Pop Album Chart : ‘Love’ Breaks the Record

Once again, there’s big news on the pop singles chart. Whitney Houston’s “I Will Always Love You” is the top pop single for the 14th straight week, making it the longest-running No. 1 pop single in the history of the Billboard chart. Boyz II Men’s “End of the Road” had the previous record with 13 weeks. On the album chart, Michael Jackson’s “Dangerous” keeps moving upward, from No. 26 to No. 12. As a result of his recent TV exposure--mainly the Super Bowl and the Oprah Winfrey interview--”Dangerous” is selling like a new album. At the end of last month, it was No. 131 and seemed to be on its way out of the Top 200. Meanwhile, the jazz/hip-hop blend “Reachin’ (A Refutation of Time and Space),” the debut album by Digable Planets, entered the chart at No. 15. Other lofty debuts include Paul McCartney’s “Off the Ground” (No. 17) and Genesis’ “Live: The Way We Walk Volume 2” (No. 20). McCartney’s album, if it follows the usual pattern, will plummet next week, after most of his hard-core fans have purchased it.

* Mick Jagger’s “Wandering Spirit,” which entered at No. 11, has generally received good reviews, which could help boost it into the Top 10.

Pop Album Chart

Rank Rank 2 Weeks Last Weeks on the Week Ago Chart 1. “The Bodyguard,” soundtrack 1 1 13 2. “Breathless,” Kenny G 2 2 13 3. “The Chronic,” Dr. Dre 3 3 9 4. “Unplugged,” Eric Clapton 5 5 38 5. “Some Gave All,” Billy Ray Cyrus 4 5 39 6. “Aladdin,” soundtrack 9 9 14 7. “Pocket Full of Kryptonite,” Spin Doctors 7 10 35 8. “Timeless,” Michael Bolton 10 6 20 9. “If I Ever Fall in Love,” Shai 6 8 8 10. “It’s Your Call,” Reba McEntire 15 13 9 * “Wandering Spirit” 1

SOURCE: Billboard/Soundscan