Album Sweep: October 25, 2014 - Part One...

It's time for the first half of this week's "album sweep", sampling the records making their debut on the official Top 200 Albums sales chart in Billboard magazine. As usual, I've included highlighted links to buy any of the new sets when available. Support the talent!

The top-selling album of the previous week is the sixth album from country star Jason Aldean, as Old Boots, New Dirt sells over 278,000 copies in its first week. This makes it his second #1 album; he did the same with his last effort, Night Train, which topped the list in 2012 selling almost one and a half times more than his new one...

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Last week's Saturday Night Live musical guest, Irish indie-folk singer/songwriter Hozier, lands in the runner-up spot with his self-titled first full-length set. It includes his hit "Take Me To Church", which titled an EP he put at #107 earlier this year...

Indie-rock heroes Weezer scores their seventh consecutive top-10 album as Everything Will Be Alright In The End, their 9th overall, is in at #5. Back in 2005 their Make Believe release made it to #2...

Stevie Nicks returns at #7 with 24 Karat Gold: Songs From The Vault, a collection a newly recorded songs originally tucked away as demos, and therefore becomes her eighth solo studio album. It becomes her sixth to reach the top-10 apart from Fleetwood Mac; her first, Bella Donna, topped the albums chart in 1981...

Third-season X Factor winners Alex & Sierra make their debut at #8 with their first release It's About Us. The last winner, Tate Stevens, saw his first come in at #18, while first-season champ Melanie Amaro never even saw an album...

R&B singer and reality-show fodder Keyshia Cole is back at #9 with her sixth effort Point Of No Return. All six have made the top-ten with two reaching #2; Just Like You in 2007 and A Different Me a year later...

YouTube classical crossover stars the Piano Guys get their third consecutive top-40 album as Wonders enters at #12, their highest rank to date...

Singer/songwriter Jackson Browne returns at #15 with his thirteenth studio set Standing In The Breach. This is the highest he's been on the albums chart in over thirty years. In 1980 he went to #1 with Hold Out...

R&B singer Tinashe, who was born in the southern African nation of Zimbabwe before moving to California as a child, debuts at #17 with her first, Aquarius....

Alternative rap artist Flying Lotus (aka Steven Ellison) arrives at #19 with his fifth effort You're Dead! It's his second in the top-40 and highest yet...

Motley Crue side-project Sixx: A.M., named for its leader, bassist Nikki Sixx, rock in at #20 with their third full-length record Modern Vintage. Their last, This Is Gonna Hurt, topped out at #10 in 2011...

Pop/punk veterans New Found Glory come in at #25 with their eighth album Resurrection. It's their first since bassist/lyricist Steve Klein left the band. It's their sixth straight to make the top-40; ten years ago they ascended to #3 with Catalyst...

Another pop/punk band that formed at the same time, Yellowcard, land at #26 with Lift A Sail, their ninth studio effort. Their last six have made the top-40, with Lights and Sounds peaking at #5 in 2006...

Texan indie-rock singer/songwriter Shakey Graves is in at #44 with And The War Came...

Broods, a brother and sister duo from New Zealand, send their first full-length album Evergreen to #45 on the chart...

Canadian electronica musician Caribou (born Dan Snaith) moves in at #46 with Our Love. It's their third to make the chart and best showing yet...

That's it for the first half of the new bunch...out of these sixteen the four I would go for first are the Hozier, Stevie Nicks, Jason Aldean, and Flying Lotus sets...

I'll return tomorrow with the second half...