ASAP Rocky’s album, “Long.Live.ASAP”, led by a single with an unprintable title, sold 139,000 copies in its opening week. Those sales gave it a healthy lead over this week’s No. 2 album, which is also new but couldn’t be more different: “Kidz Bop 23” (Razor & Tie), the latest in a popular compilation series that has toddler-friendly versions of pop hits, like Rihanna’s “Diamonds” and Psy’s “Gangnam Style.” It sold 78,000 copies.

The most interesting contest this week, though, is on the singles chart. “Thrift Shop,” by the independent rap duo Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, is the most-downloaded track, with 341,000 downloads, and the song also rises one spot to No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart, which in addition to sales also incorporates radio airplay and online streaming. Close behind, though, is Justin Timberlake’s comeback song, “Suit & Tie,” which sold 315,000 in its first week out and rocketed 80 spots to No. 4 on the Hot 100. (The quirks of Bllboard’s chart rules are partly responsible for that big leap. The song was released just after midnight on Jan. 14, too late for its early sales to count, but not too late to allow two days of airplay.)

(Source: The New York Times)