This Week In Album Sales: Jill Scott & The Return of Great Music

If you're looking for a reason to be optimistic about the future of the music industry, this week is that reason. I can't remember the last time I looked at the top ten albums and saw this much good music (not GOOD Music). Jill Scott, who by the way is the shit, has the number one album in the country, followed by Kanye's favorite indie rocker Bon Iver, Adele and Bad Meets Evil. Sure there are some lows, LMFAO is hovering around at number twelve (seriously, who the fuck is buying a LMFAO album?), but four albums in the top ten that I think are legitimately dope? This is either a complete anomaly or a sign that people are refusing to buy bullshit anymore. Let's hope it's the latter.

I don't have the Soundscan for singles this week, only the Soundscan for albums, so I'm going to use Billboard for the top ten urban singles. Most won't care, but I know there are some sales nerds and purists out there (including myself) who do.

1. Kelly Rowland ft. Lil Wayne - "Motivation"
2. Miguel "Sure Thing"
3. The Fat Guy Who Yells ft. Drake, Rick Ross & Lil Wayne - "I'm On One"
4. Big Sean ft. Chris Brown - "My Last"
5. Chris Brown - "She Ain't You"
6. Marsha Ambrosious - "Far Away"
7. Trey Songz ft. Drake - "Unusual"
8. Lil Wayne - "How to Love"
9. Chris Brown ft. Busta Rhymes & Lil Wayne - "Look At Me Now"
10. Jill Scott ft. Anthony Hamilton - "So In Love"

The Refined Take:

1) And the good news extends to the top ten singles as well. As I wrote originally, "Motivation" is probably the best song Kelly Rowland's ever done, I've got nothing but respect for Miguel and I'll take Jill Scott and Marsha Ambrosius. Hell, I even think "My Last' is pretty good for a "made for radio" joint. I'm sure I'll be back to ranting and raving next week, but for now....nice job America. I more or less approve of your musical tastes.

2) Tyler the Creator is a fascinating test case for the new digital era. Old school heads would point to the 80,000 copies of "Goblin" he's sold (and yeah, that's low) and say he's done, but these days sales don't matter nearly as much as touring and establishing a hardcore fan base, and Tyler has both. In five years we'll have either forgotten about Tyler or he'll have emerged at the very least as a Tech N9ne level star. I don't think there's really any other option.

3) Let's officially throw down some predictions for Big Sean's "Finally Famous" when sales are released next week. For the record, first week sales of the album won't make or break Sean, but I can't resist laying down a prediction. I say....60K - 70K. What you guys got/?

4) You'll never guess who has the number nine album in the country. Never. Weird Al. Damn, good for him. It must have been that Roots cover of "Accordion" that did it. On the real, congrats to Al. Now there's a man who's done it his own way.

5) This week's Mr. Irrelevant Award, given to the song that sits at the absolute bottom of the charts (the number 200 spot), goes to...Waka Flocka's "Grove St. Party", a song I frankly had no idea existed. Hold on, I'll go check it out now....yep, that's what I thought. It's terrible.