POP LP CHART : Madonna’s ‘Prayer’ Is Top LP . . . Again

This is getting monotonous. Madonna continues to lead both the Billboard pop album and singles charts with “Like a Prayer” and the album’s title single. This is Madonna’s third straight week as queen of both pop charts. The sound track from “Beaches,” a movie released during the Christmas holidays, just breezed into the Top 10--at No. 9--propelled by the album’s Top 20 single, “Wind Beneath My Wings,” performed by the film’s star, Bette Midler. On the pop singles chart, Donny Osmond’s “Soldier of Love”--so far the year’s biggest chart surprise--jumped seven places to No. 8.

* The British rock band the Cult built a sizable following with its sizzling 1987 “Electric” album, which cracked the 500,000 mark. This new album, “Sonic Temple,” is even hotter, blazing up to No. 19 on the pop chart in just two weeks.

Rank Rank 2 Weeks Title (Label) Last Week Weeks Ago on Chart 1. “Like a Prayer” 1 1 5 Madonna (Sire/Warner Bros.) 2. “Loc-ed After Dark” 2 2 12 Tone Loc (Delicious Vinyl) 3. “G N’R Lies” 5 6 21 Guns N’ Roses (Geffen) 4. “The Raw and the Cooked” 6 5 9 Fine Young Cannibals (I.R.S./MCA) 5. “Don’t Be Cruel” 3 4 42 Bobby Brown (MCA) * “Sonic Temple” 46 ... 2 The Cult (Sire)