Album Sweep: January 31, 2015 - Part One...

It's time for this week's "album sweep", sampling the records making their debut on Billboard magazine's Album Sales Chart this week, and for the first time this year there's so many newbies I will divide the pack into two, with the second half tomorrow. As always, I've included links to buy any of the new sets along with some of the artists' other major work...

The new top-selling album in the U.S. in its first week is the debut full-length release from pop singer/songwriter Meghan Trainor with Title (a four-song EP of the same, erm, title reached #15 last year). She sold just under 200,000 copies, not bad for what normally would be considered a "singles" genre...

(Click below to see the rest of the post)


The 27th volume is the profitable "dumbing down" pop series Kidz Bop places at #3 this week. Ten of the 27 had reached the top-3, though none of them has topped the chart (as yet). This new one whitewashes hits by Taylor Swift, Iggy Azalea, Ariana Grande, and even Meghan Trainor herself with a Menudo-like parade of kids karaokeing it up...(nobody's gettin' drunk by the minibar here)

British DJ and producer Mark Ronson lands his first album in the American top-40 as his fourth collection Uptown Special arrives at #6. It features collaborations with Bruno Mars, Kevin Parker, and Stevie Wonder among others...

Philly native Jazmine Sullivan comes in at #7 with her third album Reality Show. Her debut, Fearless, peaked one notch higher at #6 in 2008...

Ella Henderson, a British singer who appeared on the British version of The X Factor, debuts at #11 with her first album Chapter One...

Indie-rock band Guster claim their highest rank to date with their seventh album Evermotion. It's their fourth consecutive studio release to make the top-40...

Experimental electronica artist and member of the band Animal Collective Panda Bear (aka Noah Lennox) enters at #20 with his fifth solo album Panda Bear Meets The Grim Reaper. It's his second top-40 solo effort and highest peak yet...

Christian collective Hillsong Young And Free ascend to #27 with their EP This Is Living. Last year their We Are Young & Free made it to #22...

That's all for the first half of the bunch...out of these (mostly) worthy eight the three to check out first are the Mark Ronson, Meghan Trainor, and Guster albums...

I'll be back tomorrow with the second half of the new crop...