American Songwriter Reads The Charts: Rascal Flatts Flatten The Competition

Note to aspiring chart toppers: name your album something like “Unstoppable.”

There’s bands that make it to No. 1, and then there’s bands that make it to No. 1 more times than anybody else this decade. The name of that band? Country music phenomenon Rascal Flatts, who scored their fourth Billboard No. 1 album this week with their sixth album, Unstoppable.

You can’t stop Rascal Flatts, people! Haven’t you learned that by now?

Unstoppable sold 351,000 copies in its opening week, according to the number-crunchers at Nielsen SoundScan. As Billboard.com reports, only Dave Matthews Band, Disturbed, Linkin Park, Staind and System of a Down come close, with three No. 1’s a piece this decade.

Singing buddies Miley Cyrus and Taylor Swift each saw impressive upswings in the sales of their latest efforts: the Hannah Montana movie soundtrack shot up 126%, while Swift’s Fearless saw a 98% sales increase. Neil Young’s latest, Fork In The Road, debuted at #19, the Hold Steady’s live album, A Positive Rage, debuted at #139, and the Grateful Dead’s latest archival release, To Terrapin: Hartford ‘77, came in at #168.

The top 10 albums in the country this week:

1. Rascall Flatts – Unstoppable
2. Hannah Montana: The Movie
3. Jadakiss – Last Kiss
4. Jason Aldean – Wide Open
5. Now 30
6. Taylor Swift – Fearless
7. Keith Urban – Defying Gravity
8. Twilight Soundtrack
9. Prince – Lotus Flow3r/MPLSound/Elix3r
10. Lady GaGa – The Fame