With new albums at occupying the top three spots (Green Day, Norah Jones and OneRepublic in descending order) on the Billboard 200 chart, Drake is displaced to the #4 position, where he is later joined by the Suicide Squad soundtrack and Solange's surprise release. Travis Scott, Rihanna, and Kanye West are in the top 20 while the rest of the artists are just barely on the outskirts of the top 30. There are no new hip hop releases that make an appearance on this week's chart.
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1) Drake – VIEWS: Drake's VIEWS drops down one spot this week from #3 to #4, making room for three new albums to debut on the chart. As you very well if you're a frequent visitor to the site, the LP topped the charts for most of the summer, continues to succeed as we approach the closing months of 2016. This time around, Drizzy clocks 42,861 TAEU and 6,149 in pure sales.
2) Various Artists – Suicide Squad: The Album: The Suicide Squad soundtrack continues to thrive, riding high off contributions from Rick Ross, Wiz Khalifa, Lil Wayne, and Eminem. For this cycle, the compilation that accompanies the movie tacks 37,462 TAEU and 12,198 pure sales onto its success.
3) Solange — A Seat at the Table: Solange's recently-released album, which debuted at #1 last week, has been getting great reviews, with a lush, soulful sound that makes socio-political lyrics sound so, so pretty. The songstress moves 34,116 TAEU and 15,412 pure sales during this, her second week on the charts. We'll have to see if she can last as long as her sister on these charts.
4) Travis Scott – Birds in the Trap Sing McKnight: Travis Scott's newest album debuted at #1 six months ago (although we had a false alarm last week), and only falls back to the #12 spot this week, following an appearance at #10 last week. This week, the record moves 21,943 TAEU and 1,784 in pure sales.
5) Rihanna – ANTI: After 38 weeks on the charts, Rihanna's eighth studio album is still going hard. Coming in this week at #15 after last week's stint at #12, ANTI tallies 19,667 TAEU and 3,579 pure sales.
6) Kanye West – The Life of Pablo: Kanye recently announced a bunch of new tour dates, including a New Year's Eve run in Brooklyn's Barclay's Center. As Kanye continues to promote the album on the road, The Life of Pablo comes in at #18, and moves 17,760 TAEU. TLOP managed to clock one single sale as it spends its 28th week on the charts.
7) Beyonce — LEMONADE: Dropping from #22 to #30 is Beyonce with her latest effort LEMONADE. The record debuted at #1, and 25 weeks later finds itself at the edge of the top 30, counting 14,976 TAEU and 10,287 physical sales to its success.
8) DJ Khaled — Major Key: DJ Khaled's Major Key rose up three spots this past week, to arrive right at below Beyonce at #30. The album is ridiculously star-studded, with contributions from Nas, Jay Z, Future, and Kendrick Lamar, just to name a few. It's enough to put 14,040 TAEU and 2,952 pure sales on the board this week.
9) Chance The Rapper — Coloring Book: Chance The Rapper continues to have his biggest year yet, and Coloring Book moves up from #35 to #32 this time around. The record, which isn't for sale, counts 13,925 TAEU on the strength of sales alone.
10) Frank Ocean – Blonde: Frank Ocean's Blonde might have taken a while to come out, but has been generally considered worth the wait by his fanbase (although as we learned this past week, don't count on a Grammy). In its eighth week on the charts, the record moves 13,644 TAEU and 2,460 sales, despite slipping from #29 to #33.
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The Weeknd couldn't quite eclipse The Chainsmokers for the #1 spot, as he comes in the #2 for the second week in a row with his title track and lead album single, "Starboy" featuring Daft Punk. Bruno Mars makes the debut at #5 with "24K Magic," and D.R.A.M. is staying put at #6 with the Lil Yachty-assisted cut "Broccoli." Lil Wayne, Wiz Khalifa, Rihanna, and Drake all have appearances in the top 25 for respective singles. Elsewhere, John Legend has a new one, "Love Me Now," at #55, and Kendrick Lamar debuts with Maroon 5 right behind Legend at #56 thanks to "Don't Wanna Know."