It’s hard to imagine an artist as accomplished and beloved as Neil Diamond (trust us — your mom digs him) has never, over the course of his more than forty-year career, known the feeling of having an album hit the chart at #1. Hard to imagine, but true.

That’s why this week is so sweet for the Solitary Man, because according to the latest SoundScan figures, Diamond’s Rick Rubin-produced Home Before Dark has broken that bad-luck streak, selling close to 146,000 copies to top next week’s chart. This was no doubt made possible by the tremendous boost of having some of his classic tunes featured (and, you know, mostly murdered) on that popular singing contest “American Idol.”

Check out some other twists and turns in the chart, after the jump. Read more…

The latest SoundScan figures are in, and, for a second straight week, the nation’s best-selling LP – by a long shot — belongs to Miss Mariah. The hilariously named E=MC2, sold nearly 182,000 copies. But, let’s face it — La Diva’s run at the top will almost certainly be cut short next week, when Madonna’s Hard Candy enters the Top 200. Madge could take on Mariah on the shelves and on the mat.

But the most interesting thing about next week’s chart, though, has to be Atmosphere, whose latest set, When Life Gives You Lemons, You Paint That S— Gold, enters the chart at #5. Considering the Minneapolis hip-hop duo’s still on the fringe, it was surprising to see that their record sold 36,400 copies in its first week — not shabby at all for MC Slug (above) and producer Ant, who’ve thrived on their underground cred since getting together back in the mid-90’s.

Maybe their hipster cred has finally reached a boiling point? Or maybe it’s the guest-vocal props from Tom Waits and TV on the Radio’s Tunde Adebimpe? Then again, Atmosphere’s long been a slow burn — they’re one of the best-selling indie hip-hop acts of the last decade, rebuffing a few major-label offers in their day. Or maybe it’s Slug’s completely tripped-out lyrics.

What do you think helped Atmosphere break through?

Check out Slug talking about the making of the album, after the jump. Read more…

Most of the 29th floor (that’s MTV News HQ) is seriously in denial of the country genre — except when co-opted ironically by Jack White, or tweaked into hipster Americana by Conor Oberst. You know, Pitchfork country! That’s why it’s particularly painful to deal with this industry touchstone called “SoundScan” week in and week out: it’s just hard evidence of how much the rest of the USA disagrees with us.

This is a wordy setup for the news that country has yet again kicked rock to the curb in sales, with that punk George Strait (who?) selling 166,300 copies to beat out R.E.M. The alt-rock legends’ latest, Accelerate, comes in at #2 with 115,500 scans.

To salute R.E.M. — and, basically, to put up a SoundScan fight — we’ve posted this excellent interview with the band shot just before the new album’s release. And if you’re a believer in numbers, check out the rest of this week’s chart writeup after the jump.

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The voice, it always comes down to the voice. Especially when discussing Mariah Carey. She’s made plenty of headlines for whom she’s dated (Derek Jeter), divorced (Tommy Mottola), and denied having a relationship with (Eminem). But the New York native is a modern day Diana Ross, full of flair and able-bodied talent. She’s up, and then she’s down. And now she’s up again. Waaay up.

The songstress netted her 18th number one single with “Touch My Body,” moving past Elvis Presley as the most dominant solo performer of all time.

“I really can never put myself in the category of people who have not only revolutionized music but also changed the world,” Carey told The Associated Press from London on Tuesday. “That’s a completely different era and time. I’m just feeling really happy and grateful.”

She also fielded what must have been a very tactful question about how the feat relates to her gender and ethnicity. “For me, in my mind the accomplishment is just that much sweeter,” she said. “In terms of my ethnicity, always feeling like an outsider, always feeling different. For me it’s about saying, ‘Thank you Lord, for giving me the faith to believe in myself when other people had written me off.’ I want to encourage anyone else out there who feels like maybe they can’t overcome an obstacle, I feel like I’m living proof, never lose your faith. I’m seriously a grateful individual right now.”

The Beatles stand as number one overall with 20 Billboard Top 100 number one hits. (The Beatles are a group, Mariah solo, etc).

After the jump, a list of Carey’s collaborators and colleagues. See just how far she is from the rest of the pack:

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Two albums, two #1 debuts. That’s just what Danity Kane can claim, now that their sophomore LP, Welcome to the Dollhouse, will enter next week’s Billboard albums chart on top. The set sold more than 236,000 copies, which is a slight improvement on sales of the band’s first, self-titled release; that record also bowed at #1, but sold 234,300 units.

But DK weren’t the chart’s sole newcomers, as 18 releases in all crack next week’s top 200. Opening at #4, with sales reported at 85,900, its Flo Rida’s debut disc, Mail on Sunday. Surprisingly, and perhaps due to the band’s bumping up the album’s release, Gnarls Barkley’s The Odd Couple debuts at #18, selling a mere 31,000 copies, while rapper Rocko’s Self-Made follows at #21, with 27,700 scans. (Must’ve been that successful street-marketing campaign).

Newsroom homeboy, Sheek Louch, and his Silverback Gorilla album, enters the chart at #41, with 17,500 sold, while young metallers Black Tide’s Light from Above sold 11,400 units, to bow at #73. Right behind the Tide at #75, it’s the Hush Sound’s Goodbye Blues, which sold to the tune of 11,200, and opening at #81 with 10,200 sold, is She & Him’s Volume One. The Buzzcuts’ self-titled LP sold 9,500 copies, which lands the album at #87, and Jason Mraz’s We Sing EP enters at #101 with 8,500 snatched up.

The Kills’ Midnight Boom follows at #133, selling 6,500 units (awesome record, btw), while PlayRadioPlay!’s Texas sold 5,300, for a #157 opening. New Found Glory’s Hits collection enters at #167 with 5,000 sold, and Bury Your Dead’s self-titled LP enters at #176 with sales of 4,600. The Matches’ Band In Hope debuts at #179, with 4,600 scans, and lastly, coming in at #182 with 4,500, its Addison Road’s self-titled latest.

What’s remarkable about next week’s hip-hop dominated Billboard albums sales chart – at least to those of us who keep an eye on such things – is that somehow, another Now That’s What I Call Music compilation hit stores last week, and failed to open as the chart’s #1. Typically, Now sets almost always enter on top, but that distinction, instead, belongs to Miami rapper Rick Ross (Raaaaaawwwws!), who earns his second-straight #1 debut with his latest, Trilla. The LP sold more than 198,000 copies, according to the latest SoundScan totals, while his 2006 effort Port of Miami sold 187,000 units.

Surprisingly, Ross bested Snoop Dogg, in a battle of hip-hop heavies (literally). Snoop’s Ego Trippin’ opens at #3, 137,000 sold; it marks the lowest first-week sales total for any of his previous studio efforts. Sandwiched in between is the 27th installment of the Now series, which shifted 169,000 copies, thanks to the contributions of big name acts like Rihanna, Fergie, Chris Brown, Kanye West, and Paramore.

Meanwhile, Fat Joe’s Elephant in the Room makes its debut at #6, scanning more than 46,000 copies (crazy low!). Only one other new release breached the chart’s top 10 and that album is Hannah Montana’s Best of Both Worlds Concert LP, which bows at #10 with 34,200 sold.

Other notable newcomers include “American Idol” judge Randy Jackson’s Randy Jackson’s Music Club, Vol. 1, which enters at #50 with nearly 13,000 snatched up, and opening at #59 with 11,400 sold, its Meshuggah’s obZzen. As for the rest of the top 10, Jack Johnson’s Sleep Through the Static finishes at #4 (selling another 55,300 copies) while Alan Jackson’s Good Time follows at #5 (53,000 sold). Sara Bareilles’ Little Voice holds at #7 (with 40,000 scans), and Janet Jackson’s Discipline comes in at #8 (37,500). Last but not least, Erykah Badu’s New Amerykah Part One (4th World War) — and a Newsroom favorite — falls three spots to #9, having sold a reported 34,800 units.

It’s a bit of a tongue-twister reading the top of this week’s (well, next week’s, but released this week) Billboard album sales chart, with two Jacksons and a Johnson leading the charge. Opening at #1 with 119,000 copies sold is Alan Jackson’s Good Time, which drops last week’s #1, Janet Jackson’s Discipline, to #3 this week, with 57,400 units scanned. Sandwiched between the Jackson’s is Jack Johnson’s Sleep Through the Static, with sales clocked at around 64,800.

Flogging Molly’s Float opens on the top 200 at #4, having sold 47,700 copies, while the Black Crowes’ Warpaint enters at #5 with 45,700 sold. Meanwhile, one of our favorite new albums around the office, Erykah Badu’s New Amerykah Part One (4th World War), follows at #6 with 41,500 sold, and Sara Bareilles’ Little Voice climbs two spots to #7, with 39,200 copies snatched up.

Alicia Keys’ As I Am scanned 38,500 copies, while Taylor Swift’s self-titled debut finished at #9 with 31,900. Amy Winehouse’s Back to Black rounds out the top 10, selling 31,500. Elsewhere on the chart, Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks’ Real Emotional Trash bows at #64, with 10,100 in first-week sales, and Bauhaus’ Go Away White sold 7,000 copies for a #105 debut. Also, Lil’ Flip’s All Eyes On Us opens at #137 with 5,400 scans.

For a third-straight, utterly-uneventful week, during which a total of 13 new releases bowed, Jack Johnson’s Sleep Through the Static will once again lead next week’s Billboard albums sales chart, capping the top 200 after having sold another 105,000 units. Right behind Jack at #2, climbing one chart position, is Alicia Keys’ As I Am, which scanned 53,000-plus copies. Down one spot at #3 this week, and still coasting off of her recent Grammy successes, its Amy Winehouse’s Back to Black, which generated sales of nearly 51,400. After the jump, Kidz Bop, Fergie, Plain White T’s and Jim Jones.

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