POP LP CHART : Record Buyers Taking Collins’ ‘Seriously’

It used to be rare that an artist topped Billboard pop album and singles charts simultaneously. This year, though, it’s been fairly commonplace. The latest dual chart-topper is Phil Collins, with his “. . . But Seriously” album and his single, “Another Day in Paradise.” Whitesnake’s album “Slip of the Tongue” (No. 14)--so far a disappointment--is about to slip down the chart after just six weeks. A hit single, though, could still salvage the album. The two fastest-rising new albums are Bobby Brown’s “Dance . . . Ya Know it!” (No. 18) and Quincy Jones’ “Back on the Block” (No. 22).

* With the 1 million-selling album “New Kids on the Block” moving up three rungs to No. 25, the remarkable teen vocal group New Kids has three albums in the Top 25, including two in the Top 10--”Hangin’ Tough” (No. 6) and “Merry Merry Christmas” (No. 10). “Hangin’ Tough” has topped 6 million while “Merry Merry Christmas” crossed the 2-million mark, a phenomenal achievement for a Christmas album.

Rank Rank 2 Weeks Title (Label) Last Week Weeks Ago on Chart 1. “... But Seriously” (Atlantic) 4 6 5 Phil Collins (Atlantic) 2. “Girl You Know It’s True” 1 2 41 Milli Vanilli (Arista) 3. “Storm Front” 2 1 9 Billy Joel (Columbia) 4. “Rhythm Nation 1814 3 3 13 Janet Jackson (A&M;) 5. “Forever Your Girl” 5 4 76 Paula Abdul (Virgin) * “New Kids on the Block” 28 30 22 New Kids on the Block (Columbia)