Rascall Flatts dropped mightily but still held on to the top spot on the album chart. Me and My Gang sold 345,000 in its second week and narrowly beat out Toby Keith's White Trash with Money in that album's debut week. White Trash sold 330,000 while Now 21 moved 293,000 in its second week.

But the normal numbers get a bit boring week in and week out, don't they? Just as pro sports started counting different statistics over the years (assists, sacks, on base percentage), the music business needs look at the chart in new ways. Here are a few:

• Biggest second-week slides: Morrissey's Ringleader of the Tormenters dropped 59%, Lacuna Coil's Karmacode dropped 56%, Flaming Lips' At War With The Mystics dropped 55% and Rascall Flats' Me and My Gang dropped 52%.

• Biggest increase: Kidz Bop 9 rose 125%. (Love that cover of "Feel Good Inc.")

• Country rules: Of the 20 top albums, six were by country artists.

• Soft singer-songwriters are back: Daniel Powter and James Blunt sit at #9 and #10, respectively. They make Jack Johnson, who is at #20, look like Bruce Springsteen sitting on a Harley flanked by pit bulls. Time for that comeback, Dan Fogelberg?

• Like a basketball player who just returned from four seasons playing for a team in Greece to prove he still has some kick left: Check out Buckcherry's 15 debut at #49. Where have you guys been?

• A rivalvy like Sox/Yankees, or probably more like Kings/Lakers (since the Kings never beat them when it mattered): Hawthorne Heights, continues its downward fall. This week it's at #54. Victory nemesis Ne-Yo rose one slot to #14.

Oddly, much of the Top 40 increased substantially over the previous week. Sales for the week were up 6% compared to the previous week, and were up an amazing 20% over the same week last year.

For your reading stack: Billboard.com's recap of the album chart, the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart, Billboard's Hot Digital Tracks chart and StreetPulse's Top 20 charts.