UK Top 10s

NEVER MIND THE BOLLOCKS—IT’S THE U.K. TOP 10: Long live rock, as Pete Townshend so eloquently put it during the previous century. A sufficient number of Brits share that sentiment to place four rock acts on the U.K. leaderboard—five if you count Columbia ’60s throwback George Ezra. But that’s a sidebar to the big story, as Capitol’s Sam Smith solidifies his hold on the top spot four months after the release of his long-legged debut album. When all is said and done, 2014 will be fondly remembered as the year this dude came along.

Sam Smith, In the Lonely Hour (Capitol)
Robert Plant, lullaby and… The Ceaseless Roar (East West)
Ed Sheeran, x (Asylum)
Royal Blood, Royal Blood (Warner Bros.)
George Ezra, Wanted on Voyage (Columbia)
Ryan Adams, Ryan Adams (Columbia)
Bob Marley & the Wailers, Legend (Tuff Gong)
Paolo Nutini, Caustic Love (Atlantic)
Interpol, El Pintor (Soft Limit)
Collabro, Stars (SYCO)

On the singles chart, Sam’s “I’m Not the Only One” has just entered the Top 5, behind the debuting Calvin Harris-John Newman collab “Blame” (Columbia), Lilly Wood and Robin Schulz’s “Prayer in C” (Atlantic), Taylor Swift’s “Shake It Off” (EMI) and another debut, Ten Walls’ “Walking With Elephants” (Atlantic). (9/15a)