Album Sweep: July 7, 2012 - Part One...

Hey folks, it's time for part one of this week's "Album Sweep", sampling the new set making this week's top 200 album chart in Billboard magazine.

The top entry as expected is Justin Bieber's Believe, though with much more muted sales (375,000) than I would've expected with that sort of rabid fanbase (case in point: Taylor Swift's last one moved over a million copies its first week). However, four of its tracks have sold enough to make the top-40, including the top-10 hit "Boyfriend"..

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The top four albums are all new entries - coming in at #2 is the current male country champ, Kenny Chesney, with his 15th studio set, Welcome To The Fishbowl...

Fiona Apple has the highest-charting album of her career so far with the CD titled The Idler Wheel is Wiser Than The Driver Of The Screw and Whipping Cords Will Serve You More Than Ropes Will Ever Do, or The Idler Wheel for short, (Whew!) as it arrives at #3...

So from a clip with Apple wearing at Octopus as a hat, another 90's alt-rock powerhouse, the Smashing Pumpkins, are back at #4 with their latest, Oceania....

Reggae/Punk hybrid group the Dirty Heads had a huge rock hit in 2010 with "Lay Me Down" from Any Port In A Storm. They return with their sophomore set Cabin By The Sea at #18...I sense a nautical obsession...

Coming off the success of the Broadway musical Once, which was based on the movie of the same title that he starred in, Irish singer Glen Hansard debuts at #21 with Rhythm And Repose...

At #25 is a compilation of 90's R&B-flavored hits on Razor & Tie Records called That's My Jam! featuring 18 top-10 hits from the likes of TLC, Brandy, Toni Braxton, and more. It's a pretty solid collection for what it is...

Last week's box-office winner, Pixar's Brave, sees it's soundtrack come in at #33. It features an excellent track by British newcomer Birdy with Mumford & Sons...

Cincinnati indie-rockers Walk The Moon have their self-titled album pop in at #36 fueled by a lot of buzz and a performance on David Letterman...and yes, this video rocks....who is that guy in the purple?!?!?!

...and at #42 is electro-rock duo Blood On The Dancefloor, with Evolution....this is a pretty rough clip about bullying, good in its intentions, though a little to close to goth retribution at times..

Well, that's it for this half. I recommend Walk The Moon, Glen Hansard, and Fiona Apple's the most out of this lot (and as a side grab the "Learn Me Right" track from Brave). Up tomorrow: part two, with sets from Bon Iver, Don Williams, and more....