A few thoughts about this weeks album sales: AFI continues the trend of big first weeks for rock acts. Gnarles Barkley is holding very steady. It is going to be this year’s sleeper album that never has a huge week, but goes multi-platinum. Badboy’s Jung Joc’s strong debut continues the trend of southern rappers who are signed to New York Labels doing well. Other examples include Rick Ross and Young Jeezy. New York hip hop has been in a slump for 3 years now sales wise and commercially. Right now the city’s hopes for being Hip Hop’s Mecca again ride on the shoulders of Papoose and Saigon’s releases later this year.  Ice Cube opened strong despite not a lot of promotion. Pearl Jam sales are dropping faster then I expected. This is due to the fact that the album lacks a truly commercial single. Here is this weeks album sales chart (source:allhiphop.com message-board) with a little code on top explaining what the numbers mean. I have bolded a few artist who sales I find interesting.

Code:
TWRank--Artist--Title--TWSales--%CHG--LWSales--TDSales
1 A.F.I. DECEMBERUNDERGROUND 182,337 999 724 183,244
2 DIXIE CHICKS TAKING THE LONG WAY 174,738 -36 271,179 973,201
3 YUNG JOC NEW JOC CITY 148,217 999 312 148,532
4 ICE CUBE LAUGH NOW CRY LATER 144,490 999 342 144,832
5 HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL SOUNDTRACK 86,536 -16 102,822 2,417,646
6 RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS STADIUM ARCADIUM 86,016 -2 87,345 886,116
7 CARS SOUNDTRACKS 68,387 999 326 68,810
8 RASCAL FLATTS ME AND MY GANG 65,659 -17 78,882 1,810,493
9 RIHANNA GIRL LIKE ME 51,489 2 50,306 417,556
10 VARIOUS NOW 21 48,547 -12 55,001 1,235,757
11 GNARLS BARKLEY ST. ELSEWHERE 47,803 32 36,160 216,466
12 DJ KHALED LISTENNN... THE ALBUM! 44,074 999 633 44,710
13 UNDERWOOD*CARRIE SOME HEARTS 42,485 -21 53,634 3,010,074
14 TOOL 10000 DAYS 42,312 -23 54,889 966,730
15 SHAKIRA ORAL FIXATION V2 41,056 -19 50,544 1,135,730
16 AMERICAN IDOL SEASON 5: ENCORES 38,355 -43 67,577 259,834
17 BLUNT*JAMES BACK TO BEDLAM 37,051 -28 51,144 1,874,416
18 CHAMILLIONAIRE SOUND OF REVENGE 35,499 4 34,112 939,316
19 BLUE COLLAR COMEDY TOUR: ONE F BLUE COLLAR COMEDY TOUR: ONE F 35,053 999 19 35,072
20 ANGELS & AIRWAVES WE DON'T NEED TO 34,445 -31 50,011 211,914
21 PANIC! AT THE DISCO FEVER YOU CAN'T SWEAT OUT 34,399 -0 34,405 715,406
22 *****CAT DOLLS PCD 33,601 7 31,370 1,617,909
23 MCGRAW*TIM VOL. 2-GREATEST HITS 33,532 -3 34,472 843,007
24 NICKELBACK ALL THE RIGHT REASONS 32,571 -3 33,510 2,929,894 (who is buying this crap?)
25 BOCELLI*ANDREA AMORE 32,181 67 19,283 1,039,677
26 T.I. KING 31,011 -15 36,323 1,247,498
27 2006 WARPED TOUR COMPILATION 2006 WARPED TOUR COMPILATION 29,922 999 13 29,939
28 JACKSON*ALAN PRECIOUS MEMORIES 28,586 19 24,079 683,503
29 KEITH*TOBY WHITE TRASH WITH MONEY 28,389 -11 31,840 734,790
30 FRAY HOW TO SAVE A LIFE 27,969 5 26,718 433,939
31 LACHEY*NICK WHAT'S LEFT OF ME 25,860 -21 32,771 330,842
32 NE-YO IN MY OWN WORDS 24,898 -8 26,974 945,225
33 SPRINGSTEEN*BRUCE WE SHALL OVERCOME: SEEGER SESS 24,752 -4 25,881 415,988
34 BLUE OCTOBER FOILED 24,494 20 20,331 201,853
35 PEARL JAM PEARL JAM 23,742 -23 31,000 515,507
36 WRECKERS STAND STILL LOOK PRETTY 22,778 -14 26,474 93,215
37 TUNSTALL*KT EYE TO THE TELESCOPE 22,100 1 21,801 391,838
38 POWTER*DANIEL DANIEL POWTER 21,835 -24 28,752 383,441
39 KOTTONMOUTH KINGS KOAST II KOAST 21,088 999 347 22,115
40 GODSMACK IV 20,876 -13 24,053 449,320
41 BLIGE*MARY J. BREAKTHROUGH 20,755 -16 24,690 2,362,122
42 CASH*JOHNNY LEGEND OF JOHNNY CASH 20,739 -10 22,986 1,788,075
43 CLARKSON*KELLY BREAKAWAY 20,723 -17 25,076 5,327,270
44 RACONTEURS BROKEN BOY SOLDIERS 20,283 -14 23,617 136,338
45 OMAR*DON KING OF KINGS 19,554 -33 29,329 121,280
46 BUCKCHERRY 15 19,020 5 18,175 158,277
47 ISLEY BROTHERS BABY MAKIN' MUSIC 18,962 -22 24,182 222,922
48 CHESNEY*KENNY ROAD & THE RADIO 18,957 -0 18,968 2,287,003
49 RASCAL FLATTS FEELS LIKE TODAY 18,410 -7 19,875 4,230,560
50 URBAN*KEITH BE HERE 18,178 -16 21,716 3,026,758
51 FORT MINOR RISING TIED 18,122 2 17,836 259,268
52 LIVE SONGS FROM BLACK MOUNTAIN 18,008 570 2,688 25,736
53 TAKING BACK SUNDAY LOUDER NOW 17,705 -9 19,405 326,073
54 ALL-AMERICAN REJECTS MOVE ALONG 17,571 -7 18,828 1,158,870
55 BUBLE*MICHAEL IT'S TIME 17,433 1 17,229 1,829,751
56 BOLTON*MICHAEL BOLTON SWINGS SINATRA 17,413 9 15,932 53,482
57 LITTLE BIG TOWN ROAD TO HERE 16,939 -6 17,929 536,269
57 BENTLEY*DIERKS MODERN DAY DRIFTER 16,939 1 16,804 1,075,092
59 JOHNSON*JACK & FRIENDS CURIOUS GEORGE:SINGALONGS/LULL 16,610 -3 17,199 870,929
60 BEDINGFIELD*NATASHA UNWRITTEN 16,529 27 13,035 597,839
61 CAM'RON KILLA SEASON 16,234 -30 23,305 192,975 (loser)
62 KNOPFLER/HARRIS ALL THE ROADRUNNING 16,140 -6 17,085 196,219
63 PAISLEY*BRAD TIME WELL WASTED 16,009 -7 17,250 1,097,769
64 PAUL*SEAN TRINITY 15,850 -17 19,165 1,041,892
65 SIMON*PAUL SURPRISE 15,836 -9 17,432 151,566
66 HINDER EXTREME BEHAVIOR 15,492 27 12,193 224,509
67 VASSAR*PHIL VOL. 1-GREATEST HITS 15,235 0 15,163 162,951
68 WWE WRECKLESS INTENT 14,578 -36 22,625 103,370
69 HEAD AUTOMATICA POPAGANDA 14,531 999 80 14,714
70 BLACK EYED PEAS MONKEY BUSINESS 14,055 -1 14,250 3,819,203
71 WOLFMOTHER WOLFMOTHER 14,041 25 11,241 109,453
72 BROOKS & DUNN HILLBILLY DELUXE 13,822 -17 16,629 877,410
73 DISNEYMANIA DISNEYMANIA 4 13,704 -13 15,826 253,793
74 YOUNG*NEIL LIVING WITH WAR 13,686 -20 17,126 150,608
75 TURNER*JOSH YOUR MAN 13,523 -14 15,663 695,866
76 SNOW PATROL EYES OPEN 13,462 -1 13,666 98,641
77 JEWEL GOODBYE ALICE IN WONDERLAND 13,141 -28 18,247 201,453
78 AVANT DIRECTOR 12,999 -20 16,183 278,564
79 GUNS N'ROSES GREATEST HITS 12,673 -10 14,032 2,990,959 (people still getting their GNR fix)
80 DEF LEPPARD YEAH! 12,645 -36 19,763 74,349
81 JOHNSON*JACK IN BETWEEN DREAMS 12,611 1 12,478 2,141,596
82 EMINEM CURTAIN CALL 12,599 -8 13,686 2,418,920
83 HOOBASTANK EVERY MAN FOR HIMSELF 12,477 -18 15,270 100,151
84 BROWN*CHRIS CHRIS BROWN 12,442 -11 13,912 1,390,321
85 FALL OUT BOY FROM UNDER THE CORK TREE 12,389 -9 13,624 2,311,780
86 FLYLEAF FLYLEAF 11,858 -12 13,461 228,085
87 DEM FRANCHIZE BOYZ ON TOP OF OUR GAME 11,654 -19 14,310 507,066
88 ADKINS*TRACE SONGS ABOUT ME 11,639 -15 13,727 1,465,952
89 SUGARLAND TWICE THE SPEED OF 11,524 -40 19,289 1,962,372
90 MILIAN*CHRISTINA SO AMAZIN' 11,366 -23 14,771 96,054 (just dropped from her label)
91 KORN SEE YOU ON THE OTHER SIDE 11,264 -5 11,918 929,972
92 ANGEL*ASHLEY PARKER SOUNDTRACK TO YOUR LIFE 11,103 -21 14,141 123,264
93 GOO GOO DOLLS LET LOVE IN 11,041 -16 13,173 208,937
94 ZERO 7 GARDEN 10,929 999 54 11,001
95 JAGGED EDGE JAGGED EDGE 10,717 -27 14,726 194,692
96 MOBB DEEP BLOOD MONEY 10,694 -10 11,913 203,772 (lost credibility with this album)
97 E-40 MY GHETTO REPORT CARD 10,651 3 10,363 286,050
98 MERCYME COMING UP TO BREATHE 10,623 -9 11,653 84,459
99 L.L. COOL J TODD SMITH 10,545 -9 11,595 270,037
100 LEWIS*HUEY & THE NEWS GREATEST HITS 10,529 -22 13,520 39,658
101 CHEAP TRICK ROCKFORD 10,501 999 41 10,542
102 WALK THE LINE SOUNDTRACK 10,381 -7 11,190 920,677
103 COSTELLO*ELVIS RIVER IN REVERSE 10,332 999 31 10,383
104 PINK I'M NOT DEAD 10,021 -16 11,983 374,826 (she is not dead… her career is)
105 FRANKENREITER*DONAVON MOVE BY YOURSELF 9,801 999 24 9,833
106 BON JOVI HAVE A NICE DAY 9,636 -19 11,936 1,169,032
107 SPARXXX*BUBBA CHARM 9,553 -9 10,446 191,507
108 MELUA*KATIE PIECE BY PIECE 9,522 999 26 9,554
109 MATISYAHU YOUTH 9,482 -12 10,724 420,025
110 CAREY*MARIAH EMANCIPATION OF MIMI 9,363 -8 10,189 5,630,471
111 POISON BEST OF POISON: 20 YEARS OF RO 9,133 -14 10,602 168,034
112 ALDEAN*JASON JASON ALDEAN 8,917 -10 9,910 586,397
113 COLE*KEYSHIA WAY IT IS 8,873 -18 10,832 1,268,816
114 ZOMBIE*ROB EDUCATED HORSES 8,803 -18 10,689 299,076
115 PECK*DANIELLE DANIELLE PECK 8,347 999 70 9,447
116 CREED GREATEST HITS 8,209 -4 8,522 1,193,119
117 LIL' WAYNE CARTER II 8,096 -6 8,627 964,653
118 CASTING CROWNS LIFESONG 8,020 6 7,571 277,414
119 GORILLAZ DEMON DAYS 8,007 -1 8,050 1,902,436
120 SMACK SMACK 7,991 999 412 8,406
121 COOK*DANE RETALIATION 7,973 11 7,206 733,398
122 VARIOUS NOW LATINO 7,866 -18 9,601 186,236
123 KEITH*TOBY VOL. 2-GREATEST HITS 7,686 -4 7,999 3,148,636
124 MADONNA CONFESSIONS ON A DANCE FLOOR 7,675 -10 8,536 1,482,628
125 PATRULLA 81 TIERRA EXTRANA 7,670 999 103 7,773
126 FOXX*JAMIE UNPREDICTABLE 7,626 -18 9,325 1,805,232
127 30 SECONDS TO MARS BEAUTIFUL LIE 7,611 3 7,401 171,684
128 PRINCE 3121 7,560 -34 11,384 443,382
129 MANILOW*BARRY GREATEST SONGS OF THE FIFTIES 7,510 -9 8,276 945,510
130 HEADLEY*HEATHER IN MY MIND 7,509 -24 9,830 448,191
131 ALLAN*GARY TOUGH ALL OVER 7,482 -5 7,886 504,361
132 TRIBBETT*TYE VICTORY 7,341 -17 8,821 31,058
133 GHOSTFACE KILLAH FISHSCALE 7,153 3 6,967 257,058
134 GEIGER*TEDDY UNDERAGE THINKING 7,089 -11 7,950 223,641
135 MARIE*TEENA SAPPHIRE 6,991 -25 9,275 88,371
136 WISIN Y YANDEL PA'L MUNDO 6,974 -21 8,802 284,439
137 DJ LIL' CEE/SIMPSON*TREVOR ULTRA WEEKEND02 6,905 -2 7,069 14,251
138 ALY & AJ INTO THE RUSH 6,692 6 6,324 541,536 (the power of tweens)
139 HILL*FAITH FIREFLIES 6,668 -10 7,401 1,871,116
140 WOW WORSHIP AQUA WOW WORSHIP AQUA 6,620 0 6,594 62,126
141 BOUNCING SOULS GOLD RECORD 6,606 999 170 6,799
142 DIAMOND RIO VOL. 2-GREATEST HITS 6,557 -4 6,848 49,190
143 BURGER*ANTHONY BEST OF ANTHONY BURGER 6,551 296 1,654 11,229
144 LATINO*VIC THRIVEMIX02 6,467 -11 7,272 13,916
145 OAKENFOLD*PAUL LIVELY MIND 6,455 999 20 6,477
146 HARPER*BEN BOTH SIDES OF THE GUN 6,452 -11 7,251 195,483
147 ROGERS*KENNY 21 NUMBER ONES 6,408 4 6,175 236,572
148 COLDPLAY X&Y 6,244 -6 6,619 2,902,738
149 DADDY YANKEE BARRIO FINO ENDIRECTO 6,238 -12 7,109 585,759
150 LAMBERT*MIRANDA KEROSENE 6,202 -8 6,766 739,734
151 KIDZ BOP KIDS VOL. 9-KIDZ BOP 6,146 -6 6,523 378,465
152 TWAIN*SHANIA GREATEST HITS 6,140 50 4,081 3,455,994
153 MONTEZ DE DURANGO BORRON CUENTA NUEVA 6,115 -23 7,929 63,842
154 HED P.E. BACK 2 BASE X 6,108 999 142 6,256
155 YO GOTTI BACK 2 DA BASICS 6,089 -33 9,036 28,503
156 ISAAK*CHRIS BEST OF CHRIS ISAAK 6,071 -17 7,323 55,713
157 HAWTHORNE HEIGHTS IF ONLY YOU WERE LONELY 5,994 -13 6,878 367,944
158 FRANKLIN*KIRK HERO 5,986 -8 6,522 566,380 (god goes gold)
159 POVERTYNECK HILLBILLIES POVERTYNECK HILLBILLIES 5,919 0 5,920
160 STAIND CHAPTER V 5,874 -14 6,801 865,052
161 QUEEN STONE COLD CLASSICS 5,741 -22 7,392 90,687
162 GREEN DAY AMERICAN IDIOT 5,740 -10 6,407 5,474,742
163 STRAIT*GEORGE SOMEWHERE DOWN IN TEXAS 5,724 -7 6,174 830,419
164 ARCTIC MONKEYS WHATEVER PEOPLE SAY I AM THAT' 5,703 -7 6,165 218,743 (U.S.A. is not the UK)
165 DUELO RELACIONES 5,654 999 64 5,718
166 CURRINGTON*BILLY DOIN' SOMETHIN' RIGHT 5,637 -8 6,114 615,546
167 LEGEND*JOHN GET LIFTED 5,627 -38 9,136 1,722,107
168 IL DIVO ANCORA 5,557 2 5,440 640,300
169 CELTIC WOMAN CELTIC WOMAN 5,471 18 4,650 655,638
170 ROGERS*KENNY WATER & BRIDGES 5,428 0 5,409 162,239
171 JUVENILE REALITY CHECK 5,407 -19 6,683 442,879
172 VARIOUS UNSOUND 5,381 999 2 5,383
173 VARIOUS ARTISTS HOPELESSLY DEVOTED TO YOU, V6 5,358 999 47 5,405
174 DISTURBED TEN THOUSAND FISTS 5,349 -10 5,948 1,121,941
175 WALL*PAUL PEOPLE'S CHAMP 5,239 -16 6,216 769,599
176 DEF LEPPARD ROCK OF AGES 5,235 -9 5,735 515,666
177 VENEGAS*JULIETA LIMON Y SAL 5,173 999 260 5,434
178 NICHOLS*JOE III 5,164 -1 5,207 422,666
179 VARIOUS NOW #1S 5,124 -7 5,522 446,698
180 SHINEDOWN US & THEM 5,103 -8 5,526 370,557
181 VARIOUS MONSTER BALLADS PLATINUM EDITI 5,099 -7 5,491 275,698
182 THURSDAY CITY BY THE LIGHT 5,070 -12 5,747 86,097
183 THREE 6 MAFIA MOST KNOWN UNKNOWN 5,016 -24 6,576 845,792
184 THIRD DAY WHEREVER YOU ARE 5,005 3 4,872 203,875
185 BIG & RICH COMIN' TO YOUR CITY 4,952 -1 5,010 825,642
186 JERSEY BOYS SOUNDTRACK 4,895 39 3,521 84,891
187 STRAIT*GEORGE 50 NUMBER ONES 4,892 -2 4,995 2,711,897
188 YOUNG JEEZY LET'S GET IT 4,891 -14 5,702 1,606,857 (jeezy is to Jay as Joc is to Diddy)
189 CASCADA EVERYTIME WE TOUCH 4,873 -11 5,455 139,149
190 MERCER*ROY D. BLACK & BLUE 4,869 999 6 4,875
191 BONE THUGS-N-HARMONY GREATEST HITS 4,862 -9 5,321 541,582
192 ATREYU DEATHGRIP ON YESTURDAY 4,852 -5 5,130 165,742
193 NEW CARS IT'S ALIVE! 4,837 999 43 4,900
194 EVANS*SARA REAL FINE PLACE 4,823 -2 4,946 615,197
195 KORN VOL. 1-GREATEST HITS 4,799 -29 6,735 1,134,606
196 GABRIEL*JUAN LA HISTORIA DEL DIVO 4,749 -15 5,567 78,955
197 SHE WANTS REVENGE SHE WANTS REVENGE 4,732 -7 5,061 194,549
198 CROW*SHERYL WILDFLOWER 4,677 -16 5,601 841,998
199 IL DIVO IL DIVO 4,614 -3 4,741 1,251,652
200 HIM DARK LIGHT 4,599 -5 4,851 433,216