Album Sweep: February 23, 2013 - Part One...

It's time to start of the first half of this week's "album sweep", where I sample the records spending their first week on Billboard magazine's Top 200 albums chart. I've included links to buy anything you see at the Amazon, but please, if you can, go take a trip to an indie record store. It'll do you good.

This week's top seller is the new album by vocalist Josh Groban, whose All That Echoes is his third #1 set in the US. It manages to sell close to 150,000 copies last week, which tells you how far off the entertainment media and radio is to what people want to listen to.

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Selling over 100K and coming in at #2 is Tim McGraw's first album with his new label, Big Machine, Two Lanes Of Freedom. While Tim has had 4 chart-topping albums on the all-genre list, this set is his seventh to reach the runner-up spot.

The 45th edition in the NOW That's What I Call Music! compilation series comes in at #3. Every one of the 45 has made the top-10. Nine of its 20 tracks have made the top-10 on the Billboard Hot 100...

Nashville Christian rock band Red see their fourth album Release The Panic arrive at #7. Their previous record, Until We Have Faces, reached #2 in 2011..

The fifth and final new entry in the top-10 this week is progressive metal group Coheed and Cambria, as they enter at #9 with The Afterman: Decension. their seventh full-length album, Five of them had reached the top-10, like this album's partner, The Afterman: Ascension, which went to #5 at the end of last year...

Rapper Joe Budden has had only three studio albums in the last ten years, but they have all done well, and the latest, No Love Lost, comes in at #15. His self-titled debut went to #8 in 2003. (NSFW)

Jim James, the leader of the Kentucky alt-rock band My Morning Jacket, places his debut solo album, Regions Of Light And Sound Of God, at #34 on the chart.

R&B singer Avant scores his fifth top-40 album as Face The Music, his seventh set, comes in at #40. Two of them have reached the top-10, with Director going to #4 in 2006...

The winner of this year's Best Album Grammy, Mumford & Sons, climb on the chart at #54 with their companion to their DVD documentary, The Road To Red Rocks: Live. Their debut, Sigh No More, is at #39 and the award-winning Babel is at #4...(NSFW for the f word)

Canadian post-hardcore band Silverstein, named for the childrens' author, debut at #59 with This Is How The Wind Shifts, their seventh full-length album. Four of their efforts reached the top-40...

Gospel artist Tasha Cobbs comes in at #61 with Grace. She has the top gospel single in the country this week.

That's it for the first half...out of this half the three I'd recommend first are the Josh Groban, Mumford & Sons, and Avant albums...

I'll bring you the second half of the album sweep tomorrow afternoon, but later on I'll have this week's UK music recap.. see you then!