Pop Album Chart : Brooks Still Reigns as King of Pop

Michael Jackson, alias the king of pop, is still chasing the real king of pop, Garth Brooks, on the Billboard magazine pop album chart. Brooks’ “Ropin’ the Wind” took over the top spot last week, holding Jackson’s “Dangerous” in the also-ran spot for the second straight week. Despite being consistently slaughtered by critics, white-soul singer Michael Bolton continues to be a major album seller. His “Time, Love and Tenderness,” on the market 38 weeks, inched back up to No. 5. Two albums that have been consistently selling well are the vocal group Jodeci’s “Forever My Lady” (No. 26) and Enya’s New Age-ish “Shepherd Moons” (No. 29).

* The success of Disney’s animated feature, “Beauty and the Beast,” has unexpectedly turned the soundtrack album into a pop Top 30 hit. It moved up six notches to No. 27.

Rank Rank 2 Weeks Title (Label) Last Week Weeks Ago on Chart 1.”Ropin’ the Wind” 1 2 18 Garth Brooks (Capitol) 2.”Dangerous” 2 5 7 Michael Jackson (Epic) 3.”Too Legit to Quit” 3 3 11 Hammer (Capitol) 4.”Nevermind” 4 1 16 Nirvana (DGC) 5.”Time, Love and Tenderness” 6 10 38 Michael Bolton (Columbia) *”Beauty and the Beast” 33 36 8 Soundtrack (Disney)