Album Sweep: July 12, 2014 - Part One...

It's time for the first half of this week's "album sweep", sampling the records making their debut on Billboard magazine's official Top 200 Albums sales chart. As usual, I've included highlighted links to buy anything here, along with some of the artists' other major work. Support the talent!

The top-selling album of the week is the second effort from English singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran, who sells over 200,000 copies of x in its first week. it's his first #1 album in the U.S.

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Oakland rapper G-Eazy debuts at #3 with his first official full-length album These Things Happen....

Georgia-based sludge-metal band Mastodon score their highest rank at #6 with their second straight top-10 effort Once More 'Round The Sun...

Jam-rock veterans Phish return at #7 with their first studio set in five years, Fuego. It's their third top-10 album and matches the peak of their best, Billy Breathes from 1996....

Rapper AB-Soul (aka Herbert Stevens IV) lands at #11 with his third album and first to make the top-40, These Days...

Now that Clint Eastwood's film version of the Jersey Boys hit Broadway show has hit theaters, the official soundtrack enters the chart at #15. The original cast album, featuring a lot of the same cast, has reached #85 and sold over a million copies, moving up to #125 this week...

Neo-soul singer Joe is back at #17 with his eleventh studio set Bridges. Six of his records have made the top-10, with both My Name Is Joe (2000) and Ain't Nothin' Like Me (2007) reaching #2...

Breakbeat artist Bassnectar (real name Lorin Ashton) has his highest rank on the chart as his tenth album Noise vs. Beauty comes in at #21. It's his second in the top-40...

Texan rapper Riff Raff lands his first charting album as Neon Icon arrives at #22...

Bad Suns, an alternative rock band from California, also get their first top-40 album hit at #24 with Language & Perspective...

One-man indie-pop band Owl City enters at #30 with his Ultraviolet EP. It's his first extended play to make the top-40 - three of his full-length efforts have made the top-10, with All Things Bright And Beautiful hitting #6 in 2011..

Hard rock act Nothing More is in at #33 with their self-titled album...

That's it for the first half of the new crop - out of this dozen the three I would get first are the Ed Sheeran, Bad Suns, and Phish albums....

I'll return tomorrow with part two...