rickross

If you’ve been following our Twitter page lately, you’ve noticed that I’ve been wondering who the hell buys Rick Ross albums. ‘Cause I know folks who like all kinds of music, and not one person I talk to on a regular basis will admit to owning one of the dude’s records. But someone’s buying ’em right? For the third consecutive album, Rick Ross has debuted at #1 on the Billboard Album chart. “Deeper Than Rap” opens with 158,000 units, significantly ahead of the “Hannah Montana” soundtrack, which is #2 with 104K.

If you are a Rick Ross fan, please step to the plate and let us know why you buy his records. Seriously. I won’t even laugh at you or question your musical taste in public.

Then again, maybe he just has a lot of buddies at the corrections facility he was working in.
There are two other debuts in the Top 10 this week. Depeche Mode is one of those bands that just never goes out of style (not to mention the fact that they should be in the R&R Hall of Fame), and they take the #3 spot on this week’s chart with “Sounds of the Universe”. Meanwhile, suburban rapper Asher Roth enters at #5 with “Asleep in the Bread Aisle”, an album that features my current guilty pleasure, “I Love College”.

The Top 200’s biggest percentage increase this week goes to Jack Johnson, whose year old “Sleep Through the Static” moves to #170 on a 53% increase. Not far behind him is “Dancing with the Stars” performer Robin Thicke, whose “Something Else” jumps over the 400K mark on a 48% increase down at #180. The biggest drop comes from alt-rock band Silversun Pickups, who slide 7-33 on a 68% decrease to 14,000 units.

Next week, it’s all but given that Bob Dylan will debut at the top of the charts for the second consecutive time. Better him than Rick Ross. And that will lead to a very interesting May, during which Eminem and Green Day will challenge U2 for the year’s biggest first-week total. Stay tuned!

This week’s Top 20 Albums:

1) “Deeper Than Rap” Rick Ross

2) “Hannah Montana Soundtrack” Various Artists

3) “Sounds of the Universe” Depeche Mode

4) “Unstoppable” Rascal Flatts

5) “Asleep in the Bread Aisle” Asher Roth

6) “Twilight Soundtrack” Various Artists

7) “The Fame” Lady GaGa

8) “Forever in a Day” Day26

9) “Now That’s What I Call Music 30” Various Artists

10) “Last Kiss” Jadakiss

11) “Fearless” Taylor Swift

12) “Wide Open” Jason Aldean

13) “Dark Horse” Nickelback

14) “In a Perfect World…” Keri Hilson

15) “Only by the Night” Kings of Leon

16) “Shallow Life” Lacuna Coil

17) “Defying Gravity” Keith Urban

18) “Quiet Nights” Diana Krall

19) “Lotusflow3r/MPLSound/Elix3r” Prince/Bria Valente

20) “I Am…Sasha Fierce” Beyonce