Strait Speeds Past R.E.M. To Debut At No. 1

For the fourth time in his career, country vet George Strait earns the No. 1 spot on The Billboard 200 with "Troubadour." According to Nielsen SoundScan, the MCA Nashville album moved 166,000 copies, more than enough to push him to the summit of the Top Country Albums tally, his 22nd No. 1 there. The Billboard 200 has hosted at least one new entry from Strait every year since 1984.R.E.M. scores its highest sales and charting week in nearly 12 years with the Warner Bros. set "Accelerate," which debuts at No. 2 with 115,000. "New Adventures in Hi-Fi" also started at No. 2 in September 1996.The multi-label "NOW 27" compilation experiences an 11% sales loss to 60,000, though it climbs 5-3. Last week's chart-topper, Day26's self-titled Bad Boy effort, falls to No. 4 with 51,000, a whopping 73% sales decline. In its 18th week on the chart, the Fox/Razor & Tie soundtrack to "Alvin and the Chipmunks" propels itself back into the top 10 16-5 with a 111% sales increase (also with 51,000); the film was released on DVD on April 1. Rapper Trina bows with "Still Da Baddest" (Slip-N-Slide) at No. 6 with 47,000, her first top 10 set. Her last album, "Glamorest Life," entered at No. 11, though with better sales at 77,000.Danity Kane's sophomore album, "Welcome to the Dollhouse" (Bad Boy), descends 4-7 with 47,0000 (-47%), while Counting Crows' "Saturday Nights & Sunday Mornings" (Geffen) slips 3-8 with 43,000 (-59%). With 41,000, Rick Ross' "Trilla" (Slip-N-Slide/Def Jam) falls 6-9 on a 20% sales dip.

Van Morrison's Lost Highway album "Keep It Simple" earns the songwriter his first top 10 hit of his 40-plus-year career, debuting at No. 10 with 37,000. His previous high water marks were with 2005's "Magic Time" and 2002's "Down the Road," both at No. 25.In a week where 31 titles debut on the chart, the Rolling Stones' Interscope soundtrack to its Martin Scorsese-directed concert film "Shine a Light" bows at No. 11 with 37,000, while the Black Keys' "Attack and Release" (Nonesuch) begins at No. 14 with 29,000, both career bests for the Akron, Ohio-based duo.Rock act Sevendust's "Chapter VII: Hope and Sorrow" (Asylum) has a No. 19 start with 25,000 and George Michael's Epic retrospective "Twentyfive" debuts at No. 23 with 23,000.Album sales this week are down 3.5% compared to last week at 7.99 million and down 24.5% against the same week in 2007.