Pop Album Chart : Pearl Jam’s ‘Vitalogy’--It’s a Sure Bet

If Pearl Jam’s “Vitalogy” can sell 38,000 in the nearly extinct vinyl-only format--which it did last week when it was only available in limited edition vinyl--imagine what it’ll sell when the CD and cassette versions are released Tuesday. We could see a record-setting pace, wiping out the first-week sales record of 975,000 copies set last year by Pearl Jam’s “Vs.” The vinyl sales were enough to make “Vitalogy” enter the pop charts at No. 55--the highest ever in the CD era for a vinyl-only collection. Other hot debuts included three rap albums: Redman’s “Dare Iz a Darkside” (No. 13), Ice Cube’s “Bootlegs & B-Sides” (No. 19) and Spice 1’s “Amerikkka’s Nightmare” (No. 22).

* No. 47 isn’t exactly a sparking debut for Prince’s heralded “Black Album,” which he recorded in 1987 but never formally released until now. In terms of record sales, Prince clearly isn’t royalty anymore.

Pop Album Chart

Rank Rank 2 Weeks Last Weeks on the Week Ago Chart 1. “Miracles: The Holiday Album,” Kenny G 6 18 4 2. “II,” Boyz II Men 2 3 13 3. “Hell Freezes Over,” Eagles 1 1 3 4. “Merry Christmas,” Mariah Carey 7 13 4 5. “MTV Unplugged in New York,” Nirvana 3 2 4 6. “Smash,” Offspring 5 6 28 7. “The Lion King,” soundtrack 9 11 26 8. “Wildflowers,” Tom Petty 10 10 4 9. “Duets II,” Frank Sinatra 16 ... 2 10. “Dookie,” Green Day 20 15 42 * “Prince (The Black Album),” Prince ... ... 1