Album Sweep: February 2, 2013...

Hey folks, I'm back again with the second part of this week's "album sweep" of the latest records debuting on Billboard's Top 200 Albums chart. You can check out part 1 by clicking here, and as before I've included links to buy anything you see.

Making their debut at #74 is by far my favorite release of the week. It's by Brooklyn-based acoustical folk trio the Lone Bellow with their self-titled first album. They are definitely a group you need to know if you're into classic country-style harmonies and down-to-earth songwriting, and something you'll never hear on country radio.

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The late great band leader, Duke Ellington, is commemorated in a collection from his career highs from the 1920s to his death in 1974 by Starbucks, and In Good Company, which includes collaborations with Ella Fitzgerald, Count Basie, Mahalia Jackson, and more, arrives at #84. His best on the Billboard albums chart in the rock era is Ellington at Newport which went to #14 in 1957.

Christian hip-hop artist Sho Baraka is in at #108 with his third album, Talented 10th. It's the top Gospel album in the US this week, and tops the #149 peak of his last album, Lions & Liars in 2010. It's probably the first religious set I can recall that contains the N-word (in an anti-racism track), but its realness is actually jarringly welcome in the too-safe world of gospel. (NSFW)

And what's a week without metalcore? Ohio band The Plot In You debut at #110 with Could You Watch Your Children Burn. It's their first to reach the top-200.

Singer Dawn Richard, who was part of the prefab R&B group Danity Kane, gets her first charting full-length album as Goldenheart jumps in at #137. Her EP Armor On peaked at #145 last year. It's a welcome artistic departure from her work with her old group.

Rapper/singer/musician/YouTube star Michael Jones, who records under the moniker Wax, lands at #150 with Continue. If you're a Ray William Johnson fan, you may recognize him from his channel's outgoing track "Stalkin' Your Mom".

Croatian cello-playing duo 2Cellos got their first big exposure as they appeared on Glee as that show cribbed their YouTube fave version of Michael Jackson's "Smooth Criminal", and Naya Rivera (Santana) repays the favor by showing up on their sophomore album at #174, In2ition.Their first self-titled one went to #85. The new set also has cameos from Elton John, guitarist Steve Vai, and Italian vocalist Zucchero...

Christopher Owens, who left the San Franciscan indie-rock group Girls, has his first solo album Lysandre come in at #190.

The final debut of the week is by comedian Anthony Jaselnik, who has been a highlight of Comedy Central's recent yearly roasts, and Caligula enters at #194 (I see what you did there...)..

That's a wrap for part two. There's a lot of good music here (that usually happens in the first months of the year), but the three I'd pick first are the Lone Bellow (by far), 2Cellos, and Dawn Richard sets (for the "Duke", I'd recommend a more thorough compilation).

I'll be back later with this week's "robbed hit". Cheers!