Soundscan: The Tea Party Tops Sloan But Ozzy Rules

If you really want to know what's killing the record industry, you need look no further than this week's #1 record on the Canadian Soundscan charts. In a week that featured high-profile debuts from The Tea Party, Sloan, Ozzy Osbourne and New Order, the top record in the land remains the Now! 6 compilation.

Sure MP3s are bad and all, but the huge popularity of compilation records these days just means that record companies are failing to provide consumers with solid, hit-filled albums by credible artists, which in turn sends buyers scurrying for those aforementioned comps instead.

But that's just me... The Top Five had an interesting shake-up this week. Although Now!6 stayed at #1 and Diana Krall's Look Of Love held steady at #3, the man who once licked his own piss off a sidewalk, Ozzy Osbourne, debuted huge at #2 for his Down To Earth album. We're thinking all of Sharon, er, Ozzy's press appearances paid off handsomely. In #4 for Interzone Mantras were Chart's October cover stars, The Tea Party, and holding tough at #5 are Vancouver's Nickelback for Silver Side Up.

Canadians have remained surprisingly strong on the charts this week as Krall, The Tea Party and the 'Back are joined by Leonard Cohen's Ten New Songs (#8), Blue Rodeo's Greatest Hits (#11), a debut week listing of #12 for Sloan's Pretty Together, Daniel Belanger's Rever Mieux (#14) and the slow-and-steady Sum 41 All Killer, No Filler record (#20), all with albums in the Top 20 of the charts.

After that, things go down a bit though. Although some French records are selling well in Quebec, The Watchmen and their Slomotion are spiralling downward at #49 and Default's The Fallout and Bif Naked's Purge are in fiftysomething purgatory as well at #51 and #55 respectively. David Usher's cheekbones are keeping him and his Morning Orbit at #64 and the heavy breathers in Project Wyze and their album actually jumped to #81 from #96.

For those of you with more discerning tastes, New Order's Get Ready debuted at #23, The Strokes' Is This It is at #61 and Weezer's Green Album made a big drop from #54 to #71. Still, if it's any consolation, Mariah Carey's Glitter is at #99.