Sonic Youth's Rather Ripped Ruled Through July

Could it be the mid-summer changing of the guard this week? It sure seems that way, as a number of veteran albums on the top 50 chart disappear and we see a plethora of new entries (12 in total) dominating both the middle and lower levels. Even the top of the chart experiences some fresh blood, as four new albums enter the top 10, with some travelling a long way in the process.

Veteran chart kings Sonic Youth remain at #1 for a fifth week, giving Rather Ripped the top spot for all of July. Thom Yorke's The Eraser jumps six spots to #2. The Bicycles' The Good The Bad And The Cuddly makes one of the biggest jumps by rising 29 positions to #3. Peaches' Impeach My Bush slips to #4 and MSTRKRFT's The Looks drops to #5. Oneida's Happy New Year rockets up 16 places to #6, while Nouvelle Vague's Bande A Part moves up four places to #7 and Kinnie Starr's Anything makes a five-position jump to #8. Rounding out the top 10 are Ladyhawk's self-titled album at #9 and Vancougar's Losin' It! at #10.

The Chart Sizzler Award goes to Cut Chemist's The Audience's Listening, which enters the chart at #16. Rae Spoon and Rodney Decroo's Trucker's Memorial debuts at #21, while the Suicide Squeeze Records compilation, Slaying Since 1996, arrives at #26. Other notable debuts include Ghost House's Departures at #35, Shout Out Out Out Out's Not Saying/Just Saying at #39 and Johnny Cash's American V: A Hundred Highways at #43.

There were some wholesale changes on the specialty charts this week. Outside of MSTRKRFT's The Looks remaining at #1 on the Electronic chart, the other four saw new #1s. Jamaica To Toronto: Soul, Reggae and Funk 1967-74 finally hits the top of the World/Folk chart after peaking at #4 on the top 50 chart a couple of weeks ago. Strapping Young Lad's The New Black ends the seven-week dominance of Celtic Frost's Monotheist on the Metal/Punk chart. SYL move up three spots to #1 and CF drop to #3. DL Incognito's Organic Music For A Digital World jumps four spots to #1 on the Hip-Hop top 10, while the Ready Or Not 2: Deep Jazz Gooves compilation from the CBC Radio Canada Archives also rises four positions to grab the top honour on the Jazz/Blues chart.