1. U2 – No Line on the Horizon – 484,000 (debut)
2. Taylor Swift – Fearless – 52,000 (-29%)
3. Neko Case – Middle Cyclone – 44,000 (debut)
4. Lady GaGa – The Fame – 42,000 (+30%)
5. Nickelback – Dark Horse – 36,000 (-11%)
6. Jamie Foxx – Intuition – 32,000 (+5%)
7. The Fray – The Fray – 32,000 (+3%)
8. Beyonce – I Am… Sasha Fierce – 31,000 (-13%)
9. Slumdog Millionaire soundtrack – 24,000 (-45%)
10. T.I. – Paper Trail – 24,000 (-7%)
• This is “the best sales week for an artist since Britney Spears‘ Circus arrived at No. 1 in early December with 505,000.”
• With seven, “U2 is now tied with Led Zeppelin for the second-most No. 1s, behind only the Beatles‘ 19.”
• The Jonas Brothers are apparently not as popular as they seem. 3D Concert Experience fell to #15, with 19,000 (-60%).
Additional sales data via MTV.
44k gets you 3rd place?
Wow, the industry really is in the shitter.
Does billboard count only CD sales? or do they include downloads now?
Do they count sell-outs like AC/DC and Prince, who only sell through WalMart and Target?
Who really cares about CD sales, anyway?
Wikipedia: “Digital downloads are included in Billboard 200 tabulation, as long as the entire album is purchased as a whole.”
And they’ve included sales from “exclusive album titles that are only available through one retailer” since November 2007.