Jay-Z's 'Gangster' Opened at #1, Marked Himself a History

© Anthony G. Moore/PR Photos

Jay-Z has acquired the same position that Elvis Presley achieved years ago. Everything goes out as predicted in this week's Building chart as 'American Gangster' topped the tally on Billboard Hot 200.

As many as 425,000 copies of the album were flying off the shelves in the last 7 days. This makes Jay's tenth album to open at #1, eight from his studio albums and two from his respective project with Linkin Park and R. Kelly.

While many would splash their money for 'Gangster' not much would spend on Chris Brown's 'Exclusive'. The teen heartthrob surprisingly opened at #4 for selling 294,000 copies, a number which could have gone straight to #1 had Jay and Eagles decide to release theirs in another week.

Eagles' 'Long Road Out of Eden' that was #1 last week drops one place through a sale of 359,000 units. Meanwhile, seating at #4 is Garth Brooks' retrospective collection, 'The Ultimate Hits', that moved 352,000 units.

If one wonders where Britney Spears' 'Blackout' is, he or she can find at #7. The album that sat at #2 last week, took a sharp plunge of 70 per cent decrease in sale at mere 87,000 copies. Her number is beaten by albums that have been released earlier than hers. At #5 is Carrie Underwood's 'Carnival Ride', followed by Josh Groban's 'Noel'. They sold 121,000 and 116,000 units respectively.

However, the biggest surprise came from Taylor Swift who with her self-titled debut album soar back to the top 10 position at #8 (68,000) after remaining in the chart for an amazing 55 weeks. She recently won Horizon award at CMA Awards and released the DVD version of the album.

Next in line are dominated by new albums, Angels & Airwaves' 'I-Empire' and Cassidy's 'B.A.R.S.: The Barry Adrian Reese Story'. The former was sold 66,000 copies while the latter opened at 63,000.