Back on these shores, seven new entries crash into the Top 10, including country crooner Tim McGraw’s 11th studio album Emotional Traffic (at #2 with 68,000 sold), indie-pop singer-songwriter Ingrid Michaelson’s fifth LP Human Again (#5, 40,000) and former American Idol contestant Kellie Pickler’s third studio offering 100 Proof (#7, 27,000).

Meanwhile, it’s a bittersweet week for Seal. He and wife Heidi Klum are heading for a divorce, but the “Kiss From A Rose” singer lands his second Top 10 album in the States with Soul 2 (#8, 27,000).

The Top 10 Of Billboard’s Top 200 Chart

1. Adele, 21 *18 weeks*
2. Tim McGraw, Emotional Traffic *new*
3. Lamb Of God, Resolution *new*
4. Various, 2012 Grammy Nominees *new*
5. Ingrid Michaelson, Human Again *new*
6. Kidz Bop, Kidz Bop 21
7. Kellie Pickler, 100 Proof *new*
8. Seal, Soul 2 *new*
9. Drake, Take Care
10. Kari Jobe, Where I Find You *new*

Cara Salimando says she’s been inspired by the confessional songwriting of Fiona Apple ever since she was in grade school, but this 18-year-old singer-songwriter has her own hell to raise. With an unaffected but knowing voice, Salimando sings of night skies and broken hearts, and—lest anyone think she’s one of those dime-a-dozen coffeehouse singers covering songs on YouTube—know that the teenage artist caught the eye of the pop masterminds behind Rihanna.

Here’s what you need to know about Cara:

HOMETOWN: Little Silver, New Jersey

MUSICAL INFLUENCES: Cara has covered the likes of Lady Gaga and M.I.A., but ranks Fiona Apple and Regina Spektor as her main musical influences.

MUSICAL BACKGROUND: The teen singer-songwriter has been playing piano since she was seven years old. “Taking lessons was my own idea,” says Cara. “I hadn’t had a very pleasant experience with the flute or violin, but I wanted to learn an instrument desperately.” Now Cara is rarely seen without her 88 keys.

HER BIG BREAK: Like Lily Allen and Justin Bieber before her, Cara can cite social networking sites like MySpace and YouTube as the main way she first started garnering attention. “An A&R had heard my music on MySpace and came to a local show I was playing at a taco bar,” Cara tells us. “After the show, he came up to me and told my parents and I that he was confident he could put me in contact with people who would be interested in signing me. Needless to say, it seemed pretty unbelievable and my parents and I were skeptical.” Four months later, Cara was signed to SRP/Universal Motown, working with the Svengalis behind Rihanna.

HER BIGGER BREAK: She just completed a tour of the Midwest, opening for Matt Kearney and Ingrid Michaelson (whom she’s often been compared). She’s on the impressive lineup for both Bamboozle and Lilith Fair this summer as well.

Cara Salimando - Dust
LISTEN UP: Cara is currently promoting her first single, “Dust,” a melancholy pop ballad that reveals a knowing perspective on relationships, just one example of her precocious songwriting talent.

BEING A TEEN SENSATION: Cara’s weekends are often filled with shows and meetings, so there isn’t much time to indulge in the typical teenage experience of partying and hanging with friends. But there are no regrets—”Doing what I love to do, that’s fun,” Cara tells us. “I don’t feel like I’m missing out.  I’m just having a different experience.”

Cara Salimando – “Cigarette Smoke” Live at NYC’s The Bitter End

TO TWEET OR NOT TO TWEET: Cara is a regular on Twitter, although considering how young she is, adapting to social networking sites wasn’t too difficult. “Being a part of the Internet generation, I feel like Twitter, Facebook, and MySpace are just things that I would kind of pick up on anyway even if I didn’t have to utilize them as marketing tools.” And if you tweet @carasalimando, don’t be surprised if you hear from her! “I love interacting with people who like my music.  There’s no pressure, I just think it’s nice to talk to people!”

WHAT SHE’S LISTENING TO: Diane Birch and Vampire Weekend. “I’d say that out of the younger bands out there today, they’re my favorites.”

OUR VERDICT: With Fiona Apple dormant from the music scene for the moment, the timing is right for an artist like Cara, who can evoke vulnerability and empowerment at the same time. And unlike certain other teen stars who’ve hit it big with diary-entry pop hits, Cara can nail her songs live. In time, we can expect to see Cara star in her own female-empowering comic book.

Check out more of Cara’s crooning at her MySpace Music page, send her a poke over on Facebook, or pick up her debut EP Dust over on iTunes.

The shelves are picked over. If all of the Borders are on the same timetable, you better hustle. I did see that awesome Forever Changes two-disc collection for 10 bucks.

This is endemic of what I saw. The Killers, Bavarian Tradition, and a 2009 Grammy Nominees CD, all lying on top of Igor on Blu-Ray. I don’t know why, but this is one of the saddest things I have ever seen.

The Airborne Toxic Event and Loudon Wainwright III: together again for the first time. These guys were all over the place, never where they were supposed to be. Not a bad deal on TATE, if you’re into that sorta thing.

There was plenty of Sinatra to be found, all of it originally overpriced. These are great records, sure, but they had Super Savers in there for $16.99!

Maybe someone at Borders was a big Andre Rieu fan. There were at least 30 of his CDs all told. Looks like a nice enough guy. He’s really going for on the cover of New Year’s in Vienna.

Not to pick on Mindi Abair, but she joined Andre Rieu as the most un-bought artist at Borders. There was another stack there, next to a whole bunch of Michael Franks and Earl Klugh. Who did Borders’ stocking? The Weather Channel? My dad?

You could get “snowed under” in Snow Patrol CDs (haw haw), probably because this CD+DVD combo was priced at $21.99 originally.

Nothing against Atmosphere, but there was absolutely no reason for Borders to have ordered eight copies of this in our current music-selling climate. You can always order more. You can’t order less.

I’d like to think that Saul Williams was here en masse because everybody had already downloaded it, but I’m not so sure of that. Borders’ selection was overall more interesting than Circuit City’s, if a little more mystifying.

Ingrid Michaelson was well-represented. “As heard on Grey’s Anatomy” doesn’t mean what it used to, but this thing was priced to sell and didn’t. It looks like a 90s cut-out bin record, like it should be laying next to Ednaswap and Echobelly.

I have this and have never listened to it. What am I afraid of? Oh, yeah…it sounding like the artwork.

Delta Spirit was out in force. I don’t have any good puns for this.

Wow! I wonder why this never sold? As a music consumer, I can think of no more inspiring words in the year 2009 than “Goo Goo Dolls, Vol. 2.”

The theme song is on this. ‘Nuff said.

There was lots of John Legend on display; maybe people heard him sing at the Academy Awards.

Now this is just a shame. Who doesn’t love “Lido Shuffle”?

Plain White T’s: One of those bands that seems more popular in theory.

I know Switchfoot and Nickel Creek are popular, but seven copies of the collaboration between members of those bands is probably overestimating demand just a bit.

Turn away, Maura! Turn away!

These Melissa Etheridges were like this when I got there.

No love for My Love by Celine Dion.

This Atreyu package would be a good deal if I liked them at all.

Some around these parts will feel no small amount of schadenfreude at this picture.

These things were everywhere, a symbol bit of music industry detritus.

Just plain odd. Somebody must have a really bad back. It shows you how much they cared about the aesthetics of the music section.

Howie Day: the loneliest featured CD ever.

Who thought this was a good idea?

This is my version of hell.

Oh, no, wait. This is.

Overall, in most cases, it’s not hard to see why what’s not selling is not selling. A lot of times it what the pricing, but a lot of it had to do with target markets. This is a Borders in Athens we’re talking about—the chamber of commerce practically hands you cardigans, ironic mustaches, and plastic-framed glasses when you move here, so it’s no wonder Dream Theater DVDs aren’t moving out the door.