Here to ‘Stay’?

Lisa Loeb’s “Stay,” from the “Reality Bites” soundtrack, is one of the surprise hits of the year, topping The Times’ Southern California pop singles chart and ranking second nationally. Such old-style folkie ballads rarely reach the Top 50, let alone the No. 1 spot. What’s even more amazing is that Loeb is an unknown who’s never recorded an album. In fact, she doesn’t even have a record contract. Partly due to “Stay,” the “Reality Bites” soundtrack is selling well--coming in at No. 17 on both the Southern California and national charts.

TOP 10 ALBUMS

Title, Artist (Nat’l Rank) Last Week 1 The Lion King, soundtrack (1) 1 2 Forrest Gump, soundtrack (2) 2 3 Purple, Stone Temple Pilots (4) 4 4 August. . .After, Counting Crows (5) 9 5 Smash, Offspring (14) 7 6 The Sign, Ace of Base (3) 8 7 Voodoo Lounge, Rolling Stones (8) 5 8 Superunknown, Soundgarden (7) 10 9 It Takes a Thief, Coolio (12) 3 10 Regulate. . .G-Funk Era, Warren G. (6) 11

TOP 10 SINGLES

Title, Artist (National Rank) Last Week 1 Stay, Lisa Loeb & Nine Stories (2) 2 2 Funkdafied, Da Brat (3) 3 3 Fantastic Voyage, Coolio (1) 1 4 I Swear, All-4-One (4) 4 5 When Can I See You, Babyface (14) 16 6 Bop Gun, Ice Cube (33) 7 7 This D.J., Warren G. (9) 6 8 I Miss You, Aaron Hall (8) 12 9 Regulate, Warren G. and Nate Dogg (5) 5 10 Can You Feel. . ., Elton John (10) 8

TOP 10 HARD ROCK ALBUMS

Title, Artist (National Rank) Last Week 1 Purple, Stone Temple Pilots (1) 1 2 Smash, Offspring (4) 2 3 Superunknown, Soundgarden (2) 3 4 Candlebox, Candlebox (3) 4 5 Dookie, Green Day (5) 5 6 Get a Grip, Aerosmith (6) 8 7 Ill Communication, Beastie Boys (7) 6 8 Siamese. . ., Smashing Pumpkins (8) 9 9 The Crow, soundtrack (9) 7 10 Jar of Flies, Alice in Chains (13) 10

Source: SoundScan Inc., for week of July 31