It was a week of superstar debuts at the nation's record retailers, though some of the stars have apparently lost a lot of shine in recent years. Prince and AC/DC managed to bow their latest albums in the top 10, but David Bowie and the Grateful Dead had to make do with the top 30 and Diana Ross opened at No. 114.
Speaking volumes about the state of music today, the old warhorses struggled to the gate while such perky newcomers as Alanis Morissette, Coolio and Hootie & the Blowfish took the win, place and show positions.
Morissette kept one hand on the top slot as "Jagged Little Pill" popped its second week at No. 1 with sales of 142,000, off a slice from 148,000 the previous period. Coolio's powerful "Gangsta's Paradise" single from "Dangerous Minds" kept the soundtrack at No. 2 with sales of 135,000, down from 147,000. Hootie keeps blowing along, selling 121,000 copies last week, off from 138,000 the previous period.
AC/DC powered into the No. 4 position with the highest debut of the week, according to SoundScan figures obtained from industry sources. The boys are back in the black with initial sales of 113,000.
Country singer Tim McGraw held up well in his second week, though sales dropped a bit from 110,000 to 103,000.
Prince mined gold as well as his "Gold Experience" album, which debuted at No. 6 with sales of 91,000.
Michael Bolton stayed static at 84,000 copies for the second week's outing of his greatest hits album, while TLC moved 69,000 copies, down from 76,000.