With New No. 1, Jay-Z Grabs Record From Elvis

Sony blamed for UK price hike, now reversed

(NEWSER) - On Saturday, a Whitney Houston greatest-hits album cost about $8 in the UK iTunes store; but shortly after the singer was found dead, it had jumped to a little more than $12.50. The changed sparked a customer uproar. "It is just a case of iTunes cashing in on the singer's death, which in my opinion is totally parasitic," said one, according to DigitalSpy . But the Guardian reports that it was Sony, not iTunes, that was responsible for the change—which has now been reversed. More»

It's the biggest seller in 5 years

(NEWSER) - Nice week for Taylor Swift: Her Speak Now album debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard charts, racking up 1,047,000 sales. (That includes iTunes and the like.) Billboard rounds up some of the milestones:

• It's the biggest single sales week for an album since 50 Cent's The Massacre sold 1,141,000 in 2005. (And the LA Times notes that Swift's feat may be more impressive given the state of the music industry.)

U2's 'No Line on the Horizon' tops the list

(NEWSER) - Who says the album's dead? This year saw some fine ones, with veterans like U2 and Bruce Springsteen setting the bar. Rolling Stone rates the cream of the crop:

1. U2, No Line on the Horizon: Bono & Co. explored “dark places” and came away “with a sense of drama that no one could match all year."
2. Bruce Springsteen, Working on a Dream: The Boss at his “wildly baroque” best: “decked-out folk and rock struggling with the big stuff—and having a great time along the way.”
3. Phoenix, Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix: “The wholesome French version of the Strokes,” delivered an energetic and insanely catchy mix of guitar rock and electronics.

She has strongest US sales week of 2009; best female debut ever

(NEWSER) - Susan Boyle’s Dream has become very real in the US, where her debut album has opened atop the Billboard 200 chart. I Dreamed a Dream sold 701,000 copies, the best sales week for any release this year in the US. Eminem's Relapse previously held the 2009 mark at 608,000. As far as debut albums goes, Boyle's opening week trails only Snoop Dogg’s Doggystyle in 1993, which sold 803,000 copies. She now has the record for a female artist. More»

From Radiohead to Bon Iver, Paste hits the highlights

(NEWSER) - Paste takes a look back at the past decade—and its own 10-year history—with its list of the 50 best albums of the ‘00s:

• No. 1. Sufjan Stevens, Illinoise: “His music pushed boundaries between pop and classical.”
• No. 4. Radiohead, Kid A: Marked “the watershed artistic transition toward more electronic-based experimentation.”
• No. 8. OutKast, Stankonia: “OutKast’s edgiest and most inspired record.”
• No. 10. MIA, Arular: “Her thrilling, slang-tangled debut connected musical and political rebellion.”