Ahead of the Pac

The “Above the Rim” soundtrack wound up skying above the rest of the competition, slam-dunking at No. 1 on The Times’ Southern California pop album chart. The appeal of 2Pac, who’s in the movie, probably had a lot to do with its success, but the presence of artists such as H-Town and SWV didn’t hurt. Look for Bonnie Raitt’s “Longing in Their Hearts,” which debuted at No. 3, to be an enduring hit. New Age king Yanni, whose album jumped to No. 8, may have the genre’s album of the year--unless New Age queen Enya comes out with a new one this year.

TOP 10 ALBUMS

Title, Artist (National Rank) Last Week 1 Above the Rim, soundtrack (4) ... 2 Far Beyond Driven, Pantera (1) ... 3 Longing in Their Hearts, Bonnie Raitt (2) ... 4 Vauxhall and I, Morrissey (18) ... 5 August and. . .After, Counting Crows (7) 2 6 Philadelphia, soundtrack(12) ... 7 12 Play, R. Kelly (6) 7 8 Live at the Acropolis, Yanni (5) 19 9 Superunknown, Soundgarden (8) 1 10 The Colour of My Love, Celine Dion (10) 6

TOP 10 SINGLES

Title, Artist (National Rank) Last Week 1 Bump ‘n’ Grind, R. Kelly (1) 1 2 The Most Beautiful Girl..., Prince (13) 6 3 Something to. . .,C. Daughters (38) 4 4 The Sign, Ace of Base (2) 3 5 The Power of Love, Celine Dion (6) 2 6 Without You..., Mariah Carey (3) 10 7 Mmm Mmm. . ., Crash Test Dummies (5) 8 8 So Much in Love, All-4-One (7) 7 9 Born to Roll, Masta Ace Incorporated (26) 5 10 Streets of..., Bruce Springsteen (10) ...

TOP 10 R&B; ALBUMS

Title, Artist (National Rank) Last Week 1 Above the Rim, soundtrack (1) ... 2 12 Play, R. Kelly (2) 2 3 Toni Braxton, Toni Braxton (4) 1 4 Doggystyle, Snoop Doggy Dogg (5) 4 5 Music Box, Mariah Carey (3) 3 6 I’m Ready, Tevin Campbell (9) 10 7 Rhythm Country and Blues, various (7) 7 8 The Bodyguard, soundtrack (8) 5 9 Very Necessary, Salt-n-Pepa (6) 6 10 Straight From Da Streets, various (78) 9

Source: SoundScan Inc., for week ending March 27