Mumford and Sons continue to dominate with Babel

Whether or not you happen to have a particular soft spot for banjo heavy pub rock, seems like most of America’s music purchasers do as British folk band Mumford and Sons continue to hold their place at the top of the Billboard 200 album chart going on three weeks now while fighting off seven top ten debuts from plenty of heavy hitters.

Babel – the groups second studio album – sold a very strong 96,000 units in its third week while the runner up – independent hip hop duo Macklemore and Ryan Lewis – entered at No. 2 with The Heist.

How close was it? Kind of, but not really. Still though, the 78,000 records sold is nothing to scoff at, especially when you consider that the Seattle based hip hop artist Mackle more and producer Lewis basically built the hype for their debut album themselves off of a steady following via Twitter and YouTube. Did I mention the record was also independently produced and released?

Other notable releases included the brand new album from long time rock veterans KISS. Monster, the group’s 20th studio album, debuted at a strong No. 3, falling slightly short of their previous album, Sonic Boom, which entered the charts at No.2 when it was released back in 2009. Interestingly enough, that No.2 spot has been the band’s highest chart position in their five-decade career.

Kiss weren’t the only veterans who scored a top ten hit. Barbara Streisand scored a solid No. 7 with her compilation Release Me, which features rare and previously unreleased tracks by the 70-year-old singer.

Coming in at No.4 with yet another debut album was rapper MGK and his freshman release, Lace Up and rounding out the top five comes Coheed and Cambria with their brand new disc and seventh studio album, The Afterman: Descension.