Lorde’s ‘Virgin’ Debuts at No. 1 on Top Album Sales Chart

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(Photo credit: Reuters)

Lorde scores her second No. 1 on Billboard’s Top Album Sales chart as her new studio album Virgin debuts atop the list dated July 12. The set sold 42,000 copies in the United States in the week ending July 3, according to Luminate, marking her largest sales week since 2017. The new album’s first week sales were bolstered by vinyl purchases, totaling 31,000 — Lorde’s best week on vinyl ever. It also bows at No. 1 on the Vinyl Albums chart, her first leader there.

Also in the new top 10 of Top Album Sales, the latest albums from KATSEYE, Russ, Barbra Streisand, Bruce Springsteen and ILLIT arrive, while the vinyl releases of Playboi Carti’s MUSIC and Die Lit push both titles back onto the chart. Plus, a 20th anniversary vinyl pressing of the Pride & Prejudice film soundtrack enables the album to bow at No. 9.

Billboard’s Top Album Sales chart ranks the top-selling albums of the week based only on traditional album sales. The chart’s history dates back to May 25, 1991, the first week Billboard began tabulating charts with electronically monitored piece count information from SoundScan, now Luminate. Pure album sales were the sole measurement utilized by the Billboard 200 albums chart through the list dated Dec. 6, 2014, after which that chart switched to a methodology that blends album sales with track equivalent album (TEA) units and streaming equivalent album (SEA) units. The new July 12, 2025-dated Top Album Sales chart will be posted in full on Billboard‘s website on July 8.

Virgin’s first-week sales were aided by its availability across eight vinyl variants (including two signed editions), a standard CD and a digital download. All versions contained the same tracklist.

Virgin also enters at No. 1 on the Indie Store Album Sales, Top Rock & Alternative Albums and Top Alternative Albums charts. Indie Store Album Sales ranks the top-selling albums of the week at independent and small chain stores. Top Rock & Alternative Albums, and Top Alternative Albums, rank, respectively, the week’s most popular rock and alternative albums, and alternative albums, by equivalent album units.

Back on Top Album Sales, KATSEYE’s BEAUTIFUL CHAOS debuts at No. 2 with 30,000 sold — the pop group’s best sales week, highest charting album and second top 10. The album’s first-week sales were bolstered by its availability across nine CD variants and four vinyl variants (one signed), all with the same audio but with packaging variations. All contained collectible paper ephemera, some randomized. It was also issued as a standard digital download album for purchase.

Russ logs his fifth top 10-charted effort as his new studio album W!LD enters at No. 3 with 25,000 sold. The album’s first-week sales were aided by its availability across three vinyl variants, three CD variants and three cassette variants (some signed), as well as a standard digital download. All contained the same tracklist, and all of the physical editions were exclusively sold via Russ’ official webstore. There was also an expanded edition of the download album, sold via the webstore, that includes narration from the artist.

Barbra Streisand’s new star-studded duets album The Secret of Life: Partners, Volume Two bows at No. 4 with a little over 18,000 sold. The all-collaborations set includes recordings from Streisand with the likes of Mariah Carey, Bob Dylan, Ariana Grande and Paul McCartney. The album was available on CD, digital download and in two vinyl variants, all with the same tracklist.

A pair of albums from Playboi Carti reenter the chart, and straight into the top 10, following their vinyl release. His 2025 release MUSIC reenters at No. 5 with 16,500 sold and his 2018 album Die Lit returns at No. 6 with 12,500 sold. Both titles sold a negligible sum in the week previous, and nearly all of their sales in the latest week were from vinyl purchases. MUSIC was pressed on two variants, while Die Lit was available in just one iteration.

Bruce Springsteen’s expansive archival project Tracks II: The Lost Albums debuts at No. 7 on Top Album Sales with nearly 10,500 sold. The boxed set comprises seven never-heard full-length albums spanning 83 songs (74 that have never been released in any form). The material was recorded between 1982 and 2018 and was issued as a digital download, a seven-CD box or in a nine-vinyl box. A 20-track highlights edition of the Tracks II project, titled Lost and Found: Selections From The Lost Albums, debuts at No. 16 on Top Album Sales with 6,000 sold.

ENHYPEN’s chart-topping DESIRE : UNLEASH falls 3-8 on Top Album Sales with about 9,500 sold (down 22%).

The soundtrack from the 2005 film Pride & Prejudice makes its debut on Top Album Sales thanks to a 20th anniversary vinyl pressing across multiple variants. In the tracking week ending July 3, the album sold just over 8,000 — across all versions of the album, old and new. The film starred Keira Knightly and Matthew Macfayden, and its soundtrack’s music was composed by Dario Marianelli, and performed by pianist Jean-Yves Thibaudet and the English Chamber Orchestra. The album also jumps 5-1 on the Classical Crossover Albums chart, marking its first week atop the list.

Closing out the top 10 of the latest Top Album Sales chart is ILLIT’s new release Bomb, selling 8,000 copies and debuting at No. 10. It’s the third top 10-charted effort for the group. The album’s first-week sales were largely driven by its availability across 14 CD variants, all with the same audio but with packaging variations. All contained collectible paper ephemera (some signed by the act), some randomized. It was also available as a standard digital download album.

 

(Billboard)