Taylor Swift Retakes Top Spot on Album Chart; Tom Petty’s ‘Wildflowers’ Set, Eagles Live Album Debut in Top 10

  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.
  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.

Taylor Swift’s “Folklore” is back on top of the album chart for the eighth non-consecutive week. She was able to retake the No. 1 spot 13 weeks into the album’s run because of two factors — a lack of major superstar releases, and autographed CDs going up through her web store, boosting full-album sales tenfold from the previous week.

Leaping from No. 12 to No. 1, Swift’s “Folklore” had 76,500 album units for the week. Her full-album sales of 56,500 represented a dramatic jump from the 5,100 copies she sold the previous week. If most of that increase was indeed due to her offer of signed CDs (following her release of similarly autographed discs to indie record stores weeks ago), Swift must be suffering a serious case of hand-cramp.

Meanwhile, a chart that has recently been almost thoroughly dominated by hip-hop albums suddenly looked like it was right out of the late 1970s… in a couple of spots, anyway, with new releases from Tom Petty and the Eagles both enjoying big chart bows.

Petty’s “Wildflowers & All the Rest” debuted at No. 5 on the Rolling Stone album chart. The collection is available in several configurations, from a core two-CD collection to five-CD boxed set, all including his 1994 “Wildflowers” album and a new “All the Rest” disc consisting of studio outtakes Petty had promised fans for years before his 2017 death. The different versions of the set accumulated 42,300 album units for the week, with 29,500 of that in full-album sales.

The Eagles’ “Live From the Forum” came in at No. 8 with 32,400 album units, with full-album sales of 18,700.

(It really would have been old-home week on the chart if Fleetwood Mac’s 1977 album “Rumours” had stayed in the top 10, after it jumped that high last week on the strength of the “Dreams” viral video. But “Rumours” dipped to No. 33 this week. “Dreams,” however, does remain in the top 10 on the Rolling Stone singles chart, holding at No. 6.)

Also premiering in the top 10 was NCT’s convolutedly titled “NCT 2020 [Resonance] Pt.1 1st Album,” debuting at No. 6 with 40,500 album units. Full-album sales added up to 38,100.

Last week’s chart-topper, “Savage Mode” by Metro Boomin and 21 Savage, slipped to No. 3. The still booming posthumous album by Pop Smoke stayed steady at No. 2. Rounding out the top 10 albums were Juice WRLD at No. 4, Lil Baby at No. 7, the “Hamilton” cast album in ninth place and YoungBoy Never Broke Again landing at No. 10.

Other debuts of note include Sturgill Simpson’s surprise bluegrass album, “Cuttin’ Grass — Vol. 1” at No. 18 with 21,200 album units and T.I.’s “The L.I.B.R.A.” close behind at No. 19 with 20,600. BTS’ “Skool Luv Affair – BTS 2nd Mini Album” entered at No. 24 with 18,900.

The Rolling Stone songs chart had a new No. 1: “Lemonade” by Internet Money feat. Don Toliver, Gunna & Nav, reaching the top spot in its 10th week, with streams of 18.3 million. It forced the usually indomitable “WAP” to settle for to No. 2.

The top new entry on the songs chart was “Lonely” by Justin Bieber and Benny Blanco, in at No. 5 with song streams of 12.3 million.

More from Variety

Best of Variety

Sign up for Variety’s Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.