DAVE MATTHEWS BAND MI PIACE

This week’s Billboard 200 is looking rather fresh thanks to half a dozen albums making their debut at the top of the album chart. And leading the pack is Dave Matthews Band’s latest effort, Away From the World. Nielsen SoundScan reports the record sold 266,000 copies in its first week, easily securing a sixth consecutive No. 1 bow for Matthews and company.

But DMB’s sales weren’t quite as robust as usual. The group’s previous chart-topper – 2009’s Big Whiskey and the GrooGrux King – launched with 424,000 copies sold, while Away From the World marked their lowest first-week sales total since Crash sold 254,000 copies on its way to a No. 2 debut back in 1996.

As for this week’s No. 2, Little Big Town’s fifth album Tornado is sitting in the runner-up slot. The set sold 113,000 copies, giving the country quartet the best sales week and the best chart showing of their career. Bob Dylan nabbed the No. 3 position with his 35th studio effort, Tempest, giving him a fifth consecutive top ten debut – not a bad feat for someone celebrating his 50th year in the music business.

Spots four and five are filled by relative newcomers compared to Dylan. The Avett Brothers are celebrating their highest chart position yet as The Carpenter comes in at No. 4, while the xx also set a new high-water mark. Their sophomore album Coexist is at No. 5 – a big improvement compared to their self-titled debut, which peaked at No. 92 in 2010.

Rounding out the six new entries is ZZ Top’s La Futura, the iconic blues rockers’ first release since 2003. This is also the first time they’ve cracked the top ten since 1992 when their Greatest Hits made it to No. 9.

And for all those keeping track, this is only the second time six albums have debuted at the top of the chart. The first time came in October 2003, when OutKast earned its first No. 1 with Speakerboxx/The Love Below. The double album was followed by Dave Matthews’ Some Devil, Limp Bizkit’s Results May Vary, R. Kelly’s The R. in R&B Collection, Obie Trice’s Cheers and Nickelback’s The Long Road at Nos. 2-6, respectively.

However, there is one more new arrival this week – Amanda Palmer’s Theatre Is Evil. But the album doesn’t continue the streak, as it enters at No. 10. Three holdovers are sitting between Palmer and the top six: Imagine Dragons’ Night Visions, which slides from No. 2 to No 7; Matchbox Twenty’s former No. 1 North, which drops to No. 8; and the 43rd Now compilation at No. 9.( www.examiner.com)