This is the second week of the reformed pop and country rankings, based not on impressionistic reports by record-store personnel but on a computerized tally of actual sales. The new charts, insiders thought, would be more volatile, and in fact R.E.M. bound all the way back from No. 5 to regain the No. 1 spot they held two weeks ago, at the last hurrah of the old charts. But the country top 10-with Garth Brooks controlling Nos. 1 and 2 -doesn't change at all. Looks like we still don't quite know how the new charts will work, though one thing's clear: Paula Abdul, with her new album debuting at No. 5, could well be headed for glory once again. LAST POP ALBUMS WEEKS ON WEEK CHART
1 5 R.E.M. 10 Out of Time, Warner Bros. 2 1 Michael Bolton 4 Time, Love & Tenderness, Columbia 3 3 Mariah Carey 49 Mariah Carey, Columbia 4 2 Soundtrack 11 New Jack City, Giant 5 - Paula Abdul 1 Spellbound, Virgin 6 4 Garth Brooks 37 No Fences, Capitol 7 6 C+C Music Factory 21 Gonna Make You Sweat, Columbia 8 8 Another Bad Creation 13 Coolin' at the Playground Ya' Know!, Motown 9 11 The Black Crowes 63 Shake Your Money Maker, Motown 10 9 Wilson Phillips 60 Wilson Phillips, SBK
COUNTRY ALBUMS
1 1 Garth Brooks 36 No Fences, Capitol 2 2 Garth Brooks 107 Garth Brooks, Capitol 3 3 Dolly Parton 9 Eagle When She Flies, Columbia 4 4 Kentucky Headhunters 6 Electric Barnyard, Mercury 5 5 Clint Black 28 Put Yourself in My Shoes, RCA 6 6 Reba McEntire 36 Rumor Has It, MCA 7 7 George Strait 8 Chill of an Early Fall, MCA 8 8 Hank Williams Jr. 4 Pure Hank, Warner Bros. 9 9 Alan Jackson 63 Here in the Real World, Arista 10 10 The Judds 35 Love Can Build a Bridge, Curb/RCA
