Idolator

Linkin Park's Minutes To Midnight sold 623,000 copies this week, breaking the record for the highest first-week total of 2007 and entering the Billboard chart at No. 1. The album also moved 84,000 digital copies; that total set a record for the highest single-week digital albums tally, according to Billboard.biz. (See? Linkin Park fans aren't just harassing Chester Bennington online!)

Biggest Debuts: Coming in behind Linkin Park was the R & B singer (and future bandmate of Tyrese) Tank, whose album Sex, Love & Pain sold 103,000 copies. Wilco's call to arms to its fanbase seems to have worked; Sky Blue Sky entered the chart at No. 4, selling 87,000 copies and causing the band to have its best one-week sales tally ever. Gretchen Wilson came in at No. 5, selling 73,000 copies of One Of The Boys, while Megadeth completed the round of top-10 debuts, entering the chart at No. 8 with United Abominations, which sold 54,000 copies.

Charting The Decline: The total number of albums sold went up 1% from last week (8.59 million units from 8.51 million units), although it's probably worth noting that without Linkin Park's massive numbers in there, the overall units moved would have seen a bit of a dip. A year ago this week, the total number of albums sold totaled 9.24 million copies—so this year's totals represent a 7% year-to-year dip.

Nickelback Award For Inexplicable Durability: It's pretty obvious who gets this award this week, isn't it?

Linkin Park Scores Year's Best Debut With 'Midnight' [Billboard]