POP LP CHART

Heart’s “Bad Animals,” a perennial No. 2, would probably have been No. 1 for many weeks at any other time. But right now it’s taking a back seat to Whitney Houston’s “Whitney,” which has been No. 1 on the Billboard magazine pop chart for two months solid. The Whispers’ “Just Gets Better With Time” is one of the surprise hits of the year. It jumped seven notches to No. 22 and seems strong enough to at least make the Top 15. The sound track from Madonna’s movie “Who’s That Girl?” debuted at No. 46. Michael Jackson’s single “I Just Can’t Stop Loving You” jumped from No. 37 to No. 16 in its second week on the chart. Houston’s “Didn’t We Almost Have It All” (No. 25) is also an up-and-comer. U2’s “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For” is still the No. 1 pop single.

* The sound track from the surprisingly popular rock ‘n’ roll movie “La Bamba”--which tells the story of ‘50s Latino rocker Ritchie Valens’ brief life--is No. 17 and one of the fastest rising albums on the pop chart. The single of the title song, performed by Los Angeles’ own Los Lobos, jumped from No. 11 to No. 5.

TITLE RANK RANK WEEKS LAST 2 WKS ON WEEK AGO CHART 1. Whitney 1 1 8 Whitney Houston (Arista) 2. Bad Animals 2 2 10 Heart (Capitol) 3. Whitesnake 3 3 18 Whitesnake (Warner Bros.) 4. Bigger and Deffer 5 6 9 L.L. Cool J (Columbia) 5. The Joshua Tree 4 4 20 U2 (Island) * La Bamba 35 55 4 Sound track (Warner Bros.)