Album Sweep: March 30, 2013 - Part One....

Good afternoon, folks, it's time to kick off part one of this week's "album sweep" sampling the new records spending their first week on Billboard magazine's Top 200 Albums chart. I've included links to buy anything when I can, but please try making it to a local record shop if you can.

This week's two top-selling albums are by people over 50...which tells you the market for albums these days (where shall the blame commence...). The winner this week is 51-year-old Jon Bon Jovi, as his namesake band sells just under 100,000 copies to land at #1 with What About Now. It's their fifth #1 album (and third consecutive studio set to do that)...

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Coming in at the runner-up spot is 66-year-old David Bowie, with his 27th studio album The Next Day. It's remarkably the highest he has ever peaked with a record - his Station To Station went to #3 in 1976. In fact, this is his first top-10 album since Let's Dance went to #4 thirty years ago. Wrap that around your brain.

Arriving at #4 is the Christian multi-artist live album Passion: Let The Future Begin, featuring Chris Tomlin, Matt Redman, and more. Tomlin recent had the first #1 album by a primary Christian artist ever...

R&B boyband Mindless Behavior jump in at #6 with their sophomore effort All Around The World. It's one rung higher than their debut, #1 Girl, did in 2011..

The third oldster in the top-10, 67-year-old Eric Clapton, shuffles in at #7 with his 20th studio set Old Sock. It includes cameos from Chaka Khan, Paul McCartney, and more...

Continuing the dominance of the advanced in age on this week's album charts, the soundtrack to Dave Grohl's documentary Sound City - Real to Reel enters at #8 this week. It includes performances from Stevie Nicks, Paul McCartney, and even Rick Springfield....

Reflecting the sales week leading up to St. Patricks Day, the Starbucks exclusive The Spirit Of Ireland debuts at #30. The alt-rock-leaning collection has songs from the Pogues, Flogging Molly, My Bloody Valentine and more...

A beneficiary of Amazon's short $1.99 sale, the Columbia Records compilation Playlist: The Very Best 80's Hits from 2009 makes its first appearance on the chart at #32. With 11 top-10 singles among its 14 tracks, and four #1 singles, it's high on hit value...

San Francisco spoken-word hip-hop artist and rapper Watsky scores a big debut as his second album Cardboard Castles is at #50. (NSFW)

Also previously on sale at Amazon was the 2005 The Best Of Bob Dylan collection, which spends its first week on the chart at #54.

Christian singer Steven Curtis Chapman enters with a Cracker Barrel exclusive, Deep Roots, at #68...(it's available at Amazon as well)...



Kentucky-based Christian rock band Audio Adrenaline put their ninth studio album Kings & Queens on the chart at #70. It's their highest rank so far...

That's it for the first half of the newbies...out of this dozen the three I'd pick first are the David Bowie, Sound City, and Eric Clapton sets.

I'll be back tomorrow with the second part with new stuff from an actress from Smash, a collection from a TV zombie show, and more...