The Top of the Singles Chart Is All About Puff Daddy’s Hit

Puff Daddy’s two-sided hit “It’s All About the Benjamins” and “Been Around the World” is the nation’s top-selling single for the second consecutive week.

The rap single sold about 87,000 copies last week to further distance itself from the No. 2 single, LSG’s “My Body.”

Meanwhile, Pearl Jam’s “Given to Fly,” the first single from the band’s upcoming album, enters the sales chart at No. 20. The album, “Yield,” is due Feb. 3.

What’s Hot

Here are some recent releases that are generating critical or commercial attention:

Garth Brooks’ “Sevens” (Capitol). Brooks’ strongest album to date is a 40-plus-minute couch session in which the good ol’ boy becomes human-potential poster boy.

Celine Dion’s “Let’s Talk About Love” (550 Music/Epic). Dion’s voice is a technical marvel, but her delivery lacks the personality and intuitive sense of drama that are a diva’s stock in trade.

Metallica’s “Re-Load” (Elektra). Less a sequel to last year’s “Load” than a virtual repudiation of it, the follow-up is strong enough to make you forgive the band its past concessions to mass tastes.

Barbra Streisand’s “Higher Ground” (Columbia). The heart of this studio collection of inspirational ballads showcases the kind of higher aspirations that are all too rare in mainstream pop.

The Spice Girls’ “Spiceworld” (Virgin). If you’re gonna conquer the world with your outrageous antics and messages of “girl power” and “positivity,” you ought to muster a bit more zest for your second album than the English quintet has done here.

Victoria Williams’ “Musings of a Creekdipper” (Atlantic). Though it won’t set the charts on fire, this fantastic song cycle showcases Williams’ talents to often breathtaking effect.

What’s New

Chris Stills’ “100 Year Thing” (Atlantic), DJ Shadow’s “Preemptive Strike” (Mo Wax/ffrr).