Album Sweep: August 18, 2012 - Part One...

It's time to sample some of the best-selling newest music in the first part of this week's "Album Sweep".

The number-one album in the US is a debut, and the fourth #1 out of five studio sets for rapper and label mogul Rick Ross, with God Forgives, I Don't...he's certainly more of an "album" artist, since so far he's only made the pop chart top-20 once as a lead artist, with "The Boss" in 2008...

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Coming in at #10 is British soul singer Joss Stone, with The Soul Sessions, Vol. 2. The first volume, her debut in 2003, peaked at #39, and while she hasn't had an American top-40 hit, she scored a top-10 hit in her home country in 2004 with "You Had Me".

Country group Gloriana went from a quartet to a trio between their self-titled debut album and their sophomore set, A Thousand Miles Left Behind, but now have their biggest hit yet at "(Kissed You) Good Night" is at #2 on the country radio chart. The album comes in at #11 (as well as #2 on the country-specific list, also the same as their debut)...

California thrash-metal group Testament's tenth studio album has become their highest-charting record to date, as Dark Roots Of Evil enters at #12...

Whitney Houston's final movie, the remake of the 70s Irene Cara-led Sparkle, is set to open this coming Friday (August 17), and the soundtrack to the movie, featuring Houston along with Jordin Sparks, Cee-Lo, and others debuts at #26...

Legendary jam-rock band the Grateful Dead have released more live albums than I can shake a stick at, and the fan-favorite Dick's Picks series went on for 36 volumes, chosen by archivist Dick Latvala. After Dick passed in 1999, Dave Lemieux became in charge of the series, and the third installment of Dave's Picks Volume 3: Auditorium Theatre, Chicago, IL - 10/22/71, is the first to be on the Billboard 200 chart at #34, which is awesome considering the limited run of 12,000 copies..

Singer/producer J (James) Moss has the biggest gospel album in the land this week with V4...The Other Side Of Victory, and the set also debuts on the big chart at #36..

Singer/songwriter Joshua Radin got mad exposure with his songs appearing on friend Zach Braff's Scrubs show on TV, and his track "I'd Rather Be With You" even became a minor hit in 2008. His latest, the third to make the top-40 on the albums chart, is Underwater at #37...

California-based Irish/Scottish world music rock band Gaelic Storm charts their third album on the top 200 at #73 (their highest as yet) with Chicken Boxer...

That's it for part one, stay tuned tomorrow for the wrap-up, with new music from Jackyl, Reel Big Fish, Phish, and more...