Garth Rules--For Now

Once again Garth Brooks’ “The Chase” outsold the competition by a country mile, with Peter Gabriel’s “Us” a distant but surprising second on the Southern California charts in its first week of release.

Michael Bolton’s “Timeless,” which entered at No. 5, should get stronger in coming weeks and challenge “The Chase.” The top hard rock album is Alice in Chains’ new “Dirt,” which has also made a splash at No. 4 on the pop chart.

The Times’ exclusive Southern California charts are prepared from information supplied by SoundScan Inc., the music industry’s leading sales-reporting service.

TOP 10 ALBUMS

Title, Artist (National Rank) Last Week 1 The Chase, Garth Brooks (1) 1 2 Us, Peter Gabriel (2) -- 3 Unplugged, Eric Clapton (4) 3 4 Dirt, Alice in Chains (6) -- 5 Timeless, Michael Bolton (5) -- 6 Some Gave All, Billy Ray Cyrus (3) 6 7 Ten, Pearl Jam (7) 2 8 Singles, soundtrack (10) 4 9 Guerillas in Tha Mist, Da Lench Mob (24) 5 10 What’s the 411?, Mary J. Blige (9) 16

TOP 10 SINGLES

Title, Artist (National Rank) Last Week 1 End of the Road, Boyz II Men (1) 1 2 Jump Around, House of Pain (2) 2 3 Back to the Hotel, N2Deep (6) 3 4 People Everyday, Arrested Development (5) 5 5 Rhythm Is a Dancer, Snap (10) 4 6 Sometimes Love ..., Patty Smyth (3) 6 7 Please Don’t Go, K.W.S (16) 7 8 What About Your Friends, TLC (15) 20 9 I’d Die Without You, PM Dawn (22) 11 10 Crossover, EPMD (33) 8

TOP 10 HARD ROCK ALBUMS

Title, Artist (National Rank) Last Week 1 Dirt, Alice in Chains (1) -- 2 Ten, Pearl Jam (2) 1 3 Singles, soundtrack (3) 2 4 Blood Sugar ..., Red Hot Chili Peppers (10) 3 5 Temple of the Dog, Temple of the Dog (9) 5 6 What Hits?, Red Hot Chili Peppers (8) -- 7 Greatest Hits, Queen (5) 7 8 Metallica, Metallica (6) 8 9 Broken, Nine Inch Nails (4) 6 10 Use Your Illusion I, Guns N’ Roses (12) 10

Source: Soundscan Inc., for the week ending Oct. 4