Alicia Keys leads a holiday rush of CD sales

The holiday season has arrived for the music industry, as a dozen albums on the U.S. pop chart this week sold more than 100,000 copies, a rare feat in a year when albums reached the No. 1 spot eight times with sales of less than six figures. Last week’s sales were fueled by a host of hits compilations, including a new collection from Led Zeppelin, and a pair of divas.

R&B; singer Alicia Keys leads the charge of four new arrivals in the Top 10. Her “As I Am” lands at No. 1 after selling 742,000 copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan. That’s second only to the 957,000 first-week figure that Kanye West’s “Graduation” posted in September.

This is Keys’ fourth-straight album to debut at No. 1. Keys’ tally more than triples the numbers posted by the return of Celine Dion. Her first new pop album in four years, “Taking Chances,” enters at No. 3 after selling 214,000 copies.

Behind Dion at No. 4 with 208,000 copies is the 26th edition in the “Now! That’s What I Call Music” hits compilation series. Led Zeppelin’s CD/DVD package “Mothership” lands at No. 7, selling 136,000 copies. It gives Zeppelin vocalist Robert Plant dual representation inside the Top 30, as his pairing with bluegrass singer Alison Krauss, “Raising Sand,” is at No. 25 after selling 49,000 copies.

The much-hyped return of Duran Duran, “Red Carpet Massacre,” which features contributions from Timbaland and Justin Timberlake, enters the chart at No. 36, selling 29,000 copies.

Other notable arrivals this week include an odds-and-ends compilation from the Killers, “Sawdust,” at No. 12 (82,000 copies) and a James Taylor retrospective, “One Man Band,” at No. 17 (63,000 copies).

Last week’s No. 1, Jay-Z’s “American Gangster,” falls to No. 8, suffering a 69% sales drop to 131,000 copies.

todd.martens@latimes.com