Though the final numbers won't be confirmed until Wednesday morning, the early estimates say that Eminem's new album Recovery will easily debut in the top spot on the Billboard Top 200 album chart this week. That makes five consecutive solo albums to debut at #1 for Slim Shady, and if you also count the compilations (Curtain Call: The Hits, the soundtrack to 8 Mile) and the two D12 albums (both of which hit the top of the chart), that's a total of nine chart-toppers for Eminem (all of which debuted in that spot).
It's an impressive run, for sure, but it still falls short of the 11 chart-topping albums that Jay-Z has under his belt. Tragically, Eminem would actually be tied with Jigga had The Slim Shady LP and Eminem Presents: The Re-Up had a little more juice (both peaked at number two). Hova's record seemed untouchable when The Blueprint 3 hit the top of the chart and he beat out Elvis Presley for the most number one LPs, but Eminem is creeping right up behind him. Could Em best his friend, collaborator and tourmate some day soon?
It seems somewhat unlikely. Though it's always possible Jigga could hang up the spurs at any moment (as he did for a short while following the release of The Black Album in 2003), you have to assume that Jay probably has at least two more albums in him (and that is thinking extremely conservatively). Considering every one of his album releases is a big event, there's no doubt that any albums he drops in the near future will hit the top slot. There's no stopping Jay, and there's barely any containing him. Consider this: Even in a wintry economic climate where free music is everywhere, loyalties are out the window and you don't even need to break six digits to top the Billboard album chart, The Blueprint 3 has sold nearly two million copies since it dropped last September. That is a staggering performance.
Of course, Eminem is only close because of a lot of technicalities (the compilations and the group records), but even if you eliminate everything but the solo albums on both sides, Jay is still in the lead by a healthy margin. Of course, both of them are true legends who will go down in history as two of the greatest MCs who ever entered a studio (and their tag-team concerts this summer should be stunners), but as far as the quest for top-selling albums goes, Jay has the healthy lead.
Who is the better MC: Jay-Z or Eminem? Let us know in the comments!