Album Sweep: November 17, 2012 - Part One...

It's time to kick off the first part of this week's "album sweep", where I bring you samples of this week's newest records to make Billboard magazine's Top 200 Albums chart. I've included links as always to buy anything you see at Amazon mp3...

The top-selling record this week again is Taylor Swift's Red, which moved over 300 thousand more copies this week.

The big debut on the chart belongs to Philly rapper Meek Mill, with his first studio album Dreams And Nightmares at #2. It sold over 150 thousand this week, not bad at all for a new effort from an act that hasn't hit the top-40 yet...(NSFW)

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Rod Stewart puts his first holiday set, Merry Christmas at #3 on the chart. Rod has had four chart-topping albums, the first two during his 70s heyday, and the other two in the 2000s during his "cover songs" period...

Country fireband Toby Keith comes in at #6 with his sixteenth studio album Hope On The Rocks. It's the lowest peak of any of his regular studio sets since 2001's Pull My Chain. He's had four #1 albums (like Rod), but I guess he's mined the same quarry for much too long...

Neil Young is back at #8 reunited with his backing band Crazy House on Psychedelic Pill. He took Harvest to the top in 1972...

The second Christmas set to debut in the top-10 this week is by the hard-rock holiday group Trans-Siberian Orchestra, with Dreams Of Fireflies (On A Christmas Night) at #9. It's a five-song EP that becomes their first such work to make the top-10; their other CD to make the mark, Night Castle, was a non-Xmas work...

Christian alt-metal group Flyleaf arrive at #16 with their third full-length album, New Horizons. Their 2009 effort Memento Mori made the top 10...

Scottish DJ/producer Calvin Harris' third album, 18 Months, jets in at #19 this week. The set has six songs that either hit #1 or #2 on the British pop chart, and features videos from Ne-Yo, Florence Welch, Kelis, Ellie Goulding, Rihanna, and more...

Rapper Tech N9ne returns at #30 with another EP, Boiling Point (K.O.D. Collection). It's his third EP to make the albums top-40 this year...(NSFW)

Australian metalcore band Parkway Drive arrive at #32 with their second top-40 effort, Atlas...

Hard rock supergroup Black Country Communion, which boasts Glenn Hughes of Black Sabbath, Joe Bonamassa of Bloodline, drummer Jason Bonham (son of LedZep's John), and Derek Sherinian of Dream Theater, come in at #48 with their third studio set, Afterglow...

Indie musician Andrew Bird is at #52 with Hands Of Glory, his seventh studio set...

Dutch violinist Andre Rieu is massive in popularity in Europe, and he's done pretty respectable in the States as well. His new Christmas set Home For The Holidays debuts at #56...

 Brooklyn rapper Sean Price pops in at #59 with his biggest CD so far, Mic Tyson...

Singer/rapper/The Voice mentor Cee-Lo Green enters at #67 with his first Christmas album, Cee-Lo's Magic Moment...

Well that does it for the first half....out of these 14 the three I would recommend the most are the Calvin Harris, Andrew Bird, and Cee-Lo Green sets...

I'll be back tomorrow with part two, with music from Laurie Berkner, Katherine Jenkins, The Who, and more...