40% of SoundScan Top 20 Albums Belong to Country Music Artists

While the juggernaut of last week, Speak Now from Taylor Swift doesn’t once again have 1/5 of every recording sold in America, the superstar still managed to move another 319,000. She was followed by the debut of Jason Aldean at #2 on the SoundScan Hot 200 Albums sales chart.  Aldean had his best first week ever with nearly 193,000 copies sold. Sugarland’s three-week old record has now sold over 351,000 copies while Brad Paisley’s two disc Hits Alive greatest hits/live recording moved nearly 31,000 copies in its first week.  Kenny Chesney’s Hemingway’s Whiskey retains the #12 position on the Hot 200 Albums chart this week with another 23,000 plus fans taking home the album. 

The sixth best-selling country album this week belonged to Darius Rucker with Charleston, SC 1966.  The album has now moved over 186,000 copies since being released a month ago.  The Band Perry continues to find sales success thanks to their hit single “If I Die Young.”  The family trio has now sold over 122,000 copies of The Band Perry and look sure to slide past the Gold sales mark before this album ends its ‘era’ on the charts.  Lady Antebellum’s new Target-exclusive holiday EP Merry Little Christmas moved 20,436 copies last week, nearly 1/3 of the album’s sales so far.  Zac Brow Band’s You Get What You Give is the 9th best-selling country album this week with Lady Antebellum’s Need You Now returning to the Top 10 this week with more than 19,000 fans grabbing a copy of the CMA Awards-nominated album.

Toby Keith’s Bullets in the Gun moved nearly 16,000 more copies this week to give Toby more than 150,000 copies sold so far.  The most-nominated CMA Awards nominee this year, Miranda Lambert, continues to find success with Revolution inching ever so-closely to the million-copy sold threshold.   Taylor Swift’s Fearless moved another 11,000 copes while the CMA-nominated album Play On from Carrie Underwood moved nearly 11,000 copies itself.  Billy Currington’s Enjoy Yourself rounds out the Top 15.

The Zac Brown Band’s Foundation leads the last quarter of the Top 20 selling country albums this week with nearly 9,000 more fans taking home the album.  Jamey Jonhson has now sold nearly 175,000 copies of his double album The Guitar Song since it was released in September.  Eric Church’s Carolina continues to be a consistent seller with the album comfortably over the 300k sales mark while Jerrod Niemann’s Judge Jerrod and the Hung Jury returns to the Top 20 with 5,152 fans picking up their own copy of the album which features “Lover, Lover” and “What Do You Want.”  The hits compilation Now That’s What I Call Country Music! Volume 3 rounds out the Top 20.

CMA Nominee Luke Bryan leads the albums to watch section of the rundown this week with his record getting ever so close to the Gold-scanned mark.  Little Big Town’s The Reason Why has now sold 116,816 copies since being released and Multi CMA Award nominee Easton Corbin has moved nearly 165,000 copies of his self-titled debut.  The CMA-nominated Album of the Year Up On The Ridge from Dierks Bentley is next on the rundown and has sold nearly 170,000 copies while Colt Ford Re-enters this weeks’ Hot 200 albums chart from SoundScan at #200 with Chicken & Biscuits. The album has now sold over 125,000 copies. 

Next week Reba, Blake Shelton and the Loretta Lynn tribute album make their chart debuts while the afterglow from the CMA awards is sure to affect nominee and winner albums as well. As always, check back here to get the lowdown.