Eclectic ‘Now’ takes No. 1 spot

“NOW That’s What I Call Music!,� the jukebox-minded CD series that collects recent pop hits by assorted artists, has proved itself again to be a favorite of the modern fan. Vol. 22 in the series was far and away the bestselling album of the week in the country.

The new chart released Wednesday by Nielsen SoundScan showed that “Now� sold 398,000 copies, a total that surpassed the combined sales of the next six bestselling CDs. This edition of “Now� keeps in line with the eclectic survey of recent radio hits by artists such as R&B; singer Ne-Yo, rapper Bubba Sparxxx, rocker Teddy Geiger, emo/indie rock band the Fray and pop-rock singer KT Tunstall.

Arriving at a distant No. 2 is “The Eraser,� the debut solo effort from acclaimed singer-songwriter Thom Yorke, the chief force behind the sonic landscapes of the British band Radiohead. The album sold 90,000 in its first week, primarily due to reviews and core-fan interest, since the music is far from the embrace of commercial radio programmers.

A very different style of music is found at No. 3, where Pimp C, half of Houston rap duo UGK, arrives on the chart with his sophomore release, “Pimpalation.� It was narrowly edged by Yorke’s CD after selling 87,000 copies.

Rock band Muse has the next strongest debut of the week with its “Black Holes & Revelations,� which sold 48,000 copies to place at No. 9 on the week’s album sales tally. Members of the British trio may not be thrilled to arrive the same week as Yorke -- they have expended considerable energy resisting comparisons between their layered, arching sound and the music of Radiohead.

The only other debut in the Top 20 belongs to Texan singer-songwriter Cheyenne Kimball. Her first album, “The Day Has Come,� sold 40,000 copies in its first week, landing her at No. 15. The singer was ushered into the public eye the way so many people are today -- via a TV reality show. In her case, it’s the Wednesday night MTV show “Cheyenne,� which follows her around as she seeks to carve out a pop music career.