NAS VS. ZAC, GASLIGHT ANTHEM, PASSION PIT DEBUT

The last two best-sellers—Nas’ Def Jam/IDJ album, Life is Good, and Zac Brown Band’s Atlanti9c release Uncaged, #1-2 on this week’s chart—should vie for the lead on Tuesday’s tally as well.

While yet another Def Jam/IDJ hip-hop biggie, Rick Ross’ new album, God Forgives, I Don’t, is the next major release, coming out on Tuesday (7/31), this week the pickings are relatively slim.

Top new debut should be Mercury/IDJ’s New Jersey neo-Springsteen garage-rockers the Gaslight Anthem with their major label bow, Handwritten, after graduating from L.A. indie SideOneDummy, the band’s fourth studio effort overall. First-week sales estimates from our crack network of retail reporters and numbers-crunchers put the figure at between 30-35k.

Columbia Cambridge, MA, techno-rock duo Passion Pit’s Gossamer, the follow-up to 2009’s debut Manners, is up next, with estimates in the 28-32k area.

Touted RCA Nashville group Love and Theft, the singer/songwriter pair of Stephen Barker Liles and Eric Gunderson, will see their eponymous sophomore album do between 12-15k.

Epic’s Jennifer Lopez greatest hits collection, to fulfill her deal with the label, should also do in the 12-15k neighborhood.

Album sales were down 4% vs. last week, down 5% vs. same week last year and down 3% year to date.

Track sales were down 2% vs. last week, up 2% vs. same week last year and up 6% year to date.

TEA sales were down 3% vs. last week, down 3% vs, same week last year and flat year to date.