

Rounding out the top 10 are B.o.B's "Strange Clouds" (featuring Lil Wayne), dropping 3-9 with 100,000 (down 49%) in its second week, and Lady Gaga's "You and I," rising 11-10 with 90,000 (down 5%).

Overall album sales in this past chart week (ending Oct. 9) totaled 5.13 million units, down 8% compared to the sum last week (5.57 million) and up 5% compared to the comparable sales week of 2010 (4.89 million). Year to date album sales stand at 233.63 million, up 3% compared to the same total at this point last year (225.96 million). It is the 20th week in a row where year-to-date album volume is greater than the same time in the prior year.

Digital track sales this past week totaled 20.59 million downloads, up 1% compared to last week (20.37 million) and up 5% stacked next to the comparable week of 2010 (19.60 million). Year to date track sales are at 972.33 million, up 10% compared to the same total at this point last year (879.96 million).

Next week's Billboard 200 competes with the same week in 2010 when: Lil Wayne's "I Am Not a Human Being" jumped 16-1, marking its first week at the top, selling 125,000 (up 443%). The album had debuted at No. 2 two weeks earlier as a digital-exclusive, but jumped to No. 1 only after the physical CD was issued. Darius Rucker's "Charleston, SC 1966" was the chart's top debut, coming in at No. 2 with 101,000.

[HolidayGuy]

Yet another year-to-year increase- keep it coming, music buyers. :)

[carrieidol1]

Tony Bennett is holding up incredibly well.

Congrats to Scotty! Great numbers, and #1 for the first time since Ruben, that's an accomplishment.

[Gravity.]

Did Some Hearts really miss number one? :o Who blocked it?

[Deleted]

Oct 12, 2011 10:08:34 GMT -5 Gravity. said:

Did Some Hearts really miss number one? Who blocked it?

Madonna.

[leoapp]

Oct 12, 2011 10:12:17 GMT -5 @dawson said:

Oct 12, 2011 10:08:34 GMT -5 Gravity. said:

Did Some Hearts really miss number one? Who blocked it?

Madonna.

That's a bit annoying cos SH ended to sell 7 million and it didn't even hit #1 :(

[Deleted]

Digital tracks will pass the 1 billion mark for the year in 2 weeks time. Which will be 4 weeks ahead of when they crossed that mark last year

[HolidayGuy]

Shania Twain's Come On Over also peaked at No. 2- and somehow I don't think Shania or her label minds. :) (Same goes for other big-selling albums that missed the top spot.)

[leoapp]

Oct 12, 2011 10:20:47 GMT -5 HolidayGuy said:

Shania Twain's Come On Over also peaked at No. 2- and somehow I don't think Shania or her label minds. :) (Same goes for other big-selling albums that missed the top spot.)

That's even more annoying, a 20 million shipped album but didn't even hit #1
Too bad, many blockbuster albums failed to hit #1 (Stripped, Some Hearts, GGGB, The Fame, etc) just because of unlucky release date/competitive weeks.

[Enigma.]

^It hasn't sold 20 million according Soundscan though, about 4.5 million come elsewhere.

[Kishi KCM]

Oct 12, 2011 10:24:45 GMT -5 leoapp said:

Oct 12, 2011 10:20:47 GMT -5 HolidayGuy said:

Shania Twain's Come On Over also peaked at No. 2- and somehow I don't think Shania or her label minds. :) (Same goes for other big-selling albums that missed the top spot.)

That's even more annoying, a 20 million shipped album but didn't even hit #1
Too bad, many blockbuster albums failed to hit #1 (Stripped, Some Hearts, GGGB, The Fame, etc) just because of unlucky release date/competitive weeks.

I know #1s mean a lot to you, but if there's no longevity or healthy sales after hitting #1, it's just a small achievement.

[carrieidol1]

I'll take 7,000,000 album sales over #1 any day of the week. Chart positions become irrelevant when you sell that much... lol

It never went #1 on the BB200 but "Some Hearts" was named the #1 Country album of the decade, and charted in the Top 10 of the Country albums chart in 2005, 2006, 2007, and 2008... I believe.

Longevity is much better than chart positions.

[Deleted]

Week Ending Oct. 9, 2011. Albums: Beam Me Up

Posted 8 minutes ago by Paul Grein in Chart Watch

new.music.yahoo.com/blogs/chart_watch/74422/week-ending-oct-9-2011-albums-beam-me-up/

Scotty McCreery this week becomes only the third American Idol winner to take a debut album to #1 on The Billboard 200. McCreery achieves the feat as his album Clear As Day opens in the top spot. Kelly Clarkson, the Season 1 winner, opened at #1 in April 2003 with Thankful. Ruben Studdard, the Season 2 champ, followed suit that December with Soulful.

The next five Idol winners made the top 10 with their first post-Idol albums, but fell short of the top spot. They were, in order, Fantasia's Free Yourself (#8), Carrie Underwood's Some Hearts (#2), Taylor Hicks' Taylor Hicks (#2), Jordin Sparks' Jordin Sparks (#10) and David Cook's David Cook (#3).

The last two winners before McCreery didn't even make the top 10. Kris Allen's Kris Allen peaked at #11. Lee DeWyze's Live It Up peaked at #19. I haven't written much in the past few years about the declining fortunes of recent Idol winners. It didn't seem to be a reflection of those artists' lack of star power so much as it was a reflection of the franchise's waning power to sell albums. But for McCreery to reverse the trend suggests that the franchise isn't out of gas just yet.

(You may have read that DeWyze was dropped by his label after just one album. This negates the original premise of American Idol-that the winner was destined for recording stardom-but it serves as a reminder of what a tough business this is for artists.)

McCreery's album sold 197K copies this week. That's the biggest first-week tally for a first post-Idol album by an Idol winner since Cook's eponymous album sold 284K in its first week three years ago. But McCreery was edged out by the most prominent runner-up of recent years. Adam Lambert's For Your Entertainment sold 198K copies in its first week in 2009.

There were signs that McCreery would have a have a big debut. His two EPs, both titled American Idol Season 10, have sold a combined total of 231K copies. His single, "I Love You This Big," has sold 630K copies.

McCreery turned 18 on Oct. 9, the last day of the tracking week. (A #1 album will be a hard birthday present to top.) McCreery is the second teen artist to reach #1 on The Billboard 200 so far this year. He follows Justin Bieber, who was nine days away from turning 17 when he hit #1 in February with Never Say Never: The Remixes.

McCreery's album also debuts at #1 on Top Country Albums. McCreery is the fourth Idol contestant to reach #1 on this chart. He follows Carrie Underwood, who topped the chart with her first three albums; Kellie Pickler, who scored with her first two albums; and Bucky Covington, who hit #1 with his first album. (Pickler and Covington both competed in Season 5. Pickler finished sixth. Covington finished eighth.)

Billboard's Keith Caulfield adds that McCreery is the youngest male artist to enter The Billboard 200 at #1 with a debut album. He takes the title from Omarion, who was 20 when O debuted at #1 in February 2005. And McCreery is the first country artist to debut at #1 with an initial studio album.

Adele's 21 rebounds to #2 in its 33rd week on the chart. The album has sold 3,885,000 copies. It has already sold more copies than any other album has sold in any calendar year in the last five years. The last albums to sell more copies in a calendar year were Mariah Carey's The Emancipation Of Mimi (4,969,000 in 2005) and 50 Cent's The Massacre (4,853,000 in 2005). 21 may well top both of those albums before the year is through. Its sales will likely swell after the Grammy nominations are announced on Nov. 30 and throughout the holiday sales season.

Tony Bennett's Duets II rebounds from #4 to #3 in its third week. This is its third week in the top five, which equals the mark set by Bennett's 2006 album Duets: An American Classic. The last Duets album to spend more than three weeks in the top five was Ray Charles' Genius Loves Company. It spent six weeks in the top five in 2004-2005.

Feist's Metals debuts at #7. It's the first top 10 album for Feist, whose 2007 album The Reminder peaked at #16. (That album has sold 735K copies.) Feist received four Grammy nominations in 2007. Two of them were for the top 10 hit "1234."

Jack's Mannequin was conceived as a side project for Andrew McMahon, the lead singer of the band Something Corporate. But a funny thing has happened. The side project has done better on the charts than the band has. Jack's Mannequin this week lands its second top 10 album. Something Corporate's highest-charting album, North, peaked at #24 in 2003.

Adele's "Someone Like You" and "Moves Like Jagger" by Maroon5 featuring Christina Aguilera hold at #1 and #2 on Hot Digital Songs. Which will come out on top on the Hot 100? You'll find out later today when we post Chart Watch: Songs.

If you missed my Chart Watch Extra in which I listed every top 10 hit ever written by Burt Bacharach and/or Hal David, you have a second chance to read it. (They have been tapped to receive an award named after another peerless songwriting team, George and Ira Gershwin.) Here's a link.

Here's the low-down on this week's top 10 albums.

1. Scotty McCreery, Clear As Day, 197,000. This new entry sold 36K digital copies, which puts it at #1 on Top Digital Albums. Two songs from the album are listed on Hot Digital Songs. "I Love You This Big" rebounds from #181 to #83. "Trouble With Girls" re-enters at #137.

2. Adele, 21, 112,000. The former #1 album rebounds from #3 to #2 in its 33rd week. It has been in the top five the entire time. Five songs from the album are listed on Hot Digital Songs, topped by "Someone Like You," which holds at #1 for the third week.

3. Tony Bennett, Duets II, 71,000. The former #1 album rebounds from #4 to #3 in its third week.

4. Lady Antebellum, Own The Night, 58,000. The former #1 album rebounds from #6 to #4 in its fourth week. Two songs from the album are listed on Hot Digital Songs. "Just A Kiss" re-enters at #33. "We Owned The Night" jumps from #62 to #58.

5. J. Cole, Cole World: The Sideline Story, 54,000. The former #1 album drops from #1 to #5 in its second week. Two songs from the album are listed on Hot Digital Songs. "Workout" jumps from #66 to #50. "Can't Get Enough" (featuring Trey Songz) drops from #70 to #155.

6. Lil Wayne, Tha Carter IV, 53,000. The former #1 album rebounds from #7 to #6 in its sixth week. Five songs from the album are listed on Hot Digital Songs, topped by "How To Love," which drops from #19 to #22.

7. Feist, Metals, 38,000. This new entry is Feist's first top 10 album. Her breakthrough album, The Reminder, reached #16 in 2007.

8. Rodney Atkins, Take A Back Road, 35,000. This new entry is Atkins' second top 10 album. If You're Going Through Hell hit #3 in 2006. "Take A Back Road" jumps from #32 to #17 on Hot Digital Songs.

9. Jack's Mannequin, People And Things, 31,000. This new entry is the act's second top 10 album. The Glass Passenger hit #8 in 2008.

10. Blink-182, Neighborhoods, 31,000. The album drops from #2 to #10 in its second week. "After Midnight" drops from #52 to #187 on Hot Digital Songs.

Four albums drop out of the top 10 this week. Wilco's The Whole Love drops from #5 to #11, Switchfoot's Vice Verses drops from #8 to #28, Chickenfoot's Chickenfoot III drops from #9 to #29, and Mastodon's The Hunter dives from #10 to #43.

Two punk bands from Florida debut in the top 40. Mayday Parade's Mayday Parade debuts at #12. New Found Glory's Radiosurgery bows at #26. This is Mayday Parade's highest-charting album to date.

Adele's 2008 album 19 jumps from #25 to #19. It returns to #1 on Top Catalog Albums, displacing Pink Floyd's The Dark Side Of The Moon. This is its 23rd week on top. It's far and away the #1 catalog album of the year. Among all albums, it's #27 for the year.

Mutemath's Odd Soul bows at #24. It's the rock band's second top 30 album. Armistice hit #18 in 2009.

Indigo Girls' Beauty Queen Sister debuts at #36. The sister duo first charted in April 1989 with Indigo Girls. They were nominated for a Grammy as Best New Artist, but lost to Milli Vanilli (whose award was later revoked following a lip-syching scandal). The Recording Academy opted not to give the award to the artist with the second highest number of votes. Their "winners book" simply skips over 1989. Based on longevity (an important factor in this category), Indigo Girls deserved the award. They are still charting 22 years later. How about the other nominees? Tone Loc and Neneh Cherry never returned to The Billboard 200 after their hit debut albums. (At least Milli Vanilli got back on the chart with a 1990 remix album.) Soul II Soul charted with two more albums, through 1992. I'm sure academy officials wish Indigo Girls had won the award in the first place. The award to Milli Vanilli was an embarrasing episode for teh academy.

The Lost Notebooks Of Hank Williams debuts at #42. The album consists of a dozen songs that the country legend had left unfinished when he died in 1953. They were recorded by such artists as Alan Jackson, Bob Dylan, Norah Jones and Williams' granddaughter, Holly Williams. Williams and his backing group, the Drifting Cowboys, first hit the country chart in August 1947 with "Move It On Over." They first topped the country chart in May 1949 with "Lovesick Blues."

The Drive soundtrack drops from #46 to #89 in its fourth week. It's the top-ranking soundtrack for the second straight week; the top-ranking soundtrack to a theatrically-released movie for the third time in four weeks.

Paul McCartney's Ocean's Kingdom debuts at #143. McCartney is joined by John Wilson and the London Classical Orchestra on the album, which consists of four movements. This is the highest-charting of McCartney's three classical albums. Paul McCartney's Liverpool Oratorio reached #177 in 1991. Paul McCartney's Standing Stone hit #194 in 1997. The new album vaults from #58 to #3 on Top Classical Albums, behind Jackie Evancho's Dream With Me and Tori Amos' Night Of Hunters.

Real Steel was #1 at the box-office over the weekend. The soundtrack features Bad Meets Evil, Beastie Boys, Foo Fighters, 50 Cent and the Crystal Method. It sold about 1K copies, too few to make The Billboard 200.

Jackie Evancho's Dream With Me In Concert returns to #1 on Top Music Videos. It has been #1 in two of its four weeks.

Coming Attractions: Evanescence's Evanescence, the group's first album in five years, is expected to be next week's top new entry. Also due: Martina McBride's Eleven, Five Finger Death Punch's American Capitalist, Ryan Adams' Ashes & Fire, Lauren Alaina's Wildflower, Johnny Gill's Still Winning, Joe Jonas' Fastlife, Bjork's Biophilia, A.N.T. Farm soundtrack featuring China Anne McClain and Taylor Swift's music video Journey To Fearless.

[HolidayGuy]

leoapp, I wouldn't categorize Stripped or Good Girl Gone Bad as "blockbuster" albums, at least based on album sales. For the climate, one could make a case for The Fame, and its chart run definitely has been blockbuster-like. I wouldn't categorize the No. 2 Ray of Light as a blockbuster, either, with its ~3.9 million scanned. :)

[Push The Button]

Not to mention, all of Carrie's follow-ups have debuted at #1. ;)

[Agent Yoncé]

19. Beyonce, 4: 15,000 (834,000)

Hopefully we'll get an increase in sales next week

[Honeymoon]

Oct 12, 2011 11:59:55 GMT -5 HolidayGuy said:

leoapp, I wouldn't categorize Stripped or Good Girl Gone Bad as "blockbuster" albums, at least based on album sales. For the climate, one could make a case for The Fame, and its chart run definitely has been blockbuster-like. I wouldn't categorize the No. 2 Ray of Light as a blockbuster, either, with its ~3.9 million scanned. :)

Maybe it's a separate entity than the album itself but The Fame's impact on the charts as well as the performance of the singles, and its influence on many of the OTHER stuff on the charts 2008-2010 I think allows it to have blockbuster/landmark status at least in the commercial/(pop) cultural sense.

[deuce8pro]

"Jackie Evancho's Dream With Me In Concert returns to #1 on Top Music Videos. It has been #1 in two of its four weeks."

Can anyone provide figures? Thanks!

[maria4hitz]

NEW 1 Scotty McCreery Clear As Day 196,739 196,881
6 4 Lady Anthebellum Own The Night 57,617 605,345
NEW 8 Rodney Atkins Take A Back Road 34,910 34,929
14 15 Jason Aldean My Kinda Party 20,194 1,903,752
18 16 Luke Bryan Tailgates & Tanlines 17,493 360,059
15 18 Brantley Gilbert Halfway to Heaven 16,559 243,748
16 21 George Strait Here For A Good Time 13,809 191,928
27 29 Eric Church Chief 11,555 379,526
49 38 Pistol Annies Hell On Heels 9,960 113,753
34 39 Blake Shelton Red River Blue 9,908 346,221
NEW 40 VARIOUS Lost Note../Hank Williams 9,809 9,964
44 43 Taylor Swift Speak Now 9,112 3,688,891
54 45 Lady Anthebellum Need You Now 8,421 3,681,460
43 46 The Band Perry The Band Perry 8,219 788,676
45 50 Zac Brown Band You Get What You Give 7,917 1,210,070
46 52 Jake Owen Barefoot Blue Jean Night 7,194 119,303
65 63 Justin Moore Outlaws Like Me 6,327 261,733
81 65 Various Now Country IV 6,061 171,826
66 67 Brad Paisley This Is Country Music 5,937 500,529
28 69 LeAnn Rimes Lady & Gentlemen 5,727 17,898
80 81 Oak Ridge Boys It's Only Natural 5,323 17,698
86 88 Eli Young Band Life At Best 4,792 93,756
103 100 Chris Young Neon 4,344 193,026
193 115 Tim McGraw Number One Hits 3,627 441,045
NEW 130 Merle Haggard Working In Tennessee 3,271 3,284

www.roughstock.com/blog/chart-news-for-october-12-2011-scotty-mccreery-makes-history

[PDC1987]

Oct 12, 2011 11:45:18 GMT -5 carrieidol1 said:

I'll take 7,000,000 album sales over #1 any day of the week. Chart positions become irrelevant when you sell that much... lol

Besides, nobody talks about peaks when discussing album success, it's always sales. Even in basic conversation. Peaks are far more relevant in regards to singles.

[pnobelysk]

Idol albums

Scotty McCreery, Clear As Day (197,000, debut, 197,000 total) (#1 Billboard 200)
Mandisa, What If We Were Real (2,000, +104%, 73,000)
Daughtry, Daughtry (1,000, +10%)

Idol-related

Tony Bennett, Duets II (71,000, -22%, 341,000) (#3 Billboard 200)
Jason Aldean, My Kinda Party (20,000, -2%, 1.904 million) (#15 BB200)
Various, Now Country 4 (6,000, +9%, 172,000) (#69 BB200)
Aerosmith, Best Of: The Millennium Collection (4,000, -5%, 345,000) (#124 BB200)


Thanks god for Scotty, the idol sales almost dissapeared Good for Mandisa. The album will eaisly pass 80k which is solid for her

[Deleted]

Oct 12, 2011 11:46:02 GMT -5 @gagalicious said:

Adele's 21 rebounds to #2 in its 33rd week on the chart. The album has sold 3,885,000 copies. It has already sold more copies than any other album has sold in any calendar year in the last five years. The last albums to sell more copies in a calendar year were Mariah Carey's The Emancipation Of Mimi (4,969,000 in 2005) and 50 Cent's The Massacre (4,853,000 in 2005). 21 may well top both of those albums before the year is through.

Just wow!

[leoapp]

Oct 12, 2011 14:03:03 GMT -5 Honeymoon said:

Oct 12, 2011 11:59:55 GMT -5 HolidayGuy said:

leoapp, I wouldn't categorize Stripped or Good Girl Gone Bad as "blockbuster" albums, at least based on album sales. For the climate, one could make a case for The Fame, and its chart run definitely has been blockbuster-like. I wouldn't categorize the No. 2 Ray of Light as a blockbuster, either, with its ~3.9 million scanned. :)

Maybe it's a separate entity than the album itself but The Fame's impact on the charts as well as the performance of the singles, and its influence on many of the OTHER stuff on the charts 2008-2010 I think allows it to have blockbuster/landmark status at least in the commercial/(pop) cultural sense.

Yes, i also think that Stripped was the album which put Xtina into a high status as an artist, too bad the album didn't hit #1. Also, GGGB was Rihanna's biggest album with multiple hits and put her into a high status as an artist, and yet, it didn't even hit #1. About Ray Of Light, it's also a shame it didn't hit #1 cos it's considered as her best album in years (while Hard Candy hit #1?).

[Push The Button]

Stripped and GGGB were certainly not blockbusters.

GGGB doesn't even rank in the top 10 best-selling albums of the last few years.

[areyoureadytojump]

From oldbloke at UKMix:

TOP 30 ALBUMS

1 MCCREERY*SCOTTY CLEAR AS DAY 196,739 999 127 196,881
2 ADELE 21 111,928 -5 117,937 3,885,168
3 BENNETT*TONY DUETS II 70,776 -22 91,075 341,168
4 LADY ANTEBELLUM OWN THE NIGHT 57,617 -23 75,086 605,345
5 J COLE COLE WORLD: THE SIDELINE STORY 54,027 -75 217,279 271,852
6 LIL' WAYNE THA CARTER IV 53,079 -22 67,687 1,505,551
7 FEIST*METALS 37,632 999 450 38,085
8 ATKINS*RODNEY TAKE A BACK ROAD 34,910 999 19 34,929
9 JACK'S MANNEQUIN PEOPLE & THINGS 30,684 999 101 30,785
10 BLINK-182 NEIGHBORHOODS 30,590 -80 151,463 183,071

11 WILCO WHOLE LOVE 27,992 -66 81,859 110,495
12 MAYDAY PARADE MAYDAY PARADE 26,845 999 43 26,888
13 JAY Z & KANYE WEST WATCH THE THRONE 23,345 -17 27,982 953,602
14 FOSTER THE PEOPLE TORCHES 23,098 2 22,586 367,101
15 ALDEAN*JASON MY KINDA PARTY 20,194 -2 20,609 1,903,752
16 BRYAN*LUKE TAILGATES & TANLINES 17,493 -2 17,792 360,059
17 VARIOUS NOW 39 16,861 -5 17,812 356,680
18 GILBERT*BRANTLEY HALFWAY TO HEAVEN 16,559 -17 19,983 243,748
19 ADELE 19 15,390 2 15,135 1,422,117
20 BEYONCE 4 15,371 -2 15,711 833,720

21 RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS I'M WITH YOU 13,826 -22 17,650 373,423
22 STRAIT*GEORGE HERE FOR A GOOD TIME 13,809 -24 18,237 191,928
23 LOVATO*DEMI UNBROKEN 13,397 -42 23,068 132,518
24 MUTEMATH ODD SOUL 12,906 999 25 12,931
25 LADY GAGA BORN THIS WAY 12,830 -18 15,668 1,839,356
26 NEW FOUND GLORY RADIOSURGERY 12,432 999 105 12,538
27 MUMFORD & SONS SIGH NO MORE 12,097 -16 14,319 1,847,847
28 SWITCHFOOT VICE VERSES 12,044 -73 44,861 47,683
29 CHICKENFOOT CHICKENFOOT III 11,978 -72 42,333 54,452
30 CHURCH*ERIC CHIEF 11,555 -6 12,351 379,526

[HolidayGuy]

Even singles peaks don't really tell the story of a track's success- rather, week-to-week chart performance does.

No. 1 album peaks have a lot to do with timing (commercial appeal also has to be there, naturally). Ray of Light scanned 371,000 (at the time, the highest first-week female figure in SoundScan's seven-year history)- and it was No. 2 behind the Titanic juggernaut. Meanwhile, both American Life and Hard Candy topped the chart with 241,000 and 280,000, respectively. Erotica missed the top spot by 3,000 units; had it been released the following week, it would have ranked No. 1.

[Deleted]

Howard Stern had a #1 album once. It bombed overall.