TENURE AT THE TOP

Some say Billboard's shift to the new SoundScan pop-album charting system means there'll now be oodles of No. 1 albums. And while that may be true to some extent, it's still too early to know for sure. In 1989, thanks to chart-hogging blockbusters like Paula Abdul's Forever Your Girl and Milli Vanilli's Girl You Know It's True, there were only 13 No. 1 albums. And in 1987, courtesy of the ultrasuccessful Dirty Dancing soundtrack (18 weeks at No. 1), there were only 7. But the SoundScan era, which began late last May, has seen 13 No. 1's in only 8 months. Still, despite remarkably fierce competition, Garth Brooks' Ropin' the Wind has spent 10 weeks at No. 1; Natalie Cole's Unforgettable held on for 5. Michael Jackson's Dangerous already spent 4 weeks at the top, even before its second single was released. And while the new system has seen some chart toppers fade after a single week at the top-Skid Row and N.W.A, for example- this only happened in the summer, before superstar product, held in reserve for the profitable Christmas season, was released. The staying power of Brooks and Cole suggests that oodles of No. 1's may only be a nice fantasy. We won't be seeing 52 No. 1 albums this year.