Album Sweep: July 13, 2013 - Part One...

Hey gang, it's time to kick off the first half of this week's "album sweep", sampling the records spending their first week on the Top 200 Albums chart in Billboard magazine. As always, I've included links to buy anything you see online, but if you can, stop buy a record store and show some love...

The top-selling album of the week is the first #1 set for Washington DC rapper Wale, whose third effort The Gifted sold over a hundred and fifty thousand copies in its first week. His last, Ambition, came close, going to #2 in 2011...

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Christian rock band Skillet comes in at #4 with their ninth album Rise. It's their second top-10 set - four years ago their Awake peaked at #2...

Alternative soul queen India.Arie returns at #7 with SongVersation, her fifth studio album. All five have reached the top-10 on the Top 200 Albums chart, and she topped the list in 2006 with Testimony: Vol. 1, Life and Relationship...

The fourth entry in the top-10 this week is the first to reach this level from metalcore band August Burns Red at #9 with Rescue & Restore. They hail from Lancaster County, better known as Pennsylvania Dutch or Amish country, and their last non-seasonal set, Leveler, came close, going to #11 in 2011..

Swedish death metal act Amon Amarth descend on the chart at #19 with Deceiver Of The Gods, their ninth effort, and third (and highest) to reach the US chart. ..

Continuing in the hardcore vein, Atlanta's Attila take their About That Life to #22. It's their second to make the chart, and first to reach the top-40...(NSFW)

The next debut at #23 is an oddity in that it is one of two albums under the Queensryche name to come on to the chart this year, but by two completely different lineups. After lead singer Geoff Tate fell out with the other founding members of the band, they've been in litigation for the rights to use the name on their band lineup. Pending a new court date in November, both parties were allowed to release material under Queensryche. Tate's lineup put out Frequency Unknown back in April, and it arrived at #82. Now the other incarnation with new singer Todd La Torre comes in with a stronger rank with a "self-titled" set (making a statement, no?), and it sold more than double the first-week amount of Tate's....

Isaac Carree, a member of the gospel group Men Of Standard, debuts at #41 with his second solo set Reset.

Palms, a band that includes three members of the hard-rock outfit Isis along with singer Chino Moreno from the Deftones, arrives at #55 with their self-titled debut....

Neo-punk "supergroup" Transplants, featuring members of Rancid, Blink-182, and Expensive Taste, comes in at #58 with In A Warzone, their third full-length together. Their last, Haunted Cities back in 2005, made it to #28...

Christian alt-rock band We As Human debut at #66 with their self-titled first full-length effort.

R&B veteran Mavis Staples enters at #67 with her new album One True Vine. It's her second to be produced by Wilco's Jeff Tweedy. As a member of the Staple Singers, she had two top-20 albums in the 70s...

Alt-hiphop performer Dessa comes in at #74 with her third effort Parts Of Speech...

Still ridin' the reality/nostalgia train is former Poison singer Bret Michaels with Jammin' With Friends, his third solo CD to make the chart at #60. In 2010, his Custom Built came in at #14...

Another Deadhead fan item arrives as the Jerry Garcia Band's GarciaLive, Volume 2: August 5th 1990 Greek Theatre comes in at #62. It documents the Grateful Dead lead singer's Berkeley California show...

That's it for part one of this week's album journey...out of these 15 the three I'd remember first are the Mavis Staples, India.Arie, and Garcia Band sets....

I'll return tomorrow with part two with music from Bob Marley, Natalie Cole, Alicia Keys, and more....