Beck Holds Off The Decemberists

There's a heated chart battle this week between a couple of albums that may end up on many top 10 lists this year. Beck's The Information remains at #1 and is followed by The Decemberists' The Crane Wife, which moves up a place to #2. This forced The Dears' Gang Of Losers to drop a spot to #3. After this minor shuffle, Shotgun And Jaybird's Trying To Get Somewhere rocketed up 43 spots to #4.

The Mint Records Presents CBC Radio 3 Sessions compilation makes an upward move of 10 spots to #5, while Les Georges Leningrad's Sangue Puro remains at #6 for a second consecutive week. Last week's Chart Sizzler, K-OS' Atlantis — Hymns For Disco, races into the top 10 at #7 after rising 13 spots. With a five-place leap, Yo La Tengo's I Am Not Afraid Of You And I Will Beat Your Ass returns to the top 10 at #8. Rivalling Yo La Tengo for longest album title of the year is B.A. Johnston's Call Me When Old And Fat Are The New Young And Sexy, which drops five places to #9. TV On The Radio's Return To Cookie Mountain slides down six spots to #10.

Looking at the rest of the top 50, we find the Chart Sizzler at #23 in the form of Lily Frost's Cine-Magique. Just a few places down is the runner-up debut of the week, The Blow's Paper Television at #27. Born Ruffians' self-titled disc arrives at #29, The Hold Steady's Boys And Girls In America checks in at #39, Scissor Sisters' Ta-Dah lands at #42 and Jenny Whitely's Dear enters at #46.

Four of the five specialty charts saw former #1 albums return to the top spot. Classified's Hitch Hikin' Music moves up a place to recapture #1 on the Hip-Hop chart. With the same increase, Elizabeth Shepherd Trio's Start To Move returns to the #1 position on the Jazz/Blues chart, a position it last held four weeks ago. Junior Boys' So This Is Goodbye ascends to #1 on the Electronic chart after being displaced by the two-week run at the top by Mini's Audio Hygiene. Sierra Leone's Refugee All Stars' Living Like A Refugee jumps three places and retakes #1 on the World/Folk chart after a week's absence. Mastodon's Blood Mountain holds on to the top spot on the Metal/Punk chart for a second consecutive week.