Pop Album Chart : Holiday Tunes Ringing Up Sales

“No Toys for O.J.” has absolutely nothing to do with O.J. Simpson but a lot to do with Christmas. The KROQ cassette features assorted holiday songs and DJs Kevin and Bean chitchatting with celebs. Although available only at Wherehouse stores, it’s selling well enough to debut at No. 57 on the pop chart. The season’s third best-selling Christmas album--after the collections by Kenny G and Mariah Carey--is Natalie Cole’s “Holly and Ivy” (No. 36). Yanni’s 41-week-old “Live at the Acropolis” has been surging the last two weeks, from No. 62 to No. 29--no doubt mostly thanks to Christmas shoppers. Madonna is taking bows all over the place now that her hot single, “Take a Bow,” has rejuvenated sleepy sales of her “Bedtime Stories” album, boosting it from No. 33 to No. 16 in the last two weeks. There’s no catching hot-steppin’ Ini Kamoze, whose “Here Comes the Hotstepper” single continues to lead the pop singles chart.

Rank Rank 2 Weeks Last Weeks on the Week Ago Chart 1. “Vitalogy,” Pearl Jam 173 55 3 2. “Miracles: The Holiday Album,” Kenny G 1 1 6 3. “Live at the BBC,” Beatles ... ... 1 4. “Merry Christmas,” Mariah Carey 3 4 6 5. “II,” Boyz II Men 2 2 15 6. “Hell Freezes Over,” the Eagles 4 3 5 7. “Dookie,” Green Day 8 10 44 8. “MTV Unplugged in New York,” Nirvana 5 5 6 9. “The Lion King,” soundtrack 6 7 28 10. “Smash,” Offspring 7 6 30 * “The Sweetest Days,” Vanessa Williams ... ... 1

* The No. 61 debut for Williams’ “The Sweetest Days” isn’t very high for such an eagerly anticipated album. However, it’s geared more to the 30--50 adult contemporary crowd, which buys fewer albums.