Jay Z’s ‘Magna Carta’ Holds at No. 1

Lucas Jackson/Reuters Jay Z at Yankee Stadium on Friday.

As overall album sales continued to slide slide, the rap tycoon Jay Z remained on top of the Billboard 200 chart for a second week with “Magna Carta … Holy Grail,” (Roc Nation) selling 129,000 copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan. Jay Z has sold 657,000 albums in two weeks, though that number does not include about 1 million copies Samsung bought to give away to its cellphone owners in a marketing deal some people in the music industry see as a blueprint for the future.

Sara Bareilles came in second in sales with the debut of her new album “The Blessed Unrest” (Epic), which only moved 68,000 copies, nearly 20,000 fewer than her last release in its first week. “Kidz Bop 24,” the gimmicky children’s compilation of pop hits, was third with 62,000 in sales.

The rapper Ace Hood scored his best week of sales yet with the release of “Trials & Tribulations” (Cash Money/Republic) which entered the chart at No. 4. The next two albums have been in the Top 10 for some time: Florida Georgia Line’s country album “Here’s to the Good Times” (Republic Nashville) was No. 5, while Imagine Dragon’s arena rock set “Night Visions” (Interscope Records) was No. 6.

Jay Z’s protege J. Cole, whose debut “Born Sinner” (Roc Nation) topped the chart two weeks ago, slid to No. 7, and the eighth slot belonged to the soundtrack from the Disney Channel’s “Teen Beach Movie,” which aired on July 19 and won a big audience.

Rounding out the Top 10 were Justin Timberlake’s juggernaut “The 20/20 Experience,” (RCA) which has sold 2 million copies in 18 weeks, and a new album from Cody Simpson called “Surfers Paradise,” (Atlantic) which sold a little over 24,000 copies in its first week.

Overall album sales are anemic compared to last year, reflecting a decade-long shift in consumers’ spending habits toward singles, as well as the long-term effect of pirated music downloads and free music on legal streaming sites like YouTube and Spotify.

Album sales in this past chart week, which ended July 21, added up to 4.7 million units, down 6 percent compared with the same week last year and 12 percent compared with two years ago. For the whole year, album sales now stand at 156.5 million, down 6 percent from the same period last year.

On the Hot 100 singles chart, Robin Thicke continued his reign at the top, with “Blurred Lines.” The song has been powered by heavy airplay on pop radio and more than 340,000 digital downloads.

The runner-up in the Top 10 was Miley Cyrus’s “We Can’t Stop,” which has been doing well on streaming services. Imagine Dragons “Radioactive,” one of the few rock songs with staying power on the Hot 100 chart, was No. 3, while topping the Hot Rock Songs chart. Daft Punk’s disco song “Get Lucky” slid to No. 4, but remained strong on charts of radio play and dance music.

Next, at No. 5, came Bruno Mars with his new hit “Treasure,” which continued to pick up steam on pop radio. The next five songs in the Top 10, in order, were Macklemore & Ryan Lewis’s “Can’t Hold Us,” Florida Georgia Line’s “Cruise,” Jay Z’s “Holy Grail,” and Anna Kendrick’s “Cups (Pitch Perfect’s When I’m Gone).”