2008 albums chart start compares unfavourably to previous years.

Falling for the fifth week in a row, combined album sales last week dipped to 1,936,448. That's 2.4% down week-on-week and the lowest tally recorded for 23 weeks. It compares unfavourably with the 2,309,851 albums sold in the same week last year, and the 2,659,422 albums sold in the same week in 2006, representing a 16.17% fall over last year, and a more precipitous 27.19% fall vs. 2006.

There were debuts at one and two on the artist albums chart in 2006 and 2007, but not this year. Last year saw The View's Hats Off To The Buskers new at number one on sales of 103,157, and The Good, The Bad & The Queen's self-titled set at number two, with 40,636 takers. The same- week 2006 market was buoyed by an introductory sale of 74,539 by Richard Ashcroft's Keys To The World and a sparkling 363,735 opening for the Arctic Monkeys' Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not.

Last week saw nothing nearly as significant, with the top ranked of seven Top 75 debuts coming from hip-hop star Lupe Fiasco, whose second set, The Cool, debuts at number seven on sales of 14,372. Of the rest, the best showing came from The Eels `best of' compilation Meet The Eels: Essential Eels Volume 1, 1996-2006, which debuts at number 26 on sales of 7,084 copies, while the similarly wordy companion disc Useless Trinkets: B-sides, Soundtracks, Rarities And Unreleased, 1996-2006, is in at number 69 on sales of 2,786. Cat Power's second chart album, Jukebox, enters at number 32 on sales of 6,609, beating the number 45 debut on sales of 4,965 made by her only previous chart album, 2006's The Greatest.

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