The Pretty Reckless rules Billboard’s Top Album Sales chart (dated Feb. 27) as the rock band’s new studio effort Death by Rock and Roll debuts at No. 1. It’s the third top 10 and first No. 1 for the act on the chart. The album starts with 16,000 copies sold in the U.S. in the week ending Feb. 18, according to MRC Data.
Billboard’s Top Album Sales chart ranks the top-selling albums of the week based only on traditional album sales. The chart’s history dates back to May 25, 1991, the first week Billboard began tabulating charts with electronically monitored piece count information from SoundScan, now MRC Data. Pure album sales were the measurement solely utilized by the Billboard 200 albums chart through the list dated Dec. 6, 2014, after which that chart switched to a methodology that blends album sales with track equivalent album units and streaming equivalent album units. For all chart news, follow @billboard and @billboardcharts on both Twitter and Instagram.
Of Death by Rock and Roll’s first-week sales of 16,000 across all formats (CD, vinyl LP, cassette, digital download, etc.), 5,300 were sold via vinyl LP -- enabling the set’s No. 5 debut on the Vinyl Albums chart. The set was available in multiple color variants exclusive to the band’s official webstore, independent music stores and FYE.