KANYE WEST and GRETCHEN WILSON each sold between 2.5 and 3 million copies of their debuts.

Rap and country were both able to launch huge new stars. 2 entry, from NORAH JONES, by more than 2 to 1. 1 slot with USHER's 'Confessions', which outsold the No. Rap, meanwhile, racked up five albums in the Top 20. The nearest thing to a new guitar band is MAROON 5, which didn't make it on a rock song but on a soul single, 'This Love', and a billowing pop ballad, 'She Will Be Loved'.īroaden your view to the year's Top 20 sellers and you'll find just one other rocker - and an aging one at that - PRINCE, who gave away enough copies of his 'Musicology' to place it 18th in 2004.

The sole hard guitar group is EVANESCENCE - a holdover from 2003. But judging from its performance on the charts - and compared to its biggest bands and trends from a few years ago - it's wheezing.Ĭast your eye down 2004's Top 10-selling album list and you won't see a single new rock band. Jim Farber of the New York Daily News has issued the following report:

Usher confessions album lis