Album Sweep: June 1, 2013 - Part One...

Hey folks, it's time to kick off the first half of this week's 'album sweep', sampling the records making their first appearance on Billboard magazine's Top 200 Album chart this week. As before, I've included links to buy anything you see if possible...

The top-selling record of the week is by indie-rock group Vampire Weekend, who had appeared on Saturday Night Live the weekend before. Modern Vampires Of The City sold over 134,000 copies last week. It's their second #1 disc out of their three albums after Contra did the trick in 2010...

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Country veteran George Strait chimes in at #2 with his 28th studio set Love Is Everything, selling one and a quarter hundred thousand this week. Every one of his studio releases since 1994 has made the top 10 on the big chart, and all together he's had five #1 albums, from 1997's Carrying Your Love With Me to 2009's Twang...

The third album to sell over 100K this week is the new one by Disney princess turned X Factor judge Demi Lovato, with her fourth full-length album Demi. All four have made the top-5, with her sophomore set Here We Go Again topping the Top 200 in 2009...

Christian singer turned pop star Amy Grant returns at #12 back to her roots with How Mercy Looks From Here. In the 90s she had two top-10 albums, with 1997's Behind The Eyes going to #8...

Recent All-Star Celebrity Apprentice reality show "winner" and country singer Trace Adkins is back at #14 with his 11th album Love Will... He has had four top-10 records on the big chart, with both 2006's Dangerous Man and 2011's Proud To Be Here reaching #3...

The Wonder Years, a pop/punk act from Lansdale, Pennsylvania outside Philly, come in at #20 with The Greatest Generation. It's their first to make the top-40, Congrats!

Another rock band from my local area, the Dillinger Escape Plan from Morris Plains, bring their "mathcore" to #25 with One Of Us Is The Killer. It's their highest-charting set to date...

Vegas metalcore outfit Escape The Fate score their third consecutive top-40 album with Ungrateful at #27. Their last self-titled set went to #25...

Another limited-edition live set from the Grateful Dead is on the chart at #32. Dave's Picks Volume 6 contains concerts from 1969 in San Francisco and 1970 in St. Louis...

Michigan-based hard rock group Pop Evil arrives at #39 with their fourth set Onyx, their first to make the top-40...

Rapper-turned-actress Eve returns with her first album since 2002 at #46 with Lip Lock. Her 1999 debut, Let There Be Eve...Ruff Ryders' First Lady, topped the chart...

That does it for this first half of the newbies...out of these eleven the three I'd recommend first are the Vampire Weekend, George Strait, and Wonder Years albums...

I'll return tomorrow with part two including music from the big movie of the week, a British critics' fave, and a former member of the biggest thing to come from Sweden save IKEA...