Album Sweep: November 22, 2014 - Part One...

Hey gang, it's time to bring out the first half of this week's "album sweep", sampling the records making their debut on the Top 200 Albums sales chart in Billboard magazine. As usual, I've included highlighted links to buy any of the new sets when available, as well as some of the artists' other major work, but if you can, get yourself over to an indie record store and show some love...

The top-selling album for the second week is Taylor Swift's 1989 pop project, which sold over 400,000 copies in its second week (more than any other 2014 have done in their first week this year)...

The top debut at #3 is the "divine" Bette Midler, with her girl-group homage It's The Girls. It's her sixth album to reach the top-10; in 1988 the soundtrack to her film Beaches made it to #2...

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Scottish DJ and producer Calvin Harris lands at #5 with his fourth full-length album Motion. It's his first to make the American top-10; all four have made that rank in the UK, with two going to #1 (this one came in at #2 there)...

The southern-rock band the Doobie Brothers are back at #16 with their fourteenth studio album Southbound. In their best time they racked up eight consecutive top-ten records, with Minute By Minute topping the list in 1978. This new one is a countrified remake of their past work like Lionel Richie's Tuskegee album., with guests like Blake Shelton, Zac Brown, and Chris Young (who helps on the one below)...

R&B singer Teyana Taylor debuts at #19 with her first album VII. Besides dancing on a few rap videos, she also appeared on MTV's shit-ball show My Super Sweet 16...

Rapper Azealia Banks finally gets time away from throwing epithets around to release her first full-length album Broke With Expensive Taste. which enters at #30..

Canadian singer/songwriter icon Neil Young nabs his second top-40 album this year as Storytone arrives at #33. Earlier in 2014 his A Letter Home came in at #13...

British boy-band the Vamps went to #10 in the US with their EP Somebody To You this past summer; now their debut full-length Meet The Vamps arrives on these shores at #40. Five of its songs have made the top-10 in the UK...

Bob Dylan and the Band comes in at #41 and #42 with the "raw" and "complete" versions of The Basement Tapes: Bootleg Series Vol. 11. While the complete set is six CDs long, the "raw" collection whittles it down to two discs. The original 1975 Basement Tapes release (which was overdubbed) went to #7 on the Top 200 Albums chart...

The contemporary Christian seasonal collection Positively Christmas 2014 sleighs in at #49. It contains selections from Casting Crowns, Brandon Heath, Third Day, and more...

Rapper Jake Miller roars in at #51 with his EP Lion Heart. His debut full-length album Us Against Them went to #26 last year...

Australian electrohouse duo Knife Party sail in at #54 with their first full-length album Abandon Ship. Last year they took their EP Haunted House to #37...

Rapper Joe Budden enters at #56 with his Some Love Lost EP. His self-titled debut album went to #8 in 2003...

Talk show queen Ellen DeGeneres had gotten on to the Christmas bandwagon at #70 with Ellen's The Only Holiday Album You'll Ever Need Vol. 1....

Contemporary Christian pop stars newsboys return at #79 with Hallelujah For The Cross. Back in 2010 they ascended to #4 with Born Again...





That's it for the first half of the new bunch....out of these fifteen the four I would choose first are the Calvin Harris, Doobie Brothers, Neil Young, and the Vamps sets...

I'll be back tomorrow with part two..